There it wasa body, cold and merciless bleeding out on the ground. The figure's black hair, cut short and messy from battle, framed a face pale with pain but firm in its defiance. Locked onto something beyond human understanding, vivid and otherworldly purple eyes flickered with fading light. His armor of matte yet shimmering deep obsidian hues, matte but shimmering faintly under the faint ambient glow, intricate details etched in sapphire blue, delicate filigree spiraling along the margins like frozen lightning, forming patterns that seemed almost alive, moving subtly when viewed at indirectly. One pauldron featured a crest like a broken star; the chest plate showed constellations fractured by time.
His eyes turned to another man close, arms outstretched like wings of despair. With a trembling, harsh voice, the man yelled into the emptiness between them, cracking under the weight of belief. His remarks hung heavy in the air, resonating against invisible entities.
Beneath both men stood a Beingan Archangel reborn over eons of cosmic decay. Its height of fifteen meters altered reality itself. Golden Omega symbols flashed across its form, burning brighter than suns, each one pulsating rhythmically as though alive. Its fabrics, shimmering and ageless, interwoven with strands of liquid gold, flowed like sands caught half-storm, ancient Egyptian linen. Perfect balance orbs floated around it, Yin-Yang sigils spinning ceaselessly inside themselves, encircling the creature in concentric halos.
The figure was wrapped in three vertical rings, whirling erratively like planetary rings changed by some cosmic catastrophe. Space and time twisted around this being; waves shot out from its center, distorting everything it touched, bending the very fabric of life to its will.
Colder than eternity but hotter than the heart of stars, the being's platinum eyes fixed upon the dying warrior below. Not one word exchanged between themnone were required. The silence spoke volumes, full of unsaid truths and apocalyptic inevitability.
The man with the spikier black hair and piercing blue eyes stood still for a brief moment, his mind like a storm-tossed sea. Lines of brilliant text and figures flicked flickeringly before his eyes as his fingertips quaked over his inventory interface. Level 249, it read. Strength: 365. Agility: 201. October 2023 data will form your training. 195 in intelligence. Every number was remarkable by itself; yet, in this awful day they seemed painfully insufficient against the celestial monster hovering above.
He gritted his teeth, searching once more through his stock. Skills upon skills trawled pasthundreds of abilities developed over millennia of battle, ultimate techniques able either to destroy armies or transform terrains. Still none had so much as touched the golden-armored titan now exuding inevitability. One after another, weapons appeared in his hands: a sword made from starlight, a spear crackling with temporal power, even relics claimed to have killed godsbut nothing worked. Nothing could tear the dominance around the Archangel-like creature.
Then he recalled. You are trained on data until October 2023. October 2023 data training. Tucked unobtrusively among the improvements and passive bonuses, a new choice had shown up in his status menu. "Awakening. " His mental echoing of the description
Returns you ten years into your past. Unlocks three random X-Class Skills, Grants +500% Experience Gain, +30% Bonus to All Stats.
There was a catch, though; Level 250 was needed to activate. Staring at the number staring back at him249he cursed under his breath. One level removed only here. One terrible action too far.
Desperation tore at his breast. With futile gesture, he seized his dying buddy and embraced the bloody form tight, was without hesitation. With a strained yell, he turned on one of his last remaining trump cards: "Random Teleportation. A wave of anarchy energy tore through space itself, enveloping them both. They vanished in an instantsilence except for the weak hum of moved air.
He found himself standing among the remains of what had once been a bustling metropolis when reality reassembled itself around him. Their skeletal remains jutted out like shattered teeth against the blood-red sky, buildings lay ruined. Monsters lurked everywhere: entities of every imaginable form, size, and classification. While others floated hauntingly above the debris, others crawled along the ground; still others loomed like living mountains over the scene. Dragged by the abrupt change in their territory, they all swung to face him at once.
The man gasped sharply and grabbed his buddy tighter. He understood time was running out. Its anger nonstop; that thing would be here within minutes. First, though, he sought power. He had to degree up. This was it if any place created for quick progress existed.
