This new Core followed on from a long string of realizations. Jake once believed that one Aether Core would suffice, and in theory it did. Only he came to realize that Aether was not a very readily available energy.
After more than a year of cultivating his Aether Core, it now contained enough Aether to blow up a small city, but this nearly limitless energy could not be mobilized as easily as in the early days.
Just like a black hole that swallowed more and more matter without spitting it out, his Aether Core continued to grow in density, accumulating more and more Aether, but it was trapped inside. The only Aether really available was the Aether contained in the Aether Core's accretion disk, which grew along with the Aether Core itself and reflected its pull on the surrounding Aether.