However, Michael noticed the difference almost immediately.
It did not feel like he was truly wielding Beginning's truth.
It felt like he was forcing it through a narrower channel, like a copy instead of the original script. The pattern was there, but the authority behind it was thinner.
Beginning's Brutal Rebirth, at its peak, could erupt into a temporary rise so violent it was almost absurd. At the edge of destruction, Beginning could increase his level by fifteen, if only for a brief window.
Michael doubted he could reach even half of that.
But even half was still terrifying.
Michael had been carrying injury after injury for too long. His body was stacked with damage, layered with fractures, torn tissue, internal strain, and soul backlash, all of it compounded. When the rebirth mechanism ignited, it pushed him upward in state.
For a moment, Michael felt himself enter a threshold he had only sensed from true Rank Three creatures.
