Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1572  Eye

After everything, he had finally found the fragments. All that remained now was to reclaim them and be done with all of this.

Atticus slowly glanced around the space, confirming there were no enemies in sight, then drew in a deep breath, forcing his racing heart to settle before finally stepping forward into the light.

The instant he crossed the threshold, a violent shock surged through his body, locking him in place as though the space itself had seized him. His hand fired to his chest, his heart slamming wildly beneath his ribs, each beat echoing too loudly in his ears.

'What… what is this…?'

The overwhelming brilliance dragged his gaze toward the fragments, where heavy, chaotic currents of purple light churned around each one, twisting and colliding in a way that felt deeply wrong.

 Before he could process it, a massive, ancient looking eye manifested in the space before them, its single iris fixing onto him with crushing intent as an unseen wave washed over his senses.

A sharp jolt tore through him, and in that instant his control over the surrounding molecules slipped entirely, his camouflage shattering.

Atticus' expression darkened as he gazed back at the eye.

'It's just like back then…'

The sensation was unmistakable, dragging his thoughts to the moment after his battle with Ordan, when that overwhelming presence had descended without warning and erased all doubt of insignificance. A primordial star… The eye blinked once, and the purple energy flooding the space responded, spreading outward and coalescing into familiar forms. Raziel. Ordan. The other Marquis. Each figure burned with violent purple light, their gazes locking onto Atticus with killing intent as they closed in around him.

A heavy bang snapped his attention backward, and he saw the strange woman slamming relentlessly against a purple barrier that now sealed the entrance, trapping him within. Her expression was grim as she called upon element after element, bombarding the barrier without pause, yet not a single crack appeared on it.

Atticus slowly clenched his fists and turned forward once more.

'It's just me… huh.'

His gaze swept the space again. Raziel crackled violently at his side, Ordan watched in cold silence, the Marquis gazed without emotion, and though he was outnumbered and outgunned, Atticus' face remained icy as he extended his arm.

Fire, water, earth, air, lightning, space, ice, blood, light, and darkness flowed together at his call, weaving and compressing until they formed a slim, radiant katana. In that moment, the tension in the space soared.

…

Anorah felt the air crash into her back as she was flung across the sky, her teeth grinding together as overwhelming pain tore through her being. She had just clashed head on with an abyss god, and the impact had left fractures spiderwebbing across her will.

'He's strong.'

Her eyes sharpened as the man vanished from her sight once more, her body twisting instinctively in midair, barely managing to raise her blade before another brutal strike landed. More fractures spread through her will as she was hurled violently through the sky and smashed straight through a towering structure.

Anorah barely registered the crashing sounds of collapsing debris or the distant roar of billions of soldiers colliding across the battlefield, her mind drowning in ache and the single, relentless urge to get back on her feet no matter the cost.

'Logoth.'

The chaos vanished in an instant as absolute focus snapped into place. Anorah clenched her grip and raised her blade, purple light flaring across her body just as the abyss god descended from the skies in a violent streak.

Their clash erupted into a shockwave that tore the crumbling structure apart and drove a crater deep into the ground beneath her.

Anorah ground her teeth as intense purple light engulfed her blade, colliding head on with the abyss god's attack while she fought to hold her ground against the crushing force bearing down on her.

Then, as the purple will surrounding him wavered, his eyes widened and he abruptly withdrew, reappearing at a distance as he fixed Anorah with a sharp, assessing stare.

"It seems I failed to recognize you earlier, an unfortunate mistake."

He studied the churning purple energy wrapped around her with caution.

"You're the other fragment bearer."

'He knows about me…'

Anorah gave him no reaction, turning her attention instead to steadying her breathing. The Verge Games had been broadcast across the middle planes, there was every chance that any god they encountered now already knew what they were.

She frowned as the abyss god's expression shifted, a slow smile spreading as he gave a short nod.

"I suppose this is a good thing. You're worth more than I thought. Good… then this wouldn't all be for nothing."

He produced a small spherical object and crushed it in his grasp, releasing a violent wave that rolled outward and swallowed the surroundings in dust.

Anorah's eyes sharpened as the haze cleared, settling on the abyss god now encased in radiant crimson armor. She felt Solvath's power recoiling sharply within her even from a distance.

'It can't be…'

"I hope you don't mind," the abyss god said, his gaze deep and unsettling. "I came prepared."

Her eyes narrowed just as he vanished, and she hurled herself aside, the weight of displaced air slamming into her as his blade tore through the space she had occupied a moment earlier.

She twisted and rolled across the ground, springing back to her feet in the same motion, only to find the abyss god already upon her, twin blades blurring into an endless swarm of strikes. Anorah clenched her teeth and met each attack head on, with pain spiking through her body with every impact.

The abyss god's eyes gleamed with amusement as he bore down on her.

"What is it?" he taunted lightly. "Can't cancel out my will anymore?"

His attacks immediately grew faster and heavier, each blow driving Anorah back as she defended on instinct, her movements growing tighter as her power was steadily chipped away.

'…to think they're also involved.'

Anorah clenched her teeth. Drawing fully on Solvath's power would have narrowed the enormous gap between them, and while the fight would still have been brutal, it would have given her a sliver of hope, enough to hold the abyss god in place while their armies clashed below. But that hope shattered with the realization of who else had entered the field.

The armor encasing the abyss god wasn't merely defensive; it neutralized the countering nature of Solvath's power, preventing it from destabilizing his will. Major faction or not, there was only one entity capable of producing such technology.

The Will Guard.

'They're here.'