Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

In the dimly lit room that had become his home, he watched his reflection in the broken mirror. The cracks in the glass distorted his face, but even then, the subtle differences in his could be seen.

His face looked sharper now, and his jawline was more defined. Even his cheekbones were slightly higher. But the biggest change was in his eyes. They seemed deeper, darker, and if he looked closely, he could catch a faint glow, like a flicker of light behind them.

"The stupid glow again..." YuWon sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

Even two years wasn't enough for him to tame his powers. The Disaster's heart would often trigger his abilities without him knowing it. The broken mirror was a prime example of his instability.

His muscles bulged as he turned to pick up the thin strand of the world tree's vine and tied the hairs so they didn't fall on his face. His arms were stronger than they had ever been. He wasn't bulky, but lean and toned like a predator.

But it wasn't just physical changes. His mind had become sharper, more aware. He could hear the faintest sounds around him.

Looks like everything is fine. Just like every other day.

Strangely enough, in the two years, nothing much happened. The constant chaos they were living in was gone. Hell, they didn't even have a trial in two years.

Anna had already told him about it. In her timeline, it took them two years to reach the world tree. Which meant the angel had screwed them over and made them skip other trials.

Soon, a knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. Asmodeus had sent word earlier for the welcome party. After all, it was the day for the Awakeners to arrive.

***

YuWon walked up to the edge of the cliff, where Asmodeus, Lucifer, and Anna were standing. The once barren tree now had fresh leaves sprouting from its branches.

Since the mole wasn't there to kill the roots, the World Tree had slowly started to heal. It was also thanks in part to Lysandra. It seemed that she was somehow related to the world tree.

When the tree had dried up, she couldn't use her powers either. But now that the tree was healing, her powers were also coming back. She was nowhere close to how strong she used to be, but she was improving day by day.

"Where are the others?" YuWon asked, looking around.

"They should be here soon," Asmodeus replied. "Gina and Lysandra are guiding them through the roots that have sprouted."

YuWon nodded. As the tree grew, it sprouted new roots, turning the place into a maze. Without a guide, those awakeners would get lost and die even before they got a chance to climb the tree.

It was the angel's idea to send some people over when she informed us about their arrival.

Anna wrapped her arm around YuWon's as they waited for the people to arrive. Just then, Asmodeus spoke, breaking the silence.

"How are you adapting to the Disaster's heart?" he asked. "Had any troubles recently?"

"It's been… an adjustment," he admitted, curling his fingers in a fist. "But thanks to your training, I won't go berserk anymore."

"Well, good thing it's manageable now." Lucifer laughed, smacking YuWon on the shoulder. "Remember the first time we sparred after you got the Heart? You lost control and shattered my shoulder."

YuWon shook his head before swatting Lucifer's hand away.

"Still crying about it? It healed fast enough, asshole."

"So? Just because I healed fast means I can't talk about it?"

"Talk? Sure you can. But what you're doing is not talking, it's called bitching."

"...brutal, mortal."

Over the last two years, the two had formed a bond, sparring regularly to keep YuWon in check.

Since Lucifer was the strongest person on the base, he was the only one who could withstand the full brunt of YuWon's strength suffering no severe injury.

Asmodeus smiled faintly at their banter, recalling the sight of Lucifer knocking YuWon out when he broke his shoulder. Besides, he had his own sprouts to deal with.

He was the one who had taken charge of training the others while YuWon and Lucifer sparred. Asmodeus's time as an angel gave him ample knowledge about everyone's abilities. That alone made him the perfect instructor.

What little control Lysandra had over her abilities was thanks to Asmodeus. However, with her abilities gone, she had to learn different forms of combat and he had helped her with that as well.

Anna, for her part, hadn't changed much. She remained the strongest of YuWon's wives. That was the case when she didn't receive any reward for helping YuWon kill the mole.

Or she would have been stronger than me.

YuWon found the lack of strange. But Anna didn't seem bothered by it. She was content to be by YuWon's side, even without a power boost.

Unlike Gina, who had grown stronger over the years. While she wasn't as strong as Anna, she was formidable in her own right. YuWon could take Anna's word for it because the two often sparred together.

If it had been the same case with Yeji, I wouldn't have to worry about her.

But that wasn't the only thing bothering him. While Yeji was the same ever-so-loyal stepsister, something felt off about her. She had been ignoring him recently and often acted out.

While YuWon was wondering about her, Anna planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Still worried about her?" she asked.

YuWon nodded. "From what Lucifer and Asmodeus told me about Sekhmet, I don't want Yeji to have anything to do with her."

"YuWon," Anna smiled and cupped his face. "Yeji is your sister first, and Sekhmet's envoy later. Have some faith in her... she won't make the same mistake again."

"I hope she doesn't," YuWon sighed. "We saved her the last time she went berserk. I'm not sure the Awakeners would be so understanding again."

Just then, Lucifer nodded ahead, pointing at the new batch of Awakeners. Finally, they could start climbing the tree as they were supposed to.