Merit opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie; only thing being is that it's real, terrifyingly so.
Before him, a sprawling metropolis burned under the onslaught of an alien invasion. Highrise buildings crumbled as grotesque ant-like creatures swarmed through the streets.
They moved in terrifying unison, small but vicious, their sharp claws ripped through everything in their path.
Screams filled the air, mixing with the metallic clangs of combat and the distant hum of collapsing structures.
At first, Merit thought it was a war between humans. Then he noticed the creatures more closely. Small alien humanoids resembling ants, each standing no taller than five feet, moved with frightening precision.
Wherever they went, they left crushed vehicles, tore apart anything organic, and ripped through steel paper while their chitinous exoskeletons glinted with a metallic sheen that made them seem almost indestructible.
Merit was struck by just how fast and coordinated they were. They leaped and lunged at anything that moved, using their claws and mandibles with crazy efficiency.
A group of humans was overwhelmed within seconds—an entire squad reduced to shredded armor and bloodied corpses.
But what shocked him more was the humans' resistance.
They fought back, and hard.
Merit stood frozen as he watched ordinary humans performing extraordinary feats. A man hurled what looked like a fireball toward a cluster of ants.
But this was no ordinary fireball, burning like a miniature sun, its heat intense enough to melt the pavement it passed over. The explosion that followed incinerated half a dozen creatures in an instant.
Another human slammed their fists into the ground, and massive spikes of ice erupted from the earth, impaling dozens of ants in an area-of-effect manner.
Others were faster than any human had a right to be, moving at speeds that left blurs in the air, dodging the creatures' swipes and countering with powerful strikes of their own.
Some wielded swords and axes forged from some sort of energy, cutting through the alien chitin with precision.
A man leaped into the air, unleashing a shockwave that sent a group of ants crashing into the pavement below, their bodies squashed as though by a fly swatter.
Merit watched in awe. The power displayed by these people was nothing short of incredible which is far beyond anything humanity on Earth could accomplish. These weren't ordinary humans at all.
"These people have… superpowers?" Merit questioned to himself as he continued to observe. "Yes, but it's more than that. They've awakened their abilities, trained them, then upgraded them."
Merit delved through the goddess's memories and found such a case.
A small portion of worlds could develop and awaken innate abilities that would defy the natural order of their world.
It mainly stems from the fact that their genetic code had evolved enough to the point of naturally taking in the energy of the universe, applying it to their core being, and thus an ability awakens.
Despite their overwhelming abilities, the humans were losing. Badly.
For every ant they killed, three more replaced it. The creatures weren't just strong—they were organized, relentless, and faster than most of their opponents.
Even the most powerful abilities struggled to hold them back for long.
"Damn, this isn't a battle," Merit realized, watching as more humans fell to the swarm. "It's a slaughter."
Suddenly, he felt it.
DA-DUMP.
DA-DUMP.
DA-DUMP.
'What's happening to me? Why is my heart beating so loudly?'
The sound of his heartbeat roared in his ears, louder and more insistent than the chaos around him. It reverberated through his chest like thunder.
Energy surged through his veins, pulling in from everywhere and nowhere, filling him with an intensity he couldn't explain.
It was as if something deep within him, something ancient and dormant, was waking up.
Merit clutched his chest, his breathing shallow as waves of power coursed through him. Information flooded his mind, unbidden, like a puzzle clicking into place all at once.
He doubled over, gasping for air as the realization struck him: he had awakened a power as well.
"Progenitor Return," the words formed in his mind as if they'd always been there.
This wasn't just any ability—it was something far beyond the elemental or other physical/ miscellaneous powers he saw around him.
He instinctively understood its capabilities. Progenitor Return allowed him to observe abilities, comprehend their essence, and replicate them—better and stronger; after copying, they are pretty much transcendent versions of themselves.
It wasn't limited to combat, either. Techniques, processes, movements—anything he could see, he could make his own and perfect.
He stood upright, the power within him stabilizing, his vision shifting. The chaos of the battlefield melted into something else entirely.
The world around him darkened, and instead of the physical forms of the people and creatures, he saw glowing silhouettes.
Purplish-blue energy surrounded every human nearby shimmering with faint traces of individuality and difference. These weren't their bodies but are their abilities.
"So the different auras are abilities," Merit states with a " uh huh" tone while staring at the thousands of silhouettes filling his vision.
The glowing essence pulsed, moving like rivers of energy. Each ability shone differently, reflecting its uniqueness—fire, speed, size alternately, and more. Merit's gaze sharpened as he instinctively called to the energy.
With a single thought, the silhouettes began to move.
The abilities surged toward him like streams of light, drawn into his being. It felt effortless, natural, as if the essence of each power recognized him as its rightful owner. One by one, they converged into him, filling his body and mind with new knowledge, new possibilities.
Merit staggered as the influx of abilities overwhelmed him, his soul and body rapidly adapting to the influx of information. Each ability he absorbed didn't just replicate—it evolved.
He saw a woman moving with superhuman speed. As her essence flowed into him, the speed magnified, becoming something beyond comprehension.
He felt his body grow lighter, unrestricted by gravity or space. He understood, instinctively, that he could now move through any environment—no friction, no resistance.
Another silhouette glowed with fiery intensity. Merit absorbed it, and the power of flame burned within him. But this wasn't an ordinary flame—his fire burned hotter, brighter, with the intensity of a star. It was no longer fire; it was pure energy.
The abilities merged within him, upgrading, refining, becoming something godly. Every human power he absorbed reached its peak, surpassing even the strongest of those around him. It was overwhelming and exhilarating.
