Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (21 page)

Connor
held a hand up for him to stop. “The last time we were on that subject we were in the
old painted
history
temple.
Before we made a mistake
that
almost got everyone killed
,
you told me about Metal’s other ability. You told me that it uses the most amount of energy compared to every
other manipulated
element. You also said there isn’t much need to use it often
,
because of the drain.
”

Sorono smiled and gave him
a simple nod.
“That I did, indeed. There isn’t much use for it in day to day living, but sometimes there will be a
great
need. Like me, you never leave anything half fin
ished. Right now that is where
Tool is. It is an incomplete project. Despite its new dimensions
,
it is still weak.”
His larg
e hazel eyes glanced at it gripped in his
sibling’s
left hand.
“How about you see the proof of my words for yourself. Bend the handle with only your
natural
physical strength.”

His
brow drew together, but
Connor complied. He
gra
sped the end of the handle on his
right hand and
his
left grasp
ed
the head.
His
muscles flexed
at half their true strength
just as
h
e
put
tension
to the task. With
only
raw and pure physical strength
,
the handle shrieked
in agony
as it bent
like a boomerang. A
nd the
physical exertion
felt
effortless.
Connor
could bend steel with
his
own strength better than a mechanical compressor.

“Now you understand the problem.”

“That I do.” Before
anything else was said or done Connor
used
more
power over Metal to fix the handle
, returning it
into a perfect
ly straight
weapon once again. His
eyes then returned to Sorono’s. “Alright, what must be done?”

Sorono
smiled knowingly.
“The next level is as simple as a thought, but you must have the strength for it
to follow through
. What you must do is look at the metal that you want to manip
ulate and imagine it turning pure
black. And if you know your draining energy too fast, cut the energy transfer
immediately
. You will be able to do this on your own, but if you need my assistance
,
I’ll be right here.”

Connor
nodded and steadied
him
self
for a few minutes
.
Sorono’s words told him
how difficult
the attempt would be and he
took
those
words seriously.
After a few breaths
Connor
brought
Tool into
his
field of vision. Without
blinking or looking away from the
target
,
he
focused
his
mind.
His
mind’s
eye saw the reflective metal c
hanging from a silver shine to
pure black.
Black as the darkest
of
nights. Black as a murder
er’
s heart
. Then his
instinct followed through and the effects of the energy consumption were immediately evident.

The energy being used
i
s unlike anything
he’s
ever felt before. It was like using every element and every advancement to those elements simultaneously. It was a torrent of power being drained from
the core of
his body. Connor
quickly judged that it
consumed
about half of a percent of his
energy
,
every second.
None of
the
elements come close to draining
him
on such a level.
This
really
is a dangerous element
manipulation
for the user.

Unlike how Metal is normally is done by floating and heating up, its advancement remains cool to the touch. That being said
,
Connor
remained holding Tool in
his
left hand.
He
could see
his
hand
burning bright with energy and he
suspected that the rest of
him
was also
as
bright.

Tool
then
began to brighten into a pure white light that had become unbearable to stare at. Even after averting
his
eyes the cabin become brighter than outside
sunlight
.
Connor
had no choice but to squeeze
his
eyes shut
or risk temporary blindness
.

Sixty seconds after starting this element, it was finished.

The consumption of
energy stopped on its own, like turning off a light switch
by a timer
. At the same time
that
the
energy
ceased
,
so too did the light that consumed all
the cabins
shadows. Unfortunately the brightness took its toll and it was impossible to see
for over a minute. During that time
Connor was only able to hear his
heavy breathing. This single attempt burned just about thirty percent of
his
total
stored energy. When
he
managed to see Sorono’s outline, he was rubbing his eyes
too
. It seems like
they
were both temporarily blinded.

Five
minutes later things were more visible and
Connor’s
breathing evened out.

In
his
hand
rested
the
true and
ultimate form of
Tool. It was now the purest black and it was
lustrous
. It looked to have been expertly polished, but nothing manmade could ever reach such a perfected
gleam
.
Tool
became
more beautiful than it has ever been
before
. Not only was it
Connor’s
second favorite color, but it now f
inally felt complete. In a way
Tool radiat
ed
its own joy.
It now looked like the ultimate weapon that was
always
destined to be
his
defending
partner. It looked both dangerous and powerful. It was finally ready to serve without being a hindrance.
It was almost smiling back at its owner
.

Connor’s
attention was brought back when Sorono began speaking.
“That was a superb demonstration of Metal’s final usage. N
ow, little brother,
t
ry your best to bend it like you did before.”
Connor
looked up and he was grinning.

This time when he
tried
,
something was different.
Even at full strength the metal didn’t even fluctuate the tiniest of degrees.
It originally bent easily at half strength
,
but now…

“Now it is unbreakable.”
Sorono said
,
finishing
Connor’s
thought
.
He
quit trying and looked up at him again.
“Yes, from now on, nothing can harm, scratch or ever dull your completed weapon. You used your pure energy to make the metal denser and as such, from now on only the ascended Metal form can alter the metal’s structure. It will only
and forever
consume the energy of normal Metal manipulation
as it is
, but
now
the only way
it will ever change
shape
is
if
someone extremely powerful
could
do it. But unlike normal manipulation,
the second level will only ever require the same amount of energy.

“Normally with elemental manipulation, you must put more energy into using a larger quantity of that
specific
element. For instance, using Terra on a small stone requires less effort to lift it off the ground
,
rather than lifting a boulder that weights ten tons.”
Connor
nodded in understanding of
the
analogy.
“Well it is different for metal that has been altered through energy. It consumes the same amount of energy to modify a metal coin just as it does with a ten ton cube of
the
altered metal.
F
rom now on
, if you need to alter
Tool’s shape you will need to expend the same amount of energy that you did five minutes ago.
”
He now sat a little straighter.
“Now that you have experienced it for yourself, you can see why I said it isn’t very useful, especially in a combat environment. You would wind up using too much energy if it was a drawn out battle.”
Then Sorono
gave
him
a half smile.
“What can also you feel from your new weapon that
i
s different from its previous form of silver steel?”

Connor
withdrew
his
stare and put it on
the
newfound
weapon.
He
brushed
his
fingertips across it and it
felt
perfectly smooth, but that wasn’t what he was talking about… then it hit
him
. “
Despite its new size it didn’t shrink to make the metal denser, but it
’
s also much lighter than it should be. It weighs just as much as it orig
inally weighed before blending
Tool with the cube.
Two pounds at most…
”
He
looked into Sorono’s eyes with a confused expression. “How could that be possible? If something becomes
denser
it must be pressed into a smaller size and its weight should always remain the same.”

“Indeed, it
should
;
if you
look at it by a scientific
or logical
standpoint. You see
,
this is what always happens when metal absorbs that much energy. We don’t have any idea as to why or what process it takes to alter its structure, but there are some guesses. Maybe the energy was so overwhelming that we’ve created a new element or maybe its weight was converted into
making
the unbreakable density, but th
ose
are just
random
guesses. Even under an electron microscope, it just looks like colored steel. And every analysis that has been done says it is only steel. But one thing is absolutely certain,”
he pointed
a claw
to
Tool
“that metal is the strongest on the planet.”
He then withdrew his claw.
“
You remember that my older brother
,
that died by poison
,
raised me.”
Sorono knew that
Connor
did.
“Well he gave that metal a new name and the English translation is Dark Steel. It is an apt description is it not?”

They
smiled at each other and then
Connor
studied
his
improved weapon
for a half hour
. It
felt
good to know that
Tool isn’t heavier because the added weight would pull
his
pants down continually
if it hung from
a
hip
.