Celestial fell silent, her thoughts racing. After a moment, she looked at him again and finally spoke.
"What is their main purpose?"
"You want to know if they're allies or enemies of humanity," Atticus said.
"Yes," she admitted. "Did that spirit you summoned tell you anything?"
Atticus nodded, his expression unchanged. This had been her goal all along. Ozeroth was, quite plainly, an enemy to the spirit race. If anyone would reveal the truth about their purpose, it would be him.
'She came here to find out what Ozeroth told me,' Atticus concluded.
He stared at her intensely, causing her gaze to narrow.
'Is he really just 17?' she wondered. The way Atticus had handled the entire conversation from the start left her feeling stupefied at how intelligent he was. It wasn't a trait normal for a teenager.
She had always thought Zoey was smart, but even she would've lost her composure at this point. Celestial knew why Atticus was staring at her and addressed it in the next instant.
"You don't have to worry. I asked my spirit to stay behind. She can't hear us, no one can," she assured him.
Atticus nodded. He had no reason not to believe her; the need for secrecy was for her sake anyway.
He decided to answer, "No, he didn't mention their purpose. But let me ask you something. If a higher race, one far more powerful than us, were to come to Eldoralth, do you think they would choose to coexist with humanity? If humans moved underground and discovered an ant hill, would they choose to coexist with the ants or simply destroy them?"
Celestial froze, falling utterly silent. She was unable to utter a response.
"I think you already know the answer to that," Atticus said.
A few seconds passed before she took a deep breath, steadying her labored breathing.
"Thank you," she said, turning toward Atticus with a serious look.
Atticus simply nodded. "It's nothing. I hope you and your family make the right choice."
His words sounded simple, but there was an unmistakable hint of threat within them.
Now, they had just established some facts:
The spirits were a higher race and came from another world. They had come to Eldoralth with ulterior motives, motives they had deemed unnecessary to share with the Starhaven family, keeping them in the dark for generations. Whatever those motives were, they were certainly not benevolent.
This meant Celestial, along with the entire Starhaven bloodline, would have to make a choice: humanity or the beings who had saved them from an era of oppression.
Atticus could claim he didn't care about their choice, but that wouldn't be entirely true. In his mind, images of Zoey and Seraphina appeared.
The choice the Starhaven family made would determine whether or not they would become enemies of humanity. Atticus had been trying hard to avoid thinking about this, but Celestial had brought it to the forefront of his mind.
What would he do if Zoey became an enemy?
He shook his head. It was a frightening thought, one he didn't want to face right now.
'I'll think about it when the time comes,' he resolved.
Celestial's voice broke his thoughts. "Your training has slowed?"
Atticus raised an eyebrow at Celestial's words. "Yes, my advancement has slowed considerably."
Since he had checked his stats and confirmed he was at level 3, no matter how hard he tried to advance, progress had been at a snail's pace.
"Then you should visit the Spiritual Lake. It'll help. I'll have someone lead you there later," Celestial said, her tone was cold there was a hint of good intent. Atticus could tell she was trying to repay him for his help.
'Looks like she's not confused anymore. Has she already made her choice?' he noted.
"Alright. Thank you for your help."
With that, Celestial turned and walked out of the chamber, leaving Atticus to ponder his next course of action.
'The Spiritual Lake, huh,' he thought.
He hadn't bothered asking Celestial about it because the concept seemed self-explanatory. A lake filled with condensed liquid spiritual energy. 'Hmm, I hope it'll be helpful, I want to leave as soon as possible.'
Atticus didn't feel comfortable staying in this sector, especially after everything he had just learned. It felt as though he were in a lion's den, but the difference was not knowing when the lion might turn on him.
Now that the secret was somewhat out, Atticus was sure that if not the Starhaven family directly, the spirits might act against him soon. He was a prime target.
After Celestial left, Atticus sat back down and continued his training, focusing on absorbing spiritual energy into the well in his mind.
He prioritized accumulating spiritual energy over mastering its manipulation for now, the latter would come later. His immediate goal was to gain enough spiritual energy to bond with Ozeroth.
The day passed quickly as Atticus trained throughout, taking only a brief break to eat food he had packed in his space storage.
The Next Morning arrived.
As the new day began, one of the guards came to inform Atticus that an elder was waiting for him outside the sanctum.
'That must be the person she sent,' Atticus thought.
He quickly stood up and headed outside. Aside from Celestial and Seraphina, no one could enter the sanctum without their permission.
As he reached the entrance, he saw an aged man with dark purple hair, characteristic of the Starhaven family. The man's face was deeply lined, and his hunched back gave him a frail appearance, though his posture carried a quiet dignity.
The man lowered his head respectfully as Atticus approached.
"Apex Atticus," he greeted, "I am Elder Lorthan, overseer of the Spiritual Lake. The matriarch has sent me to guide you there."
Atticus nodded with a slight smile. "I understand. Let's proceed."
Lorthan gave another small bow before turning. "Follow me, please."
As they began moving, Lorthan appeared calm, but his mind was filled with shock. He hadn't been present during Atticus's arrival or awakening, as he rarely left the lake. However, he had heard the stories.
'He awakened just days ago, and yet his spiritual energy is already so strong. It's almost at the level of our strongest! What in the world is this?'
The elder did well to hide his shock.
Instead of entering the sanctum of origins, they went around it, heading directly toward the massive tree.
Soon, Lorthan gestured toward a path that descended alongside one of the colossal roots.