The hall went silent. Atticus was too baffled to offer any sort of response.
"B-bored?" he muttered after a few seconds passed. He had been expecting something profound at the end, something that would give insight into why this man was doing everything he was doing. If he had to be honest, he had thought it was revenge.
The human domain had treated beasts as simple commodities for centuries now; it wouldn't be shocking if their supposed leader was angry about that.
But it seemed as though he had stumbled upon another weird character.
'As if those sanctum masters weren't enough,' Atticus sighed inwardly.
'At least this works in my favor. He doesn't have an underlying hatred for the human race or any stupid thing like that.'
"Yes, I was so bored! I was the first paragon of my race, and there were no challenges! None of them could challenge my might. I needed something exciting, something that wouldn't end up causing the extinction of my race. That was when I found myself observing you humans.
"Fascinating creatures. Most of you are weaklings who can't even fight, with just a very few elite, and yet you thrive as a society. One of the weakest in the alliance, and yet you still raise your heads high and fight amongst yourselves. It's amusing."
An intense grin appeared on the man's face as he thought about humans, staring into the distance as though reminiscing about a fond memory.
"This is why I wanted to push you all to the brink. In addition to your perilous situation, should a new major problem emerge, how would you cope?"
The man rested his head on a fist resting on the throne's side. "These past few years have only been a… test. I have yet to unleash my full might on the human domain. Human cub, why am I telling you all of this? It's simple! Among all the humans I have observed in my centuries of living, you are the most fascinating!"
'Don't you have any other words aside from fascinating?' The situation was terrible, but Atticus just couldn't help but ponder. The man had used that word too much.
"The ability to control multiple elements. You walk around with a parasite without knowing its full capabilities. Your unmatched talent! You cannot be more than 17, and yet you're already so powerful! You went from expert+ to master- in a month!!"
At this point, the entire hall was trembling. It was quite obvious to everyone watching that the man was excited.
"S-sovereign,"
The weak voice of Niall sounded from behind as the paragon reeled in his excitement.
"Ah, apologies, it seems I went too far."
Niall stood up weakly from the floor. The ground around him was covered in blood—his blood. Their sovereign had only paid special attention to Atticus, which left the other areas to be affected by his power.
The sovereign didn't spare Niall another glance and turned to face Atticus with a smile.
"It was like I was watching a movie."
At this point, Atticus's mouth had scrunched up. He didn't even know how to react.
"You enjoyed watching a naked teen?"
This was the only question that he just had to ask. He was naked during the last parts when he broke through. It was clear this man was watching everything.
"No, no, I have not interest in your nakedness of course. You're handsome but clearly not my taste,"
The sovereign waved his hands while denying Atticus's claims.
'Do you even have a taste?'
Atticus wasn't sure if the paragon was actually a he or she. He was currently taking on the form of a male, but who could be sure what was under there?
"I watched you to find out your secret, but there wasn't any—at least that was what I thought until you advanced. Your weapon."
The sovereign's gaze suddenly fixed itself on the katana hanging on Atticus's left side, and the latter couldn't help but tense up.
'I can't risk it.'
If the paragon had already set his sights on his katana, Atticus had no plans of testing which would be faster: a paragon or his will.
However, the sovereign quickly stopped Atticus from continuing his actions.
"Calm down, boy, I have no interest in taking any of your possessions."
Atticus's gaze narrowed. He had tried to will himself inside the katana, but he couldn't. It was as though there was a barrier blocking the exit of his will from his body.
'Is it him? What is his power?' Atticus wondered.
Usually, the beasts of Eldoralth had abilities relating to the elements in the world. But since he entered this throne room, Atticus hadn't felt any elemental cues emanating from the sovereign.
He had initially speculated that the sovereign was so powerful that Atticus couldn't comprehend his powers, but he quickly dismissed that thought after the display just now.
'It's as if he controls everything around me, even the air,'
Atticus tried, but he couldn't get the elemental molecules under his control.
"That weapon looks ordinary, but I can feel a connection between the two of you, just like that parasite in your chest. It's obvious that it's something special."
The sovereign ignored Atticus's guarded demeanor and continued speaking.
"As I said earlier, I have no intention of taking anything from you. To me, you're like my star actor in a movie. So, I've decided, Human cub, I'll help you!"
"Help me?" Atticus was once again baffled.
"Yes. That parasite, to be exact. You really don't know what it's doing to your body, do you? Hmm, allow me to explain."
As soon as the sovereign's words dropped, Atticus suddenly found himself floating high up in the sky along with the sovereign himself.
The clouds were beneath his feet, and the sun was high up in the sky.
'It's like a small world,' Atticus thought. He had always found these details odd. He had clearly entered underground, so why were there clouds and a sun? There was even night and day.
It was as if this space had its own ecosystem.
The clouds suddenly cleared, and Atticus set his eyes on the community of beasts down below. It was akin to a city, with high skyscrapers and towering walls. He could see different humanoid beasts roaming the streets and communicating with each other.