As he sped through the cosmos, a realization hit him. "Hold up. Since I can move, I can obtain more of that c... energy that you were talking about. System, is there a way to find more of that celestial energy stuff?"
[SYSTEM]
The host may now enable Auto-Detection of celestial energy sources. Would the host like to activate this function?
Carter zipped around again, enjoying his newfound freedom. "Oh, yeah! If celestial energy can help me do this, sign me up."
[NOTICE]
Auto-Detection of celestial energy sources activated.
As soon as the function kicked in, Carter felt a slight buzz in the back of his mind. It wasn't overpowering, but it was noticeable. Like a sixth sense.
"That's new," he muttered. Focusing on the strange feeling, he quickly noticed several weak pulses spread throughout his zone vision, each one giving off a faint glow in his awareness. "It's like I've got a radar for space energy. Sweet!"
Carter drifted toward the nearest pulse. It was faint but persistent, about 9 miles out from where he floated. When he reached the source, he found another meteor, about 200 feet in size, lazily drifting through the void.
"Hey, System, what do I do with this?" Carter asked, eying the meteor.
[SYSTEM]
Meteors provide both mass and celestial energy. The host must fuse with it to obtain half its mass and celestial energy.
Carter blinked. "And how exactly would I go about that?"
[SYSTEM]
...Collide into it.
Carter stared at the meteor for a moment, unsure how to feel about the answer. "You want me to... crash into it? Seriously?"
[SYSTEM]
Correct.
Carter sighed. "Great. First I'm shrinking, and now I'm playing cosmic bumper cars. Fine, let's do this."
He willed himself forward, picking up speed as he aimed directly at the floating meteor. It wasn't moving fast, but Carter could feel the tension building as he closed the gap.
"I swear, if this hurts..."
The impact wasn't as jarring as he expected. Instead of a violent collision, it felt like the two objects merged smoothly, as if the meteor was made of soft clay rather than solid rock. As they fused, Carter felt a surge of energy, like a jolt of electricity coursing through his core.
[NOTICE]
Meteor absorbed 100 mass gained and 1000 celestial energy.