Due to the spiritual energy coursing through him and syncing with his mana, Atticus's body was benefiting from two powerful energies.
His bond with Ozeroth had forced him through an intense process, flooding his body with an overwhelming amount of spiritual energy that he had sustained for some time.
The pain had been unimaginable, but the benefits were undeniable. His body had been pushed to its absolute limit, and that strain was the root cause of his current bottleneck.
At this point, Atticus could feel he had more spiritual energy than mana. The effects of the spiritual energy were clear in his body.
Although he had just woken from a long sleep, his body looked radiant. There wasn't a single imperfection. His physique was perfectly sculpted, and he exuded an aura that naturally drew people in.
Atticus couldn't help but whistle as he noticed the massive leap in his charm stat. Even he was a little attracted to himself.
"As it should be," Ozeroth said with a satisfied smile. "As my bond, you should be able to attract even people of the same gender."
Atticus's face scrunched up.
Ozeroth laughed heartily at Atticus's reaction. "Ah, scoff all you like, but let me tell you, in the Spirit World, though I was hated by every spirit worth their salt, I could still feel the wetness between the women's legs as they stared at me." His voice was dripping with pride.
Atticus groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That sounded wrong on so many levels."
Ozeroth grinned wider. "Wrong? No, my dear bond, that's power. The kind of allure you can't fake. As my bond, you should—"
He suddenly froze, his expression shifting as he combed through Atticus's memories. His brows furrowed, then rose in shock before he let out a long, exaggerated hum.
"Hmmm, I'm starting to rethink this bond."
Atticus blinked, confused. "What?"
"A woman used you, and another outright rejected you? Embarrassing! Absolutely embarrassing!" Ozeroth exclaimed. "How will I ever hold my head high if the Spirit World finds out my bond was such a… what's the word?" He paused, searching through Atticus's memories.
"Ah yes, a simp."
Atticus's face turned red. "I was not simping," he muttered defensively.
"Oh, really?" Ozeroth snapped his fingers, and two images appeared in the air: one of Kira kissing another boy while Atticus watched from a distance, and another of Zoey rejecting him.
"Then what would you call this?" Ozeroth asked pointedly.
Atticus cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at the humiliating memories. "It just… happened, okay?"
Ozeroth stared at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath, as if calming himself.
"It's fine. What's done is done. The past is the past. What matters is the future. And now that I'm here, things will change for the better. You should thank me."
Atticus chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Ozeroth."
But just as he said that, his thoughts drifted to Zoey. Since Ozeroth had brought her up, he couldn't help but wonder what she might be doing now—
"YOU'RE STILL THINKING ABOUT HER?!" Ozeroth roared in his head, the sheer volume rattling Atticus's focus.
Ozeroth continued, his voice firm and commanding, like a general addressing a soldier.
"Rule number one: never dwell on the past, especially not on someone who doesn't value you!"
"I wouldn't go that far," Atticus replied. "I know she likes me."
"That's bogus," Ozeroth shot back. "And it doesn't matter. Do you know what does?"
Atticus shook his head.
"You asked her out, and she rejected you. You do not do that to someone you want to keep in your life. If you're just going to end up running back to her, I might as well kill you now."
Atticus sighed, rubbing his temple. "Fine, fine. Got it. No dwelling on the past."
Ozeroth shot him a piercing stare, clearly still annoyed.
"Good. If you want to be worthy of my bond, you'll focus on what's ahead, not what's behind. Now, let's ensure the future we build is one where no one dares reject or use you again!"
Atticus shook his head, half amused and half overwhelmed. It seemed life with Ozeroth was going to be… eventful. Very eventful.
After listening to more of Ozeroth's rambling, Atticus's gaze wandered to his elements. He wasn't surprised to see that his spirit element had already reached level 4. After everything that had happened, it was only natural.
Then he checked his arts, and what he saw instantly amazed him. Every single one of them had ranked up multiple levels. In fact, Atticus recalled that he had used only three techniques from his arts, yet somehow, everything had improved.
"What would you do without me?" Ozeroth said proudly, having picked up on Atticus's thoughts.
Atticus rolled his eyes.
"You truly underestimate the greatness you've bonded with," Ozeroth continued. "Allow me to enlighten you. My aspect, Omnicognition, allows me to see the very nature of powers. With it, I can not only decipher the intricacies of abilities but also improve them."
"I see," Atticus said, piecing it together. "So just by being in that enhanced state, I was able to improve all of them."
He realized that, without even trying, he had gained significant enlightenment during the battle.
However, Atticus also noticed the limits of Ozeroth's power. The spirit could analyze the nature of powers and see their unique signatures, but he couldn't decipher abilities beyond his current understanding.
If someone was stronger than him, Ozeroth might be able to copy their surface abilities, but he wouldn't be able to use them at the same level. Unless Ozeroth reached their strength, he wouldn't fully grasp or utilize those abilities.
As Atticus mulled over these thoughts, Ozeroth suddenly asked a heavy question.
"So how will you handle the Starhaven?"
Atticus froze.
The problem of the Spirit King was complicated. From Ozeroth's explanation, the easiest solution was to annihilate the entire Starhaven lineage, including Zoey and Seraphina.
But could Atticus ever do that? It would be genocide.
Atticus shook his head firmly. 'I'm sorry, but I can't commit genocide. We'll have to find another way.'
Ozeroth went silent, but Atticus could sense a hint of approval in his emotions. If Atticus had chosen the path of genocide, he would have lost Ozeroth's respect.
Suddenly, Atticus remembered something and called out.
"Yotad?"
A figure materialized in front of him, bowing his head.