"I am feeling cold… why?"
Leon was fully aware that he shouldn't feel cold without a physical body. Something changed… something changed after he messed with his memories. After investigating for a while, Leon noticed what had changed. It was small, incredibly small compared to the massive reserves of energy that he once had before, but by concentrating, Leon could feel some energy inside of him.
"I see… so that is the key to transform my memories into power, huh. When I forcefully made my memories leave my mind, those lost their properties because they spent too much time outside of me. Yet… I managed to recover something. Something that wasn't the memories…"
Leon learned plenty of things by accident in the past, but he didn't feel satisfied in learning things by chance when so many things were at risk. His memories, his future, everyone who he cherished… he never relied on luck before, and he didn't want to start relying on it right now. Still… at the very least, that made him save some time.
Regardless, Leon had energy now, but how can he use it? It was fine to start some tests when he just obtained a little bit? Should he sacrifice more memories for the same of more energy? Those questions were troubling him…
"I don't this amount will be all that useful. Considering what I'm trying to pull off, it is only natural that it isn't enough. Still… it would be helpful if I could see the numerical value of it. I am already too used to that, after all."
Leon wasn't quite good at measuring things by feeling, so he wanted to develop his own system, which doesn't rely on mana. However, Leon had a long way ahead of him before he becomes skilled enough to create it.
Without wasting any more time, Leon began to repeat that process of detaching his memories from his mind and then struggling to make them return in the form of energy. However, the more he did it, the easier that process became. It was obvious that his newfound energy was helping him on that. Also, Leon learned that the more intense the memories, the more energy he could obtain, making the whole circle much easier and convenient. Not only that, but Leon discovered one fascinating thing… he also could use the memories of his time in the void. So, he wouldn't have to sacrifice his entire self… the problem with that was: he might lose the notion of time there, and by the time he manages to revive himself, it would be already too late.
"As usual… everything on my path has its merits and demerits… Still, I'm thankful for it because it only means that I won't get ahead of myself and end up falling on some pitfalls."
Even though it was the answer he came up with, Leon was still a bit worried about the energy he was obtaining from his memories. Until he could fully understand the process, he would never be able to use it fully. However, the more energy he obtained, the more his senses sharpened until he understood how the energy was created. It was pretty simple that losing his memories would make his mind lighter by decreasing the things he could remember and diminishing the amount of spiritual energy used to keep it stored. Still, it also would sacrifice the life experience obtained in those memories. It was like mana, but the cost was higher and more complex.
Although Leon had plenty of memories that he could sacrifice without thinking too much about it, eventually, he reached a point where the only memories he had left were of the people he cared about and his goals. After sacrificing thousands of years' worth of memories, he felt that he had enough energy to face Netro again, but not to defeat the assimilation system's creation.
"Shit… to think that this would be the limit. There is also the fact that I can't recover energy without a physical form. I don't know even if I can recover energy based on my memories without sacrificing even more memories… Crap, what should I do?"
Leon was walking in a fine line. Even though he didn't sacrifice his most cherished memories, he already could tell that his determination was wavering. The feelings of hatred for the last boss and sheer determination weren't the only things that kept him moving forward. All the memories of his lives also had a pivotal role, and he had sacrificed all that.
"Can I return to life by using this amount of energy? Even if I could, the chances of me defeating that bastard are dim…"
Leon was fully aware that reviving himself at that moment would be meaningless. Now that he thought about it creating a new form of energy that was far more complex yet easier to produce would obviously have its downsides. However, he didn't give up. He still could sacrifice all his memories and leave only the wish to defeat those moments and reviver his allies, but that would be his last card. Those memories were the intense ones, so he was pretty sure that it would be enough to revive him, Ilyana, and Tyrselle. If anything, those two were more than capable of leading others.
Still, instead of using his memories, Leon began to spread his energy around his existence. He frowned when he noticed that the energy wasn't decreasing despite being used quite roughly. His memories had become a strength that would never leave him… Leon was closer and closer from getting the unlimited power that he wanted.