Atticus brow creased slightly as a thought surfaced.
'Everything is over… right?'
He reached out toward the woman, only to find her suddenly standing before him, a smoldering fury burning in her glare.
'What…?'
'Interrupt once more,' she said coldly, 'and you will lose the ability to form a thought.'
Atticus cleared his throat and t her unyielding stare. She wasn't bluffing.
'Well?'
'Well what?'
He sighed.
'Isn't this over? Why are we still here?'
He had been expecting another cryptic hint, but instead she answered him plainly.
'Of course it is,' she replied.'If you had taken the ti to think and feel, you would have realized your will is in recovery. When it finishes, you will wake up—''
Her words cut off suddenly as Atticus felt a sudden pull. The next instant, he was falling, plunging through endless darkness as the world blurred and twisted around him, until the void flashed white and blinding light swallowed his vision whole.
The next mont, his heavy eyes opened to a world drenched in purple.
He felt an oppressive weight pressing down on him before anything else, followed by the tight grip around his body and the warm sensation of wetness striking his face.
As the haze cleared from his vision, the sight before him made his heart seize. Anastasia's face was inches from his, tears streaming freely as she clutched him in a protective embrace.
What was going on?
Atticus extended his awareness instinctively, imdiately taking in the situation.
Aurora, Ember, Caldor, and Zoey were pinned to the ground, struggling against the crushing pressure.
Magnus floated in front of the building, having thrown himself directly into the path of a descending purple beam aid at them.
And above it all, three figures hovered in the sky, clad in gold and white, their faceless masks and detached eyes fixed on the ground as they unleashed the beam that threatened to wipe out his entire family.
'Willguard.'
Atticus' blood started to sizzle.
"All motion… cease."
The world obeyed. Movent vanished in an instant, freezing the descending purple beam. The eyes of the Willguards widened behind their faceless masks as they found themselves locked in place.
Anastasia's eyes trembled as Atticus slowly rose from her embrace.
"A-Atticus… i-is this… real…?"
He t her shocked eyes and offered a gentle smile, answering with a silent nod.
Her hands rose shakily to his cheeks, freezing the mont she felt his warmth. "I'm here."
The words broke whatever restraint she had left. Anastasia hugged him tightly, and Atticus felt her tears soaking into his clothes as she held him as though afraid he might vanish again.
Around them, Aurora, Ember, Caldor, and Zoey forced themselves back to their feet, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Atticus t each of their gazes in turn, giving them a tired but reassuring nod. Relief washed through them all at once, as if a crushing weight had finally been lifted from their shoulders.
Then he saw Magnus.
Magnus was moving toward him slowly, blood streaming from his eyes and ears as he dragged himself forward.
Atticus clenched his teeth at the sight, but steadied himself as Magnus reached him. Strong, bloodied hands settled on his shoulders, and their eyes t. Magnus' gaze was heavy, yet brimming with relief.
"I leave it to you."
Atticus' eyes widened briefly before narrowing again, and he returned the gesture with a nod. He didn't need the explanation. The Willguard had co for him, and they had stood in their way, protecting him at any cost.
As Magnus stepped aside, a faint cry reached Atticus from nearby, drawing his attention.
He paused, lifting his arm, and a mont later a large figure appeared before him. White fur matted with blood, purple light bleeding from his wounds as tired but relieved eyes t his own.
'Noctis…'
Atticus felt his pulse quicken. Without hesitation, he dispersed the remnants of will gnawing at Noctis' injuries and began healing him. His hand brushed gently through the sticky fur before he lowered him carefully to the ground.
Every gaze remained fixed on him, the entire battlefield silent, yet Atticus hardly noticed. The world faded into a muted blur as he lifted his eyes toward the sky, where the three Willguards hovered, frozen.
"Y-you… how are you doing this?"
Solvath's power flared violently around the Willguard in the center as he struggled to break free, but Atticus' grip on the world was absolute.
"Kill them."
The two Willguards behind the fragnt bearer twisted unnaturally then imploded in controlled bursts, each explosion contained within unyielding bubbles that left nothing behind.
Magnus and the others could only stare upward in utter shock, but Atticus' second command followed without pause.
"Contain him."
A cocoon ford around the fragnt bearer instantly, sealing him within and cutting off his screams as though they had never existed.
Atticus turned back toward the others and gave a single, curt nod.
"I'll be back."
He caught their shaken responses just before vanishing in a burst of light, reappearing high above a raging battlefield. Below him, the roars of battle and the dying screams of soldiers reached him.
Hundreds of billions clashed across the land, bodies falling with every passing second. To one side, streaks of gold and blue carved violently through the battlefield as Ozeroth and Whisker fought without restraint. Elsewhere, the Eldorians struggled desperately to keep their lines from breaking. Far in the distance, Anorah barely managed to hold her ground against an Abyss god.
Atticus' will erupted outward in violent currents, spreading across the battlefield until not a single corner remained untouched. The clangorous storm of steel and shouting cut off suddenly as every soldier froze, countless gazes lifting to the sky where Atticus hovered in absolute stillness.
He looked down upon the world as a god might look upon ants.
"Still Blade."
His katana trembled within its sheath. Then… nothing. An all consuming silence.
It lasted only a second.
With eyes widened in horror, every soul watched as countless fine lines appeared across the enemy ranks. In the next instant, bodies separated along those lines, collapsing in a torrential rain of blood and gore that painted the battlefield below in crimson.
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