Atticus stared at the barrier of mixed energies with a hardened gaze.
'How should I do this?'
If the last two trials had taught him anything, it was that a single mistake could cost him everything.
Within the barrier, the energies twisted and churned violently. Even now, he could feel a faint sense of danger just from standing this close. It was hard to believe that these energies were supposedly harmonized.
'They are.'
The fact that they remained together was proof enough. Atticus exhaled slowly, letting his thoughts settle. He was still very much injured, and every instinct in his body scread at him to get the hell away from the barrier. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
Steeling his mind, Atticus stepped closer, his movents cautious.
'Let's see what I'm dealing with first.'
He reached deep within himself, and his world shifted to purple. Atticus paused, his gaze lingering on the barrier, montarily taken by the sight.
The dangerous ash-colored aura faded, replaced by a blanket of pulsing light. The energies whirled within at high speed, resembling streaks of light surging through a vast purple expanse.
'Focus.'
Snapping out of it, he extended his arm and released Solvath's will. The instant it made contact with the barrier, sothing flared to life in his mind.
'This…'
The nature of every single energy within the barrier unfolded before him. More than that, he could perceive how they interacted. So energies clashed violently, while others suppressed and stabilized the chaos.
It wasn't random. It was structured.
A system of equilibrium.
'I can't do it one at a ti.'
Removing even a single energy would most likely destabilize the entire system. Atticus couldn't tell what that would lead to. The energies might simply co apart once their balance was broken… or they could just as easily erupt.
His gaze shifted over the vast barrier, and he shook his head. There was no surviving if it exploded.
'Can't risk it.'
He continued observing the system in his mind, watching the flow of interactions for several monts before arriving at what he believed was the most viable approach.
'I have to target them together.'
Severing every connection at once should collapse the system safely.
Even so, Atticus could count at least fifteen distinct energies within the barrier. He exhaled quietly as the mory of separating just ten surfaced in his mind.
This ti, it was worse.
He wasn't only keeping them apart, he had to actively maintain each one in a stable state while doing it.
One mistake, and everything would collapse.
Atticus drew in a slow breath, then let it out.
'There's no choice.'
He shut his eyes. A mont later, Solvath's will flowed from his palm, spreading across the entire barrier.
The system sharpened into full clarity within his mind. For a mont, Atticus remained still, observing in silence. He followed the movent of each energy, the points of friction, the ones that surged violently, and the ones that suppressed and balanced them. Gradually, he aligned himself with their rhythm.
The world around him dimd into a muted stillness.
His eyes snapped open, narrowing onto every single force at once.
Then, he pulled.
A crushing force slamd into his mind, forcing him to stagger.
'Hold on…'
Atticus gritted his teeth, his fists tightening as he fought against the biting pain.
Before him, the barrier flared into a blinding light. He could feel the overwhelming pull between the energies, resisting his attempt to tear them apart.
Worse still, several of the energies suddenly flared, turning unstable. His focus snapped to them instantly, forcing each one back into balance before they could spiral out of control.
'Hold on…'
The strain mounted rapidly. At a certain point, the pain swelled until it drowned out everything else. Blood seeped from his eyes and ears, his fingers digging so deep into his palms that his nails bit into flesh.
But Atticus didn't stop.
He kept pulling. And pulling… until…
Wham!
The links binding the energies snapped.
The barrier burst into a blinding flash, and as the light receded, fifteen distinct orbs hovered before him.
'Focus.'
Atticus clenched his teeth. Even separated, they weren't safe. He still had to keep them from collapsing back into each other.
With unsteady steps, he moved through the drifting orbs, as he made his way to the door at the far end of the room.
He paused there, his gaze lingering on them. For a mont, the urge to rest surfaced. His body definitely needed it.
But resting ant letting go of the orbs.
The most likely outco was that they would revert back into the barrier.
But there was also the chance… that they would explode.
'Let's see.'
Atticus edged closer to the door until the light brushed against his back.
Then, he released his hold.
The orbs shot toward each other instantly, converging in a violent cascade of energy. They whirled together, expanding outward as the surge began to fill the room.
Then… it trembled.
Atticus felt a surge of danger. Without thinking, he threw himself backward, barely catching the booming explosion as light swallowed his vision whole.
A mont later, the light started to recede.
Atticus found himself standing in a vast, unending desert. Towering sand dunes stretched across the horizon, their slopes rolling endlessly beneath the scorching sun. Its blazing rays poured down from above, drenching the land in a harsh, simring glow.
In the middle of that barren expanse, a man stood perfectly still.
Atticus narrowed his eyes, then quickly recognized him.
'The avatar.'
A faint frown ford on his face. Not because of the avatar's presence, but because he could see him clearly despite the distance of several kiloters.
And more than that… he felt good. Really good.
There was no more pain. Not even a trace of it.
A brief glance at his hand confird that the charred skin from before had completely healed.
'Are my powers back?'
He reached inward, trying to summon his will, but nothing responded.
Atticus' eyes narrowed slightly. He shifted his focus and reached for mana instead. A mont later, a small sphere ford in his palm.
He stared at it.
'It's not just mana.'
All around him, he could faintly sense the figure of multiple energies in the air.
He finally understood. It wasn't that his power had returned. He had been placed in an environnt overflowing with multiple energies.
'Why?'
As the thought surfaced, a voice echoed from the depths of the desert.
"Absolute Domain."
Atticus' gaze snapped forward.
The avatar's eyes scorched with an intense purple light, his figure draped in a trench coat-like attire ford from shimring violet energy.
Atticus narrowed his gaze further.
There was sothing about him… sothing that made his presence feel heavier. More complete.
More… absolute.
'Is this why I was brought here?'
To fight him?
Atticus tightened his grip on his katana, his expression hardening.
If that was the case… then this was most likely the final trial.
Suddenly, the avatar's gaze flared. Atticus only caught a single streak… and his world tilted.
His vision spun as his head dropped, his eyes trembling.
'I… I died?'
Gasp!
Atticus jolted up, his hand snapping to his neck instinctively.
"I'm… alive?"
He remained still for a mont, his breath uneven. Then, slowly, the tension in his body eased, replaced by a wave of relief. The avatar had warned him that he could die in this trial. The mont his head had been severed, he had already given up all hope.
'Where?'
Atticus swept his eyes across the desert before locking onto the avatar once more. The man hadn't shifted even slightly from where he stood.
'How?'
There was no doubt he had been the one to act. Yet Atticus hadn't seen anything beyond that single streak.
He exhaled, steadying himself, then gave a small shake of his head.
'It doesn't matter.'
Atticus drew his katana in a slow, deliberate motion, his gaze turning cold. If death wasn't the end here, then there was no reason to hold back.
He would go all out.
Ahead, the avatar's gaze flickered again.
Atticus reacted instantly, blade raised, his focus sharpened to its peak.
But once more… he only saw a single streak—
And his world tilted.
Thanks for reading!❤️
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