"Harmonize."
The orbs drew together, rging into a single, larger sphere. It trembled violently, fine fissures of light racing across its surface. Then it burst, unfolding into a blinding radiance that continued to swell until the entire space was consud by light.
Outside, the glow spilled through the gaps in hundreds of piercing rays. The others, who had been carving through the beasts, instinctively slowed, their eyes narrowing. Within that light… they could feel it. Sothing imnse. Sothing catastrophic.
Their expressions shifted. Without a word, they exchanged brief glances. then pulled back at once, putting distance between themselves and the source.
"Ozeroth." Whisker called out, his tone turning serious.
"I got it."
Ozeroth stepped forward, extending a hand. In an instant, a golden do flared, expanding outward to envelop the entire castle in a protective barrier.
As Atticus' bond, Ozeroth's will was regarded as the strongest, second only to Atticus himself. Even so, Anorah and Whisker also moved, reinforcing it with their own dos beneath his.
Then they watched as the light surged toward a crescendo. Within the cluster, the orb warped, then burst. An overwhelming force tore outward, shredding everything in its path into nothingness. When it reached the protective do, it didn't collide as expected. It passed over it, brushing through before continuing onward, tearing across the land and annihilating the beasts in its wake.
It only ca to a halt after traveling just over a kiloter. By then, the ground had been reduced to scorched blackness, every trace of life within that radius erased.
Every gaze transford instinctively back to the source, landing on Atticus as his narrowed eyes fixed on a distant point.
'It's… there.'
Even at that range, Atticus could feel it, a powerful presence, distinct from the rest.
'I have to end it fast.'
He drew his katana slightly, but before he could move, a piercing sound rippled across the battlefield. His gaze sharpened.
The beasts, which had been surging forward monts ago, abruptly began to withdraw. They rushed toward the direction Atticus had been staring at, pooling together as they converged. Their forms stacked and rged until they began to take the shape of a massive, grotesque entity.
'It knows.'
Atticus didn't know how, but the Alpha had sohow realized he'd been found. His gaze settled on the mass of beasts ahead. They were many, and worse, their collective will had grown denser, and more oppressive than before. At this rate, his reserves would be drained long before he could carve through them. And that wasn't even accounting for the Alpha itself, which should be far stronger than the rest.
Considering everything, with what he had left… he only had one chance.
'I have to make it count.'
Atticus turned, his eyes suddenly eting Ozeroth and Noctis'.
"We're fusing."
They blinked, holding his gaze for a brief mont, then their eyes widened in realization.
"Kuu!"
"Heh… alright."
With a single thought, their minds connected. The next instant, Ozeroth and Noctis dissolved into beams of light that shot into Atticus. A pillar of radiance erupted from him, piercing straight into the heavens. It condensed just as quickly, folding inward into a do of blinding light that detonated outward.
As the brilliance faded, Atticus' new form erged.
His body burned with a blaze of white and gold. His fra had thickened, while his hair rose and shifted as though it had a will of its own.
His eyes flickered between blue, white, and gold, light pulsing within them.
The surge of power that coursed through him was overwhelming, roaring through every part of his being. His body felt lighter, as though his strength had risen to a level capable of lifting even the plane will.
Freya, and the others, could only stare in silence. They could feel it clearly, the sheer energy radiating from him. The disbelief in their eyes was unmistakable.
Suddenly, a light flickered through Atticus' gaze. He stared ahead. His vision seed to cut through the distance in an instant, locking onto his target kiloters away. The Alpha's dark crimson eyes narrowed in response. In unison, a piercing scream tore from the horde.
"ROARRRRRR!"
The sheer anger in their collective roar was palpable. The force of it swept across the land, dragging up dust as it dashed past Atticus.
Yet, if he felt even the slightest tremor under that pressure, he didn't show it.
The massive grotesque surged forward, an endless cascade of snarling beasts piling over one another as they drove toward him.
A faint flicker of purple passed through Atticus' eyes as he spoke.
"Absolute Domain."
A cloak of purple condensed around him, unfurling in his wake. A cloak of purple condensed around him, billowing in his wake. Atticus stretched out his palm, reaching out to the world. In response, nurous energies converged before him, trembling as they wrapped and fused together. With a thought, they surged forward, forming a beam of devastating force.
It collided with the advancing horde in a cataclysmic clash. Cracks tearing across the ground as shockwaves rippled outward. The beam carved through the beasts, reducing them to nothingness. Yet the farther it pushed, the more it slowed, its glow dimming… until it finally sputtered and died out.
ROARRRR!
Another deafening roar tore from the beasts. But the one they directed it at, Atticus, had already gone still.
Both hands tightened around his katana, his gaze fixed on the path the beam had opened. The combined wills of his, Noctis, and Ozeroth churned within him. The ground beneath his feet collapsed outward for hundreds of ters under the pressure.
A sharp light flashed through Atticus' eyes as he spoke.
"Godspeed Grace."
His form trembled for the briefest mont… then vanished. What remained was the thunderous detonation of the ground where he had stood, the air tearing apart with sound, and a streak of light that cut straight through the horde. He tore through them in a surge of overwhelming force.
The farther he pushed forward, the heavier the resistance beca. His will depleted rapidly, and an intense urge to let go surged as the cancerous effects of the beasts' will took hold.
Yet none of it shook him.
He tore through the onslaught the next mont, flashing before the Alpha.
The Alpha bore the sa crimson gaze, the sa jagged teeth and claws as the others, but its form was distinctly humanoid.
It sat upon a massive, elaborate throne. The mont its eyes t Atticus', they flew wide open in shock.
Yet Atticus didn't waste even a single mont.
His gaze flashed, and he drove his katana forward in an absolute thrust.
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