Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 865  Torn

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Atticus was quiet for a moment, his expression unreadable. His mind raced as different thoughts flickered through his head.

"And the paragons? What do they think?" Atticus asked. From Ozeroth's memory, the Spirit King had made his presence known to the paragons of humanity. That meant they were already aware of the existence of another world and the overwhelming power of the Spirit King.

More importantly, they understood the threat posed by the Starhaven family. Atticus was a bit surprised that war hadn't already broken out.

Dario hesitated briefly. "The paragons were already aware of the existence of another world, though they've kept it very quiet, especially from the masses. In fact, the only reason I know this is partly because I witnessed it myself and partly because I'm your direct subordinate."

Atticus noticed a faint flicker of excitement at the mention of him being his subordinate, but he ignored it.

"I was allowed to attend one of the many meetings because of this, and even then, I had to sign a mana contract to keep it confidential. The paragons are being extremely guarded about this information because of the other races."

At the mention of the last part, Atticus's gaze sharpened. 'It's the best move.'

Humanity's relationship with the other races was incredibly fragile. The other races had made no secret of their desire to dominate or destroy humanity. After the incident with Whisker, Atticus was certain they were still searching for a way, but hadn't found one yet.

However, this issue would give them exactly what they needed. If the other races got even a hint of this, it wouldn't just be the Starhaven family that was targeted, it would be the entire human domain.

The alliance was already struggling to hold back the Zorvans. Adding the Spirit King into the mix wasn't an option.

The other races would take the easiest solution without hesitation: annihilation.

'We can't afford to let the other races find out about this,' Atticus thought.

If news of the Spirit King spread to the masses, the spies of the other races would quickly relay the information back to their respective leaders.

Dario continued, his tone growing serious.

"Although they haven't allowed the masses to know, the other paragons have already taken action behind the scenes."

"How so?" Atticus asked.

"A few days after the incident, they started isolating them, sending every single Starhaven out of their sectors."

"So they've been exiled," Atticus summarized coldly.

"Exactly," Dario nodded. "Each paragon forced them to leave their respective territories. Right now, the Starhaven family has nowhere to go, so they've withdrawn completely to their own lands."

"And what about the tree?" Atticus asked. He had seen the Spirit King restoring it in Ozeroth's memories, so he was curious if there had been any changes.

"It's still there, in their domain, standing tall and radiating spiritual energy. The Starhavens treat it like a divine presence."

Atticus tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, deep in thought. "What did the paragons decide to do with them?"

"They've chosen to tread carefully because of the Spirit King," Dario confirmed. "He's an unknown entity with overwhelming power. Humanity is already walking on a knife's edge. The last thing the paragons want is a powerful force pulling in another direction, one they don't understand or know the limits of."

For a moment, there was silence. Atticus's gaze shifted toward the window, his thoughts running.

'They picked the most logical option.'

He couldn't blame the paragons. While Atticus had Ozeroth's memories and knew exactly what was going on, the paragons were different.

They only had fragments of information about the situation. They didn't know who the Spirit King was, nor did they realize the magnitude of his threat.

Atticus was certain most of them were still clinging to the hope of a peaceful resolution.

But only he knew the truth, there was no such way.

'Should I tell them?' Atticus was torn.

 He was certain that if he revealed everything about the current situation, it would lead to war.

There was no other option. If the Starhaven family continued to grow and increase their numbers, the spiritual energy would thicken, and so would the hole. The Spirit King's descent would become inevitable.

No one would allow that. It might not be a unanimous decision, but carnage would be unleashed upon all of Sector 8, there was no doubt about it.

And that raised a difficult question. Would he want to be the cause of the loss of millions of lives?

Atticus's thoughts raced. He could lie to himself, but it didn't feel right. None of it did.

He stood up and walked outside the room.

Dario watched him silently for a moment before following. Outside, Niall was still lingering, looking like he had more questions than answers.

"Tell me if anything else happens," Atticus said curtly, glancing at Dario before walking past Niall without another word.

"Yes, young master," Dario replied, bowing respectfully as Atticus walked off.

Niall looked back and forth between them, clearly confused, but neither Atticus nor Dario had any intention of explaining.

"Ah, right, young master," Dario suddenly called out, causing Atticus to stop. "Master Magnus captured the branch heads of the Obsidian Order. They're currently imprisoned at the estate."

An icy chill crawled down Dario and Niall's spines as the temperature around them plummeted.

Atticus didn't turn back to face them, but the coldness radiating from his body was enough to let them know, he was angry.

"Okay."

That single word was all he said before walking away.

…

In a pitch-dark room, silence reigned, broken only by the faint sound of labored breathing. The air was heavy, filled with the stench of blood and sweat.

Against the cold stone walls, two figures, a man and a woman, were chained in place. Their arms were stretched out to the sides, shackled tightly at the wrists, while chains around their ankles left their legs dangling.

Their bodies were battered and broken, covered in deep cuts, bruises, and dried blood. They were stripped bare, their injuries fully exposed.

Their faces were swollen and covered in lacerations, making them unrecognizable.

Each breath they took was a struggle, a wheezing, ragged sound that faintly echoed in the dark room.

'How did it come to this?'