"You're not going to see that little monster?"
Avalon stopped laughing, his expression becoming a little somber. A small smile marred his face as he turned and gazed at the Aegis airship.
"I'll see him after one year."
Avalon fixed his gaze on the ship for a few seconds without saying anything, with Sirius leaving him alone to his thoughts.
"We should head back; Lyanna must be furious," Avalon removed his gaze from the ship and turned towards Sirius, who shuddered at Avalon's words, remembering Lyanna.
…
"What do you think?"
Ae'ark turned his gaze upwards upon hearing Ae'zard's question. Their ship had already taken off, and they were both sitting on a comfy semi-circular chair inside the ship's control room.
While it had some similarities with the Aegis airship, one glance would tell most people that it was far more advanced and superior. In fact, there were no crew members present!
Ae'zard's hand was placed on top of a circular orb, a larger size than what Ae'ark had given to Magnus. Streams of mana flowed into it and the other parts of the airship smoothly.
"You mean Atticus?" Ae'ark responded.
"I see you remember the human's name," Ae'zard smiled.
"Wouldn't you? Especially after everything that had just happened,"
Ae'ark rested his back against the couch, his mind racing through everything that had occurred today.
'To think there was another one of us amongst the humans, just what is that being planning?'
"So, what do you think?"
Ae'ark came out of his thoughts, his face morphing into a confused expression. He had been so absorbed by his thoughts that he hadn't heard what Ae'zard had said.
Ae'zard immediately understood what had happened. "I said, if you would kindly listen this time around, the nexus—how much of a threat do you think he'll be?"
"Wouldn't you be able to guess that better than me?" Ae'ark raised an eyebrow. The perception of a paragon was truly hard to fathom. And considering the fact that Ae'zard had watched his whole battle with Atticus, Ae'ark was relying more on his grandfather's insights here.
'Especially that suit he used at the end,' he thought, his gaze narrowing.
Ae'zard, who heard what he said, smiled. "Get ready; you're going into seclusion to begin training immediately,"
Ae'ark's expression changed, morphing into a slight frown. "Is this really necessary?" he inquired.
Ae'zard nodded gravely. "I watched everything closely from the start to the end. While it would seem as though he lost consciousness before you lost your power, you have to remember, it doesn't matter. The battle the both of you had today is of no significance. Do you know what matters?"
Ae'zard saw the serious look on his grandson's face and continued, "The nexus event. One year from now, you will both face each other once more, and I can say with all certainty that that boy wouldn't be the same person you battled today."
Ae'ark's gaze narrowed. It was surprising that his grandfather was speaking so highly about another person like this.
He knew that Atticus was incredibly talented and strong, especially considering the fact that he was a human. However, despite this limitation, Atticus had still been able to become this strong.
It was unsure just what he had that made him achieve this feat.
"Don't think about how he got strong; instead, think about how you would overcome him. We can't afford to lose the nexus event in one year, so you need to be thoroughly prepared, whether physically or mentally,"
Ae'ark nodded resolutely, his mind firming. The wagers each race had placed on this upcoming nexus were unlike anything before. Because the other races had pressured the human domain into giving them Sector 10, they each had to stake something of at least equivalent worth.
For some reason that Ae'zard found hard to fathom, each race was unilaterally confident in their apex's ability to win the nexus.
None of them disagreed with this decision, which was completely odd considering the fact that they each had supposedly functioning brains.
Usually, each race would strive to wager something worthless that wouldn't be missed. At the end of the day, there was only one race that could win.
Just what was giving each of them this confidence?
Ae'ark didn't say anything more. If he had to be honest, he had an idea why they were each so confident. And it was this same reason he had added to the information artifact he had given to Magnus for Atticus.
The sound of the door parting open caught their attention, and both Ae'zard and Ae'ark turned to see a petite girl with chubby cheeks clad in black pajamas filled with cartoon characters walking in.
Ae'na rubbed her eyes with her tiny right hand, her left clutching a small teddy bear.
The expressions on Ae'ark and Ae'zard's faces softened, replaced by warm smiles.
…
The Aegis ship was enveloped in a tense silence. Each of the crew members went about their normal activities, but the excitement in the air was palpable.
They had each wondered who the winner was before, but now, it didn't matter. None of them needed to be told what the implications were. As soon as they saw Atticus's strength, they had reached a similar consensus: they finally had an Apex! And it was from their family!
Smiles appeared on each crew member's face, each of them already anticipating the future and their roles in it.
However, the one who was the cause of all this ruckus was sound asleep, already in dreamland.
Atticus found himself in pitch darkness, a sense of déjà vu washing over him.
He knew exactly what was about to happen. He had experienced it back during the leader's summit when he had used up his will.
This time around, Atticus could feel that something was different. It felt more dangerous.
Atticus simply stood there and waited, but no scenes were shown to him like before.
However, as time passed, countless seconds, the figure of an individual with the same identical features as him appeared, but this time enveloped in a black exosuit, a gleaming katana in its hand.