As he appeared far in the distance, Blackgate's mind raced, processing every second at superhuman speed.
'I need time. Just a moment…'
But there was none.
BOOM!
Atticus appeared before him in a streak of purple light, his katana slashing down with terrifying speed.
Blackgate's eyes widened in shock as he barely managed to open another gate to escape. The void swallowed him again, and he reappeared farther away.
But Atticus was relentless.
Before Blackgate could catch his breath, Atticus was there again, his blade arcing toward him.
"Damn it!" Blackgate snarled, forcing another gate open to flee.
What followed was almost comical.
A chase erupted in the skies of Sector 8.
Blackgate disappeared and reappeared in a desperate attempt to escape. Gates opened and closed in rapid succession, swallowing him up before Atticus could land a killing blow.
But Atticus didn't relent.
Every time Blackgate reappeared, Atticus was there, a flash of purple light, a deadly blur, his katana striking with unerring precision.
Blackgate's heart pounded. He, a paragon over a century old, was running. Running from a seventeen-year-old boy.
Sweat drenched his body, his breathing ragged.
Each swing of Atticus's katana came closer. Each gate opened later. Blackgate could feel his control slipping, the gap between life and death narrowing with every second.
And Atticus's gaze never wavered.
Cold. Unforgiving. Relentless.
It was the gaze of someone who wouldn't stop until his opponent was dead.
'Damn it! Damn it!'
Blackgate's mind screamed the words on an endless loop as he appeared and disappeared, barely evading Atticus's relentless pursuit.
He gritted his teeth, fury coursing through him. The humiliation was unbearable. A paragon, a being who had ascended through centuries of blood, sweat, and sacrifice, was being hunted like prey.
By a seventeen-year-old.
Another flash of purple light. Another streak of deadly motion.
Atticus appeared before him, katana slicing in a vicious arc.
Blackgate twisted desperately, the blade grazing his shoulder. Blood sprayed into the air. He vanished again, reappearing meters away, his breathing ragged.
But Atticus was already there. His katana descended again, slicing toward Blackgate's chest.
Blackgate conjured a gate mid-motion to block, the black void barely holding back the strike. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, cracks forming along the edges of the gate before it shattered completely.
BOOM!
Blackgate's body jerked as he barely flickered away, reappearing farther this time. His sweat-drenched form trembled as he clutched his injured side, his mind racing.
He had used every trick to avoid dying, but he had lost his left eye and was badly injured. Even as a paragon, he was at his limit.
'I have to escape,' he thought bitterly.
Anger coursed through him, burning away his pride. He hated the idea of running from a seventeen-year-old, but he knew he had no choice.
As he evaded another attack, Blackgate suddenly focused, trying to open a gate that would take him far away.
But in the next instant, his eyes widened.
'It's not forming…?'
Nothing.
His remaining eye widened in disbelief as Atticus's katana sliced toward him again, forcing him to shift to the side. The blade narrowly missed his torso, carving a streak of destruction into the air.
BOOM!
Energy erupted from the strike, splitting the clouds above them and sending shockwaves through the sky.
Blackgate stumbled, his remaining eye darting in panic. He tried again to open a gate to escape, but nothing happened.
"Shit!"
Another flash of purple.
Atticus appeared again, katana raised, his eyes glowing with cold, focused intensity. Blackgate twisted just in time to avoid decapitation, the blade slicing deep into his already-damaged shoulder.
Blood splattered as his movements slowed, his mind racing.
He had tried to form a gate to escape, but it wasn't working. He couldn't comprehend why. He was at his limit, but surely he still had enough power to create a gate!
His gaze darted to the watching paragons, and his eyes suddenly locked onto Oberon. The golden glow emanating from Oberon's eyes stood out like a beacon.
'A rune,' Blackgate realized, his teeth clenching in rage. 'They've trapped me here.'
The rune had turned the entire area into a prison. He could still use his powers within its confines, but escaping it was impossible. In his weakened state, he had no way to counter it.
'They're trying to kill me,' Blackgate thought bitterly.
As Atticus appeared before him once more, his katana slashing with devastating force, Blackgate's mind scrambled for a solution. He tried to form a gate to evade the strike, but his eyes widened as nothing happened.
'I can't?'
Realization struck Blackgate like a hammer as Atticus's aura surged again. Though the Dimensari couldn't directly counter his powers, it was still an aspect of space.
Since his battle with Carius, Atticus had learned something crucial: his ability to exert absolute control over every single molecule in a particular area, even briefly.
Blackgate couldn't form a gate. Not here. Not now.
And Atticus didn't hesitate.
His katana descended like a meteor, slashing diagonally toward the side of Blackgate's neck.
The entire world seemed to freeze.
The paragons of humanity held their breath, their gazes locked on the unfolding scene.
But just as Atticus's blade was about to connect, his eyes flickered to the side.
A spherical artifact appeared in Blackgate's hand, igniting in a blinding flash of light, the same kind he had seen before with Veylor.
Before Atticus could react, the sphere expanded, swallowing Blackgate whole in an instant.
WHOOSH!
Blackgate vanished.
Atticus's katana followed through, slashing with unrelenting force.
BOOM!
The missed strike carved a deep, radiant purple slash across the battlefield, the energy tearing through everything in its path.
The slash didn't stop.
It surged forward, unstoppable, cutting clean through the Eternal Canopy Tree.
A sharp, deafening crack echoed as the base of the tree split apart.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then, it began to fall.
The colossal tree, towering above the world, tilted slowly at first, its immense weight pulling it down. The ground quaked as roots ripped free from the earth, dirt and debris exploding in massive waves.
The paragons' gazes snapped to the scene, their expressions darkening.
"It's falling…" Seraphina muttered under her breath, disbelief laced in her voice.
As the Eternal Canopy Tree crashed downward, its immense size eclipsed the battlefield in shadow. Above it all, Atticus hovered.
His body radiated a violet aura, his spiritual energy swirling like a storm around him. The light from his katana reflected in his cold, unyielding eyes.
He looked down upon the devastation like a deity, untouchable and absolute.
His gaze remained fixed on the spot where Blackgate had disappeared.
He didn't move.
He didn't flinch.
Instead, the sky rumbled, the heavens themselves seeming to acknowledge his anger.