I Can Assimilate Everything

Initially, nothing happened. Space remained space, the void continued its silent existence, the distant stars maintained their ancient light.

Then, like watching reality remember it could be different, something began to change.

Tendrils of pure authority began flowing into Achilles…not visible light or energy, but something more fundamental.

The very fabric of Existence began acknowledging him, recognizing him, surrendering aspects of itself to his will. It was as if the emptiness between things decided to become part of him, carrying with it the knowledge of every distance that had ever existed, every separation that defined existence from non-existence.

The process was terrifying in its implications!

He wasn't just gaining power.

He was becoming integrated with the medium through which all power moved. The space around him began to ripple as if reality itself was welcoming a new administrator to its most fundamental systems.

His form pulsed with each wave of assimilation, his body becoming a focal point where the usual rules of distance and separation became negotiable.

It was unfathomably glorious.

He could feel every inch of space for light-years around, not as a sphere of awareness but as an extension of self.

The void wasn't empty to him anymore…it was full of potential, of framework, of the very thing that allowed everything else to exist in relation to each other.

Spatial Tension.

A Regulation that others might not even know existed, much less understand its fundamental role in keeping existence from folding in on itself like origami made of reality.

As Achilles drew this invisible framework into himself, the sensation defied every previous experience of assimilation he had undergone.

It wasn't pain…pain was too simple a concept for what he felt.

It was as if every atom in his body suddenly became aware of the space between itself and its neighbors, and then that space became part of him too.

The emptiness that defined the boundaries of his existence began flowing inward, carrying with it the memory of every distance that had ever been measured, every separation that had ever mattered.

His consciousness expanded not outward but inward, into the spaces between spaces!

He could feel the framework that kept his own atoms from collapsing into a singular point of infinite density, the invisible scaffolding that allowed his thoughts to travel from neuron to neuron across gaps that should have been insurmountable voids!

The thing that made 'here' different from 'there' wasn't just entering him…it was revealing that he had always been made of it, swimming through it, dependent on it for the very concept of existence.

The sensation was like discovering he had been breathing his entire life without knowing what air was, and now the air itself had decided to become part of his lungs.

As the assimilation progressed, knowledge flooded his consciousness…not learned but understood, the way one understands how to make their heart beat.

The Regulation of Spatial Tension revealed its secrets with the intimacy of a fundamental force sharing its diary.

|Regulation of Spatial Tension - First Echelon Achieved|

…!

The abilities materialized in his consciousness like coordinates in an infinite map.

And oh…were they glorious!

|Dimensional Stride| was the first one.

Achilles read through it and properly understood it as…its description was mad!

Dimensional Stride.

The space between two points became negotiable. Not teleportation…that was too crude, requiring the breaking and reforming of matter. This was the ability to simply decide that the distance between where he was and where he wanted to be was shorter than it appeared. He could step from one star system to another the same way someone else might step across a room, because he now controlled the very concept of what distance meant. The Star Seas became a painting, and he could walk across its surface rather than through its depth.

In application, he could now take a single step where he was…and he would arrive at the Butchering Grounds!

|Tension Acceleration| was the next one.

Speed became irrelevant when space itself could be compressed in front and expanded behind. By manipulating the spatial tension around his form, he could move at velocities that shouldn't exist…not faster than light, but in a way that made the concept of speed obsolete.

He could arrive before he left.

He could exist in the journey and destination simultaneously, because the space he moved through bent to accommodate his will rather than physics.

|Collapse Point| came next!

It was an Offensive capability manifested as the power to create localized areas where spatial tension suddenly increased to stellar core levels. A gesture could cause the space occupied by an enemy to contract, crushing them not with force but with the sudden realization that the distance between their molecules had been reduced to zero. Alternatively, he could create expansion points, tearing matter apart by deciding that its constituent parts should be light-years apart while still appearing to occupy the same visual space.

His mind buzzed as he viewed and summarized the last two abilities!

|Tension Barrier|

Defense through spatial manipulation…attacks could be redirected into spaces that didn't exist, absorbed by distances that extended infinitely within millimeters. A blade swung at him might travel forever through compressed space, never reaching its target because the distance it needed to cross had been made infinite. Energy attacks could be dispersed across light-years of space that had been folded into a shield no thicker than paper.

|Structural Restoration|

Healing reimagined through spatial framework. Wounds were just incorrect distances between tissues. Diseases were atoms occupying wrong spaces. By restoring the proper spatial tension to damaged areas, he could return them to their optimal configuration. Not healing in the traditional sense, but literally making the space remember what it was supposed to contain, forcing matter to conform to the correct blueprint by adjusting the framework it existed within.

Achilles reflected on these abilities with the satisfaction of an artist discovering new colors to paint with.

His smile held edges that would have concerned anyone who could see it…not cruel, but hungry in a way that suggested appetites beyond normal comprehension!