Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1394  State

An hour passed before the weight on Kaino lifted. By then, many crowds had gathered and dispersed.

Each one expressed the same thing upon seeing a council member on the floor. Utter shock. The first instinct of many was to help, but after learning of the events that transpired, they each stopped.

A High Synod was being punished by the Saint. The Saint herself! The chosen one. No one doubted that he deserved it.

But when the weight lifted and Kaino began to stand, the crowd scattered like flies. At the end of the day, Kaino was a god. None wanted to experience his wrath.

Alone, Kaino walked back into the Sanctum.

Surprisingly, his steps weren't heavy or even fast. He walked at a steady pace. His hands were free and teeth not even clenched. He didn't look the least bit like someone who should be furious.

However, his eyes… his eyes as he walked were wide open. And his thoughts ran at a speed they had never ran before.

Despite the countless calculations, there was one thought that overwhelmed his mind.

That bitch… no matter what it took, he would kill that bitch.

…

After the tour, Anorah led Atticus back to the underground cavern, where he was to learn the next lesson.

The tour, to Atticus, had been enlightening. He had been training in this underground cavern for weeks now and had almost forgotten how dangerous and uncertain the world was.

There was no time to waste. He had to learn how to keep Solvath's fragment at bay and go back to his world.

As Atticus settled in the middle of the room, Anorah began speaking.

"You've passed three lessons so far. Disruption. Observation. Substitution. Now we move to your fourth. Can you guess what it is?"

Atticus thought for a moment. Disruption taught him control over his reflex, over his power. Observation taught him a way to use that control to analyze. To see what was.

Substitution had gone further still. It taught him to fuse the first and second lessons, control and clarity, into something more.

A tool that let him replace one anchor with another. His emotions had been powerful, but also dangerous and unreliable.

If Disruption was reflex, and Observation was clarity, and Substitution had been the bridge between them…

His eyes narrowed as the thought clicked into place.

"Something to do with balance?" Atticus murmured.

Anorah raised an eyebrow. She was a bit surprised he figured it out.

"I'd like to hear your reasoning?"

"Disruption stopped me from reacting on instinct. Observation let me see things clearer. Substitution gave me another anchor. But…" He paused, thinking.

"If I cut off emotions completely, I stop being… me. I still need to feel, otherwise what's the point? How can I think when I don't know what is going on? So maybe the next step isn't throwing them away, but… finding a way to stand between them. To hold both. To flip, when I need to."

Anorah smiled, clearly impressed.

"Equilibrium," she said. "For a second there, I assumed you were all violence and no thought."

"Just admit you're impressed and the world would probably be a better place."

Anorah scoffed. "The world's already shitty. I doubt a lie would make it any better. Now…"

She began making her way to the door.

"Close your eyes. The lesson will start now."

Atticus shook his head but did as he was told. Solvath's memories flashed in his mind the moment he closed his eyes.

"Just like the first lesson, I have to limit your power."

Atticus paused. Though he didn't like the sound of that, he saw no choice.

'I can regain it whenever I want,' he reminded himself before allowing her will to act on him.

As his powers vanished, he felt a sudden pain hit him, then… pleasure?

Atticus gritted his teeth. He had no idea how, but he felt pain and pleasure at the same time.

 It was as though half of his body underwent torture, like millions of needles prickling his body, and the other half intense pleasure.

'So that's how it is.'

Compared to the other lessons, Atticus found this one quite straightforward, especially since he'd figured out its purpose.

'Equilibrium.'

In essence, balance. What better way is there to teach balance than to go through contradictions?

Pain and pleasure. They were two extremes, two contradictions.

'Just like emotions and logic.'

The realization struck him, and he took in a deep breath, calming himself down. He let himself go.

Pain made him feel regret, he ignored it. Pleasure made him feel happy, embraced, he ignored it.

It went without saying that doing so was hard itself. To ignore pain was to ignore the cry of his body. Same with pleasure. Atticus felt every bit of them, but he did not surrender.

Now he understood the importance of the first three lessons. Disruption, control, kept him from surrendering to the pain and pleasure.

Observation made him see the two extremes for what they truly were. And Substitution made him substitute their effect on him for a more reliable anchor.

As time passed, Atticus soon found himself in a trance. The feeling of pain and pleasure blurred, leaving him in a surreal state.

Here, he felt nothing. No pain, no pleasure. He simply existed.

'Equilibrium.'

Balance. It was like he stood in the middle of a balance scale, swaying between both sides of equal weight.

Atticus leaned into the side of pain and found himself drowned in agony. He returned and then leaned into pleasure. He felt embraced.

'I can choose anyone.'

In this state, he could decide what side he wanted to tip to. And more importantly…

With a thought, Atticus felt both pain and pleasure assault him.

'I can choose both.'

The realization hit him. He smiled.

'Balance.' he repeated in his head. Now, he knew what he had to do.

"Stop the effects."

As though a command, the two extremes vanished. But Atticus' focus had already left them. Instead, he focused inward on two things.

His emotions and mind. Emotion and logic.

As Solvath's emotions surged through him, Atticus let himself go, repeating the same process.

In the next moment, he entered a sudden state.

Logoth.