FISTBOUND. I Ascend With Every New Upgrade.

Darkness.

Not just the kind that fills a room when the lights are off. This was deeper. Colder. Like Levi was submerged in ink that seeped into his bones. There was no sound, no air, just... floating.

Then—"System initializing…"

A whisper in the void. Not spoken aloud, not heard with ears. It vibrated through his skull like a buried scream.

[FISTBOUND Core Detected]Tagline: Pain is the currency. Blood is the price. Victory is the path.

Suddenly, Levi's body jerked. He gasped, eyes snapping open.

Chains rattled. His wrists were still bound, his face half-smashed against the cold concrete. His ribs screamed. His back felt like someone had carved it with glass.

But something was different.

There was... warmth. Not comfort—more like a forge being lit inside his chest.

[Initial Pain Threshold Surpassed][Trauma Surge Recognized][CORE ACTIVATION: PHASE ONE INITIATED]

"Wh—what...?" Levi croaked.

Welcome, Levi Lupin.You are now bound to the FISTBOUND Core.You ascend with every new upgrade.

Ascend?

He blinked. The air around him shimmered, just for a second. Not visibly—but inside his mind. Like numbers and instincts were overlaying on top of his senses. Suddenly, he felt his pulse, his blood pressure, the broken fracture in his right forearm.

He didn't see them. He knew them.

[Core Stats Initialized]STRENGTH: 4ENDURANCE: 3DEXTERITY: 5FOCUS: 2RESOLVE: ???

That last one pulsed.

"Resolve is locked until Anchor Sync completes."

Anchor? Then—

[Memory Archive Detected…]Memory Node — Fragment 01: "Lilith's Blanket"Processing…

Suddenly, he was there.

Not in the cell, not chained. He was eight again. Small, hungry. Wrapped in a dusty blue blanket next to a small fire. Lilith, only four, leaned against him with eyes swollen from crying. Their father hadn't come back that night. Or the next.

It had snowed. They had huddled together, the world forgetting them both.

"I'll keep you warm," he'd whispered to her."I'll never leave you."

And just like that, the fragment ended.

Levi staggered.

"W-what the hell is this…?"

[Resolve +1]Anchor: Lilith synced.New System Trait Unlocked: Pain-to-Will Conversion

A rush of heat surged up Levi's spine. His fingers twitched. The pain in his body was still there, but it no longer felt like a curse. It was fuel.

[Ascension Level 1 Achieved]Surge Point: VerifiedEndurance +1 | Focus +1

He laughed. It came out broken. Mad.

But then the speaker clicked on again.

"You're still alive?" Viktor's voice was amused. "Didn't expect that."

Levi slowly pushed himself to his knees, chains still on but body trembling less. "What the hell did you do to me...?"

"Me?" Viktor said, almost offended. "You did it to yourself, kid."

A pause.

"But I did help trigger it. That arena was never about survival. It was a system seed trial. I had to know if you were compatible."

Levi's heart dropped. "You used me?"

"No. I chose you. There's a difference." His tone hardened. "Now the real question is: what are you going to do with it?"

[New Directive Unlocked]Mission: ESCAPE THE PIT.Objective: Survive Viktor's Secondary TestCondition: 3 Elite Combatants inbound.System will auto-boot Augment Tree on first blood.

Levi felt it before he heard them—footsteps. Heavy. Purposeful.

The cell door slammed open.

Three figures stepped inside. Each wore reinforced combat gear, no faces showing. One had a stun baton crackling blue. The other had gauntlets. The third? Knives.

Viktor's voice buzzed again.

"You're in the crucible now, Levi. If you make it out... you'll be stronger. If you don't..." A pause. "Well, then you were never meant to survive anyway."

The line went dead.

The first attacker lunged without warning. Levi twisted, the baton grazing his side. Pain exploded—but something else followed:

[System Trigger — Blood Registered]AUGMENT TREE UNLOCKED. SELECT PATH:

• Path of the Juggernaut – Brute strength, unstoppable momentum.• Path of the Phantom – Speed, misdirection, pressure-point strikes.• Path of the Revenant – Convert pain into raw force. Regenerative rage.

He had no time to think.

The baton came again—this time, Levi caught it mid-air.

His fingers crushed down with force he didn't know he had.

"Juggernaut," he growled.

[Juggernaut Path Selected]AUGMENT UNLOCKED: KNUCKLEBREAKER Mk ICondition: 10% stamina or lower.Status: INACTIVE.

Then let's fix that, Levi thought.

He moved into the second assailant. Fists met fists. Sparks flew. He ducked a punch, pivoted behind—and snapped an elbow into the man's back. The man cried out, dropping.

"Two more," Levi whispered.

The third fighter threw a knife. Levi dodged—barely—but it grazed his leg. Blood sprayed again. He was slowing. His breath was sharp. He wanted to fall, but instead—

He welcomed the pain.

Stamina below 9%KNUCKLEBREAKER Mk I – ACTIVATED

Levi turned, twisted, and slammed a back-elbow into the third fighter's wrist.

CRACK!

The wrist shattered on impact. The knife dropped. A howl followed. Levi grabbed the man's collar and drove a headbutt into his visor.

Glass splintered. Silence followed.

All three were down.

The system pinged.

[Enemy Defeated][Surge Point Achieved]Focus +1 | Strength +1Core Ascension Level: 2

Levi staggered to the wall, blood on his face, hands trembling.

This wasn't just survival anymore. This was something more.

Something dangerous.

He looked up at the camera in the corner. "You watching, Viktor?"

The light blinked.

"You're going to regret ever chaining me."

[Memory Archive Update: Fragment 02 Available]Would you like to access now?Y / N

"…Later," Levi muttered.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway again. More guards?

No. Just one man.

Ronan Reign.

The door opened, and the brute stepped through like a titan wrapped in fury. Six-foot-six. Veins bulging. Tattoos across his chest like scars of war.

"So..." he said, voice rumbling. "You're the rat Viktor's been grooming."

Levi forced himself to stand straighter. Blood ran down his arms, but he didn't flinch.

"Who the hell are you?"

Ronan smiled without humor. "Your executioner. But first—I'm going to break your spirit."

Levi clenched his fists.

[WARNING: SURGE CONDITION APPROACHING — POTENTIAL OVERCLOCK RISK]

System Suggestion: Retreat and recover.

But Levi took a step forward.

"No," he said. "No more running."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. "Then I hope you're ready to die a thousand times before you hit the floor."

Levi cracked his knuckles. His knuckles felt like iron now. His soul burned like a furnace.

"I already did."