Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground-Chapter 1155: Collapse
'I-It's o-over…' Jenera barely managed to think amidst the blinding agony.
She closed her eyes, before releasing a breath. It was over. There was nothing left they could do.
She awaited her end… one that never came.
Suddenly, a hot air washed over her, and the pain vanished.
'W-What?'
Jenera peeked her eyes open, sending a glance around. The screams had stopped. The paragons were no longer writhing. They each shook their heads, confused.
'What happened?'
Jenera turned her gaze to the sky, and her eyes landed on Kaelith. Only… Kaelith wasn't looking at them anymore.
His attention had shifted elsewhere.
Jenera and many others followed his gaze, and their thoughts froze.
A figure hovered in the air, his attire and hair dancing in the soft wind.
He hovered like he alone existed in the world. Like the rest were nothing but extras.
Atticus Ravenstein.
The relief that flooded the paragons' bodies was so overwhelming, many visibly exhaled.
He was finally out.
"Go after them," Magnus whispered to Avalon, who wore a reluctant expression before sighing and nodding seriously.
He barely stood before launching forward, heading toward his wife and the others.
"You must be Atticus."
Heads snapped to the side, landing on a woman with green skin and an innocent face, now hovering beside Kaelith.
'When did she arrive?'
The thought thundered in the minds of the paragons.
The woman, Lysara, smiled.
"The supposed genius everyone keeps calling a monster… hmm, you look very cute."
She licked her lips seductively.
"Lysara." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Kaelith's firm voice sounded, reprimanding.
"Come on, Kaelith. I'm just having fun," she said, pouting.
"I can have a bit of fun with him before I toss him away, right?"
Seeing that Kaelith's frown remained, she rolled her eyes.
"Alright, alright… where's the last born?"
She turned, sweeping her gaze across the domain. Then, she frowned.
"He's not… here?"
She had scanned the entire domain but couldn't find Whisker anywhere.
Just as she was about to speak again, a chill crept up her spine.
'Kaelith?'
She turned, only to see her brother's expression harden, his Will erupting and cloaking his body.
Her eyes narrowed.
She turned and followed his gaze, toward Atticus, and narrowed her eyes further.
But she wasn't the only one.
Even the paragons below had hardened expressions as they stared.
Atticus Ravenstein was someone who rarely showed emotion, especially in battle.
He rarely even spoke.
But now…
Now, a wide, unsettling grin was plastered on his face.
The kind of grin that was deranged. The kind filled with chaos.
Lysara's expression shifted as a realization slammed onto her.
Atticus was calm. Too calm, even in the face of their overwhelming presence.
Not just that, she could feel it. His Will.
'No… it should be impossible.'
A teenager from a lower world?
Lysara refused to believe it. But her instincts never lied.
A green wave burst from her, enveloping her body.
Her hardened gaze locked onto Atticus as the tension reached a boiling point.
But as it turned out, not everything about Atticus had changed.
He said no words. Not a syllable.
His hand reached for his katana.
One word finally rolled from his lips.
"Impose."
A hot wave erupted from Atticus, and it felt like the minds of everyone… were burning.
In the next instant, ethereal flames burst from his body, collapsing around him to form a radiant cloak of crimson.
'He collapsed it!?'
The expressions of Kaelith and Lysara changed violently.
Shock couldn't begin to describe what they were feeling now. They were beyond shocked.
The Impose stage granted one the ability to impose their will onto the world.
Here, the world would develop as the individual's will dictated. A sprawling forest. A dry desert. The entire purpose of Impose was to make its user bend the world to their will, to transform it.
Which was why the twins were so shocked.
Not only had a teenager from a lower world reached the Impose stage, but he had collapsed it too!?
"Lysara." Kaelith's detached voice rang out.
"Yes, brother."
The innocence or smile on Lysara had vanished.
In unison, white and green pillars erupted from them, piercing the heavens.
The skies above the domain split apart, the pillars of green and white still rising.
And in the midst of it all, Atticus slowly drew his katana… and vanished.
Kaelith's eyes flared.
A burst of sinew and bone instantly enveloped his arm as he turned, punching out with a fist wrapped in layers of marrow and muscle.
A second later, a blazing katana collided with stitched bone, birthing a shockwave of cataclysmic proportions.
It tore through the air, slamming downward toward the domain below.
The paragons below barely had time to register the incoming death before a radiant purple glow detonated across the sky, shielding the domain just in time.
But outside it… there was only chaos.
Bursts of crimson and white light erupted in every direction, clashing like twin suns trying to devour each other. Their Wills fought for dominance, twisting the atmosphere itself.
Not even a full second had passed before Kaelith's eyes flew wide open. His body jerked slightly. He had just felt something.
Pain.
'My Will… is burning?'
His gaze snapped toward Atticus to see that his deranged smile still remained, cold eyes boring into him.
Kaelith's expression trembled.
'What… is he?'
But the question barely had time to form before a streak of green tore through the chaos.
Lysara shot in from the side, a long greenish blade formed on her hand. She thrusted, aiming straight for Atticus's throat.
But… another word rolled from Atticus' mouth.
"Burst."
The crimson glow surrounding him detonated, becoming a tidal wave of raging fire that flooded outward in every direction.
Lysara and Kaelith shot backward instantly, vanishing in streaks of green and white as the wave of destruction engulfed where they'd stood.
They reappeared far in the distance, expressions dark, their Wills flickering.
They stared at Atticus as though he was nothing but a monster.
