Apocalypse: becoming the hidden Ruler

Inside, the air crackled with Force. Not wild. Not corrupted. Not infected.

It was overflowing, but pure—like a dam breaking open and swallowing the world.

Axel's bandages were splitting open one by one. The skin beneath them wasn't scorched anymore. It was smooth. New. Alive.

The sickly pallor of death had drained away from his face, replaced by a slow, blooming flush of color.

Millers and Kaia burst in behind them and stopped cold. Everyone just… stared.

And there, sitting quietly beside Axel, was Annabelle—still holding his hand, eyes wet with relief, her face a picture of exhausted joy.

"Beep… beep… beep…"

The heart monitor, which had nearly flatlined, was coming back to life—its rhythm steadying, its signal growing stronger by the second.

Doctors and nurses rushed in moments later. The lead physician stopped in his tracks, jaw dropping.

"This… this is a miracle. That's the only word for it."

Joy exploded through the room like thunder breaking after a storm. Phoenix, towering and battle-worn, finally let out a laugh—short, raw, and real. Vince let himself breathe. Kaia smiled faintly.

Rosaline turned toward Annabelle. "Did you… do something?"

Annabelle finally released Axel's hand, stepping back so the medical team could move in. She shook her head slowly, eyes dazed. "No. I just called his name," she said quietly. "I knew he wouldn't leave me behind that easily."

Vince nodded, watching Axel's chest rise and fall.

"Not bad," he murmured. If Axel had turned… if the Force had consumed him completely… They would've had no choice but to end it themselves.

Vince stepped up beside Axel's bed, pressing two fingers gently to his wrist. He stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly stiffened.

"What the hell…?" he muttered.

Rosaline moved quickly to his side. "What is it?"

Vince stepped back, eyes still locked on Axel. "Feel for yourself."

Vince wasn't someone who got rattled easily. Seeing him even slightly shaken made everyone else tense.

Rosaline placed her fingers on Axel's veins—and immediately froze. Her eyes widened. "River-tier origin veins?"

"What?!" The rest of the team snapped to attention.

That didn't make any sense. Everyone knew how painfully slow it was to advance an origin veins. Axel had only been at the stream level before. There was no way he'd just leapt a whole tier in the span of a few days.

Vince nodded slowly. "It doesn't mean he's fully formed a river-level veins yet. But his absorption rate… it's already there. His origin veins just needs shaping now."

Even that was enough to leave the room stunned.

An origin veins was like a channel—it didn't just expand on its own. Widening it was brutal, painstaking work, often requiring years of effort. Shaping it could come later, but expanding? That was the real wall most awakeners hit.

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"Could Maxen's awakening skill have… triggered it?" Vince asked, half to himself. He looked at Axel with a mix of awe and envy. Was this a shortcut?

Rosaline shook her head. "No. More likely, Axel's body pushed itself into overdrive. A survival reflex. To keep himself alive, he overdrew on the original force, which force-expanded the veins."

Expanding the origin veins wasn't just painful. It was torture. Like having your bones stretched until they cracked, again and again. Most people would've passed out from the agony.

But Axel had been unconscious—and that was what had allowed it to happen.

"We shouldn't disturb him now," Vince said after a pause. "We take shifts guarding the door. Let him stabilize first."

He glanced at the others. "Maxen's dead. That much is certain. But Havoc Division won't take this lying down. We'll know more once Axel wakes up."

Inside Axel's subconscious—

Maxen's final attack had ripped through him harder than expected. Normally, even in near-death or suspended animation, Axel could still see the world faintly—hear voices, feel movement.

Not this time.

This time, there was nothing but darkness… and the massive ancient tree rooted deep within his consciousness. It loomed as always, a towering sentinel of his soul—but its green leaves were starting to wilt. The life within it was fading.

He had assumed the City of Sin's dark-green crystal would keep him going. That he could keep absorbing it, keep activating Healing, and survive through sheer will.

But the first surprise was that he'd lost consciousness altogether.

The second? The crystal had run out.

He hadn't even known. His body had gone colder and colder, like the light was draining from him.

Until…

He heard her voice. Annabelle.

That one moment—her calling his name—cut through the void like a blade.

And then, something shifted.

His mental processes reengaged, barely. He found another source of Force. Something new—another crystal. His body began to absorb it.

The balance stabilized.

Two days passed before his mind began to return. He still couldn't move, but his consciousness was clear. By the fourth day, Axel opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Annabelle, curled up next to the hospital bed, peeling an apple in her hand. Her eyes were dark with exhaustion—she hadn't slept properly in days.

Axel sat up carefully. His body was stiff but healed. He picked up the blanket beside him and gently laid it over her shoulders.

She startled awake, saw him, and without a word, threw herself into his arms.

Her small frame trembled against his. After a long moment, she pulled away just enough to glare at him, tears welling up again. "Don't you ever do that again."

Axel managed a faint smile. He sighed. "I know. I was too reckless."

Success had made him overconfident. The past few missions had gone too smoothly. He'd started to believe he had things under control.

But if Phoenix hadn't killed Maxen when he did… if there hadn't been a second life crystal… if Annabelle hadn't come…

He would've been dead.

"Okay. I promise," he said, voice quiet.

Click. The door swung open.

Vince walked in, balancing a steaming bowl of ramen in one hand. "Hey, little sister. Got you something warm—"

He stopped mid-sentence, eyes locking on Axel.

"Axel?!" The bowl nearly dropped as he rushed over, stunned.

Axel and Annabelle awkwardly let go of each other's pinky fingers. Annabelle's ears turned red instantly.

"You're finally awake!" Millers' face lit up. "Damn, we were so scared. I'm gonna get the Rosaline—she's gonna lose it!"

Without waiting for a response, he bolted out of the room, grinning from ear to ear.

Axel let out a long breath. He knew they'd been taking turns watching over him these past few days. They'd even brought in a Level 5 healing awakener. The thought stirred something in his chest—gratitude, guilt… both.

The door opened again, and Vince returned, followed by the others. As Rosaline entered, her expression frosty and unreadable, Axel's gut tightened.

She's definitely going to hit me.

Before anyone could speak, he got up and lowered his head in apology. "Captain, I acted on my own. I'm sorry for causing trouble."

Millers blinked, caught off guard by the unprompted confession. Axel wasn't the kind to admit mistake easily. But when he saw Rosaline next to him with murderous eyes, he understood. He gently patted Axel's shoulder. "It's good that you're safe."

Rosaline, meanwhile, thrown off. The old saying: Don't hit someone who's already smiling. Now she didn't quite know what to do with her anger.

"Do you not trust us?" she asked, her voice low.

Millers and Kaia exchanged puzzled looks. They hadn't been filled in on Axel's plan. Only Vince and Rosaline had started piecing things together.

"It's not that I don't trust you," Axel said quickly, looking up. "Some plans... they stop working the moment too many people know about them."

Seeing Rosaline's eyes narrow, he rushed to add, "But yeah—my fault. I should've been more upfront. I owe Phoenix an apology too."

He looked at the others. "You all probably have questions. I'll explain everything."