At the end of the day, nothing happened.
Atticus spent the entire day meditating on the king sized bed. Although he had already regained his will a while back, he focused on something else.
This was the Dimensari's domain, and though most people couldn't quite define it, the air here felt different—tighter, heavier than usual. Atticus had the subtle sense that, even without using any of his abilities, he could float in this air.
The last time he had felt something like this was during his battle with Carius. But his most memorable experience had been in the space elemental room of the academy.
The space element here was abundant.
This was an opportunity Atticus had no intention of missing. He focused on training his space element during his idle time.
Given that he had already mastered most of his elements to a significant degree, increasing his proficiency with the space element became much easier.
During his training, Magnus refrained from making any noise, ensuring Atticus wasn't distracted. As he watched Atticus deep in his training, a small smile formed on Magnus's face.
Nothing was more important than family.
The day passed quickly, and evening descended. With it came a knock on the door of the room.
Atticus's eyes shot open, but before he could move, the door swung open, and Magnus's cold gaze landed on the grandmaster Dimensari who had shown Atticus to this room earlier.
The Dimensari was momentarily startled by the immediate response but quickly regained his composure as Magnus's piercing gaze fell on him.
"What do you want?"
The Dimensari recovered swiftly, bowing respectfully, though his tone was neutral.
"Your attires and invitation for the banquet, Paragon Magnus."
The Dimensari extended an open palm with a small space ring lying in it. Magnus stared at the ring for a long second before lightning wrapped around it, lifting it from the man's hand.
With a curt nod and without a word, Magnus closed the door.
Atticus couldn't help but chuckle. 'He's not even trying to hide his hostility.'
Most people, especially if they knew they were outmatched, would at least pretend to be polite to the Dimensari, but Atticus doubted Magnus was even capable of pretending.
Atticus could hardly imagine the scenario in his head.
"They brought us clothes?" Atticus asked, watching Magnus use his mana to scrutinize the space ring thoroughly. Magnus answered after a few seconds.
"Yes."
"Oh, now they're trying to seem like good hosts?" Atticus chuckled. They had been here all day, and the Dimensari hadn't bothered to bring food or even water.
There was no doubt about it, even if they had brought food, neither of them would have even thought about eating it.
But at the very least, some form of hospitality should have been extended.
At this moment, it didn't even feel like he'd won a planet wide competition.
Truly, in this world, being weak was a sin.
Magnus didn't get the joke. He looked at Atticus with a puzzled expression. The Dimensari? Good hosts?
It seemed absurd.
"Never mind," Atticus shook his head with a smile. He and Magnus were somehow getting closer; the fact that Atticus had stopped saying "grandfather" in every sentence only went to prove that point.
Going through the space storage, an envelope appeared in Magnus's hands. He tossed the space ring aside, tore open the envelope, and read the letter within in less than a second.
"The banquet is at 8 p.m.," was all Magnus said. Clearly, there were more words written in the letter, but he completely ignored them.
Atticus nodded, his eyes glancing at the space ring on the floor. "I guess we're not wearing that, then?"
"No."
Magnus walked across the room and sat back down in his seat, closing his eyes.
Atticus didn't say anything else. He understood perfectly why they weren't going to wear the clothes provided by the Dimensari.
While it might seem normal, doing so would mean they were following the Dimensari's orders. Plus, they weren't familiar with the customs here—what if they were given outfits meant for clowns?
It was just after 6 in the evening, meaning they had less than two hours left.
Time passed in a flash, and soon it was time for the banquet.
Thorne, Seraphina, and Luminous arrived at the room. None of them wore the Dimensari's attire; instead, Thorne and Luminous opted for classic suits, while Seraphina wore a beautiful gown.
The trio couldn't help but stare at the grandfather and grandson duo.
"Is this what you're wearing?" Seraphina asked in disbelief as she looked at both of them.
Seeing them both nod, Seraphina couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'You have a lot of work cut out for you, Zoey,' she thought.
Atticus wore a pure white trench coat with a black inner shirt. He looked good, no doubt, but he didn't exactly look like a champion.
He had won the Nexus, and his appearance at the banquet should reflect that. But judging by Atticus's expression, it was clear he had made his choice.
Seraphina didn't even bother trying to persuade Magnus about his simple robe; it would have been like talking to a brick wall.
The Dimensari grandmaster arrived once more and led them to the banquet location.
The walk was quiet, and, surprisingly, they didn't have to leave the building. Soon, they reached an open space with multiple walls, intricate wording engraved on their surfaces surrounding them.
"Apex Atticus," the grandmaster gestured to one of the walls.
Atticus hadn't been surprised; Magnus had already informed him there were two banquet locations—one for the youths and others, and another for the paragons.
"I'll be there if anything happens," Magnus placed his hand on Atticus's shoulder.
Atticus smiled at Magnus's assurance. If anyone knew the truth in those words, it was him.
As he nodded to the others and began walking, he paused slightly at Seraphina's sudden remark.
"I'll also be watching, so don't go picking up other women, Mr. Champion."
Her voice sounded serene, but there was a serious edge to it. Atticus smiled wryly and walked through the wall.
Atticus felt the familiar wave of spatial energy. Given his current mastery of the space element, there was no adverse effect. If anything, he felt his proficiency increase slightly.
Atticus's eyes snapped open the moment he felt it was safe, his hand instinctively reaching into his trench coat.
He found himself standing in front of a large double door in a small, dark space. The area was utterly silent.
'I can't feel any presence.'
The grip on his katana relaxed as he assessed his surroundings. It might be an event meant for celebration, but he wasn't letting his guard down. His katana was strapped onto his left side, inside his trench coat.
He turned his gaze toward the large door and approached. As he did, it swung open, and intense brightness and loud chatter greeted him.
Compared to the quiet outside, the inside was bustling with energy.
As soon as the guests felt a new presence, all eyes turned toward the entrance, where they saw a handsome figure clad in a white trench coat.
The entire hall fell silent.
By this point, there was hardly anyone across the domains who didn't recognize that face. They identified him instantly.
And just as quickly, they each turned their gaze away from him, continuing their conversations as though he didn't exist.
Atticus's steps didn't falter. In fact, he hadn't shown even a flicker of emotion when their gazes landed on him.
Just as he entered, he walked calmly through the hall and approached one of the servers carrying drinks.
The server frowned as Atticus approached. Normally, they were supposed to immediately approach and offer drinks to new guests, but because of Atticus' identity, he had wisely chosen to stay back.
The hall was filled with youths of great influence and power across the different races; the last thing he wanted was to earn their ire. Just as he thought of stepping back, he met Atticus's gaze and froze.
Human or not, Atticus was an apex. Not just any apex, but one who had fought with three powerful opponents from the mid and superior races—and won.
He was strong.
Even if he wanted to, the server's body refused to show disrespect to Atticus. He felt his heart pound and his hands tremble. Before he knew it, he had bowed and stretched out the tray of drinks.
Atticus didn't say anything. His expression was calm as he simply took a drink and walked away.
The server wiped the sweat off his forehead, only for more to appear as he felt multiple cold gazes from the gathered youth fixed on him.
'Damn it.'
Atticus walked through the hall slowly, calmly observing the scene. He was alone, but he didn't care.
'They're all here.'
He could see that the remaining apexes were present, and he could subtly feel their gazes on him. They were all surrounded by swarms of different youths from various races attending the banquet.
As Atticus continued observing, he suddenly felt an intense stare from the side.
Turning, he met Karn's gaze from across the hall, watching him intently.