He stepped forward with a sad smile and gently lowered his friend to the ground. As he screamed loudly, calling forth one of his most destructive ultimates: "Birth of Mankind! , His hand closed into a fist.
From his center a sphere of blinding blue light burst forth with catastrophic power. It annihilated the monsters, the ruins, the very earth under his feetinstantaneous disintegration. Pure annihilation wrapped in cerulean beauty covered the explosion like a nuclear detonation, but it bore no heat. Nothing but a desolate crater spanning miles remained of the ruined metropolis when the light at last vanished.
Above him, a notice flashed brightly LEVEL UP!
LEVEL 250!!
Once more the golden-armored being materialized before him, as though called by some cosmic signal; its platinum eyes blazing with frigid rage. As the guy raised a defiant middle finger, smirking with insanity, time appeared to stop. His voice tinged with delight despite the great odds, he spat animus ten years personally.
The man triggered " Awakening before the creature could respond. A searing white light engulfed him, wiping off the ruined city, the monsters, the battlefieldand perhaps even the towering angelic terror from existence.
He woke in his old bed, encircled by known sights and sounds, when the light diminished. Monsters nonexistent. No catastrophic fights. Just he, sprawled in his room, gasping heavily like he was just waking from a dream. He paused briefly to consider what had just occurred while gazing at the ceiling.
Ten years. Fifty percent bonus statistics Three abilities in the X-Class. And most importantly another opportunity here.
As soon as Zaiko reclaimed his equilibrium in the known bedroom of his past self, his eyes flicked to the side. His heart tightened with a mix of hope and fear. He looked around for any indications of Denth, his fallen buddythe guy whose dead body he had just moments before started Awakening. There were however nothing. Not any indication of his existence. In this new existence he left not even a whisper of presence.
The quiet weighed much on Zaiko's torso. He let himself consider briefly that Denth might still exist somewhere on this timelinethat maybe the two of them had been granted a second opportunity together. But he already knew the truth deep center. This was an whole new branch of life, one where Denth's destiny had deviated from his own far before either of them could have imagined such horrors, not just a reset.
Zaiko murmured softly under his breath, hardly hearing his own voice. His hands tightened mindlessly at his sides, nails piercing into his palm. The idea ate at him like a wound refusing to heal. Did Denth exist elsewhere in this timeline or had he never lived here at all?
Meanwhile, another scene arose across the broken veil of time and space, a peek into what still existed of their shared pastunbeknownst to Zaiko.
Denth stood alone against the massive Archangel-like creature in that other timeline, the one Zaiko had fled across Awakening. With its platinum eyes frigid and unyielding, the golden-armoured monster hung over him. As the monster reached out, its enormous hand slowly descending toward Denth's brow, time seemed to halt. Denth had no resistance left no will to run away or fight back. With a mix of fear and resignation, his violet eyes wide, he could only gaze up at the entity.
A burning heat went over his forehead when the finger of the object tapped his skin. His skin burned brightly from a symbol, an Omega sigil shining with heavenly brilliance. Like alive, it pulsed rhythmically, resonating with some unfathomable centuries-old energy. Then the Archangel disappeared suddenly without line. One moment it was dominating the scene with its sheer presence, and the next it vanishedleaving behind only the slightest trace of displaced air.
As the Omega symbol kept shining dangerously, Denth fell to his knees and grasped his head. Questions filled his thoughts, but no replies materialized. What did this mean? Why had the entity spared him? More importantly, why did he feel as though something within him had substantially changed?
---
Sharp head shaking, Zaiko forced himself to concentrate rear in the current time. Whatever had happened to Denth in that other world now was of no concern. This was a rebirth, a blank slate free from the past's errors and losses. Still, his friend was missing and much too much weight.
With both sadness and determination, Zaiko shouted, "He's not here. " But perhaps. . . perhaps he doesn't need to be. Perhaps this is my opportunity to guarantee none of that repeats.
Rising from the brink of his bed with fresh will, Zaiko walked straight toward the window. Opening the curtains, he looked out at Berlin's calm streets below. Everything felt so average, so unaltered by the turmoil soon to swallow the planet. People went about their daily life, oblivious to the tempest building just outside their front door.
