They didn't move right away.
The body at the center stayed still, intact even after death. It didn't collapse like the others. It held its shape, like it had been built to last longer than the rest.
Yuto stood over it, the core still in his hand.
It felt different.
Denser. Cleaner.
The mana inside him reacted to it constantly, but not in the same way as before. There was no instinct forcing him to take it.
It was waiting.
"You're thinking about using it?" Ryn said.
"Yes."
Mira stepped closer, cautious. "You shouldn't rush with something like that."
Yuto looked at her. "Why?"
She hesitated. "Because if it goes wrong, it won't just hurt you, it'll break you."
Yuto lowered his gaze back to the core.
Break him?
He considered it for a moment.
"That depends on structure."
Ryn frowned.
Yuto crouched slightly.
Inside him, the mana shifted.
Not outward. Inward.
He closed his eyes.
Everything became clearer. Not darker—sharper.
The flow inside him was stable. Controlled. Exactly where it should be.
He understood it completely.
Then he brought the core closer.
Slow.
The moment it touched his palm, his mana reacted.
Not violently.
But strongly.
Yuto didn't let it spread. He tightened his control, compressing his own flow inward and creating separation.
Then he allowed a small connection.
The core responded instantly.
Energy moved toward him, testing.
Yuto matched it.
He didn't take it. He aligned with it.
The two flows touched.
There was resistance.
They weren't the same.
Yuto adjusted.
Instead of forcing it inward, he reshaped his own flow just enough to reduce conflict.
The connection stabilized.
Then he allowed more.
The core's mana entered slowly, pressing against his structure, searching for weakness.
There was none.
Yuto kept everything tight. No gaps. No instability. The external mana followed the path he allowed.
Guided. Contained.
After a short time, the core dimmed slightly.
Yuto stopped.
He pulled back and opened his eyes.
Something had changed.
Not size. Not quantity.
Density.
His mana felt more refined. More responsive.
"Did you use it?" Ryn asked.
"Partially."
"And?"
Yuto moved his hand slightly. The flow followed instantly.
"..Mana changed a bit."
Ryn exhaled. "You're insane you know?"
Mira was watching closely now. "You didn't absorb it, did you?"
"No."
"You integrated it."
Yuto didn't correct her.
The core in his hand still remained, weaker, but not empty.
"It can be used again," Yuto said.
Ryn said with eyes that looked like those of a dead fish. "Of course it can."
Mira shook her head slightly. "That's not how it's supposed to work."
"It works."
That was enough.
They moved again.
This time, there was a difference.
Yuto's movements weren't visibly faster, but internally everything responded more cleanly. No delay. No wasted motion.
The terrain shifted again.
Less confined, but heavier.
The air pressed down harder.
Even Ryn slowed slightly. "This is getting worse."
Mira nodded. "We're getting close."
Yuto already knew.
The presence ahead wasn't singular.
It wasn't scattered either.
It was layered.
Something deeper.
They crossed a rise.
Then they saw it.
The ground ahead was broken—not cracked, but shattered. Large sections had collapsed inward, as if something beneath had tried to force its way up and failed to fully emerge.
At the center—
A mass.
Not a creature.
Not yet.
It moved slowly.
Incomplete.
Limbs formed, collapsed, then formed again.
Around it, smaller shapes shifted. Not separate, not independent.
Connected.
Forming and breaking over and over.
Ryn stopped. "What the hell is that…"
Mira stepped back slightly with clear disgust
Yuto didn't move.
The pressure inside him tightened.
Not suppressed this time.
Responding.
He was sure of it.
"This is the source."
Silence.
The mass shifted.
Slowly, it turned.
Not fully, but enough.
Yuto felt it clearly now.
Not just presence.
Awareness.
It wasn't just creating them.
It was learning from them.
And now—
it had seen them.
The ground shifted again.
The smaller shapes began separating.
Forming.
More stable this time.
More complete.
Ryn tightened his grip. "That's a lot of them.."
Mira's voice dropped. "There's no way we can fight all of that."
Yuto stepped forward.
Just once.
The mana inside him stayed steady.
"We don't need to."
The mass moved again.
Faster this time.
One of the forming creatures broke free.
Clean.
Stable.
Stronger than the rest.
Yuto watched it for a moment.
Then moved.
The next phase had already started.