Ozeroth froze.
His whole body slowly turned toward Whisker.
The beast was just standing there, staring back with that sa amused smile.
That... broke the dam.
"Enough!"
Before Ozeroth could explode, Atticus's aura surged outward, heavy. His voice bood.
"You've read my mories," Atticus said sharply. "You know how he is. He's obviously trying to get to you, and you can't even reach him right now anyway. Just hold it. When this is over, then you can go crazy. But right now, we have more important things to deal with."
Ozeroth grit his teeth, still glaring at Whisker like he wanted to rip him apart inch by inch until there was absolutely nothing left.
Then, with a sharp breath, he shrank and slipped back into Atticus's chest.
But Atticus could still feel the rage roaring within him, hot and wild.
He only sighed and turned back to Whisker.
The beast was smiling. As usual.
And as Atticus gave him a once-over, he almost felt his headache double.
Whisker was standing there in pink pajamas, covered with little hearts and love symbols. The kind of sleepwear that definitely didn't belong on soone his age. Or species. Or existence.
Whisker didn't even flinch at Atticus's look. Instead, he smiled wider and waved. "Heyya!"
Atticus didn't waste ti.
"Why did you call for ? Wait..."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "How did you call for ?"
He had just realized it.
They were inside the Aegis Shield. Whisker wasn't supposed to be able to influence anything inside it.
"Oh, that cute little thing..." Whisker said, tilting his head.
Just then, a bird landed beside the chasm. Atticus turned and instantly recognized it.
It was the sa bird that had co to him earlier.
"I planted him," Whisker said casually, "and many other cute little things all over the human domain after your little incident at the military camp."
Atticus's gaze sharpened.
"You were there?"
"Oh, heavens no," Whisker waved dismissively. "But I watched every single mont. And once again, you proved why you are my star actor!"
Atticus didn't even know what to say to that. He just shook his head.
He still had no idea how Whisker kept observing his life so easily, but he decided to set that aside for now.
"So," he said, "why did you call ?"
"Straight to the point, hm?" Whisker pouted. "You don't seem happy to see ."
"Do you want to be happy?"
"Yes!" Whisker said, throwing his arms up. "In case you haven't noticed, you're a big shot in Eldoralth now! I brag to my friends that I know you!"
"You have friends?"
Whisker paused, hand over his chest, eyes wide.
"How an," he said, putting on a sad face. But Atticus only stared back with a placid gaze, unmoved.
Then Whisker chuckled, the act dropping instantly.
"You're no fun. Unlike that oldie you bonded with."
Atticus felt another flare of rage coming from Ozeroth.
'Calm down, calm down,' he muttered internally.
Then, he said to Whisker,
"Just say what you called here for, or I'm leaving"
"Alright, alright," Whisker grinned. "I ca to give you so information."
"What information?"
And then, just like that, Whisker's tone shifted.
"My brother."
Atticus's eyes narrowed.
Even with the shield between them, the change in Whisker's deanor was obvious.
He listened.
Whisker folded his arms, his voice suddenly calm. "First, tell your thoughts about the Vampyros and the Dinsari."
Atticus stayed silent for a mont, then answered, "That there's soone controlling them?"
Whisker smiled slightly, like a teacher proud of a smart student.
"As expected. You already suspected it. That soone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Unfortunately... you're correct. And that person is..." he paused, "...my
brother."
Atticus's brows furrowed.
Whisker had just casually dropped a bomb like he was talking about the weather.
"Another paragon of the beast race?" Atticus asked.
Whisker gave a near-wry smile and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Oh right... yeah, don't believe everything I said when we first t. That was all
bullcrap."
Atticus stared at the shaless man. Silent.
"So... you're not the sovereign of the beast race?"
"Huh-uh." Whisker shook his head with a wide grin.
"Then who are you?" Atticus asked, eyes narrowing further. "Is your na even
Whisker Von Pounce?"
"Of course!" Whisker said, as if offended by the question. "There's no way I'd lie about
that! It's the greatest na ever-
'Ozeroth is the best, Ozeroth muttered internally.
Atticus ignored him.
"So who are you?" he asked again, firr this ti. "Are you from Eldoralth?"
Whisker smiled, tilting his head.
"Smart question, No." He shook his head slowly.
Atticus said nothing. Instead, he waited for Whisker to continue.
Whisker finally stepped closer to the shield.
"You see... I ca from a higher plane," he said. "Just like your bond over there."
Then his grin widened.
"But my world... it's bigger. Better. Stronger."
He emphasized each word deliberately. And Atticus could practically feel Ozeroth
raging inside him again.
It was as if every word Whisker spoke was ant to poke at his pride. Whisker chuckled, clearly enjoying himself, but then, once more, his tone shifted.
"I'll skip a lot of things because they're irrelevant for the mont. All you need to know
is this..."
His gaze sharpened.
"So of my siblings and I were sent to this plane to take control of as many worlds as
possible. Conquer, absorb, spread. My brother, the one who controls the leaders of the Dinsari and the Vampyros, he arrived on Eldoralth along with a few of us." "Normally, we're far stronger than anything this lower plane could offer. But when we
arrived... our powers were restricted. And back then, the Eldorians were far more
powerful than us."
"Many of us left Eldoralth. In fact, all of us left, except him."
His eyes narrowed, his voice lowered.
"He was the cause of everything. The betrayal of the Mungrels. The fall of the
Eldorians. Everything"
He went silent for a second before he continued.
"But after the Eldorians were destroyed... the core that made up their power, the core
of the world of Eldoralth itself that had been split into nineteen different parts,
vanished."
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