Unbound Power

With his core unlocked, a new sense of potential surged through Kurt. He felt a connection to the Astra weapons that had been absent before, a raw, untamed power thrumming within his very being. He had to test it. He had to see what he could do.

He left the city, seeking a place far from any settlements, a place where he could experiment without risking harm to others. He found a vast, open plain, miles of empty land stretching towards the horizon. It was desolate and windswept, the perfect place for his first attempt at wielding true Astra power.

He stood in the center of the plain, the wind whipping around him, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He closed his eyes, focusing his will, channeling the energy that now flowed freely within him. He summoned the energy spear, the same weapon he had conjured countless times before, but this time, it felt different. It pulsed with a ferocious energy, a power that threatened to overwhelm him.

He opened his eyes, staring at the spear, his hand trembling slightly as he grasped it. He took a deep breath, trying to control the raw force that coursed through him. He remembered the noble hunter, the casual ease with which he had aimed and fired. Kurt tried to mimic his movements, raising the spear, focusing his intent on a distant, rocky outcrop.

He aimed. He willed the spear forward, channeling all his newfound power into a single, desperate thrust.

What happened next was beyond anything he could have imagined.

The spear didn't simply fly. It exploded.

A blinding flash of light erupted from the weapon, followed by a deafening roar that shook the very earth. The ground beneath him buckled and cracked, sending tremors that spread outwards like the ripples in a pond. The air itself seemed to tear apart, unleashing a shockwave that slammed into him with the force of a physical blow.

Kurt was thrown backwards, his body tumbling through the air, his ears ringing, his vision filled with a chaotic mix of dust and light. He landed hard, the impact jarring every bone in his small body. He lay there for a moment, stunned and disoriented, struggling to comprehend the sheer scale of what he had unleashed.

When he finally managed to sit up, he stared in horror at the devastation before him. The once-empty plain was gone, replaced by a scene of utter destruction. The rocky outcrop he had aimed at was completely obliterated, reduced to dust and scattered fragments. The ground was scarred and barren, a vast crater stretching out in a twelve-kilometer radius. The earth was cracked and rent, the landscape transformed into a desolate wasteland.

A thick cloud of dust hung in the air, choking and suffocating. The air was heavy with the smell of ozone and burning earth. The silence that followed the initial roar was almost more terrifying, a silence that spoke of utter annihilation.

Kurt stared at the wasteland, his small body trembling, his mind reeling.

"What… what have I done?" he whispered, his voice barely audible above the ringing in his ears.

He remembered the noble hunter, the casual precision with which he had targeted the deer. A single, controlled strike. Nothing more.

"Why… why did it do this?" he cried out, his voice filled with despair. "Why did it unleash such destruction for me, but not for him?"

The answer, he knew, was not simple. He had tapped into the raw, untamed power of the Astra, a power that was far beyond his control. He had summoned a god's weapon, but he had wielded it like a child playing with a fire, with no understanding of its true nature.

He had made a grave mistake, a mistake that had scarred the land and left him with a terrifying glimpse of the power he now possessed. And he knew, with a chilling certainty, that this was just the beginning.