Reborn: Apocalypse Ready. War Goddess by My Side novel Chapter 1

Steven Fisher had spent decades desperately clinging to life, dragging himself through one miserable day after another, but in that final moment, death felt like freedom. An honor.
During the Battle of the Fallen Eternals, the breathtakingly brilliant Ember Eternal, Bianca White, bloomed like a flower at the end of the world.
She shattered all ten Divine Sigils within herself and perished alongside the apocalypse beast.
Steven was caught in the blast and annihilated with everything else, but he died without regret.
That was the final scene Steven saw before calmly accepting death.
...
Aethercrest Awakened High.
The sun was sinking toward the horizon as school let out, cicadas screaming nonstop in the summer heat.
On the athletic field, the campus belle, Lilliana Crowe, stood gracefully in a floral dress, delicate as a blooming white flower. Her curves were impossible to ignore, and those long pale legs drew endless stares from the boys around her.
She looked at Steven holding a bouquet of flowers with complete indifference, still maintaining her untouchable goddess persona.
Students had already crowded around to watch the drama unfold.
"Lilliana is insanely hot!"
"Man, this guy really won't give up till he hits rock bottom. I'm honestly impressed by the courage."
"Seriously, has he looked in a mirror? You think Lilliana would ever date him? How many confessions has this been already?"
"Honestly, Steven is pretty handsome, and they're classmates. They hang out a lot too. Maybe he actually has a chance?"
"No way. Lilliana's definitely not dating anyone before Divine Awakening."
"Exactly. A girl like her is obviously going to choose someone who awakens at least an A-rank Divine Sigil."
...
Chaotic chatter echoed all around him.
Steven suddenly opened his eyes and sucked in several sharp breaths.
He stared blankly at his surroundings.
I'm at... a school?
Wasn't I supposed to have died in the explosion when Ember Eternal blew up her Divine Sigils?
I actually survived?
The scene in front of him felt painfully familiar.
This was when he confessed to Lilliana back in high school at 18.
I've been reborn?
Time has reversed?
Shock crashed through Steven as he looked down at the bouquet in his arms. The texture felt real. So did the suffocating summer heat pressing against his skin.
Everything proved one thing: he had really returned to the past, back to his youth.
Steven slowly lifted his eyes toward Lilliana. This woman, who had long since faded from his memories, was standing before him once again.
She was still stunning enough to take someone's breath away. At 18, she looked even more innocent and pure, the dream girl of nearly every boy at Aethercrest Awakened High.
"Steven, are you done making a scene yet?" Lilliana said coldly and calmly.
Steven rolled his eyes internally. Yep, same exact line. Could she be any more cliché?
Still the same arrogant Lilliana. The same untouchable, superior campus belle.
In his previous life, Lilliana awakened an S-rank Divine Sigil and instantly became the center of attention, rising higher and higher until she reached Level 45 as a Five-Sigil Divine General. Meanwhile, Steven nearly killed himself struggling his way into the twenties, ending up as nothing more than a pathetic Three-Sigil Divine Adept.
Before awakening, Lilliana's relationship with him had actually been decent. To put it bluntly, he just spent way too much time simping for her.
After awakening her S-rank Divine Sigil, though, she immediately distanced herself from him. She ignored him completely and acted like they'd never met.
Worse, during a mission later on, Steven got caught in danger, and not only did Lilliana refuse to save him, she even used him as bait to distract the beasts, nearly getting him killed.
That was the moment Steven truly saw her for who she was.
His expression turned strange. The timing of this rebirth was honestly awkward as hell.
This time around, he definitely needed to stay far away from her, except...
"Not yet," Steven said calmly.
Lilliana looked at him coldly, a flash of annoyance crossing her eyes.
Back then, Steven never realized it, but she'd always looked at him this way. To her, he was nothing more than an irritating simp.
The surrounding students immediately started grinning. Knew it. He got rejected again.
"Lilliana's never gonna say yes to you. Go look in a mirror, man."
Mocking voices instantly rang out around them.
Lilliana said coldly, "I'll say this one last time. Before Divine Awakening, I'm not accepting anyone's confession. If you keep this up, we don't even have to stay friends anymore."
Watching this embarrassingly immature scene replay itself, Steven genuinely wanted to punch his past self in the face. What the hell was wrong with me back then? But since he'd been reborn, there was no way he'd keep acting like some idiot. He might as well try something new.
Steven laughed at himself softly, looking oddly relieved as he glanced down at the flowers in his hands. "I bought these flowers for myself today," he said. "Consider it a celebration for finally freeing myself."
Lilliana froze completely. For himself? Freeing himself?
Steven suddenly seemed like a different person. "Lilliana, starting today, I don't like you anymore. And honestly, there's no point pretending to be friends either. You never treated me like one in the first place, did you?"
Steven nearly cringed himself to death internally. Damn, being the tragic romance lead really isn't easy. Still, cutting ties is probably for the best. Maybe she'll even feel guilty about it for a while. Worth it. In the end, this is basically just a bunch of emotional games between teenagers anyway.
But at that moment, as Lilliana looked into Steven's strangely calm eyes, something inside her chest tightened unexpectedly. He doesn't like me anymore? For some reason, it suddenly felt like she'd lost something important, leaving an empty ache in her heart.
Everyone around them froze too.
Wait, what? This isn't a confession... it's a goodbye? Holy crap. That's actually genius. The guy spends years confessing to the school goddess, and now he's hitting her with emotional damage on the way out. Even if Lilliana acts annoyed all the time, people can still tell she at least cares about him as a classmate. But this move...
