After taking a few minutes to calm down, he sat up. His bed was still uncomfortable to lie in, so he had no other option. There was a little desk nearby. However, he also didn't want to be too far from his bed in case he fell asleep unintentionally.
"What am I going to do now?" he said to himself as he pondered his options.
He took a moment to consider all the dreams he had experienced thus far and all their implications in his current timeline.
Levi sat still, and his mind began to churn away, gears rotating and swapping in and out, trying to think of the best possible way to approach his current situation given the revelation that he had just come upon.
"To be clear," he said to himself, "I have not yet gotten to the point of no return, so I can still salvage something from this situation."
Thinking back towards the dreams that he had and the memories that were resurfacing and coming back bit by bit, he then decided the best way forward was to formulate a plan that would reverse the more immediate effects and then deal with chronic issues later.
The night was still and quiet, which made him wonder if there were any guards patrolling, but he knew better. Perhaps he couldn't sense them yet because his sense for essence was not yet attuned. As things stood, he had yet to fully and officially awaken.
When his dreams began, he remembered the very first one vividly—it was of his death. Fitting, though tragic. In a strange way, it made sense that his second life would begin with the memory of how his first had ended.
"Poetic, even, if I do say so myself," Levi muttered under his breath, half amused, half bitter.
From what he could recollect, he had perished in the midst of a brutal battle against the so-called Hero of the South—a warrior whose legend had spread far and wide. Ironically, the man hailed from the northern reaches of their kingdom, drawn southward by the tides of civil war that were consuming the land. The clash had been one of chaos and fury, blades clashing under a sky painted red, until the final blow cut through not only his body but the loyalty he once believed unshakable.
There had been no grand tragedy to it, no noble cause to soften the sting—only cold, deliberate betrayal.
When his house began to fall, he was at the centre of it all. His family were framed as traitors and accused of harbouring one even. Perhaps the only respite he had was that even in the face of blackmail, the Duke had not truly abandoned him and had remained a father to him until the end, even if he was gravely disappointed in Levi for not having awakened a thread after all those years.
"I will admit, he was a good father," Levi said. "For all his flaws, I cannot begrudge him that."
He began also to remember some of the days he would live after having been framed and involved in the scandal that was plotted by Duskveil.
He was chased from his home and branded a traitor. For a long time, he would live a nomadic life, going from town to town, coast to coast, continent to continent, and city to city, building up his strength with nothing but malice, rage, and that pure burning desire for revenge in his heart.
Day after day, he would sharpen his blade, harness his skills, and grow more accustomed to his threads as he prepared for the fateful day of his return to the empire. Given where they were in the current timeline, Duskveil had yet to move. However, he was aware that the spy was already planted—or should he say spies?
He remembered his house falling from multiple angles, and his father facing compromise not only from his most trusted aides but even from those whom he employed in duchy finances, logistics, warrior training, research and development, as well as the general upkeep of the city. It was a clean sweep—calculated, even—that he began to suspect this move had been plotted for years by those who were in command and at the top of the hierarchy of Duskveil.
If he had not been the victim of their machinations, he would have been thoroughly impressed by their patience and meticulous planning. However, having been on the receiving end of their vicious schemes, all he could think of was revenge. Pure, unbridled spite welled up in him as he went over all the hellish experiences of his past life.
From battle to field to battlefield, he had lost limbs; he had lost sight on multiple occasions—even senses he did not know he had. But it was not all for nought. He was back, and although his current body was not yet a well-oiled war machine, he had all the experience in the world to drill it toward that while experiencing half the pain he went through in his previous life.
His thoughts drifted towards his mother and his sister. He was not on the best of terms with his younger sister, and he spoke less with his sister as the days went by. Although his mother still favoured him, because of his recent behaviour over the years and the change he underwent at the age of ten, her love was growing cold, and Levi could not really blame her. The current Levi made it very hard for her.
"OK, now is not the time to beat myself about it," Levi said as he began to think about all the wicked things he had begun doing.
The youngest of House Solareth was known as an abusive master. Perhaps the fact that he did not awaken a thread—and that servants had threads who served under him—made him take joy and respite in having authority over them and abusing them, though they were much stronger than he was. And so, Levi of House Solareth was known as an abusive master.
Although it never crossed the line of forcing himself upon a maid or worker in the house, the abuse remained physical and verbal only. Levi also lost respect for any form of nobility or authority, and so it was very rare that the first son would attend any balls or conferences where nobility gathered and discussed important matters or celebrated annual events.
On more than one occasion, he had embarrassed House Solareth by passing unsavoury remarks in places where the esteemed of the nation had gathered.
As the memories kept coming, Levi began to cringe at his childish behaviour. It was nothing short of embarrassing, and he was trying to keep it together as he thought about it all.
He was seventeen years old now, and if he remembered correctly, the time the great dreams began was also when he had awakened—or rather, half-awakened. He was the only one aware of his awakening, for he had not gone through the natural process. One could say he was half-awakened.
It was not unheard of, but it was quite rare for an individual to awaken under such ordinary circumstances—without the proper environment or the usual stimuli of an awakening chamber. Yes, he was a freak of nature, though he already knew that much, given the dreams he had.
Oftentimes, he would find himself in battles—four against one, five against one—and he would triumph, only to be embroiled in another skirmish and win again, until ultimately he would flee, seeking refuge from his pursuers. Perhaps he had lived a short life, but Levi knew that very few, even at the peak of their powers, could fight him toe-to-toe. He had yet to meet anyone who could clash with him in a true one-on-one battle.
Still, he attributed that confidence to the brevity of his life. He was well aware of how vast the world was, and that within it existed powers so ancient and overbearing that, had he ever encountered them, he would not have stood a chance. He was certain of this—his father, too, had fallen to the blade of one such power. Though at the time, he had only heard rumours and never returned home to confirm whether it was true that the Duchy of Solareth had truly fallen.
The night remained still, his breathing steady. He rose from his bed and sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Well, I might as well start now," he muttered to himself.
With quiet anticipation, he began to clear his thoughts one by one, focusing inward—toward his essence. When he finally located it, information flooded his mind.
Name: Levi Ardyn Solareth
Race: Human
Titles: The Lightless Heir, Prince of Blades, Dying Sun, The Returned, Warlord, Ghost of the Sun, Heavenly Virtue, Monarch.
Core Rank: Initiate[partial awakening]
Heritage Threads:
Aurora Dominion—Type: Elemental (Light), Rank: Undefined
Cryo Dominion — Type: Elemental (Ice), Rank: Undefined
Acquired Threads:
Diligence — Type: Concept (Virtue), Rank: Mythic
[??????] — Type: Law (Null), Rank: Undefined
"Just as I suspected," he murmured.
As in the previous timeline, he still possessed that strange thread of his, and he never got to finding out what it was. Yet, because of his memories, his Thread of Diligence had accumulated a vast amount of power within him.
"Well, I suppose not all things are doom and gloom," he said softly. "Let's see what fate has for me this time."