Chapter 1: Beginning of the End

The first-ever space expedition of man was a success, the space shuttle; Messier 1. Named the first astronomer who discovered the existence of galaxies, Charles Messier.

The Messier 1 ventured to the outskirts of the solar system and observed the heavenly bodies of space. With 20 crew members all hailing from different races, each representing their own country, they were given their observations but even with the differences, their unity was unparalleled.

John, a Phil-Am (Half American, Half Filipino), was the representative of the Philippines, despite being a member of a third-world country, the Philippines had been one of the biggest contributions when making the Messier 1 and they also compromise most of the staff in the company, Space Z.

Arriving back at the solar system, the team suddenly tracked a rogue star moving at a blistering speed, the star was burning in white flame yet its size was the same as the Sun. John was outside the cockpit of the ship as he was to handle the maintenance of the boosters.

Wearing a space suit that was held by nothing but a tube, his safety could be considered a bit too reckless but he very well knows the chances of him being in a dangerous situation were low but he still was careful.

Suddenly, his helmet flashed a light causing him to avert his gaze at the source.

He saw two stars collide; the rogue star and the sun. The explosion was so powerful that despite having no sound in space, the bang was so deafening that the radio transmitter of the suit and shuttle broke. That was simply not it, the wave of collision, shattered and ruined the entire ship and was thrashed into the debris of scraps. Knowing that John was the only one wearing a space suit, his other team members wouldn't have survived as they died from either the explosion, frostbite, or suffocation.

John was not in the situation to be worried about them as he was also in a dire situation. Most of the parts of his suit had been broken but fortunately, his oxygen tank still worked he was quickly getting cold in his suit as the temperature drastically got lower with each second passing.

He looked around but there was nothing he could use to help himself as the tube had been cut by shrapnel when the ship turned into debris.

He thought that he'd be flying farther away due to the force of gravity from the explosion but the two colliding stars suddenly pulled everything towards it.

This included all the asteroids and the planets and he was being pulled by the force.

He knew this was the end and his hope of surviving was negative zero, his death was certain but in his mind recalled his family back in his home country.

His wife, and his daughter, he wondered if they were okay. He wanted to scream for help and ask God for mercy if there was a god that he could ask for help. Nothing came out of his mouth since sound was completely muted in space.

He accepted it. There was no hope at all, he stared at the blinding light of the star and saw them merge as a dark neutron star formed and quickly dispersed to turn into a black hole.

Death was inevitable, getting sucked into a black hole and lead towards nothingness as deep as the abyss was worse than hell. It was the embodiment of death. No life has ever gotten out of a black hole.

Facing death, he couldn't help but be mesmerized. The closest thing he could find about a black hole was still from a picture found in 2022 and seeing them up close, was quite enigmatic and fascinating.

He couldn't describe the scene in his eyes with mere words, it was like seeing the eye of God, precisely the god of death.

It was like the black hole was looking at his soul, he realized that dying like this might not be so bad at all. He'd be the first human to die in a black hole but that itself wouldn't be recorded in history since the earth had been crumbled to bits.

A warm smile etched his face as he accepted his death. He closed his eyes and embraced what was coming to him as he hoped to die a swift but comfortable death.

Soon he was sucked by the black hole and along with everything around it.

He was awakened. His consciousness that he knew was drifting away returned and he was back to his senses.

He found himself bathing in white essence. The sight made one think he was in heaven but John knew for sure he wasn't.

This essence was far worse than death...

He screamed at the top of his lungs wondering if he even had lungs. He was under a pain that no human should suffer, even if you're a psychopath, a serial killer, or a pedophile. You shouldn't experience this type of suffering, this was worse than being tortured in hell.

This was too much.

His entire body was being spread inside out. His muscle fibers were being pulled one by one, his skin was being peeled, his bones broke and disintegrate, his organs were flipped on the inside, and his blood was being boiled and evaporated.

Everything, from the nerves, the organs, the muscles, the bones, the blood, the cells, everything in his body was being reduced to atoms.

It was a horrific pain that would make anyone crazy.

He disappeared, leaving only one speck of an atom. This atom suddenly split and more atoms appeared, they multiplied at a rapid rate forming yet again, John back to normal.

His consciousness was yet again reawakened. Before he could ponder on what had happened, the same process was inflicted on his body.

Only a cut of his scream was ever to release in his mouth as yet again disintegrated into atoms. Now surviving as 2 atoms as again it multiplied to reform him.

This time the speed of his reformation was up by a millisecond and his consciousness awakened for 2 milliseconds.

He didn't know what was happening to him but he wanted to be free from this torture.

He pondered what wrong he had done to be put into this mess. He was a good man, he lived in humble beginnings and after being successful in life, he always helped those in need. He wasn't religious but he was known to be very kind.

He looked at everybody equal, even if you were the worse of the bunch, he'd try to find the good in you as he believed that no one was born to be a bad person.

He had few to no enemies but he would always make the right choice and avoid as many casualties as possible. He was even willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

That was how great of a person he was, and this was said by everyone around him, he only see himself as a humble man doing the right thing and nothing else.

So being placed in this situation was unfair. What did he do to deserve such treatment? All his life, he was a good man, if he made mistakes, he would own them. He never stole, he never tried to hurt anyone, and he'd help as long as it is within his power.

Karma was a bitch, he didn't know why.

He had lost track of time. Countlessly being under torture, he felt like a millennium had passed by. He knew that being stuck in a black hole, he'd watch the world die as the time integration was a lot slower in the black hole.

He had lost count of the reformation of torture but he could now open his senses in 30 seconds before disintegrating into atoms yet that was not a solution he wanted as he could feel the pain a lot longer.