Several girls nearby suddenly felt bad for Steven. After three years of stubborn devotion, the hopeless romantic warrior had finally fallen. Some of them even wanted to give him a hug.
Lilliana felt like she'd been struck by lightning. He really doesn't like me anymore? An empty feeling suddenly spread through her chest.
Sure, she had plenty of admirers, but among all of them, Steven had always been the most handsome and attentive. The reason she kept him around all this time was that she planned to wait until after Divine Awakening to see whether he was worthy of becoming her boyfriend.
But now... Awakening is right around the corner, and he suddenly stops liking me? Can't he wait just a little longer?
Is this his way of getting back at me?
Lilliana clenched her fists tightly and forced herself to stay calm. "Fine. Then stay out of my sight forever."
Steven's acting instincts immediately kicked in. He nodded with a carefree smile.
"Okay."
That smile stabbed straight into Lilliana's chest. It actually hurt a little. It felt exactly like one of those youth romance movies where the guy turns around and leaves without ever looking back.
Meanwhile, Steven thought, Alright, that's enough acting. This time, I need to stay as far away from her as possible. Since I've already been reborn, why waste another second on her? Right now, the only thing that matters is finding the future Ember Eternal.
Because Bianca, the future Ember Eternal, was still just a student at the moment.
And she was his classmate too.
In Steven's memories, Bianca had never had anyone close to her. If he took the opportunity to get close to her now while nobody else cared...
In this apocalypse, clinging tightly to the Ember Eternal honestly sounded amazing. Even if his Divine Sigil never changed, spending the rest of his life safely protected by the Ember Eternal sounded pretty damn good.
At that thought, Steven's expression sharpened slightly.
Because he knew the real reason behind the Ember Eternal's downfall. Which meant he had a chance to stop that tragedy.
Maybe the Ember Eternal wouldn't die this time.
Maybe this was the opportunity God had given him. He was absolutely going to hold onto the Ember Eternal and never let go.
A grin spread across Steven's face as he hurriedly tried to remember where Bianca should be right now.
Lilliana stood there frozen for a long time. He just stops liking me like that? What does he think I am, some random stray on the side of the road? I've given him more attention than anyone else these past few years, and now he suddenly walks away, making me look like the cold-hearted one instead?
I refuse to believe those are Steven's real feelings. This has to be some pathetic attempt to protect his pride by playing hard to get.
"Steven, you'd better not regret this," Lilliana said coldly.
Steven laughed casually. "Regret what? You're not someone I can't live without. We already said what needed saying. Later."
Steven turned to leave, but his footsteps suddenly stopped. Wait. There's still one classic cliché scene left. That self-righteous white knight should be showing up any second now to beat me up...
The students watching nearby got even more excited. Today's drama was way more entertaining than usual. This guy is incredible.
Even Lilliana is getting annoyed now. Steven has definitely lost his mind today.
She clenched her fists tightly, silently swearing she'd ignore him from now on.
Right then, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Steven, you itching for a beating again?"
Steven sighed internally. Yep. The classic scene finally arrives. Looking back now, even I can't describe how pathetic my old self was. A real man should be aiming far higher than this. How did I waste so much time on this kind of nonsense?
The crowd instantly erupted.
"It's Timothy Sherman, Steven's class monitor! He's screwed! Timothy's obsessed with Lilliana too!"
"Those two have always hated each other. Timothy definitely thinks Steven's harassing Lilliana again."
"Timothy's combat techniques are A+-rank. Steven's dead."
"Steven's only B-rank in combat class. No way he can win."
The next instant, a figure shot out from behind Lilliana with incredible speed.
Timothy threw a punch straight toward Steven's face.
The nearby students watched excitedly. The school never stopped students from sparring with each other. Combat training was a required course for everyone.
Everything was in preparation for Divine Awakening.
Facing the incoming punch, Steven remained calm.
Timothy attacked him in his previous life too. Back then, Steven got beaten badly, yet still kept simping for Lilliana afterward.
But things were different now. Even without awakening his Divine Sigil yet, he still carried decades of combat experience in his mind.
Steven didn't panic at all.
Meanwhile, Lilliana almost seemed willing to let Timothy teach Steven a lesson. Her expression remained completely cold. Playing hard to get, huh?
Timothy's punch is powerful.
If it lands, Steven will probably cough up blood immediately.
Everyone around them had already imagined Steven getting blasted backward.
But Steven's mind stayed completely calm.
A voice inside him seemed to whisper, Shift nine inches left. Kick.
At that moment, it felt like his body had become someone else's entirely. His coordination improved dramatically. Sidestep. Pivot. Leg out.
The movement looked incredibly simple, but hidden within it were decades of combat instincts from Steven's previous life.
Timothy charged in confidently, convinced victory was guaranteed.
Then his expression changed instantly. His punch missed. Completely.
The force of his own momentum carried him straight past Steven, and in that split second, Timothy clearly saw Steven mouth one simple word at him.
Idiot.
At the same time, Steven's foot suddenly hooked around Timothy's ankle from nowhere.
Timothy nearly cursed out loud. What the hell just happened?
He lost balance instantly and flew forward, crashing face-first into the ground.
The entire field fell silent. Everyone stared with wide eyes.
What just happened?
Even Lilliana's cold eyes showed a trace of shock.
That kind of reaction speed... is B-rank?
Steven smirked faintly and stretched his young body.
Damn, this feels good.
Being young again really is amazing. I've really missed this body