The Boundless Origin Martial Soul pulsed inside Ash's mindscape.
It beat with a slow, deep heartbeat that echoed through his bones. The swirling nebula of primordial light drank in the cosmic energy with an insatiable, bottomless hunger.
More, his soul seemed to whisper. Give me more.
And the pillar obliged.
The hum in the hall deepened into a deafening, resonant vibration. The air around the platform distorted with heat and pressure. Fine cracks of pure white light raced across the pillar's surface. For several long seconds, the massive crystal monolith shook violently, groaning as if it might shatter under the strain of the energy it was channeling.
Students and teachers alike stared in stunned, breathless silence. The examiners dropped their datapads. Some students took instinctive steps backward. A few covered their ears as the vibration rattled their bones.
On the elevated observation platform, the principal and the academy's higher-ups stood frozen.
