Loren stood amid the embryo's remains, a dark crimson orb clutched in his right hand.
The orb pulsed in his palm like a still-beating heart.
He could feel the energy contained within it. It was the energy the embryo had absorbed from Earth's core over millions of years, all the nourishment it had prepared for its own hatching.
If released, that energy would have been enough to erase every living thing on the planet's surface from the universe.
Loren clenched his fist, and silver-white energy poured from his palm, enveloping the dark crimson orb.
The orb was compressed beneath his grip, transformed, and devoured.
The dark crimson glow struggled, twisted, and screamed within the silver-white energy. Then, at last, it fell silent.
The orb vanished.
All its energy was absorbed into Loren's body.
In that instant, his body flared brightly. Silver-white radiance surged from beneath his skin, illuminating Earth's core as brightly as day.
His hair drifted in the energy field, changing from silver-white to an almost translucent white. Every strand seemed woven from light.
His power was growing—not slowly, but in leaps.
His strength was advancing toward a broader realm.
Loren clenched his fist, then released it.
The silver-white glow faded from his eyes, returning them to normal.
His hair changed from translucent back to silver-white, and his body returned to normal.
He turned to look at Tina.
Tina stood behind him, her amber eyes wide and her mouth slightly open, her expression blank somewhere between shock and awe.
In her millions of years of life, she had seen countless powerful beings.
But she had never seen anyone kill a thirty-kilometer Celestial embryo as easily as slaughtering a chicken.
"You... devoured its energy?"
"Yes. Such a fine supplement naturally couldn't be wasted!" Loren said with a nod.
He turned