Hikel was correct in his assumption that the power Jim harnessed came from the crystals.
What Jim was attempting was a feat that perhaps only the greatest of minds, such as Richard, Vincent, and Logan, could achieve. However, none of them possessed the same level of madness or obsession that drove Jim relentlessly towards his goals.
With Jim's original body dead, his current body was nothing more than a clone. As a result, his original power and abilities had been lost. In order to maintain his body's functionality, he required nest crystals.
These enigmatic crystals had little to no research conducted on them. Intrigued by their mystery, Jim was able to obtain a number of them, thanks in large part to the Marpo Cruise.
