Apocalypse Ascension

Justin's eyes slowly opened and were met with sharp sunlight. In his groggy state he didn't notice that the sun, usually yellow, was now a deep crimson, and that the air around him was in the same state.

Rubbing crust from his eyes, memories of last night started to fill his head. And right on cue, a masculine mechanical voice sounded out in his head.

[Immersion complete…while in the state of immersion the host has come in contact with the Mist of Ascension…host's statistics have been slightly updated.]

'This voice is still in my head, sorry mom guess I'm signing off as a government dog.'

[Host, you may refer to me as Pathway…I am now bound to you and am here to assist you in every way on your road of evolution.]

'Wait, wait, wai-'

Before Justin could get those last thoughts out his gaze shifted upward, he quickly noticed something falling from above him, and it was falling fast.

[Host, Move, Now!]

Pathway shouted urgently, Justin hurriedly stood up and dashed backward out of the impact zone. Seconds later, a large obese man crashed into the ground and he clearly didn't survive the fall.

The man's corpse hit the ground with a haunting crunch, a sound that would send cold sweats down the backs of whoever heard it. A pungent smell slowly filled the area.

'Since when was I that fast…?'

Justin barely spared the corpse that fell from heaven a glance, what really stunned him was his speed. He had been staying up to date in his fitness, it was all he could do in these boring alleyways, but how he just moved—it was fast…too fast.

[That increase in speed is because of your increased statistics host, by saying status you're able to view them.]

'Ok, I'll do that in a second. And stop calling me host, drop it to Justin.'

[Affirmative, Justin.]

Justin nodded.

Although he didn't trust it, Justin slowly began to stop doubting the system's—Pathway's—existence, recognizing its presence. After all it did just save his life.

Justin walked over to the corpse, he wasn't particularly fazed—he'd seen plenty of starved bodies, human and animal alike. His heart had already been hammered by sights like these, but he noticed something wrong with the man's body.

'Why is his skin steaming…red steam at that?'

Justin thought it was just blood from afar, but after getting closer it definitely wasn't.

[Those who aren't suited for evolution, and are consumed by the Mist of Ascension all end up in this mutated state Justin. If the mutation had been successful and he hadn't perished from the fall, he may have been a formidable foe.]

Justin grimaced at the thought.

'If I hadn't moved and cushioned its fall…you know what let's not think such bad thoughts, thanks Pathway.'

[It's an honor to be of assistance to you.]

Finishing his examination Justin's eyes glided upward, looking for where the body could've came from and he quickly found it. A helicopter crash-landed on the rooftop just above where he'd been lying moments ago.

'Woah, what the hell?!'

Startled, Justin stumbled back even further. The aircraft was already ashen black—completely charred—and from the looks of it, the fire had burned out a few hours ago.

'That guy must've been in a spot the flames couldn't reach… Pathway, I wasn't the only person who abruptly fell asleep yesterday, right?'

[Correct. While you were asleep because of immersion, life on this planet—humans, animals, and insects alike—were slumbering so they could adapt to the Mist of Ascension. Some awakening the potential to evolve and others….ending up like that man you saw before.]

Justin stretched, collecting his thoughts.

'That explains the crashed helicopter…I should stop postponing this status thing-'

As he said this, a bright purple interface appeared in front of him. The letters on the screen glowed vibrantly, emitting an otherworldly aura.

==={STATUS}=== 🧬

NAME: Justin Morrow

RANK: E+

SPECIES: Human (Evolving)

STRENGTH: 30

❖ AGILITY: 32(+6)

DEXTERITY: 28

INTELLIGENCE: 29

VITALITY: 27

PERCEPTION: 29

ASCENSION ENERGY: 32/139

TRAITS:

Pain Forged Will ++

Situational Awareness ++

Unseen Nerve ++

❖ Reactive Instincts (New!) ++

SKILLS:

Passive: None

Active: None

Conditional: None

TALENTS:

Tactical Fluidity ++

Core Wielder ++

Pathbound ++ {UNIQUE}

===

'Interesting… Pathway I understand most the stuff on here, but explain rank and the evolving thing next to species.'

[Gladly Justin. Your rank and the term "evolving" by your species both relate to your current place in the Ascension Framework.]

