Ethan could feel it clearly now. His physical body had crossed into entirely new territory. The strength coursing through him no longer felt like borrowed force or a temporary surge but something settled and real, as if his bones themselves had been reforged. This trial had given him more than any battlefield or narrow escape ever had.
Over time he had accumulated ability after ability, each powerful in its own right, yet he had always been scattered, spreading his focus thin, never pushing a single one to its limit. He had relied on versatility, improvisation, instinct. Now, for the first time, it felt as though everything was converging. His body had reached unprecedented heights, and that realization sharpened his desire for the final reward to something almost greedy.
