Awakening the Gods: System's Ascension

The Calm After Chaos

"I have to save them..."

"No, please stop... Don’t touch her..."

"I said don’t touch her—"

"Violet!!"

Levi’s body jerked violently as he gasped awake. He took in shallow breaths like a man on the verge of drowning, his body covered in sweat.

His eyes darted frantically, expecting nothing but trees, wreckage, blood. The last things he saw before losing consciousness. But what he saw was the opposite of that. None of what he had in mind.

He blinked, confused as he, gazed at the warm light piercing through the gap left by a half-drawn curtain.

The air was warm—not from fire or destruction—but from comfort. As his awareness sharpened back, he noticed he was lying on something smooth and cushioned. A bed?

As if suddenly recalling the intense pain, His hands instinctively began to rush across his body, feeling every part of himself.

But there were no bruises and no pain. All he felt were, dull aches throbbing in his head but nothing close to the devastation he remembered.

He looked around once more and noticed he was in a room, the walls were pained with a soft shade of blue. It wasn't large, neither was it small. But it gave a luxurious air.

“Where... am I?” he whispered to himself as if expecting a reply.

Then he remembered. His friends. The name he yelled as he woke up.

"Vi... Where’s Viol—"

“I’m doing well and good, thanks for asking, sir.”

The voice came from the far corner of the room.

Levi’s head snapped towards it so fast his neck cracked. Kyle sat there on a plain wooden chair, arms crossed and one leg thrown lazily over the other.

He looked mostly unharmed—no serious injuries, no bandages. But his face carried the look of someone unimpressed. Perhaps by the fact that Levi had kept mentioning Violet's name from the start, and not his.

“I’m doing preeetty well,” Kyle added, voice oozing with sarcasm.

"The things I go through..." He muttered, sighing heavily. "Picking a woman over me..."

“Kyle?” Levi said, his voice cracked, and eyes narrowing in disbelief. “You’re... you’re alive?”

“In the flesh and blood, Leader,” Kyle replied, his usual playful tone returning slightly. “Barely, most likely... but yeah. Still breathing.”

Before Levi could say anything else, the soft click of a door turning drew his attention.

His head turned toward the sound—just as Violet stepped out of a smaller room connected to theirs.

Her hair was wet, sticking slightly to her cheeks, and she was drying her hands with a towel.

Her gaze was fixated on the ground, her voice calm but tired. “So we still have no idea where we are... or why that—” she began, still not looking up.

Then she stopped mid-sentence. Her hands froze. The towel slipped slightly from her fingers.

Slowly—like she wasn’t sure if it was real—Violet lifted her head. Her eyes widened as they met Levi’s.

Violet stood there frozen for just a second and then she moved.

“Levi!” she cried, dropping the towel completely.

Before Levi knew what was going on, she was already across the room. She leaped into his arms, wrapping hers tightly around his shoulders.

“You idiot,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You absolute idiot… I thought you weren't going to—”

Her words broke off,

At first, Levi was simply surprised. It all just happened so fast. The jumping, the warm hug, the trembling hands. It all hit him at once. It was the first time she had ever hugged him like that

And then, slowly, a gentle smile formed across his face.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder as he returned the hug. “I didn’t mean to"

Suddenly he felt a palm come in contact with his cheek. The sound wasn’t loud, but the sting surprised him all the same.

Violet had pulled back just far enough to slap his cheek—not hard, but firm enough to snap him back.

“Why are you so stupid?!” she snapped, eyes glinting with frustration now. Her voice, though sharp, quivered beneath the weight of everything they'd been through. “We clearly told you not to fight!”

Levi blinked, startled. Wasn't this the same person hugging him some seconds ago?

“Did you really think you had no choice?” she continued, her tone pressing like a blade. “Or did that new power from your little system thing go straight to your head?”

He opened his mouth to speak—but nothing came out. He knew Violet was was right.

He had convinced himself there was no other way. That he had to stand his ground, had to fight... but deep down, part of him wanted to.

After so many years of helplessness—being just another pawn beneath the boots of those stronger, richer, crueler—the sudden surge of strength, the voice in his mind that told him he was different, that he mattered...

It got to him.

It didn’t matter that the system warned him. It didn’t matter that Violet had begged him not to go. Somewhere, under all that fear and responsibility, a flicker of ego had formed.

Not pride—no, this was deeper. A desperate hunger to prove himself. To finally be more than a powerless bystander.

He lowered his gaze. “I...” he started, voice low. “I thought I could handle it.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Levi murmured, barely audible. He couldn’t even look up, eyes glued to the floor as the weight of his choices pressed heavily on his chest.

Then suddenly he felt his balance shift. His head swayed slightly, vision blurring for a second. His body tipped back.

“Levi?” Violet gasped, moving instinctively.

But he caught himself just in time, one hand gripping the side of the bed to steady his balance.

“You good?” Kyle asked, his earlier sarcasm melting away, replaced by a note of concern.

Levi nodded quickly, forcing a weak smile. “It’s okay. It’s okay... I’m fi—”

A glowing blue screen cut him short as it materialized in mid-air before him. He was the only one who could see it as usual.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Premature Awakening Detected]

[Recovery Incomplete]

[User is advised to return to sleep immediately]

Levi let out a shaky breath, staring at the notification. His chest rose and fell unevenly. He wanted to stay awake, to ask questions, to make sense of the situation—but his body wasn’t ready.

He could feel it—his limbs were heavier, his thoughts slower. Like he was only half tethered to consciousness.

“Young people really are full of energy,” a familiar deep and calm voice said.

None of them turned immediately. They didn’t need to, or rather, they weren’t sure if they should.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, their heads shifted toward the door—the source of the voice. And when their eyes finally landed on the figure standing there, they instinctively froze.

It was Zenon. And standing beside him… was her. The woman Levi would never forget.

Levi’s body reacted before his mind did. He flinched and instinctively stumbled back, nearly slipping off the bed. Only sheer willpower kept him from collapsing entirely.

His chest tightened, eyes wide. His pulse thundered in his ears.

Zenon noticed. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“I see you’re still… moved from the last battle,” he said casually, hands tucked behind him. “Apologies, if my sister went too hard on you.”

Zenon's last words startled both Violet and Kyle freeze. Their gazes ping-ponged between Zenon and Emilia like their brains were trying to solve an impossible riddle. Then, in perfect sync, they both blurted out:

“You and Emilia are related??”

And immediately slap their palms over their mouths. It had just… slipped out. Reflexively. Against their will.

Before he could respond, the door to the room's entrance clicked open, welcoming another presence.

None of them could see her face yet, but the moment she stepped in, the atmosphere changed. It was subtle… but undeniable.

A gentle warmth spread across the space, like the comfort of sunlight after a storm. A calming presence that wrapped around their bodies and eased their breaths—soothing, soft, and welcoming.

Yet underneath that warmth was something else. A heavy sense of Authority that didn’t need to be stated. Power that didn’t demand attention, but commanded it simply by existing.

She was wearing a white gown, adorned with delicate silver and gold accents, which seemed to glow, alongside her long brown hair, in the gentle light filtering through the balcony of the room they were in.

No one said a word.

The woman’s gaze swept the room, her eyes eventually landing on Levi. She studied him for a moment—not unkindly, but deeply, as if she were looking through every layer of who he was.

Then she exhaled softly and cleared her throat.

“So,” she said. “Where should we start? Your lost memories?” she pauses for a second. “Or how they’re connected… to the possible end of the world?”