The soul combination of all beasts resulted in a towering beast reaching 10 meters. Its unnatural form represented an ape, and its hind legs were replaced by a pitch-black serpent's tail, taking 4 meters of its total height. The upper body had a well-defined grey chest adorned with six massive abs, and two dark muscular arms ending with wolf paws that had 5 sharp fingernails representing sharp claws.
A bone-like material covered the beast's back, with tiny spikes poking out like armor designed for it, and black fur covered the majority of its frontal upper body. The beast had an ape's head, representing the strongest creature Clifford fought. Influenced by the core, the beast slithered, marching toward Clifford to fulfill its purpose.
The beast's roar carried a hint of threat directed at Clifford, who was totally unfazed by it. Despite its massive frame, the beast had one major flaw: its incredibly slow movement speed, which it probably failed to notice. It had been more than 30 minutes since the beast started marching toward him, yet it was not even halfway.
Excitement caused Clifford to take the initiative. Walking forward, his speed gradually increased as he charged at the colossal creature in an attempt to confront it head-on. Sizes no longer meant anything to him after his fight with the cultivator. Once close enough to the beast, Clifford bent his knees and then burst upward, leaving a pit behind and aiming for the beast's abs.
Clifford prepared himself by straightening his left hand the moment he came close to the beast's stomach. The beast's reaction speed matched its movement speed, resulting in Clifford's success. With a strong thrust, Clifford pierced the beast's flesh with his left arm, attaching himself to it.
Wary of the beast's reaction, he didn't waste any time as he used his right hand to rip a large chunk of meat before freeing his left arm. Using his left hand, Clifford lifted himself with a rough motion, sending himself flying high toward the beast's head, only to be caught mid-air and then sent flying into the distance by the beast, which didn't seem to care about its injuries at all.
Clifford's body crashed against the solid ground, creating a deep pit with his body shape engraved into it as he lay flat. Surprisingly, no pain assaulted him, as he wasn't seemingly affected much by the impact. This caused him to remember his fights against the beasts earlier; apparently, tearing stuff apart was the only thing that worked in this place.
This gave him a new insight. Since the beasts couldn't resist him at all, he failed to realize that maybe any attacks that didn't cause severe cuts would most likely fail. This led him to understand that what he tore were souls or soul fragments. Only some of the beasts he devoured existed here, and once he tore their souls apart, they turned into smoke and ended up becoming this liquid submerging everything in this place.
"Absorbing the red fog empowered me, but what about this?" Clifford's thoughts raced. Soon, his intent became reality as a small vortex with him at the center, slowly sucking in the liquid surrounding him into his soul form unconsciously. The vortex started slowly transforming into a whirlwind as the liquid's surface level began decreasing noticeably.
Clifford's action surprised the Devil's Core, finally earning its full approval as the ground started shaking like an earthquake. Shortly, a rumbling noise brought Clifford's attention back to the beast. Thunder and lightning rumbled in the distance as one black bolt after another struck the beast, slowly tearing it apart and reducing it to dust that slowly evaporated, followed by a wisp descending from the sky, coming closer and closer to him.
The Devil's Core, in its consensus form, resembled a small flame, reaching the size of a baby's fist, with purple-colored eye sockets marking its features and distinguishing it from its crimson body.
Desire more, consume more... The entity's thoughts reached Clifford, feeling both unnatural and familiar at the same time as they matched his voice. The voice came directly from inside him, making him feel at ease. The voice continued encouraging him to keep doing what he was currently doing.
Shatter these limits and keep marching forward but never lose yourself... The Core's conveyed thoughts were surprisingly understood, and its advice seemed clear: 'Let go of what you are, discard your humanity, and march forward until you become what you are meant to be, but... don't forget who you are, and never lose yourself to what you consume.'
Never settle for less, always strive for power… The Core's words drowned Clifford in motivation, causing his whirlwind speed to spike higher as dark tendrils slowly began to grow from Clifford's soul form. Surprised, Clifford found the tendrils feeling natural as they continued to grow larger until they finally reached the ground below him.
Never let go of what's yours and never back down… The tendrils slowly dug deep into the ground, lifting Clifford's body a little higher, and then his limbs started moving on their own, seemingly warping around him as his soul form began taking on the form of a fetus, as sleep began to assail him.
Sleep, and when you wake up you will be reborn a new… These words seemingly assured him of a bright future as he allowed his consciousness to drift, slowly falling asleep. Then, a grey material slowly spread from his stomach, creating a thin barrier around him. The barrier continued expanding until it fully covered him entirely.
The barrier's shape continued to enlarge and change as it slowly transformed into an oval shape. Soon, another black layer started growing on top of it, expanding on its own until it completely took the form of an egg. Finally, using the tendrils, the egg supported itself, preventing any movement from occurring.