Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

”Where are you going?! Uhtred!” a girl screamed at the top of her lungs, watching as the young man whose face she’d been sucking on just seconds ago jumped into his pickup truck and sped away like there was no tomorrow.

The young man in question, Uhtred, heard her shrill cry but couldn’t be bothered to stop. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, but in truth, they’d only just met days ago. She was a senior who majored in performing arts... or was it music? He didn’t remember. And frankly, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

Right now there was something more pressing.

Uhtred leaned forward and looked up through the windshield, tracking the falling asteroid that had grabbed his attention.

Yes. He left the girl for a freaking asteroid.

He pressed down on the pedal, uncaring of the violent vibrations rattling his truck as he sped across the open plains. He and the girl had been out here watching the stars, far from the city, when mid-action, Uhtred spotted a shooting star.

Usually, that wasn’t enough to make him bat an eye, especially not when he was so”breathlessly occupied”with a girl that was really hot.

But then, out of nowhere, he saw the shooting star do a U-turn in the sky, curving in a wide arc from its original trajectory and heading straight towards their direction instead.

Him speeding across the open plains now was his response to such an uncanny phenomenon.

It’s gonna crash, he thought as he watched the ball of fire touch ground, skimming across the plains a few miles right ahead of him.

Within minutes, his car screeched to a stop a safe distance away from the smoking crater. Cautiously, Uhtred stepped out and treaded over to the edge, his heart pounding in his chest from curiosity and excitement.

Hesitantly, he peered over the edge of the crater, and his face was immediately hit with a heavy waft of steaming hot air and the smell of sulfur.

He reared back instantly, coughing in a fit as he quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it over his nose.

What the hell am I even doing?

I’m out here in the wilderness staring down a crater where who-knows-what could crawl out of...

This is how those curious suckers die in horror movies.

Uhtred saw the irony of his situation. He was doing exactly what he was internally criticizing. Something that went against his usually cautious nature.

Yet he didn’t know exactly why he was doing it.

Just as he was lampooning internally, a sharp hiss like the sound of an opening mechanism came from the crater, snapping him out of his thoughts.

What was that?!

He had barely jolted to attention when he felt a sudden burning sensation on his chest. Within seconds, the burning sensation became unbearable and he frantically reached for what he thought was the source.

His necklace. Or more specifically, the pendant he wore around his neck.

It was an heirloom left by a father he never knew. One that his mother had repeatedly told him to keep safe right before she died.

Right now that pendant was glowing with a rapidly increasing intensity. And even more, it was now floating in the air. On its own. Without any external interference whatsoever.

Is this for real...?

Uhtred could only stare in silent shock, and a gradual feeling of anticipation that his world was about to be turned upside down bubbled up within him.

He watched as the pendant floated over to the edge of the crater. And from the crater, something else floated forward. A very small, obsidian black orb that seemed to swallow the light the pendant was emitting. It was like watching two opposing forces draw close to each other slowly.

Then finally, with a bright flash, the two merged together and their vibrations stilled.

Uhtred waited, his heart thumping against his chest rapidly.

What now...? Nothing’s happening...

Should I grab it?

Should I take it?

I mean... it’s right there, isn’t it?

Uhtred had never felt such an intense urge to take something in his life. It was like he was a dying man craving water and that small, floating orb was the only source in the entire world.

Without hesitation, he reached for it—

But before he could even move, a cold, mechanical voice sounded in his head and a window popped up in his view. His surroundings turned dark, as if he had entered into some sort of void, though he could still feel his feet planted on solid ground.

[System protocol initiated]

[Universal synchronization in progress...]

Huh? What the hell is this?

[Synchronization complete]

[Inhabitants of planet {Earth}, congratulations. Your universe has reached the required threshold to be integrated into the Grand Multiverse]

[Integration process will begin shortly. Please hold while your planet is being graded]

[Grading Planet {Earth}...]

A system? Integration?

The words made sense to Uhtred, he very clearly understood what had just been said, but his brain was reflexively trying to come up with some alternative explanation for what was happening.

Just seconds ago, a curve ball asteroid had crashed right before his eyes, followed by the freakiest, inexplicable phenomenon he’d ever seen in his life. And now this? Out of nowhere?

What the hell is even going on? he thought just as the System continued:

[Grading complete]

[Planetary mass insufficient to reliably hold cosmic essence. Planetary-wide restructuring is required]

[Current {Earth} Fauna and Flora evolution, paused]

[Prehistoric biological record reconstruction, paused]

What the fuck? Prehistoric biological record reconstruction?

Uhtred didn’t even care much about the fauna and flora evolution part. In this absurd situation, that seemed par for the course. But prehistoric biological reconstruction?

Does this System thing intend to bring back dinosaurs and all the other extinct creatures?

Yet the System wasn’t done.

[Proceeding with integration while planetary-wide restructuring commences]

Uhtred suddenly felt a weird sensation begin to take over him, like he was about to be suctioned off to somewhere far away.

Without thinking, he quickly stretched his hand forward and grabbed tightly where he remembered the floating orb to be.

To his pleasant surprise, he actually felt his hand close on the orb. It was still there even though he couldn’t see it.

But in the blink of an eye, his initial delight disappeared. Just as his skin made contact with the orb, an intense pain flooded through his body. It felt like someone had shoved a red-hot iron rod into his palm. The heat raced up his arm and straight into his chest, making his vision go blurry.

[System Error! Subject integration interrupted!]

[Analyzing error...]

The screen in front of him flickered violently. Through the haze of the pain flooding up his veins and reaching to somewhere in his chest, Uhtred could’ve sworn he caught glimpses of the expanse of land before him dismantling and unraveling.

Huge chunks of earth floated in the air and the whole terrain had turned to a boiling, apocalyptic sea of lava.

His vision flickered between that and the black space he was in, making him feel like he was being pulled in two different directions at once. It was a weird, sickening sensation that threatened to make him unconscious, until finally, it all ceased abruptly.

The pain and the weird sensation stopped, and he found himself in a sterile white space.

A new window appeared, glowing a soft blue:

[...Error source not found]

[Error naturally rectified]

[Resuming Integration process]

[Initiating creation of subject’s Cosmic Essence Core...]

[Please select a class while your core is being created]

Underneath the message, a massive list of options started scrolling past.

[Available Options: 10,000+]

[Warning: This choice is permanent. Once chosen, your core will filter all other forms of cosmic essence to fit your chosen path]

[Choose wisely]