His mind had become numb from the repeated process but his body remained in constant pain. He had lost his mentality, due to the endless suffering.

Despite being reformed to a better shape, his eyes had remained dull almost lifeless.

A billion years had probably passed by now and he could now survive for 20 hours. This time he had probably gone crazy, his body gone used to the pain that his mind was simply roaming on his memories to recall useless stuff.

Being isolated for billions of years was hellish. So this was what an immortal would have to suffer if the world had ended. He wanted nothing more but to die but he couldn't, he tried looking around this white space but there was nothing but white.

He couldn't escape as his body didn't allow him to. As he held on for the last strand of his sanity, a ring echoed in his head.

He knew he had gone crazy and simply went with it as he again opened his eyes.

Ting~

[ASSIMILATION RATE: 0.02%]

It was a blue window panel that hovered in his eyes. He couldn't help but ponder at the sight.

'I truly have gone crazy.'

John couldn't bother looking at the hovering panel as he yet again drift to nothingness. Simple as that, in a quick second, he again revives.

He continued to watch the panel as it was the only thing that could entertain his mind.

Another billion years passed, and John saw that his Assimilation rate had increased. He didn't know what it meant but having that thought of what it might be was the only thing that entertained him from this desolate hell.

[ASSIMILATION RATE: 0.0003%]

'Judging from the speed, it will probably take me a few thousand Quintillion years before it reaches 100% maybe more. Well, I have all the time in the world.'

John snickered to himself and had this excitement burning in his chest wondering what would happen after years had passed. Unless of course, he'd still haven't gone completely insane at that time

A trillion years passed... John had felt like the threads that held his mentality had been reinforced in a sturdier grasp. He felt like the threads had been enhanced for an unbreakable solid mass that nothing would be able to even put a mark on it.

Another ringing noise echoed in his head.

Ting~

[ASSIMILATION RATE: 1.0000%]

[God's Fortitude:(Passive)- Your mentality and will has been reinforced to the point that no mental attacks can go through you in the entire cosmos.]

'Oh? Are these those skills that I'd get similar to some Novel RPG? Did I gain the power of the system? Am I gonna be the main character of a litRPG? This is so cool!'

John let his mind go wild as he started making situations and what he would do using his imagination.

He knew he had gone crazy and simply embraced his insanity as that was the only thing keeping him occupied in this never-ending isolation.

Again he died.

A hundred trillion years passed by in a flash as another ringing noise echoed in his head. A new window panel had hovered in front of him.

Ting~

[ASSIMILATION RATE: 10.0000%]

[COSMIC ENERGY HAS SUBSIDED INTO THE BODY!]

[BEGINNING COSMIC REFINEMENT!]

John yet again willowed in pain, but this time it was a pain he had never felt before, it was as if his spirit was being drained and reinforced that immediately, he fell unconscious.

He sighed at the thought that the very least, he had fallen into a deep sleep rather than be awake in the whole process.

This was the long sleep he had awaited.

'Finally, I can rest.'

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

He dreamed of a life where he was the leader of a world. A world where everything was peaceful and violence was never retorted. It was a wonderland where everyone could smile and laugh.

This was the life he had ever wanted, a life where violence and war are nonexistent. It was beautiful.

Ting~

[Cosmic Body:(Passive)- Your body is now the embodiment of the cosmos.]

Ting~

[ASSIMILATION RATE: 99.999999%]

Xerel was awoken from his slumber and as he opened his eyes, he was surprised as to what had happened. His body was glowing in white bright light, his hair had turned into a bright blue color burning like an ember, he felt like he could do anything, he was very comfortable and the pain he had endured for God knows how many years passed had subsided.

He was now a newborn man.

He quickly realized that there was something odd that was happening around him. He was still bathing in the same bright light but its size had drastically gone smaller.

He could now see the edge of the endless light.

It was darkness, but not pitch black, somehow, the light had reflected with the darkness and what he saw scared him.

It was murky black goo of darkness slowly covering him from above and from his instincts alone, he knew he shouldn't go near this black goo.

Soon, the light that bathe him had all been absorbed by his body and a window panel hovered in his vision.

Ting~

[ASSIMILATION RATE HAS BEEN FINISHED!]

[YOU ARE NOW THE RULER OF THIS UNIVERSE!]

"Wha-"

Ting~

[YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE UNIVERSAL AUTHORITY]

[Universal Will:(Passive)- You have the full control of everything in the universe under your jurisdiction]

[Cosmic Manipulation:(Active)- You can control cosmic energy at will.]

[Cosmic Body:(Passive)- You have the body that can bend anything of your own will. You defy the rules of the multiverse. You are the embodiment of the cosmos. You are perfect]

[All Knowing:(Passive)- Your knowledge and intellect spread far and wide in the cosmos.]

[Cosmic Authority:(Active)- You can access any cosmic power from skills, techniques, etc. as long as it's under your level. You can also modify and create using your cosmic power however you want. You are immune to any harmful effects below your level.]

[Boundless:(Passive)- There is no limit to your power. As long as the cosmos exist, you will never lose power.]

Ting~

[ALERT! UNIVERSE 616 HAS BEEN CORRUPTED BY CHAOS!]

[CORRUPTION WILL BE COMPLETED IN 00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:00:28]

Ting~

[AS THE RULER OF THIS UNIVERSE, YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE COSMOS AS MEANS OF PROTECTION UNDER THE COSMIC LAW]

"Wait what the hell is happening!"

Before the murky black goo could touch John, he felt like his body was being pulled down by an invisible force reaching speed a trillion times faster than the speed of light.

He was ripped into space and yet again, he fell unconscious.