Awakening The Gods: System's Ascension

The System Returns

"Watch out!"

With barely any time to react, Levi saw a pair of massive claws swinging towards him.

A sharp whistling sound echoed through the forest as it sliced through the air It sliced through the air.

Levi rolled to the side, dodging the monster’s. Immediately he raised his head sharp enough to see the talons mercilessly tear through the stone behind him like paper.

"A freaking year now and I'm still not used to seeing stuff like that," he muttered, gazing at the shredded concrete.

"Really not the time to space out, Levi!" A male voice rang out. "Another one coming from the left!”

Levi turned on instinct, raising his blade just in time to parry the second attack. The force traveled through his bones, making his body shake, but he maintained his stance, remaining firm.

The creature stared at him, its face twisting in anger, and Its yellow eyes gleaming with raw hunger.

“I guess it's my turn,” a female voice rang in his ears as a streak of violet light rushed past him the chaos.

In the next instant, a stream of blue energy burst from her fingertips. The monster howled as the blast struck its flank, searing through its scaled hide. It staggered, howling.

Finally there was an opening, and Levi took advantage of it immediately.

He charged forward, his blade glowing under the moonlight, and drove it deep into the beast’s throat. The monster let out a wet, gurgling cry before collapsing with a heavy thud, twitching once before going still.

The silence settled in, broken only by the heavy breathing of the three hunters.

"Well… that was fun.” Kyle stood a few feet away, running his hand through his sweat dampened brown hair, his twin daggers sheathed at his sides.

He was tall and lean, with sharp golden eyes that glowed in the dark like faint balls of light.

“Fun? You called that fun?" Violet glared at him, dressed in a dark combat suit.

She raised her hand to her head, brushing a strand of dark purple hair behind her ear. She was shorter than Kyle but carried herself with effortless confidence.

"That thing almost ripped my face off three times!” she yelled, raising three fingers up.

“Al...most.” Kyle winked at her. "Besides... It's not my fault you were reckless, is it?"

"Why you—"

“We should move before more show up.” Levi exhaled slowly, interrupting their squabble. A frequent occurrence between them.

As he wiped his blade against his sleeve, he glanced at the other two. "Any unnecessary fight would be a waste of strength right now."

"Yeah fine. I'm getting hungry already,” Violet sighed, dusting bits of dirt off her jacket.

A year had passed since the incident. A year since the sky split open. A year since the earth crumbled beneath them.

A year since monsters poured into their world, bringing nothing but chaos. A year since the greatest massacre in human history. A year since humanity lost its home.

They called it The Rupture.

Billions died in the first week. Civilization as they knew it was wiped clean, replaced with fear, and blood. Cities became graveyards and governments collapsed overnight.

As Humanity stood at the brink of extinction drowning in despair, a door of salvation finally opened for them.

A week after The Rupture, the sky tore open again. But this time, it wasn’t death that came through—it was hope.

A vast, glowing rift appeared, unlike the chaotic fractures and gaping wound-like holes before. From its depths emerged individuals who looked human and spoke like humans. Infact, they also possessed the same anatomy as humans, but they called themselves Astrovians.

They wielded power beyond logical comprehension. Things which were normally regarded as mere fantasy. This alone set them on a different level from the dying humans on earth.

They not only showed humanity a ray of hope, they rewrote their perception of what the impossible is.

These outsiders wielded it all and gave them a new home in their world. The world humanity now called home was named Astrovia.

A planet that, for reasons beyond human comprehension, had always existed in a parallel plane—Earth’s twin, yet entirely separate.

No one knew why or how it happened, but one year ago, the unthinkable occurred. The Astrovians named it The Collision.

The two worlds had begun to merge, tearing the fabric of reality apart. The process was chaotic, unpredictable. And in the aftermath, monsters—terrifying creatures from Astrovia—poured into Earth, slaughtering everything in sight.

This process not only transferred these creatures but warped them into the grotesque forms they saw.

It should have been humanity’s end.

