The path was Adam's unique ability, whose origin was not fully known even to him.
Sure, he realized that it had always been part of his first order. His first and to some extent his primary ability. Its source of power was not at the very center of the Evolution Tree like the Initial Gene, for a long time it had been one of the two branches that had recently become one.
But only the needle had always stayed with him on his journey. Most abilities were gone or changed beyond recognition, but his needle, though it changed shape, always remained a needle.
The path was part of him.
With each of his fights, with each step on the ladder of evolution, Adam understood better and better how to control and summon the path.
Thus, he reached his current peak of power - the Branch Order.
His second needle, lying in his left hand, could summon a smaller and weakened version of the path at will. This power was enough to defeat Heret and the Light Guardians in a single move.
