"That… thing on your chest. Where did you get it?"
Atticus squinted at the tall man radiating a sinister aura before him, trying to make sense of the question.
'He's interested in it?'
It was odd. The exo suit was a weapon whose capabilities had shocked even him, but there was no doubt where it ca from. Eldoralth. The lower planes.
So why did it feel like this man knew exactly what it was?
There was only one way to find out.
"The lower planes."
"Hmm." Balanar brushed a hand over his chin. "Was it gifted to you by soone?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Atticus paused for a mont, trying to asure the impact the information could have on him.
"My grandfather."
"Oh!" Balanar's eyes ignited up. "I never expected you to be a Scion. That would explain those impossible feats."
The chanical voice echoed, announcing the challenged and challenger, territory age, then began collating data for the selection. As expected, the abyss army had been at the eternal age.
Atticus frowned.
"A Scion?"
Balanar tilted his head. "You live in this world and yet don't know what you are? A being born in the higher planes, sent down to ascend as a god and rise through rank to gain power."
'He's mistaken.'
The man had already decided his grandfather was from a higher plane, and that the exo suit had co from there as well.
'But it reveals a lot about what he thinks.'
This wasn't a baseless assumption. The certainty in Balanar's tone made that much clear.
'He thinks the exo suit is from a higher plane.'
Only Atticus knew how wrong that was.
'I need to know why he believes that.'
His expression didn't change despite the revelation. His face remained still as he spoke.
"It seems you're mistaken about sothing."
"Hm? And what might that be?"
"My grandfather is also from the lower planes," Atticus said evenly. "He gave it to ."
Balanar's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Is this the truth?"
"Yes."
'I was correct.'
The reaction was imdiate, and very telling. The man had been shaken by the revelation. That alone confird Atticus' conclusion.
Still, a question waited in his mind.
Had Balanar simply misjudged the exo suit's origin because of its overwhelming capabilities, or was there sothing he himself was missing?
Atticus sifted through everything he knew.
'It was discovered in the human domain. By scientists.'
No higher plane being had given it to him. Not even the human domain had crafted it for him, they had rely found it, years before ever deciding to use it on him. His acquisition of the suit had been, by all accounts, pure chance.
But a small frown touched Atticus' lips as one of Anorah's lessons surfaced.
'Chance is a mask worn by intention.'
What appeared random was often design. Soone's design.
His thoughts drifted to the life weapon at his waist.
'It too had been by… chance.'
The weapon had remained in the Ravenstein household for generations, passing from one bearer to another.
Was it really coincidence that he'd been reincarnated into the one family in the human domain that possessed it?
Atticus had always known his reincarnation was influenced by the being that arranged his demise. The Apexes had been reincarnated as well, this much was undeniable. So it was only natural the being would want to point him towards the life weapon, which it had planted in the world. The sa could be said to the other apexes, as well. But if he hadn't determined such for the life weapon, why had he never questioned the exo suit?
Of all the races in Eldoralth, why had the weakest, the humans, been the ones to discover it?
Why had no one been able to use it… until him?
'Chance…'
But it was too clean. This was no chance. Atticus lifted his gaze to the only person who might have answers.
Balanar fell silent for a mont, then smiled.
"That's quite… interesting. It seems I may have misjudged its power and assud it to be more than it truly is. No matter. It won't affect my proposition."
'He's lying.'
This smile was different from the others. Those had been filled with amusent or disdain, the smile one gave soone beneath them.
This one didn't reach his eyes.
It was forced.
Balanar had realized sothing and was now concealing it. But why?
Only one answer felt natural.
'He doesn't want knowing the truth.'
If it even was the truth. His readings of Balanar might be wrong for all he knew. But Atticus would rather know than remain ignorant. No information was useless. Even a lie exposed sothing.
"I want the suit," Balanar finally said.
He smiled when no response ca.
"In exchange for the lives of your people. I promise, scout's honor, I won't kill them."
Atticus had understood Balanar's intent the mont the man ntioned the suit. Still, offers like this had never sat well with him. The implication that his loved ones were being used as leverage could never leave his mind.
The thought alone made sothing aggressive stir within him. The temperature around him spiked.
"What about ?"
"You know one of us has to die for this challenge to be complete."
"And you have no doubt it's ?"
"Of course," Balanar said calmly. "You're amazing, but you're far too outmatched against , Atticus Ravenstein."
"Then take the suit off my corpse."
Balanar's smile vanished. He stared at Atticus in silence, a dangerous glint settling into his eyes.
"I'm offering you a chance to save your loved ones. Why refuse?"
Atticus would have to be a fool to believe that. A man who ordered the deaths of children wouldn't care about promises.
This was sothing else.
Balanar would rather bargain than defeat him and retrieve the suit.
"You don't want to damage it."
Balanar's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. Then he blinked and let out a low chuckle.
"Bravo," he said. "It seems I underestimated you, Atticus Ravenstein. Impeccable deductive skills." A small smile returned. "But it changes nothing. Would you doom your people over a re suit? Surrender it. It's the wise choice."
"No."
A deep frown creased Balanar's face. He was about to speak when the chanical voice echoed.
"The challenge has been decided. The the is Attack and Defent. Here are the rukes…"
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