Atticus's singularities had cloaked the battlefield completely, blocking their vision and senses.
The tension that had gripped them had been unbearable.
But now… now that the haze had cleared, they could see.
They saw Atticus.
They saw Whisker.
But no Solren.
Considering the last images they had witnessed, Solren being cornered, pressured from all sides, there was only one possible explanation.
They had won.
They fucking won.
The joy that burst through them at that mont was indescribable.
Anastasia, being who she was, had been the only Master Rank present among them.
And right now, the tears just wouldn't stop streaming down her cheeks.
Avalon held her tightly, his own gaze locked onto the boy standing on the screen, the fire in his eyes burning brightly.
He had never been more proud.
But if Avalon felt pride, then what Magnus felt was sothing far heavier.
There was a small, quiet smile on his face as he stared at Atticus, and deep inside, Magnus just felt… happy.
It was like watching the child you raised grow to surpass you, to beco sothing greater than you ever could have imagined.
Magnus clenched his fist tightly.
There was nothing more fulfilling than seeing your child grow into sothing truly magnificent.
The other paragons watched Atticus with varying expressions, awe, respect, shock, but regardless of what emotions crossed their faces, they were all deeply relieved.
For now, at least, they were out of the woods.
…
anwhile, in the skies above the devastated land, Atticus's eyes narrowed downward.
Their battle had carried them all the way to the Dinsari domain.
Although he was tempted to erase the problem entirely, Atticus decided to leave their race for now.
Besides, he wouldn't have been able to pierce their Aegis Shield anyway.
He and Whisker turned into streaks of light, shooting back toward the human domain.
Their goal was simple: confirm whether or not the Gardener's influence still lingered.
Their clash had decimated the roots that had once engulfed the human domain, but that didn't an traces of the Gardener's power hadn't been left behind.
After a brief scan, they confird nothing unusual remained.
However, Atticus's gaze couldn't help but pause, stopping at one particular point in the seemingly endless ruined expanse.
'I can feel him. He's been watching.'
Atticus's thoughts sharpened, and in the next instant, Ozeroth's voice rumbled darkly in his head.
'I felt him too. That rotten bastard was probably trying to figure out what was happening.'
'Yeah,' Atticus thought grimly.
'We still have to deal with him…'
Throughout the battle, Atticus had felt the Spirit King's cold gaze lingering over him, observing, and analyzing.
And judging by Whisker's serious expression as he stared toward the sa distant point, it was obvious he had felt it too.
Their eyes locked onto a particular spot, the place where the capital of Sector 8 had once stood. There, a spurt of vibrant purple energy had jutted out from the ground, and even now it continued to grow rapidly, expanding larger with each passing second.
Without hesitation, Atticus drew his katana in a flash, sending a violent slash slicing through the air toward the source.
A deep trench tore through the land, cleaving the growing tree in half and severing it at the roots.
But not even a second later, another purple tree began sprouting beside the trench, as if nothing had happened.
Atticus frowned.
"Looks like soone really wants to grow his tree." Whisker smirked faintly.
"Let's go," Atticus said simply, sheathing his blade.
There was no point in wasting ti.
It was obvious now, the Spirit King would simply regenerate the tree no matter how many tis they destroyed it.
Whisker nodded in agreent, and in the next mont, both their figures blurred into streaks of light, reappearing instantly before the Aeonian Shield.
The paragons were startled, suddenly seeing Atticus and whisker appear out of nowhere. But in the next instant, their gazes lit up.
Whisker was smiling and Atticus had his usual cold expression. All was fine!
Ae'zard gestured toward his paragons, and in the next mont, a hole opened up in the Aegis Shield for Atticus and Whisker to enter.
Their overwhelming auras pressed down on everyone, but neither of them cared about that right now.
This ti around, nothing stopped Avalon from striding forward and pulling Atticus into a hug.
"You did so good, son," Avalon said, his voice filled with emotion.
Atticus's cold expression cracked slightly, giving way to a smile, just in ti for Avalon to step aside, allowing Anastasia's trembling form to rush into his arms.
Atticus patted her back gently, offering a reassuring smile as he whispered that he was okay.
After several long seconds, she finally separated from him, wiping her eyes, and then, a heavy silence descended over the area.
It was palpable, like a tension from sowhere had slamd down against them, coiling itself around every heart present.
The paragons stared at Atticus, their expressions tight.
None of them knew what the next course of action should be.
So sent uneasy glances toward Whisker, who only smiled easily, uncertain whether or not they should truly trust him.
He had helped them, yes.
But they knew nothing about the man.
Still, there was one thing every single person in that place was sure of, going forward, massive changes were coming to Eldoralth.
Just as Atticus opened his mouth to speak, a sharp, stabbing pain engulfed his body, followed instantly by a rapid drain of power.
'Shit! Not now!'
Atticus cursed internally, just as Ozeroth's and the Soulkin's voices rang out,
"Bond!"
"Dada!"
But their voices were distant, blurring into the background as Atticus's consciousness began slipping away.
Bonding with Ozeroth and the Soulkin had placed an imnse strain on his being, and now, his body was finally reaching its limit.
'It's… the worst possible timing…'
There was still so much left unresolved.
And without him being conscious, Atticus dreaded to even think about what could happen.
Regardless, there was no choice.
His body's light dimd and he staggered, abruptly collapsing toward the ground.
The gazes of the paragons shot up in utter shock.
But Whisker moved quickly, supporting him with a light touch of his aura, just as Avalon and Magnus reached out and caught him before he hit the ground.
As they lowered him carefully, they quickly examined him.
It didn't take long for the grim reality to settle.
"H-he's unconscious…"
The expressions of the paragons instantly darkened, the weight of the situation crashing down harder than before.
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