Justin nodded, absorbing the information like a sponge.

[Starting with your rank, currently E+— it represents the statistical range of your physical, mental, and energetic attributes. All beings—human or not—are categorized within a tiered ranking system based on these metrics. There are three main classifications for the rankings but for now, I'll only inform you of the Mortal Ranks—where you currently reside.]

[The Mortal Ranks span from F- to A+—The starved, ill, or disabled can be found at the very bottom: F- rank. Conversely, elite forces of strength reside at A+ rank, capable of feats beyond human limitations. Each full rank jump provides exponential improvement over the last. For example, an A- rank individual isn't twice as strong as a B- rank—he is dozens of times stronger, whereas the differences in comparative (+) and (-) in the same rank aren't the largest mountains to climb, but it would still be quite the journey.]

Justin stayed silent, questions bubbling inside his head. He decided to let Pathway finish the two questions he asked first before asking any more.

[Moving on to evolving, most humans are classified as standard mortals or baseline organics. Meaning their bodies, mind, and potential have a natural ceiling—no matter how hard they train or how much energy they absorb, once they reach the limits of their potential—often B+ or A—they hit their peak and plateau. Of course there are special cases to break past this limit, though rare.]

[You, Justin Morrow, are not one of them. You are classified as evolving. Your biological code is unheard of…you have immeasurable genetic potential, and an unlimited evolutionary limit. Meaning there is no projected ceiling for your growth, no upper limit, while others are climbing a mountain—you're building yours as you go.]

Justin's brow furrowed, everything Pathway was saying felt surreal.

[With enough ascension energy, mental resilience, and physical development—you can evolve not only your rank, but your very species again and again. In all, you were born as a baseline but you're destined to become something the universe has never seen before: your limit… it's nonexistent.]

Justin digested the information all at once, his mouth agape at multiple different points of the explanation. His gaze rose to the still crimson-tinted sky.

'Hey mom, your son's the chosen one…?'

Still staring at the sky his eyes dipped back down to the status screen.

'Pathway, what do the "++" next to traits and talents mean? And-'

"RAAAAGH-KKCKHHHK."

Before Justin could finish his question, a gut wrenching screech sounded from the other end of the alleyway; the screech was half-human and half-wild.

Justin turned around almost instantly, quickly figuring out where it came from.

'Fuck, has the world really gone to shit…?'

[A mutated human is approaching Justin, it's lost every ounce of sentience it once had and is now a mindless creature of carnage; proceed with caution!]

Justin nodded in understanding and examined the monstrosity slowly approaching him.

Just like the dead mutant he'd seen before, the man's pale skin had crimson red steam leaking from it. His torso was split down the middle, and its ribs pushed out like insect legs, sometimes twitching.

His arms were overgrown, one dragged on the floor like a club of bone and muscle and his veins underneath glowed a faint red. Each time he opened his mouth, crimson mist leaked out, the same went for his eyes which were pitch black voids—no iris or pupils were in sight—just hunger.

Strangely enough, the least affected areas were from the neck up. Its nose was broken but it didn't look like it was caused by the mutation, It also had dirty blonde colored hair.

These two facts made Justin double take back to its torso, where he noticed the remains of a gray hoodie.

'Dirty blonde hair, broken nose, and a gray hoodie…'

Justin's stomach turned.

'That's… Austin's friend?'

Justin's stance faltered for a second, the compassion the man asked him to show the night before—finally displayed.

Rightfully so though, he was shocked. Even if he just fought the guy last night it didn't mean he hated him. His reason, albeit hypocritical, was for a good cause, if he was in the same position he'd have done the same.

'Never thought I'd wish I lost that fight, Pathway… after mutation is there any chance… of recovery?'

[No Justin, there is none.]

Justin sighed.

"May your soul rest in peace, unfortunately I'm not quite ready to die yet so forgive me and rest easy, wherever you are."

The mutant, finally at a close enough distance charged rapidly at Justin.

"RAAAAGGHHHHH!"

He could feel a pressure building up in his limbs—raw power and energy just under the surface.

Watching it charge, Justin didn't feel any sense of fear or dread.

"Let's start round 2 you big fuck."