Merit's gaze turned to the battlefield once more, now alight with purpose. The knowledge and power coursing through him had transformed him into something… more.
He clenched his fists, and the air around him warped under the pressure of his new strength. A faint, invisible distortion surrounded his body, crackling with latent energy.
The ants, so terrifying moments ago, now seemed insignificant. He could feel the narrative of the battlefield shifting—his presence alone was enough to tip the scales.
Merit took a deep breath, stepping forward with calm, calculated precision. The swarm of ants paid him no mind, their focus locked on the struggling humans ahead.
Merit's eyes narrowed, the faint glow of power behind them barely perceptible. His Originator Vision expanded exponentially, stretching far beyond his immediate surroundings to encompass the entire metropolis.
His gaze took in every detail, piercing through smoke, debris, and chaos with absolute clarity.
Hundreds of thousands of glowing red silhouettes appeared, each representing the abilities of the humans still fighting.
The abilities, diverse and unique, pulsed faintly like flames in the darkness.
With a thought, those abilities poured into him. Streams of energy flowed like rivers converging on a singular point—Merit. Each ability found its place within him, merging seamlessly into his soul and body.
Similar abilities fused into unified, perfected forms: the many elemental manipulations coalesced into singular dominion over fire, water/ice, air, earth/metal, and lightning, while physical enhancements—strength, speed, durability, and senses—merged into their own limitless archetypes.
His body shifted and transformed to accommodate this power. His musculature refined itself further, glowing faintly as the Velxium Weave molded itself to his evolving form.
In the metaphysical plane, his presence shone like a supernova, an incandescent force of potential unleashed within the endless void.
Each ability perfected itself instinctively. There was no chaos, no overwhelming burden—his body and soul were vessels designed for infinite potential.
Progenitor Return ensured that every power, no matter how diverse, fit perfectly into the seamless symphony of his being.
For the first time in this new world, Merit took a step forward.
The ground beneath him cracked, time seeming to slow to an agonizing crawl. His body blurred, disappearing from his initial position.
The lead ant creature, its chitinous frame moving to attack a human fighter, found itself face to face with a figure it had no hope of comprehending.
Merit appeared before it, faster than the creature could perceive, and tapped it lightly on the head with a single finger.
A fine crack appeared on its carapace. Merit moved again.
He weaved through the swarm like a phantom, his figure disappearing and reappearing in infinitesimal fractions of a second.
His senses expanded, pinpointing every ant creature within miles. With every step, his hand, fist, or foot connected lightly with an ant, leaving behind a faint crack on their chitin.
Two nanoseconds later, over 30,000 ants bore the marks of Merit's touch.
The cracks he left behind deepened, splitting their carapaces as green ichor seeped out. None of the creatures realized what had happened—Merit had already leaped into the sky, soaring upward.
At two miles above the city, the devastation below unfolded like a battlefield painting. Fires raged across districts, smoke billowing into the skies. Yet millions of ants remained, swarming through the streets like an unstoppable tide.
Merit's gaze sharpened. His focus zeroed in, activating an ability once called Target Lock, now upgraded to Heaven's Gaze.
Heaven's Gaze unleashed its full potential.
From his vantage point, Merit's vision locked onto every remaining ant creature within the city—millions of targets, each glowing like a beacon in his mind. Once locked, each one became a mark of inevitability. No escape, no error, no resistance.
With a thought, bullets of energy formed around him, appearing as faintly shimmering projectiles made of condensed power.
Each projectile glowed momentarily before being unleashed with unimaginable speed, slicing through the air like invisible rays of judgment.
The ants never saw it coming.
In real time, less than five nanoseconds passed, but the result was absolute. When Merit's perception of time resumed its normal flow, the effects unfolded in an instant. Millions of ants exploded simultaneously.
Some had their heads burst into showers of green blood. Others had their torsos vanish, leaving their lower halves to crumple uselessly.
The streets became rivers of ichor as the remains of the swarm disintegrated under the precision of Heaven's Gaze.
For the human fighters still locked in combat, the sudden carnage was incomprehensible.
One moment, they were fighting for their lives, their powers barely holding back the swarm.
The next, the ant creatures around them were gone, exploded, eviscerated, and obliterated.
A woman with flames still flickering on her body stared blankly at the burning remnants of her enemy. "What… what the hell just happened?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
A man with lightning coursing through his body froze mid-attack, his weapon crackling with unused energy would have destroyed a semi truck had he not stopped. His target had simply disappeared. "Did… did the Dominion send reinforcements?"
"No way," another fighter muttered, his slim figure contrasting against his huge energy blades dissipated as he looked around. "They'd never get here this fast. It takes at least a day to mobilize troops this far out on the edge… right?"
Confusion rippled through the citizens, their initial disbelief slowly giving way to relief.
Hope flickered in their hearts for the first time since the invasion began. The pressure that had crushed them minutes ago had eased.
They were alive—and for a moment, it felt like they might actually survive.
But among the most experienced fighters, doubt lingered.
"This wasn't the Dominion," a weathered soldier muttered under his breath, his keen eyes scanning the skyline. "This kind of precision… it wasn't one of ours. "
"Then who?" another citizen beside him asked, his voice low. "Who saved us?"
"Perhaps, an S-ranked soldier was here and decided to put an end to it?" The veteran asked. Though, he himself didn't believe that.
Merit didn't stop there though.
As the humans celebrated their unexpected reprieve, his focus remained locked on the swarm.
Activating another ability, one originally called Fire Vision, Merit unleashed its upgraded form: Crimson Concussive Sight.