Lumindra's entire body stiffened.
Then, she floated directly in front of Ozeroth, her aura flaring.
"Take that back, you bastard!"
Her voice was furious.
"You got lucky back then! If you weren't so proud, you would have bowed down in front of our king like you were supposed to! Like every spirit is supposed to!"
Ozeroth snorted.
"Please! That day, you weren't shocked by your orders, you were shocked by my magnificence and handsomeness."
His voice oozed arrogance.
"You practically set yourself up to be defeated! I saw the way you were looking at me!"
"If not for that fool's grip on you all being so tight, I'm sure you would have bowed and begged to serve me."
Lumindra visibly gagged, looking like she had just heard the most disgusting thing in her life.
"Your delusions are insane."
Atticus, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke.
"I said the same thing."
Both Ozeroth and Lumindra whipped their heads toward him and—
"STAY OUT OF THIS!"
Atticus raised his hands in defeat, muttering under his breath,
"You'd think they were the couple."
But they ignored him.
Lumindra's anger flared again.
"And don't you dare talk about my king that way!"
Ozeroth rolled his eyes.
"Just like I said, your brain is just like your size. You can't even see that he's using all of you."
Atticus and Zoey watched everything unfold quietly.
Zoey's expression was baffled. She had never seen Lumindra this flustered before.
Meanwhile, Atticus was completely used to Ozeroth being this annoying and impossible. He couldn't help but pity Zoey's spirit, she was in for a rough time.
As the bantering continued, Atticus and Zoey's eyes suddenly met.
Atticus gestured toward the forest.
Zoey breathed in deeply, clenching her hands.
Then, she nodded.
Without another word, the two of them walked away, leaving Ozeroth and Lumindra behind, still shouting at each other.
They walked.
Despite the distance they had put between themselves and the spirits, the faint echoes of Ozeroth and Lumindra's argument still rang through the air.
Atticus and Zoey didn't stop walking.
They stepped deeper into the forest, the dense foliage swallowing them into an eerie silence.
Neither of them spoke.
Atticus took the lead, his strides calm and measured.
Zoey followed behind, her gaze locked onto him, observing everything.
'He's changed a lot.'
Atticus had grown taller, broader, stronger, but that wasn't what unsettled her.
It was his presence.
Everything about him screamed dominance.
It felt… alien. As though he no longer belonged to their world.
She watched his steps.
His feet touched the ground, yet there was no displacement.
As though he wasn't even bound by the same physical rules as everyone else.
That was when it truly sank in.
It was worse than any of them had thought.
Atticus was at a level that couldn't be reached.
A sting burned in Zoey's chest.
That same ugly feeling crawled to the surface once more.
Jealousy.
Just then—
Atticus stopped.
Without warning, he turned to face her.
Zoey flinched as their eyes met.
His mismatched gaze bore into her, sharp and piercing.
She froze.
Under his stare, she felt completely bare. Like he could see through everything.
Everything she had planned to say vanished.
The words she had rehearsed, the explanations she wanted to give—
All gone.
Her breath stopped as she stood there, hands clasped tightly in front of her, unable to speak.
He looked… unreal.
Like a sculpture carved by the gods themselves.
The tense silence stretched until—
"Well, I think we're far enough."
Atticus's voice broke the stillness.
Zoey jolted, snapping out of her trance.
"Y-yeah," she stammered.
Then, internally, she screamed—
'Lumi, help!'
But there was no answer.
Her chest tightened.
She already knew.
Lumindra was still busy screaming at Ozeroth.
Zoey cursed inwardly.
'C'mon, Zoey. You can do this. Just like you rehearsed.'
She turned back to Atticus, only to see him watching her silently.
That only made it worse.
She inhaled deeply, steadying herself.
"How have you been?" she finally asked, her voice soft.
"I've been good. You?"
His tone wasn't cold.
It wasn't warm, either.
It was just… normal.
And somehow, that hurt more than anything.
Her chest ached.
'Does he not care anymore?'
She had prepared herself for anger. She had expected him to be furious, to yell, to blame her.
That would have been easier.
If he had been angry, that meant he still felt something.
But this… this was indifference.
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"That's great," she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible. But Atticus heard her perfectly.
Silence settled again.
Until Zoey took a deep breath.
Then, with newfound determination, she lifted her head.
'Here goes…'
Her voice was firm, but her fingers trembled.
"I'm sorry, Atticus."
Atticus's gaze remained unreadable.
"Sorry for what?"
Zoey hesitated.
Then—
"For rejecting you when you asked me out."
She exhaled sharply, her voice quieter now.
"It's not that I didn't feel the same way. I just… I just—"
She bit her lip, struggling to find the words.
Atticus said nothing.
He simply watched her.
Atticus could feel it. He wasn't just looking at her.
He was feeling everything she was feeling.
He knew what she was going through.
She was a walking wreck of emotions.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
And then—
The first drop fell.
"I—I'm sorry, Atticus. So sorry."
She wiped at her tears, but they only kept falling.
Her voice cracked, her body shaking.
"But I'm jealous."
Her hands clenched into fists as more tears streamed down her face.
"I'm jealous of everything you are."
"I want to be where you are."
"I want to be stronger."
"I want to gain power. I want to have the strength to stop this war. To save our planet."
Her tears didn't stop.
Her shoulders shook, her vision blurred.
"I feel the same way, Atticus, but I can't just bury this feeling."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Anytime I look at you, all I can feel is jealousy."
"I hate this. I hate this so much."
Her breaths were heavy, her voice breaking.
Zoey choked on her sobs, her face drenched in tears and mucus.