SYSTEM]

The host should acquire a minimum of 40 million feet of mass.

“Yeah, I needed something to get my mind off the fact I just chewed up an alien,” Carter muttered, still processing his bizarre encounter with Grekan. Returning to his original form, he stretched his Zone Vision to scan the surrounding area. He had been avoiding absorbing too much mass to stay under the radar, but now it seemed inevitable.

“Not smart to pull in too many meteors where I am, though. Those X3X guys probably already know I trashed their prison.” Carter glanced back in the direction of the debris field, calculating the risks. With that thought lingering, he decided to head south, away from the destroyed prison.

He sped off in search of a quiet, uninhabited area, one filled with plenty of meteor clusters to absorb without drawing unwanted attention.

After about another month of speeding through space, Carter grew to an insane 500,000 feet. His gravitational pull had increased significantly, and he could now sense an enormous cluster of meteors ahead, swirling around a dead star. This was the jackpot he’d been searching for.

“Finally,” Carter muttered, picking up speed. The sheer size of the meteor field was staggering—hundreds of large celestial bodies, ranging from tiny space debris to asteroids the size of mountains, all waiting to be devoured.

Without hesitation, Carter activated his gravity control. The surrounding meteors began to shift and wobble as his immense gravitational field drew them in. One by one, they started flying toward him, colliding into his surface and being absorbed instantly.

With each meteor that slammed into him, Carter felt his mass increase. The system's notifications buzzed in the background, but he ignored them, focused solely on the task at hand.

“Come on… just a little more,” he said, his hunger for growth driving him forward. More meteors poured in, and Carter’s size continued to skyrocket.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped. His form was now towering at over a million feet. His surface rippled with energy, the sheer scale of his power almost overwhelming.

[SYSTEM]

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The host has now gained 40 million feet of mass.

Carter had gained a size similar to Earth. This size could no longer be considered a meteor—he was once again a moving planet.

"Well, I guess there's no hiding anymore," Carter muttered to himself. He felt the raw power coursing through him with this new mass, but also the heavy responsibility that came with it. He'd been avoiding getting too large for fear of being detected, but that was no longer an option.

Time to move.

Carter flew through space, a gravity force field surrounding him to prevent absorbing any more mass. He didn’t need to grow larger—at least not yet. His focus was on getting back to his main body without attracting attention. As he sped along, he deliberately steered clear of the former location of the X3X prison, not wanting to risk any encounters with the universal-level forces that might come looking for answers.

"Last thing I need is them on my tail," Carter thought, keeping his speed up and his presence minimal.

Carter's journey back took a couple of years, and for the most part, it was smooth sailing. The only real interruption came during his fifth year, when a random wormhole appeared out of nowhere. The thing nearly sucked him in, but aside from that, it wasn’t much of a threat.

As Carter zipped through space, he reflected on the one close call during his journey—a random wormhole that popped up out of nowhere.

He remembered the moment vividly. Five years into his trip back, everything had been calm, until—

WOOSH!

A swirling vortex suddenly opened up near him. The gravitational pull was intense, and Carter found himself getting dragged in.

"Wait, what the—are you serious right now?!" Carter yelled in disbelief as he felt himself being pulled toward the wormhole. "I’ve just been minding my own business! I swear this universe has it out for me!"

The force intensified, and Carter flailed his rocky mass as much as a giant, sentient celestial body could.

"I am not dealing with a wormhole today. Nope!" He tried using his gravity control to push back, but the vortex was strong. "C'mon, work with me here!"

The struggle was real. After a few moments of fighting it, Carter managed to break free, flying away at top speed.

Panting—through space obviously had no air—he muttered, "Why do I feel like this universe is trying to give me a bad case of cosmic indigestion?"

Looking back at the wormhole, he shuddered. "Not today, space onahole. Not today."

And just like that, Carter continued on his journey, laughing to himself about how close he'd come to getting sucked into who knows where.

After a long journey, Carter finally returned to his main body. It was a little over 5 million feet in mass, looking small compared to his newly expanded form. But what made it different was the life that now thrived on it. "Daddy's home,"