Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 981: Sense of Self

While this entire investigation thing was going on with Overlord Sunlight, the team of Sages quickly started planning. Something huge had happened today, and there was a chance that the Overseer might scan the world.

The information would still need a bit of time to reach the Demons. After all, even if there were more Overlord spies, they needed an opportunity to send the information to the Abyss. There was a high likelihood that their human-grown bodies couldnʼt go too far away from their main body.

This meant the group still had time, but they didnʼt know how much time they had. It could be days, but it could also be a couple of years.

Nevertheless, they needed to find a way to hide two things: Kyle and Sebastianʼs Elemental. Both of these things were core components of their plans. If the Overseer looked at the Elemental Dimension and saw a lone Peak Sage Elemental, they would become suspicious and kill it. Similarly, if the Overseer saw Kyleʼs unreasonably powerful aura, they might also get rid of him.

Both of these things had to remain hidden.

Luckily, Manny already had a plan, as was expected of him.

The group of six dug into the ground and gathered in a circle. Afterward, Manny handed out several Energy Stones. Technically, these Energy Stones didnʼt belong to him but to Humanity. He was only keeping them so that people could exchange Merits for them.

Sadly, they didnʼt have the time to purchase this many Energy Stones in such a short time.

When everyone received their Energy Stones, they started absorbing them.

The first part of the plan was for everyone to become Spirit Lords. Whenever a Sage became a Spirit Lord, there would be quite a big commotion, which would be bad for the next steps of the plan. It was better to advance now, even though several members still had a couple of centuries of longevity left.
As Kyle absorbed the Energy Stones, he felt his mind shaking. There was no more Refinement he could undertake, and the additional Energy turned his mind unstable. This was a warning from the world, telling him that he was about to advance into the next Realm.

Kyleʼs mind became more and more unstable, and he felt like his head was about to explode.

And then, he felt like a wall had broken inside of his mind.

A tumultuous storm of Energy appeared around him, which turned even more intense as the others also broke through.

The Energy in a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers shot towards them, entering their minds.

Kyle felt the world around him slowing down as his thinking speed and perception shot through the roof.

Inside his body, changes took place. His feeling of self seemed to shift. A Mortal usually viewed themselves as the person they saw in the mirror, but it was different for powerful Seekers.

Due to how clear their entire existence was to them, Seekers didnʼt just view themselves as whatever they saw in the mirror. They were more specific.

When they looked at themselves, they saw components that formed a whole. While Mortals mostly looked at their bodies, Seekers did the opposite. Their bodies were seen more as accessories, equipment, or a home.

A normal personʼs body had limited recovery. If they lost a part of their body, that part would never return. They had lost a part of themselves.

Yet, every powerful Seeker had seen their bodies destroyed beyond recognition. Whenever they lost an arm, they barely cared. A new one would be created within less than a second. Additionally, and most importantly, they technically didnʼt even need a body. As long as they had a Center, a mind, a Soul, a Core Spark, and Energy Pathways connecting them, they could survive. This made their bodies feel more like an addition.

And right now, Kyleʼs sense of self was shifting again. As more Energy entered his mind, he felt like his true self was being displaced. Earlier, he had seen himself as his mind, but now, it was no longer so easy.

He felt like he could feel something even deeper. He felt like he also existed in some sort of different dimension.

ʼMy Soul,ʼ Kyle thought. ʼI could never find the place where my Soul is, but now, I feel like I can feel my Soul. I still donʼt know where it is, but I can feel its existence.ʼ

Kyle felt like this new feeling of self was more important and accurate than his old feeling. Yet, his mind didnʼt become irrelevant. He still saw himself in his mind as well, but now, there was this addition, which seemed just as, if not more, important.

At that moment, Kyle got a suspicion.

ʼMy Clusters and my Center vanished when I reached the Legendary Realm, but my brain stayed the same when I became a Legendary Sage. Right now, my mind feels illusory. I can still feel it, but I feel like I can only sense half of it. The other part seems to be somewhere else.ʼ

ʼWhat if my mind canʼt just vanish like the other two Aspects? Or, more accurately, what if it can, but I havenʼt fully refined it yet? What if my Soul is just another part of my mind?ʼ

ʼIf I also manage to become a Legendary Spirit Lord, will my Soul turn as illusory as my mind, and if thatʼs so, can I combine them? I mean, theyʼre already one thing, but what if they can actually combine?ʼ

ʼIs there truly no special reward for reaching the Legendary Realm for all four Aspects?ʼ

ʼIʼm sure thereʼs some kind of sense or logic behind all of this.ʼ

As Kyle mused about his new sense of self, the storm of Energy stopped flowing into his mind. Since he had been a Legendary Sage, his mind would stay far more advanced than the minds of normal Spirit Lords. This was the advancement bonus.

That was also the reason why so much Energy had flowed into his mind. His mind needed to retain its advantage, which was why it had absorbed so much.

The storm of Energy changed its target and flowed into Kyleʼs Center, also called Core. Yet, the storm of Energy only gave Kyleʼs Center a bit of Energy before focusing on his body.

Advancement bonuses only remained for one Realm. Since Kyle had been a Legendary Crusher before, he had had access to far more Energy than almost all other Crushers. That advantage would vanish now. The volume and density of his Core were just slightly increased, putting him on the same level as every other Spirit Lord.

The storm of Energy flowed into Kyleʼs body for a longer time, increasing his physical power considerably. During this advancement, Kyleʼs Center was his only Aspect that didnʼt get a great boost.

After going through his body, the storm of Energy focused on Kyleʼs Soul.

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