Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1541  Cinders

Atticus silently watched the round unfold exactly as he'd anticipated.

Ozeroth's clash with Jarek had done its job. The dread he'd wanted had settled in. The other Marquis and their champions hesitated now… hesitated to challenge him, or any of his people.

Even Anorah and Ozerra felt it. In every roll that followed the battle, not a single challenge was issued to any of them.

'Good. Now I can focus on what matters.'

The other gods were no longer an immediate concern. The rules of the game guaranteed conflict would come eventually, but for now, it was enough to know his people weren't being targeted.

His gaze swept the board. His earlier move had pushed him closer to the center, into the high middle layers.

The Marquis here were different from those below. Quieter. More restrained. Stronger.

Still, they weren't his focus.

Since entering this layer, his enemies hadn't changed.

The two remaining Redflame Marquis kept their smoldering eyes fixed on him. The Willguard, meanwhile, had gone strangely silent, watching him with an intensity that hadn't faded since the last battle.

'Not yet.'

The hierarchy of the board was already obvious. The deeper one went, the stronger the Marquis waiting there. There were things he still needed to resolve before moving forward.

'That comes next.'

The turns continued until Scaela's came up. Her burning gaze never left Atticus as she rolled. The die settled on two.

"Two steps left."

"Scaela."

She didn't look away, not even at Dravek's call. Light swallowed her form, carrying her to the chosen domain.

Dravek's eyes darkened.

"Stand down."

His jaw tightened when she ignored him completely.

"Domain penalty," the board announced. "Expose two champions to battle for the duration of this turn. Do you choose to claim, or deny?"

"Claim."

Atticus' eyes narrowed slightly.

'I'm her target.'

He watched the turn play out without reacting. Two domains to the right brought Scaela closer to him, and her unbroken glare said more than any declaration could.

'This makes it easier.'

The turn continued. Scaela's champions were exposed, open to challenge from any Marquis on the board, yet none stepped forward. Few were willing to cross a major faction head on.

The next round shifted the board.

Anorah and Ozerra moved at last, each issuing a challenge to a different Marquis.

The battles that followed were watched in silence. When they ended, both were victorious. Overwhelmingly so.

Another ripple of shock passed through the Marquis. Two more true willers…

Eyes turned back to Atticus, questions burning behind hardened expressions. How was it that figures of such weight had gathered around one boy?

Finally, it was his turn.

Atticus felt it before he saw it, a glare sharp enough to burn. He turned and met Dravek's smoldering eyes. "Atticus Ravenstein… or whatever name you go by," Dravek said. "This farce has gone on long enough. The Redflames are beyond you. Don't delude yourself into thinking your actions carry no cost."

"Go any further, and you will make things worse. I swear it, none of your family will be spared if you take that step. Or…" His eyes narrowed. "You can end this here. With your death."

The watching Marquis grew still. The threat itself was clear, but it was the intent beneath it that drew their focus.

'You know what he's doing, right?' Whisker's voice echoed in Atticus' mind.

Atticus gave a faint nod.

'I know.'

Dravek wasn't just issuing a warning. He was trying to stop him from making his next move.

Not a single word left Atticus as he rolled, the die settling on two.

"Two domains right."

"You dare!"

Dravek's voice thundered across the board, but Atticus didn't answer. He only glanced away as light swallowed him, carrying him to the chosen domain.

"This domain has already been claimed. Do you choose to claim, or deny?"

Atticus' gaze locked onto the Redflame waiting ahead of him. Even now, Scaela's eyes burned straight through him.

"Claim."

"The domain penalty is to expose two champions to clash for the duration of this turn. By choosing to claim, you accept this condition."

"Yes."

"Atticus Ravenstein!"

Dravek's will flared violently, heat warping the air around him, but Atticus still didn't turn. "Marquis Scaela. Do you accept the challenge, or would you like to contest it?"

"Scaela. Don't."

Dravek's stare bored into his daughter, but Scaela didn't blink. "I accept."

"Marquis Scaela has accepted the challenge. Three mandatory points each have been staked. The battle may begin."

Light flooded the domain and the board dissolved, replaced by an endless desert. Every single eye followed them.

Scaela regarded Atticus with a cold gaze.

"Jarek was more than a guard to me," she said. "Since the day I met him, he's saved my life more times than I can count. He was my friend."

The temperature surged. Smoke hissed from her skin.

"All he ever wanted was to fulfill his duty. To protect me. But you… you killed him."

She lifted her face toward the sky, heat roaring around her.

"I will make you pay."

"Crown of Cinders."

The world ignited.

A blazing pillar erupted from her, tearing through the heavens before collapsing in on itself. Dense orbs of fire formed and started to burn in orbit around her body.

Her hair lifted, defying gravity, while sand thousands of kilometers away fused into glass.

The eyes of the watching Marquis nearly popped from their sockets.

"It's the Crown of Cinders!"

"A Marquis level art… Marquis Dravek must have taught her!"

"But she only just became a Marquis, how can she already use it?"

"She's a genius!"

Scaela's presence descended on the domain like a mountain. Heat warped the air as she looked down at Atticus. "Your weapon…" she said slowly. "It's made you careless. Because it can cut through will, you've convinced yourself you're untouchable."

She flicked her hand aside. One of the burning orbs peeled away, condensing into a radiant blade.

"But you made one mistake. You showed it too early."

Her body scattered into the wind.

She appeared behind Atticus in the same instant, her blade driving forward with such force that the air collapsed inward, a screaming vacuum forming in its wake.

"As long as you can't react…"

"…you're finished."