The solution to Karl's issues came in the form of one tarnished Golden Dragon Scale. Not the image of it in his mental space, but the actual treasure that Hawk had looted.
Karl took it out and held it in his hand as he meditated, then watched as the depleted scale began to rapidly absorb both soul energy and life force at a rate that dwarfed anything Karl could manage.
The way that it managed it was simple, the same way that Karl had been attempting to integrate the energy with himself. But the rate was so far beyond what he could manage that it was almost embarrassing.
However, Karl didn't just give all the stored energy to the scale, which was rapidly regaining its lustre. He still wanted as much as he could absorb for himself, as the combination of soul and life energy caused his own power level to skyrocket.
If he had a few months to simply sit and work on it, Karl was certain that he could force himself to the Totem Rank just with what he already had.
