What the hell did [Your heart already knows] mean?

Literally, it meant that he already knew what the cores were going to give him.

But did he?

Tatehan looked down at the two cores in his hands. The amber one glowed with warm, steady light. The red one glowed faintly, like embers in a dying fire.

His mind raced.

If he absorbed them separately, he'd get durability from one and strength from the other. Both useful and effective. Straightforward upgrades to things he already understood.

But merging them?

The system said it would grant a new ability.

Tatehan squinted, his brow furrowing as he thought it through.

What would merging durability and strength give him?

An ability that combined both? Something that made him tougher and hit harder at the same time?

Or maybe some really dope weapon? No, that couldn't be it. The system didn't just conjure weapons from thin air. It had to be something else.

The only reasonable explanation was an ability. Something entirely new. Something he didn't have yet.

But what kind of ability?

He thought about the cores' properties. Durability. Stamina. Physical strength. Raw power.

What happened when you combined those things?

His mind turned over possibilities, each one more speculative than the last.

Maybe... resilience under pressure? The ability to keep fighting no matter how much damage he took?

Or maybe... explosive power? Something that let him channel all his physical strength into a single devastating strike, like a bomb going off in his fist?

Or perhaps... adaptive combat? An ability that made him stronger the longer a fight went on, his body toughening and his strikes hitting harder with each exchange?

The abilities he hoped for were weird, he realized. Not the kind of things you'd see in a comic book or a blockbuster movie.

But he couldn't be blamed for that.

When he'd first arrived on Mars and received the system, he'd expected normal abilities. The classics: flight, super strength, laser vision. The kind of powers every kid dreamed about.

But that's not what he'd gotten.

Instead, he'd been given gravity manipulation. Partial regeneration. Kinetic absorption. Heightened perception. Enhanced durability… all this uncommon abilities.

None of them were flashy. None of them screamed "superhero." They were tactical and subtle. The kind of abilities that required thought and strategy to use effectively.

And now, after months of surviving on this planet, after fighting monsters and warlords and learning how his system actually worked, Tatehan didn't expect the usual powers anymore.

He expected weird ones.

Lesser-known abilities. The kind that didn't have obvious applications at first glance but became devastatingly effective in the right hands.

So whatever this merged core gave him, it probably wouldn't be something simple.

It would be something he'd have to figure out how to use.

Tatehan stared at the notification, his heart pounding slightly.

[Would you like to merge these cores?]

[Yes] / [No]

He hesitated.

This was a gamble. A complete shot in the dark. He didn't know what he'd get. The system wasn't giving him specifics. Just a some vague promise: merge them, get something new.

But his gut was telling him something.

[Your heart already knows.]

Maybe the system was right. Maybe, on some instinctive level, he did know what this would give him. Maybe his subconscious had already figured it out, even if his conscious mind hadn't caught up yet.

He could bet his left eye it was a new ability.

Tatehan took a deep breath.

Then he selected [Yes].

The moment he made the choice, the two cores began to react.

The amber core in his left hand flared brightly, its warm glow intensifying until it was almost blinding. The red core in his right hand glowed really brightly, its ember-like light deepening into a crimson fire.

And then they started to move.

Not physically though, they were still in his hands. But Tatehan could feel them shifting, their energies reaching out toward each other like magnets being drawn together.

The amber light and the red light began to swirl, spiraling around each other in the space between his palms. Faster and faster, the two colors blending, merging… becoming something else entirely.

Tatehan's breath caught as the light grew brighter, the energy crackling in the air around him.

And then—

BOOM.

A pulse of force erupted from his hands, washing over him in a wave of heat and pressure. He staggered slightly but kept his grip on the cores.

When the light faded, there was only one core left.

It hovered between his palms, suspended in the air for a moment before settling gently into his hands.

The new core was a fusion of both. Its surface shimmered with shifting hues: amber and red swirling together like some really cool molten glass, never settling into one color or the other. It glowed with power and looked like it could be the source of heat in winter.

Tatehan stared at it, mesmerized.

A notification appeared.

[Fused Core Created]

[Behemoth Fusion Core (Amber-Red)]

[Type: Ability Core]

[Grade: Epic]

[Would you like to absorb this core?]

[Yes] / [No]

Tatehan didn't hesitate this time.

He selected [Yes].

The core dissolved instantly.

It didn't crack or shatter. It simply melted, its energy flowing into Tatehan's hands like liquid light. The warmth spread up his arms, into his chest, through his entire body.

He gasped as the sensation intensified, not painful, but overwhelming.

And then the notifications began:

[Absorbing Fused Core...]

[Integration Complete.]

[ABILITY UNLOCKED]

[Phase Shift - Level 1]

[Type: Defensive / Evasion]

[Description: Allows the user to temporarily shift one body part out of phase with physical reality, rendering it intangible and immune to physical attacks for a brief duration.]

[Current Parameters:]

Duration: 1.5 seconds

Cooldown: 180 seconds (3 minutes)

Range: Single body part (torso, head, arm, leg, etc.)

Energy Cost: Moderate

[Tactical Applications:]

Avoid fatal strikes to vital organs

Pass limbs through solid barriers

Escape restraints or grapples

Phase weapon through enemy defenses momentarily

[Limitations:]

Only ONE body part can be phased at a time

Phased body part cannot interact with physical objects while intangible

User cannot phase while wearing armor over that body part (armor must be retracted/removed first)

Extended use causes severe disorientation and nausea

Does NOT protect against energy-based attacks (plasma, electricity, etc.)

[Warning: Improper use may result in partial materialization inside solid objects, causing severe injury or death. Use with caution.]

[Upgrades Available at Higher Levels:]

Level 5: Increase duration to 5 seconds

Level 10: Reduce cooldown to 90 seconds

Level 15: Phase multiple body parts simultaneously

Level 20: Full-body phase for 1 second

[Note: This ability was acquired through fused Behemoth cores.]

Tatehan stood frozen, staring at the wall of text in his vision.

Phase Shift…

Intangibility…

He could make parts of his body untouchable…

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