"Then at least you'll know. At least you tried. Just be honest with him. And with yourself. Stop hiding behind excuses. Stop running. Face him. Talk to him. Even if it's hard. Even if it hurts."
Lumindra's voice softened slightly. "But if you keep running, you'll never move forward. And you'll never be free from this feeling."
Zoey closed her eyes, her mind spinning.
It was so simple.
And yet, terrifying.
She looked up once more, toward where she had felt the energy.
Was she really ready to face it?
Could she really face him after all this time?
…
The months sped by, quick and fast. Viktor's words had been accurate. The first three months had been for basic training.
Everything Atticus had passed in a single day was what the rest of the recruits had spent these three months learning.
Yet, it still wasn't to an overwhelming degree. The best most of the recruits had achieved was landing a few hits on their training bots. They still couldn't defeat them, well, except for a very select few.
Each of the Apexes, Kael, Zoey, and Aurora, alongside the other elites of the other races, had been able to defeat their training bots.
Weapons training had taken a few weeks for them to pass, and hand-to-hand combat even longer.
The obstacle course had been the hardest thing most of them had ever experienced in their entire lives, and the stress and fear training had broken many.
And while not all of them passed with their pride and dignity intact, at the very least, they still had their lives.
Atticus had paid multiple visits to Aurora and the White Omen Division during this time, mostly hanging out and bantering with Aurora. Nate had also made the stupid decision of challenging Atticus multiple times, which always ended with his face planted in the ground.
He had also visited and sparred with Kael on multiple occasions. It had always been the same, quick, swift spars ending in Kael's loss.
Atticus hadn't visited anyone else. He had no interactions with the other Apexes and didn't even bother checking on any of them in their respective islands.
Aside from all this, Atticus had only trained, sparred, and bantered with Ozeroth on his island.
As the three months passed by in a flash, Atticus lay on the ground, panting from exhaustion. Just beside him, Ozeroth also panted.
Both of them had big smiles on their faces, and all around them, there was only devastation and chaos.
They had just finished sparring and were trying to recover.
"You really didn't have to punch me in the face," Atticus said between pants.
Ozeroth let out a haughty chuckle.
"You should be honored," he said smugly, tilting his head back as if basking in his own greatness. "Not just anyone is worthy of receiving a strike from me."
Atticus rolled his eyes, still catching his breath.
"Oh? Is that how it works?"
Ozeroth nodded, completely serious. "Of course. My fists are reserved only for the most esteemed of opponents. You should be grateful I even considered striking your face directly. Most would never get the privilege."
Atticus let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, what an honor. My nose is definitely feeling privileged right now."
Ozeroth smirked. "Good. A mark of greatness should be felt, after all."
Atticus shook his head at the absurdity of his spirit and sat up straight.
"It's been three months already," he realized, but received no answer.
As he turned, he saw that Ozeroth had already begun sleeping, his eyes closed.
Atticus rolled his eyes. "Prideful, delusional, and lazy," he muttered as he stood up.
Tapping the tab-like device, he activated the island's self-heal function.
'I've barely made any progress…'
Atticus' status had been at a standstill. Ever since he had reached that bottleneck with his elements, he hadn't been able to progress as significantly as he would have liked.
It wasn't a situation he enjoyed in the least.
This made him focus more on refining his battle style by sparring with Ozeroth.
'I have to find a solution to this…'
He couldn't remain in this bottleneck for too long. Otherwise, he would be wasting time he was supposed to use to improve.
'There's no time.'
With everything happening, the world was only becoming more and more dangerous. He still wasn't strong enough to handle his enemies, he needed to grow stronger, and fast.
'It's about time I learn that Hell's Fire…'
Atticus hadn't called for Viktor since dismissing him, and the drill sergeant also hadn't checked up on him during these three months.
'It might be a good idea to learn something new.'
With him currently being in a bottleneck he had no idea how to break, he felt it would be better to learn something new.
'Now, how do I call out to him…?'
Colonel Zenon had given him a way to reach him, by shouting his name. But Viktor hadn't given him anything like that.
Atticus turned his gaze toward the sky, staring at the massive floating island above his.
'I'll just search for him there.'
His figure blurred, disappearing from the island.
…
The sound of utensils hitting ceramic plates echoed across a large hall as numerous drill sergeants ate.
It was a comical scene, seeing a bunch of battle-hardened old men sitting in a dining hall, eating at tables like high schoolers. Regardless, the atmosphere was anything but casual.
The hall was filled with drill sergeants of different races, all in charge of training the recruits. The military followed a strict schedule in almost everything, even taking a dump. Meals were obviously included in this equation.
In the hall, there was a very obvious divide.
The human drill sergeants had been ostracized, each of them seated in one corner of the hall, far away from the other drill sergeants.
But they weren't the only ones.
Drill Sergeant Viktor sat alone in a separate corner, appearing even more hated than the humans. The other demon drill sergeants threw him hateful glances, but he ignored them, focusing on eating his meal quickly so he could leave.
Regardless, an unusual scene soon played out.
"Can I join you?"
Viktor lifted his crimson eyes, looking at the one who had just spoken.
"Did you lose your way, human?"
Drill Sergeant Kosher smiled lightly. "Is that a no?"
Viktor stared at Kosher with narrowed eyes for a few seconds before nodding his head.
"Thank you."
The instant Kosher sat, his question came.
"Tell me about him."