On the other hand, the collision had no adverse effect on Astrovians. They could have simply let Earth’s survivors be devoured, and left to perish.

But they extended a hand and brought the remnants of humanity into their world.

As expected, the transition was anything but smooth. Astrovia was vastly different from Earth. Ranging from the atmosphere filled with a form of energy they called mana, to the advance technology driven society.

It was leagues above Earth in terms of advancement. Devices and concepts which existed as mere scientific theories yet to be proven on earth existed on Astrovia as casual tools and practices.

It took time, but many humans adapted to this new environment. Some even awakened abilities, tapping into the latent energies of this new world. Others were not as fortunate, forever bound by their old weaknesses.

And then there was Levi. The one human whose first savior wasn't Astrovians, but commands from a mysterious glowing blue screen.

After the collision came to an end, the screen vanished, refusing to appear again.

The very thing that had saved him—the mysterious power that had once granted him an edge in a world gone mad—had simply shut down. No messages. No updates. Nothing.

That is... Until now.

Upon waking up, he was suddenly met with a blue screen materializing before his eyes.

[ Quest Unlocked ]

[ Objective: Slay 10 Duskrend Wolves ]

[ Duration: 24 Hours ]

[ Rewards ]

[ I. New Spark Element Skill ]

[ II. Faithful Encounter ]

[ Penalty: Death ]

Levi’s fingers twitched as he stared at the screen, his heart thudding in his chest.

"A quest... After all this freaking time?" He thought. "And the penalty was death."

Before he could fully process all the events so far, a voice yanked him back to reality.

"Hey, Hercules, you’re going all out today.” Levi blinked, snapping his gaze toward the speaker.

Kyle tilted his head. “Not gonna lie, it’s kinda weird seeing you out here with us. You usually don’t come along for hunts.”

Before Levi could respond, Violet's voice cut in. "Yeah, seriously. What’s up today?”

Kyle and Violet were the two gifts Levi had gotten from Astrovia. When everyone else moved together with the friends and family they survived with, Levi was alone.

That is, until he met these two. They were orphans just like him. Maybe this was why they easily bonded and related with each other's experiences.

To survive, they went on hunts. They killed monsters and sold any materials they got. Levi always stayed behind and basically played the role of the home maker.

After all, the one thing that gave him a chance or the least bit of confidence against these monsters has abandoned him, so what use would it be if he followed.

Levi forced a breath, shaking off the lingering tension from pondering the system’s sudden reappearance and the message it came with.

“Just felt like finally getting some fresh air,” he muttered.

Kyle snorted. “Right. And I suddenly feel like becoming Astrovia's supreme ruler. ”

“You sure you’re okay, Levi?” Violet arched a brow.

Levi exhaled slowly. He wasn’t. Aside from the death penalty lingering behind him, there was a reward he couldn't make sense of. What did it mean by Faithful Encounter?

But there was no point in worrying them. So instead, he rolled his shoulders and forced a smirk.

“Relax guys. Let’s just kill some monsters and go home. It's getting pretty late.”

Kyle let out a sharp laugh, clapping Levi on the back hard enough to make him stumble.

“I guess he’s finally growing some balls,” he teased, shaking his head in amusement. “Took you long enough.”

Levi shot him a flat look but didn’t bother responding. He just turned and started walking. “Yeah, yeah, let’s just go.”

Kyle and Violet exchanged a quick glance before following beside him.

After a few minutes of walking, Violet glanced at Levi, unable to hide the curiosity in her eyes. “So, why’d you pick this one?”

Levi didn’t answer immediately. His fingers twitched slightly at his side, his mind replaying the glowing notification that had appeared out of nowhere.

“It’s active again,” he finally said.

Kyle and Violet immediately came to an abrupt stop. They understood what Levi said but their minds—for some reason—refused to accept it.

They were the only two individuals Levi had ever spoken of the system with.

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “You don’t mean—”

Levi exhaled, turning to face them. His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable sense of worry behind it.

“Yes. That... System thing. It came back.”