Formless Ascension: My Affinity Is Limitless

For a long moment, nobody moved. The tension in the air was thick enough to feel. Uhtred stood his ground, his eyes moving between Krijn’s massive frame and the smaller female variant standing right behind him.

Zara, at the side, looked relaxed in her cultivation posture, but already, her core was ready to flare at a split second’s notice.

”Uhtred,” Krijn said, his voice a low, heavy rumble.

”Krijn,” Uhtred replied simply. He didn’t ask how the two generals had found them.

The Neanderthal general nodded, then briefly glanced at Zara, whom he had battled with just days ago.

Zara looked as cold as usual, not a flicker of change to her expression.

”You’ve seen the notices from the System,” Krijn asked, looking back at Uhtred.

”I have.”

”Then you know what we’re facing in the third zone,” Krijn said, stepping slightly closer. ”The System is forcing our hands. If we want to survive this, we need to know what we are working with.” He paused, his dark eyes fixing on Uhtred. ”What did you modern humans get from your Inheritance Shard?”

He asked it casually, as if it were the most natural question in the world. His logic was obvious: if both sides laid all their cards on the table, the joint effort against the Otherworlders would be stronger.

Uhtred didn’t even consider it. First of all, was this even the way to open a conversation? Asking something as personal as this?

”The shard is ours,” Uhtred said flatly. ”It’s contents and whatever we decide to do with it is up to us.”

Zara didn’t say a word, but her cold gaze settled on Krijn, backing Uhtred’s words completely. The Inheritance Shard was a human advantage won through the second trial. They had zero intention of handing its contents over to the ancient variants, no matter what cooperative framework the System was forcing on them.

Krijn grunted, but he didn’t press the matter. He was smart enough to recognize a dead end when he hit one.

Throughout the entire exchange, the female ancient variant general hadn’t uttered a single sound. She stood behind Krijn like a shadow, her dark eyes fixed on Uhtred. Uhtred’s gaze flicked over to her repeatedly while Krijn was speaking, until he finally stopped engaging the Neanderthal altogether.

”You were the one who came into my tent,” Uhtred said, facing her directly. ”That night... You were the one who tried to kill me.”

She didn’t respond, but her silence was telling enough.

”Why did you hold back?” The question left Uhtred’s lips before he could even realize it. It was the one thing that bugged him. He wasn’t even as shaken by the assasination attempt as he was about her last second hesitation.

Why hadn’t she finished it? It surely wasn’t out of the goodness of her heart.

”What? Too afraid to speak?” Uhtred pressed, trying to catch her gaze as she remained silent.

”I speak for her,” Krijn interrupted, stepping slightly sideways to block Uhtred’s line of sight.

Uhtred ignored him entirely. He leaned to the side, keeping his eyes locked onto the female general’s face. She was now looking right back at him, though her expression was completely unreadable.

”I’m talking to you,” Uhtred pressed a second time, his voice hard.

Still, she gave him nothing.

Zara placed a hand gently on Uhtred’s forearm. The subtle touch was enough to pull him back. Uhtred took a slow breath and stood down, though the tension didn’t leave his face for a second.

In the quiet that followed, Uhtred took the opportunity to study her properly for the very first time.

He had seen her before, but only in the pitch-black darkness of his tent while paralyzed and losing consciousness. Now, in the full light of the day, he could observe every detail clearly.

She was smaller than both Krijn and the now-deceased Homo erectus general. She was smaller than him, and even Zara, but the way she carried herself suggested that physical size had never been a relevant factor in how dangerous she was.

Her face was broad with a heavy brow, and her bones were much more pronounced than a modern human’s. She had a wide bridge on her nose, a low and flat forehead, and a strong jaw that pushed slightly forward. Her entire skull looked ancient, like an early stage of human evolution.

Her skin was dark and weathered. Intricate patterns made of dried dark blood were carved into her face and neck. These symbols looked deliberate, like they were added in layers over a long period rather than all at once. Her eyes were a dark brown and held a strange quietness.

An unusual aura surrounded her. It wasn’t a standard essence emanation. It was something far subtler, It felt much subtler, like a low hum in the air right around her body that did not match the area around them. Just standing near her created a faint discomfort that Uhtred knew was her Esoteric magic at work.

He committed every single feature to memory. He knew his own knowledge of ancient human variants was basic at best. He wasn’t an expert, and the blood markings on her face made it even harder to identify her by appearance alone. Still, he saved every detail. Once he returned to the human Grotto heavens, he would describe her to someone who could actually make sense of what he saw. Dennis was the obvious choice .

”We need to set some ground rules,” Krijn said, pulling Uhtred’s attention back. ”The System forbids sabotage, but that is not foolproof. We need rules of our own.”

”Agreed,” Uhtred said, turning to face him. ”I will speak for the humans. None of my people would want you leading them.”

”Good. I lead my people as well,” Krijn replied right away.

Neither man argued with the other’s claim. The question of leadership seemed settled for now, but both knew a single overall leader would eventually be necessary. They simply chose to leave the structure as it was for the time being.

Next, they discussed how their sides would work together. In short, everything came down to two words: minimum interference.

Humans would manage human squads, and ancient variants would manage their own. When joint operations were required, Uhtred and Krijn would make decisions together. Neither side would take action that affected the other without warning, and neither side would hide tactical information that put the group in danger.

There was no warmth in the deal. It was purely business, a contract between two groups who distrusted each other but needed each other to survive the next two weeks.

”Before we push into Zone 3,” Uhtred said once the terms were set, ”I’m returning to the human positions in Zone 2. My people need to know what we are walking into.”

Krijn frowned, clearly not understanding the logic. Even though among the ancient variants he was more of an outlier and open-minded, his view of the world was still based on raw strength. To him, the strong moved ahead, and the weak followed when they were ready. Why waste time going back to share information with people weaker than him? If they were strong enough to survive Zone 3, they would find their own way there eventually.

Uhtred was about to answer, but before he could speak, the female ancient variant general gave Krijn a brief, sharp look.