"Lord Ozeroth, is sothing wrong?" Oberon asked. His voice sounded cautious, but he was clearly alard.
Ozeroth turned. All eyes were on him, each one feeling concerned and tense. If sothing happened to Ozeroth now, they might as well start digging graves.
He shook his head slowly. "Sothing's happened to Atticus."
Everyone's gaze shifted. Avalon and Magnus imdiately stepped forward, their auras flaring. Avalon's voice cracked.
"Is he okay?"
Even if they had to die, it was clear that they were ready to do anything as long as it ant saving their boy.
"He—"
Just as Ozeroth was about to respond, a calm voice cut in.
"I'm fine."
Every head snapped toward the source of the voice. That cold, familiar tone…
And then they saw him.
A figure had appeared beside Ozeroth, blinding, radiant, like a white sun had risen inside the do.
"Atticus!" Avalon called out, stepping forward only to halt mid-step.
He wasn't the only one.
Every paragon stood frozen, their faces filled with nothing but disbelief.
The sheer weight of Atticus' figure was suffocating. His entire body blazed like condensed fla.
The pressure he radiated from just standing there pressed against them like a mountain. It was what made Avalon stop. It was why none of them could move.
Silence descended in the entire do.
No one knew what to say.
But Ozeroth wasn't one for silence.
"What the hell happened to you, Bond!?" he barked. "You're literally white! And what is this power!?"
Atticus turned toward him, exhaling. "You should scream louder," he said. "I didn't hear you clearly."
Ozeroth narrowed his eyes. If he didn't know better, he'd call that a challenge. But he never backed down from those.
He took in a deep breath… and roared, "BOOONNNDDDD!"
His voice shook the entire do, crashing into everyone's ears like a war horn.
Atticus winced. "You fool!"
With a flick of his hand, he manipulated the air, cutting the sound off from around him entirely.
Ozeroth stopped shouting and flashed him a grin. Atticus shot him a dirty look.
"Did you really have to do that?"
Ozeroth shrugged. "You gonna answer the damn question or what?"
"Alright, alright, damn…" Atticus muttered.
The paragons exchanged baffled glances, watching the two of them with half-smiles on their faces. It made no sense.
The human domain had just been destroyed. Their world teetered on the edge of ruin. And yet, these two were standing there, bantering like old friends at a tavern.
The frown that had been etched on Ozeroth's face was gone, replaced with a wide grin as he looked at Atticus.
And even the cold, closed-off expression they were so used to seeing on Atticus had shifted to a smile.
They were happy. Genuinely.
Even at the end of the world… they were happy to see each other again.
After a second, their banter settled. The atmosphere shifted as Atticus spoke with a calm voice.
"The Soulkin hatched."
Avalon and Magnus froze.
Their expressions changed instantly, just like Aurelius Frostbane's, the man who had given Atticus the Soulkin in the first place.
Finally…
Ozeroth raised a brow. "Oh, the little egg finally cracked, huh? Took it long enough."
But before he could continue, a chill surged through his body, followed by a strange, childish voice echoing in his head.
"Kuu!… Ozzy!"
Ozeroth's face darkened imdiately. He blinked, trying to locate the source, then turned gradually toward Atticus, who was already smiling.
"Don't tell …"
Atticus nodded, grinning. "Yep. That's it. And looks like it got your na right too."
Ozeroth's expression twisted. 'That little…'
But the Soulkin's voice returned, louder, more excited.
"Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!"
Ozeroth looked like he was about to combust.
Before he could, Atticus quickly cut in. "Alright, that's enough. We've got pressing matters."
The Soulkin went quiet. Ozeroth clicked his tongue and turned to the side like soone who'd just been personally insulted.
Atticus swept his gaze across the crowd, nodding slightly whenever he caught a familiar face. His eyes finally landed on Anastasia, standing at a distance with tears streaking down her face.
He smiled at his worried mother.
Then he turned back, facing the gathered paragons. The air suddenly thickened.
The do grew deathly quiet. Everyone looked to him, because now that he was here, there was no one more qualified to lead.
"I was able to defeat the other one," Atticus said.
Shock spread through the crowd. They had seen Elderish's power firsthand. The fact that Atticus had taken him down was beyond belief. But… feeling the pressure rolling off him now, it made sense.
Atticus continued. "Now the only threat left is the Gardener. Whisker's holding him off, but I've observed their battle. The odds aren't in our favor."
Everyone's expression darkened.
"But instead of waiting for the inevitable," Atticus went on, "I've decided to join the battle and help Whisker."
Avalon and Magnus tensed instantly, their faces paling. The Gardener and Whisker's clash was sothing else entirely.
That wasn't just a fight, it was war between beings on a different plane. And now Atticus wanted to step into that?
But Atticus didn't bother explaining.
"This brings us to our next step," he said firmly. "If I'm going to join the battle, I need all hands off deck. Ozeroth won't be able to keep shielding everyone. We need to move."
His words took a second to sink in.
Then, Oberon quickly spoke up. "I suggested relocating to a domain with a functioning aegis shield earlier, but… we determined the only ones left are Evolari and Nullite. And they're too far."
Atticus shook his head. "We're not going there. We'll go to the Aeonians. They're right here."
Oberon's eyes widened. "But… they won't open the shield for us. We've already said—"
"We'll see," Atticus cut in.
In the next second, his aura exploded.
Blinding white glow erupted around them, swallowing everything. In the next instant, they vanished, only to reappear just outside the aegis shield protecting the Aeonian domain.
Atticus shot into the air without hesitation, his figure cutting a trail through the sky. He raised a fist and threw a single punch at the shield.
The impact was colossal. Tremors surged through the Aeonian domain, shaking the land itself.
In the next mont, multiple streaks of radiant light shot across the sky, converging at the edge of the shield.
Ae'zard reached the edge, his face turning confused as he stared at Atticus in the air. His eyes drifted lower, and froze the mont he saw the mass of humans and paragons gathered outside the barrier.
His expression darkened, then went cold.
'No.'
There was no way he was going to risk his domain for them. He wasn't going to drop the shield.
But right then, slicing through the sky like ice…
Atticus' voice rang out.
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