Darkness, complete and absolute, shrouded his vision. Atticus found himself trapped in this void once more, a sense of déjà vu washing over him.
'Not this again,' Atticus thought, a hint of frustration creeping in as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
'Am I back in the life weapon?' He pondered. This was exactly what happened the last time he was knocked out
As if in response to his inner turmoil, the suffocating darkness slowly began to recede, revealing a scene that immediately gripped his heart in a vise.
Before him, Ronad stood with his completely charred blacken skin, a chilling grin etched upon his face. He held a gleaming sword dangerously close to Ember's delicate neck.
Atticus' voice cracked as he shouted, "No!" His legs carried him forward, but no matter how he sprinted, the gap between him and the duo seemed to expand.
And then, without hesitation, the sword descended.
With a gasp, Atticus bolted upright, his body drenched in sweat. He took a few deep breaths to steady his racing heart, then slowly opened his eyes.
He glanced around, attempting to make sense of his surroundings.
It didn't take long for him to recognize the familiar room.
"I'm back at the estate?" Atticus muttered to himself.
While trying to process the situation, he noticed a stirring on the left side of the room. Atticus squinted in the dim light and soon identified the figure slumbering on the couch.
It was Aurora, wrapped in a thick blanket, her peaceful form gently rising and falling with each breath.
Not wanting to disturb her rest, Atticus carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed and quietly descended to the floor.
His body was feeling good, too good. It was as if the injuries he had sustained had never existed in the first place.
Lost in his contemplations, his attention was abruptly seized by a figure bursting into the room.
Startled, Atticus turned to find Anastasia standing before him. Before he could react, he was enveloped in a warm and tight embrace.
Atticus didn't resist; instead, he welcomed her embrace, closing his eyes and savoring the moment.
'I've missed this so much,' he thought, his heart swelling with emotion. After a long, comforting minute, Anastasia slowly released her hold, still grasping his shoulders as she studied him closely.
"Honey, are you okay?" Her voice trembled with emotion, her tone completely filled with warmth.
Atticus returned her gaze with a warm smile. "Yes, Mum, I feel okay," he assured her. But his keen eyes didn't miss the telltale signs – her reddened, puffy eyes. 'She's been crying. A lot,' Atticus realized, a pang of sadness washing over him.
He pulled Anastasia into another tight embrace, this time surprising her. Without hesitation, she held him just as fiercely, as though afraid he might vanish.
"I'm glad you're home safely," she whispered.
"Me too," Atticus replied warmly.
After the heartwarming reunion with Anastasia, Atticus also shared touching moments with the rest of the family. Avalon, Freya, Caldor, and even Zelda and Ethan had come to see how he was doing.
Seeing them all brought a genuine smile to Atticus's face, a rare occurrence in recent times.
Amid the warmth and chatter in the room, Aurora had also woken up.
Atticus couldn't help but notice the traces of tears on her cheeks. He knew it wasn't for him. 'So Rowan truly died, huh,' Atticus quickly deduced the reason.
Despite all the things Rowan had done to her, he was at the end of the day, her father. There was no way she could ignore that.
In the midst of the touching moments, Ember remained at the door of the room, silently observing the scene with an unreadable expression. She chose not to enter the room, and after a few moments, she turned away and left.
Atticus noticed Ember at the door, and he could understand what she was going through.
She basically saw the man that murdered her father in front of her, who even had the audacity to insult him again in front of her, but she was unable to do anything. He could understand the turmoil her heart was going through.
After a few hours, they all left the room, including Aurora, leaving Atticus to rest.
Atticus sat down on his bed, a sense of shock washing over him as he realized that two days had already passed since the incident at the camp. 'My injuries must have been really severe,' he thought.
Suddenly, he remembered something important and, gazing into the distance, he called out, "Arya."
No response.
"Arya," he called out once more, and then, a woman suddenly materialized beside him.
Atticus turned to see a woman with short black hair and green eyes, standing at 5'7" tall, a few meters away from him.
She bowed respectfully as she materialized, her face veiled within the bow.
But Atticus's perception was far too sharp not to notice the subtle changes in her demeanor.
Although she was trying to hide it, he noticed that her nails were recently bitten, as if she had been nervously chewing on them. He also noticed her palms were recently injured, as if she had been clenching her fists, among other small signs of unease.
Atticus smiled seeing her act this way. And then without waiting he quickly hugged her, flustering Arya, muttering, "I'm back,"
Although just like the rest she had wanted to greet Atticus when he woke up, but at the end of the day she was just Anastasia's Ravenblade, a servant of the family.
Even though Anastasia and Atticus treated her more than that, she still had to maintain a certain amount of distance and professionalism.
Yet, seeing Atticus embrace her so warmly, her cold and formal facade crumbled, and she hugged him back tightly. 'I'm glad you're back young master" she replied warmly.
After a few seconds, they separated, and then they talked for a few minutes. Arya provided Atticus with a detailed briefing on everything that had transpired during his unconsciousness.