Atticus saw everything. The moment Ozeroth opened his eyes. The moment Ozeroth first learned to speak. The moment Ozeroth first took life.
The memories were endless, flashing through Atticus's mind at a rapid pace. Yet, to him, it felt as though time slowed, as though he were watching a vivid, endless movie unfold before his eyes.
To Atticus, it was beautiful.
In the brief moments he had interacted with Ozeroth, Atticus had discerned two things: Ozeroth was prideful to his core, and he was powerful beyond comprehension.
But now, Atticus saw past the overwhelming presence. He saw past the pride and the might, delving deep into who Ozeroth truly was.
A being that wanted to stand at the top.
Even as Atticus's body tore itself apart and rebuilt anew, a faint smile crossed his lips. He was excited, more excited than he had ever been.
Time passed, and Ozeroth's deep, guttural laughter rang out once more, resonating through the battlefield, shaking the bones of everyone who heard it.
His golden eyes burned brighter, illuminating the space around him, even as the light surrounding his form began to dim. His massive body began to shrink as the bond neared completion.
His voice boomed, each word laced with dominance.
"Remember this moment," Ozeroth declared. "This is the day the universe trembled. The day I, Ozeroth, chose to bond with Atticus."
It sounded like a decree, a message to the world that Ozeroth had chosen this 17-year-old boy as his equal.
As the final words echoed, the light vanished, leaving only Atticus standing in its place.
His body had transformed.
He had grown taller, his frame radiating unbridled power. His muscles were harder, his very presence commanding, and his hair, a vivid mix of purple and blue, whipped behind him as if it were alive.
His eyes, now swirling with shades of purple and blue, burned with an intensity that seemed to pierce the very fabric of reality.
A faint, glowing aura wrapped around him, shifting between deep violet and pure azure, exuding a force that seemed limitless.
Blackgate's narrowed gaze turned to pinpricks once more, his heart pounding erratically against his chest. He could feel the sheer magnitude of power emanating from Atticus, and it froze his breath.
'For a 17-year-old…' Blackgate dared not finish the thought, knowing that to do so would make him question his sanity.
If a paragon felt this way, there were no words to describe what the grandmasters behind Blackgate were experiencing.
The relief Alvis and Elysia had felt earlier was gone, shattered beyond repair. Every grandmaster was drowning in fear. Their earlier confidence had crumbled, replaced by a paralysis that gripped their entire being.
None of them could move. Each one was frozen in disbelief, their eyes fixed on Atticus.
What had just been created before them?
As they struggled with their emotions, Atticus stood calmly amidst it all. The ground beneath him trembled, unable to bear the weight of the unimaginable power coursing through him.
He could see things he had never dreamed of seeing before: the flow of energy, currents of mana and spiritual energy intertwining through the air and around the people near him.
He felt emotions not entirely his own—Ozeroth's pride, vast and unshakable, surging within him like a mighty storm.
But most of all, Atticus felt an overwhelming sense of supremacy.
The world felt beneath him.
He was strong. He was apex. He was peak.
His eyes locked onto Blackgate and the branch heads floating high in the sky. His lips parted, and his voice reverberated like a divine decree.
"Floating in the air, looking down at me? How quaint. Bow, or fall."
The words tore through the atmosphere, carrying a weight that made the world itself seem to pause. The ground beneath Atticus cracked violently, his katana trembling in his grasp, resonating with the overwhelming energy flowing through him.
The silence shattered.
Atticus moved.
The air ripped apart as he vanished from the ground, reappearing in an instant before Blackgate, his katana slashing through the air.
'He's fast!' Blackgate's eyes widened in utter disbelief. He hadn't expected Atticus to move so soon, or with such terrifying speed.
'I have to use it,' Blackgate thought grimly.
When he had first arrived, Blackgate had planned to deal with Atticus swiftly and quietly. As a paragon, he had no intention of using his full power, knowing that doing so would alert the entire human domain to his presence.
However, now, Blackgate instinctively knew, he had no other choice. He had to use it.
His arms flared with a black, spatial aura, the energy twisting violently as he thrust it toward Atticus. The attack surged forward with devastating force, ripping through the air like a storm of annihilation.
But Atticus's gaze flickered.
In the next instant, something impossible happened. His attack changed mid-air, taking on the same pitch-black spatial cloak as Blackgate's.
Blackgate's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind racing.
'My power… he copied it??!!'
He barely had time to process the thought before black met black.
The collision was cataclysmic.
The moment their attacks clashed, the sky ignited as though a nuclear explosion had erupted. A burst of blinding light tore through the heavens, forcing everyone watching from afar to shield their eyes.
The ground of Sector 8 fractured violently, massive cracks snaking through the earth as the entire capital quaked. Surrounding sectors wasted no time, immediately activating their Aegis Shields to contain the tremors.
High above the chaos, Seraphina's panicked scream cut through the air.
"MAGNUS!"
Her voice was filled with panic as she watched the destructive energy ripple outward. As paragons, they knew what this meant. Only one thing could unleash such devastation, a clash of paragons.
The entire sector shook, but this was only the beginning.
Magnus didn't respond with words. He responded with action.
His eyes glowed and intense white as he raised a hand toward the heavens. The skies above Sector 8 darkened instantly, thick white clouds swirling with terrifying speed. Thunder rumbled ominously as lightning flickered, illuminating the city below.
His voice was calm but carried the weight of a storm.
"I am lightning."
In an instant, Magnus's body dispersed into pure electricity, streaking across the skies like a god of storms.
His form moved like lightning itself, flashing through the capital in a blur of radiant energy. Everywhere at once, bolts of lightning illuminated the city as Magnus began pulling people from the destruction.
The streaks moved so fast that he seemed to be in multiple places simultaneously, carrying civilians high into the sky and away from the crumbling earth below.
Oberon's golden eyes glowed and intense golden. Raising both hands, his telekinetic power spread outward like an invisible net, extending over the entire capital.
Buildings, debris, and even the shockwaves from the clash were caught in his telekinetic grip as he fought to contain the explosion.
His mind extended further, holding together what little stability remained in the chaos.
The entire world seemed to hang by a thread. The clash between two titanic forces had begun, and the destruction threatened to consume everything in its path.
And yet, this was only the beginning.