In Sector 8, it was an ordinary day for its inhabitants.
The people of the Starhaven sector had always lived in peace and harmony. With spiritual energy permeating the air and the Eternal Canopy towering above, even the most ruthless, bloodthirsty individuals found themselves subdued and tranquil.
The crime rate in the sector was nonexistent, and everyone treated one another with kindness and respect. It was a peaceful metropolis, where the daily routines were carried on uninterrupted.
But today, everything changed.
It was 2 PM in the afternoon, and yet the bright golden rays of the sun began to dim. Slowly, the light disappeared, and the entire sector was plunged into perpetual darkness.
Inhabitants looked up to see the sun obscured by clouds so thick that nothing could be seen through them.
A blinding flash of white light suddenly illuminated the sector, followed by the deafening rumble of thunder. Confusion spread like a wave as the people wondered just what was happening.
Then, they felt it.
A presence.
It was surreal, as though a single eye had opened up in the skies, watching their every move. The sensation was completely invasive, making everyone feel utterly exposed.
And then came the fear.
It was intense and primal, fear that seemed to well up from the deepest parts of their being.
At first, no one could comprehend where it had come from. But that changed when they turned their attention to their bonded spirits.
The spirits were silent, trembling. None of them spoke, and none dared to. It was as though uttering even a single word was a divine sin.
The inhabitants all turned their gazes toward the temple where the Sanctum of Origins was located. There, an incredible, unprecedented amount of spiritual energy was gathering.
Inside the Sanctum of Origins, the once peaceful atmosphere had transformed entirely.
Atticus sat at the center of a swirling storm of spiritual energy.
Earlier, he had been calmly meditating, attempting to absorb spiritual energy to awaken his element, while the gathered Starhaven members fought with existential crises over his impossible rate of energy absorption.
But as time passed, the inevitable soon happened, Atticus finally absorbed enough spiritual energy to awaken his element.
At one moment, the space was peaceful and silent.
And in the next, an overwhelming flood of spiritual energy blanketed the room, as though the very air had turned into a dense ocean.
Seraphina had long since stepped back away from Atticus. She, Celestial, and the others stared at him with intense shock.
They knew what was happening. They recognized it, and it shook them to their core.
The bonding process had begun.
When someone absorbed spiritual energy, they essentially sent out a signal to the spirits in both this plane and the spirit realm.
Normally, the bonding process could take days or even weeks, as spirits preferred to observe those they found interesting before making a decision.
Zoey's one day bond had been the shortest time ever recorded in Starhaven history.
But now, that record was being shattered before their very eyes.
Two hours. It had taken just two hours, and he was already forming a bond.
But that wasn't all.
'What's with this spiritual energy?' Seraphina thought, her usual calm demeanor long gone.
She had been present when Zoey awakened, and the spiritual energy that gathered then had been intense. But it was nowhere near what was currently gathering now.
Zoey had bonded with a Tier 7 spirit, a being at the top of the food chain in the spirit world. Yet, the energy emanating now was many times greater than what she had witnessed before. That fact was enough to send an intense chill down her spine.
And it wasn't just her.
In the next instant, they all felt it, the presence, followed by primal fear.
Seraphina and Celestial had both bonded with a Tier 6 spirits. And yet, they found themselves gripped by an overwhelming fear.
'What the hell is this child summoning?' Seraphina thought gravely. And I t was clear from the others expressions that they shared her sentiments.
All eyes turned to Atticus.
But Atticus had no idea what was happening.
As soon as he reached the required amount of exposure, he felt a warmth spreading through his body and a slight pull, as if something was forming within him. It was akin to a well being carved into his mind.
He was enjoying the process until he suddenly felt it, a presence watching him, incomprehensible and immense. It wasn't fear he felt, but the sensation of something fundamentally wrong.
His eyes snapped open.
Everything around him was frozen.
Seraphina, Celestial, and everyone else in the room were still, locked in place. Even the air felt heavy and unmoving, as though someone had pressed pause on the world itself.
Then, a voice broke the silence.
"What is your goal?"
The voice was calm and measured, resonating like a distant drum. It carried a sagely authority, a weight that demanded an answer without the need for force.
Atticus's instincts screamed at him to respond, but he stayed silent, his gaze calmly wandering as he tried to locate the source of the voice.
He knew this being was far more powerful than him. The simple fact that it could freeze even a paragon in place proved the depth of its power.
But the being hadn't deemed it necessary to show itself. Why should he indulge it?
"Hmm," the voice spoke again, a faint chuckle following, low and rumbling, as if it emerged from the core of the world.
"Pride," the voice said, "you have it, and I like that. I will show myself to you."
The air shifted as the presence intensified. Slowly, before Atticus, a figure began to materialize, stepping out of nothingness as though it had always been there.
The being was tall, cloaked in flowing robes that seemed to be woven from light and shadow. Its face was ageless, its eyes glowing faintly with a golden hue. The air around it felt alive, as if it carried its own sentience.
Atticus felt the weight of the being's presence pressing down on him, as though the very world was bearing down on his body. Yet, he fought the sensation, meeting the being's gaze head on.
The being stopped, studying him for a moment before breaking the silence again.
"Now, I ask you again," it said, its voice quieter but no less commanding.
"What is your goal?"