Apocalypse Ascension

[D- Rank mutant killed, 40 ascension energy absorbed.]

Hearing Pathway confirm the kill, Justin sank down on the ground. During the fight, his body had pushed far beyond its physical limit multiple times, anyone could see how large of a toll it had taken on him.

Right on cue, a wave of energy washed through his body. The energy was refreshing, it seeped into every corner and crevice of his body, washing the fatigue away like it was never there.

The energy didn't just help him recover, he could feel it. His vision was sharper, muscle aches vanished and overall: he was stronger than he was during the fight.

'Pathway is there any way to feel like this… without having to kill anything?'

[Yes Justin. While you are nineteen and may not have experienced it yet, there is a practice adult humans partake in known as: oral sex-]

'Stop! Forget I asked…'

[Affirmative. Justin, with the absorption of the AE, your physical statistics have been updated once again. I recommend you view them immediately]

With that, Justin opened his status window, curiosity getting the best of him.

A faint hum resonated in his skull and a familiar purple screen bloomed in front of his eyes.

==={STATUS}=== 🧬

NAME: Justin Morrow

RANK: E+

SPECIES: Human (Evolving)

STRENGTH: 32 (+2)

AGILITY: 28 (+2)

DEXTERITY: 28 (+1)

INTELLIGENCE: 29 (+1)

VITALITY: 29 (+2)

PERCEPTION: 30 (+1)

ASCENSION ENERGY: 72/139

TRAITS:

Pain Forged Will ++

Situational Awareness ++

Unseen Nerve ++

Reactive Instincts++

SKILLS:

Passive: None

Active: None

Conditional: None

TALENTS:

Tactical Fluidity ++

Core Wielder ++

Pathbound ++ {UNIQUE}

===

'Great… Pathway I'm kind of close to reaching that number cap on ascension energy. So what happens when I hit it? If I transform into that thing from before just kill me now.'

Justin was horrified at the very thought.

[Once the cap is hit and the stat threshold is reached, D- Rank evolution will begin. And don't worry, physical changes will not occur till much later, your current rank is too low for any species evolution.]

Justin nodded but that final comment stung a little.

'I don't know whether to be happy that I'm not going to turn into an ugly abomination, or mad that you basically called me weak as shit…'

[…]

'Oh someone's quiet now, cat got your tongue?'

Pathway feigned ignorance again, Justin eventually brushed off the thought.

'No need to stress, everyone starts somewhere. But what should I do now…'

His eyes shifted from where the interface was to the alleyway. The alley was silent again, but the tension from the fight lingered in the air.

Justin glanced back at the mutant's corpse, it still smoked a few feet away and the scent of burnt hair and flesh ambushed his nose—reminding him of just how close he'd truly been to death.

He started to walk toward the end of the alleyway, hoping that a plan of action would form before he left it.

As he got closer and closer to its end, Justin heard all sorts of sounds around him—none of them were peaceful. There were constant car horns, car alarms, explosions, and painful screams of terror; it was like a chorus of destruction.

Then it hit him—a location quickly forming in his head.

'…Hope Center, how could I forget!'

Hope Center was the name of the shelter Justin had always gone to, his only real human connections in life stemmed from there. He was mad at himself for not thinking of it sooner, but with all that's happened from last night to now who would blame him?

Finally exiting the alleyway, the scenery on the street was terrifying. Countless crashed cars, collapsed light poles, and human and mutant corpses littered the streets. He recognized some of the corpses, a few had been in the crowd yesterday.

'They must've had to deal with that D- rank mutant right after waking up…'

Justin couldn't move a single step forward without stepping over a dead body or an unattached limb.

'If I woke up out here…I'd probably be dead too.'

Justin thought grimly.

Turning toward the direction of the shelter, constant pleas for help echoed around him from people on their last breaths as he walked past. Justin wasn't a heartless human being but what he definitely wasn't: was stupid, he knew that if he tried to play hero and saved any of them he'd have to deal with dead weight.

The chances of him running into another mutant like the one from before—skyrocketing.

Of the many pleas, a particular plea stuck out to him.

"Ju…Jus…tin."

"..help, me please?"

The small voice of a frail man with disheveled blonde hair sounded out within the rubble, half his body torn apart, guts spilling. Justin's heart wavered for a second—then hardened, one name slipped off his tongue.

"Austin…"

His tone was heavy, Justin couldn't dare look him in the eyes. Even someone with a heart hardened by many grotesque scenes would falter at this.

"Who am I kidding…what help… could I possibly get in this state…selfish to the very end am I right…? haha-."

Austin's small giggles led in to a horrible cough.

Justin hurriedly knelt down, grabbing his hands and squeezing them tight.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he could finally string words together.

'I know it's a lie… but this is the only kindness I can give him now.'

"I'm sorry about yesterday… I met your friend along the way… he was with some others camped at a store, they seemed to be doing…decent for this situation at least."

Justin made that up on the fly, but the genuine emotion behind his smile sold it completely. Austin not suspecting a thing.

"R-really? That's…great to hear. And…friend? Haha…that…guy is my little brother: Aiden…even though it doesn't look like it."

Austin's eyes, once filled with lingering attachment and unwillingness to depart—had a now peaceful glint to them. As if those were the words he'd been waiting to hear for countless years.

Justin's mouth dried on the spot, he never pieced two and two together. Yeah they both had blonde hair but facially, they looked nothing alike. Austin's frail body didn't help their case either.

But what really left him stupefied was the fact that he'd been the person to send both of them off during their final moments…

"Hey…Justin…if you see my brother again, could you tell him…I said thank you for everything?"

Justin hurriedly nodded, his squeeze getting tighter and tighter.

A small smile appeared on Austin's pale face.

"Thank….you…I know someone strong like you wouldn't meet your end in a situation like this….even so, live on Justin."

Then, Silence.

The life of the frail, timid, but warm man: Austin—ended. Finally loosening his grip and eventually letting go, Justin's hands moved towards Austin's eyelids—gently shutting them.

Justin took a long deep breath before rising.

'I killed the younger brother and lied to the older one while on his death bed… Pathway say I reach these higher ranks you've been talking about…could I revive the dead?'

Justin clenched his fists tightly as he awaited its response.

[As you ascend, you can transcend the concepts of life and death entirely. That'll only happen if you keep moving and evolving, Justin]

Hearing this, Justin's resolve hardened even further.

'Mom, Austin, Aiden all of you. Just wait no matter how long it takes, I'll bring you back into a peaceful world.'

Thinking this, he continued on his path. Destination: Hope Center.