NOVPUBThe spirit king searched and searched, but no matter where, he couldn't locate them.
It was as if they had simply disappeared from the world.
Yes, the Spirit King had been watching everything up until now. Recently, he'd noticed brief moments when Atticus vanished completely, and no matter what he did, he couldn't locate him.
But each time, it had always been during intense battle, when many things were happening at once. He hadn't been able to figure out the reason or the nature of the camouflage.
But this time, it didn't make sense.
His devouring field should consume everything, no matter how well hidden.
But he had searched everywhere. They were gone.
A sudden quiet blanketed the space.
Then, a voice shattered it.
"Sundering Storm."
There was no way the Spirit King would ever forget the voice of someone he had watched for years.
His gaze sharpened.
But before he could react, a roar shook the devouring field.
'He's inside.'
The Spirit King's gaze shook. Atticus was inside his devouring field.
He focused on the boy's location, only for his eyes to constrict once more.
A dragon was tearing through his devouring field.
'How?'
He focused, then he saw it.
Atticus stood within a swirling mass of silver energy shaped like the head of a dragon.
He tore through the devouring field, bursting out into the sky.
'How the hell do you think of these nonsensical techniques, Bond?' Ozeroth asked as they soared, Zoey still in their grasp.
"Kuu! Dada smart!" Noctis chimed excitedly.
The three had fused, and almost immediately, Atticus had lifted the singularity veil that protected them from the Spirit King's devouring field.
Ozeroth had been stunned, until Atticus unleashed his fourth art. But it wasn't the one they remembered.
The fourth art was usually a swirling storm of mana that tore through everything. But this time, Atticus had mixed negation aura into it, birthing a swirling mass of singularity that enveloped them like a roaring dragon.
But that wasn't all. Unlike the airtight singularity veil Atticus normally used to vanish from the world, this wasn't sealed.
Each orb of singularity spun around him at such speed it tore through everything it touched, including the devouring field.
Atticus's gaze pierced through the field, and landed on the Spirit King in its center.
Their eyes met.
The Spirit King's gaze hardened. He raised his hand, and the devouring field stopped expanding. It receded, converging entirely into a massive orb above his outstretched palm.
"Insects only exist in this world to be squished. Behave like the insects you are."
He fired, a condensed beam of devouring energy launched toward Atticus at blinding speed.
Atticus watched it come, his expression unchanged.
'It just comes to me,' he answered, and as Ozeroth scoffed, he gripped his katana tightly.
The storm around Atticus responded. It swirled faster, tearing free and converging around the blade like a tempest.
The beam reached him. Atticus raised his sword and brought it down.
A massive arc of silver storm erupted, tearing through the beam, splitting it in two.
It didn't stop.
The arc ripped through the beam and hurtled straight at the Spirit King, whose eyes trembled as the attack approached.
"World Step," his voice boomed, and he vanished, reappearing in the distance.
But his spine tingled in the next moment. The sound of air tearing reached his ears.
He spun, pupils constricting.
A figure burning in white and purple appeared behind him, katana wreathed in silver, descending like a fallen star.
"World Step," Atticus's voice finally echoed.
The Spirit King's face twisted.
"Void Maw," he snarled.
A black orb materialized before him, meant to stop the blow, but it was like butter before a flaming blade.
The katana sliced through… and then it sliced through him.
Even as his body was severed cleanly in two, the Spirit King's eyes never left Atticus.
There was no regret. No fear.
Only cold. Disdain.
"You think you've won. But you're wrong. That's not what's happening here today.
"Atticus Ravenstein, this is simply me giving you the privilege to protect your world. To raise it high enough for me to devour."
"I will devour this world. I will devour everything you hold dear. Even if it's the last thing I do."
"That's funny," Atticus replied.
The Spirit King's eyes sharpened. Atticus met his gaze.
"It seems we have the same goal." He smiled. "I'm going to burn your whole world too."
His smile vanished.
"Wait for me." 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
The Spirit King's gaze widened.
Why… why did those words make his heart tremble?
The swirling silver around Atticus's sword whipped out and engulfed the remnants of the Spirit King.
In the next second, it dispersed, and nothing remained.
The Spirit King was gone.
A silence blanketed the entirety of Eldoralth, one that lasted for a few long seconds.
And in that brief moment, there was nothing but peace.
No battles. No conflict. No carnage.
Only peace… and silence.
It was a moment Eldoralth desperately needed, especially after the chaos of today.
So many titanic battles had shaken the entire world… all in the span of under an hour.
Truly, it was a mystery of the ages how the world still stood. How the people were still alive.
But after countless clashes that shook hearts and made the ground tremble… the battles had finally stopped.
The enemies had been vanquished. And Eldoralth, though in ruins, had survived. So had its people.
Well… most of them.
The people of the alliance still hoped. Still prayed that everything had truly come to an end.
Everywhere was quiet. No more clashes. No more thunderous rumblings tearing through the earth beneath them.
And still… they hoped. They prayed. That all was good.
However, that brief silence was broken by a figure in the sky.
"Hmm… of course my star actor won. Looks like y'all are safe."
His voice echoed across the expanse.
It took a moment. A single moment, for the people to comprehend the gravity of those words.
They had… survived?
They would live to see another day?
To see their descendants grow and rise?
To watch their world recover and thrive once again?
They had actually… survived?
Many would've expected a roar. Or a loud, victorious cheer.
But instead…
As the truth finally settled in their hearts, they each dropped to their knees. Tears burst from their eyes and their cries filled the silence.
They had fucking survived.