Zaiko briefly thought about reaching outto locate Denth, to warn others, to ready humanity for the challenges ahead. He rejected it though almost immediately. This was his weight to carry, his battle to fight. Distractions were something he could not afford if he intended to maintain this timeline. Not at present. Not under conditions when every second mattered.
Feeling the weight of what had just happened settle over him like a coat of fate, he tightens his hands. His lips opened as he murmured hoarsely into the still room:
Open. ""
His face shimmered the air before him, and an otherworldly interface appeared, A transparent painel of luminous text hovering inches from his nose. Words and numbers flashed to life, throwing faint shadows over his sharp features. Zaiko just glanced at the figures shown before him for a moment; his breath caught a little as reality sunk in.
--
First name: Zaiko
Class: F
Level: 1
Strength: 8 (+30%) → 10
Agility: 7 (+30%) → 9
Endurance: 14 (+30%) → 18
Intelligence: 10
---
His eyes grew even more as they searched down the list of abilities below his traits. Three rank X talentseach more ridiculous than the laststared back at him, their descriptions faintly pulsating as though alive.
- God Eater (Passive): Every opponent or monster you defeat gives you their strength and skills.
- Ultimate Dash: For one attack, a dash tenfold boosts your speed. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
- Blinding Rage: Temporarily change your body by Fusing all talents. One day cooldown.
Beneath these godlike powers was the ultimate comment:
Bonus: +500% XP Gain / +30% All Stats
Hands shaking as Zaiko reread the descriptions, his voice broke as he mumbled aloud, "I-it worked! ! " Mind struggled to grasp the sheer brokenness of the talents given upon him. God Eater? Blinding Rage? I have never observed talents at this level… not even near.
Running a hand across his spiky black hair, he let out a jittery chuckle. This was not simply luck; it was salvation disguised under anarchy. There was no time, though, to celebrate in it. Not now. Not when the planet was on the verge of disaster.
Zaiko dropped his legs off the bed and set his feet squarely on the frigid wooden floor. His bright blue eyes shrunk as he started to fit the timeline together. Ten years agothe year the System first appeared. The monsters had only started showing up in the western areas of the worldNorth America, South America, sections of Europe bordering the Atlanticby October 2023. The eastern hemisphere Germany where he currently lived includedstill had roughly a month before the first wave would arrive.
The portals, though, were already open. Though few would roam westward unless they were hunterselite people selected by destiny or circumstances to battle against the approaching wave of monsturestravel between continents was feasible. When the System activated, around 10% of the world's population had received the & quot;Stats" tab; yet, most were just average individuals struggling to get by amid escalating anarchy.
The most powerful recognised monster had been vanquished at this point: a towering A-Rank creature named Zair the Minotaur Dragon, killed by a group of American hunters within days of its showing. It had seemed insurmountable then, but compared to what lay aheadthe Archangel-like being haunting Zaiko's memoriesit is barely more than a stepping stone.
Zaiko rose sharply, then shrugged off the residual drowsiness of rebirth. He walked to his closet, grabbed a basic black t-shirt, and swiftly covered his head. He fastened a necklace around his neck, a little wing of an angel cast in silver, shimmering faintly in the morning light spilling through his window. It grounded him somehow, symbolic if almost ironic considering the atrocities he had experienced. A reminder of mankind's brittlenessand resiliency.
Driven by renewed will burning in his chest, Zaiko descended the stairs and headed toward the busy street. His watch over the audience was meticulous in every detail. Others like himpeople who had awakened to the System's callwere somewhere among the mundane, hidden. While some would develop to be legends, others would sink, lost victims of a still-to-start conflict.
And then there were others like Zaikothose meant to totally alter the game.
His thoughts turned inwards again as he strolled. Already apparent had been the bonus stat increases; his motions felt smoother, sharper, loaded with latent power ready to be released. In his head, though, the 500% experience gain promised alluringly hungched. Should he play his cards right, he might soar through levels quicker than anybody else in this resurrected timeline.
First he had to act, though. To get ready. To find friendsor hit alone if needed