As Aurora reappeared, she found herself standing among a large group, the Ravensteins and several other human divisions clustered together.
Somehow, despite splitting the island in two, Atticus had ensured that the White Omen Division and the rest of the human recruits had ended up on his side.
The divide was unmistakable.
On one side, the humans.
On the other, the mixed races.
Aurora's feet slammed against the ground, her frustration boiling over as she stomped back and forth, hurling insults into the air.
"That arrogant, manipulative bastard!"
BAM. She kicked a rock.
"He really just dumps everything on me and then teleports away laughing!"
STOMP.
"Oh no, 'Aurora, you should watch your language,' 'Aurora, I need to find you a man' who the hell asked him to find me a man?!"
BAM.
"He has a whole damn island to himself, and what does he do?! 'Oh, let's just shove all the responsibilities on Aurora! She won't mind!' LAZY. BITCH."
A few Ravensteins stifled chuckles, but none dared to actually respond. Only Aurora could talk about that monster like that. If the others tried it, they would be searching for nothing but a brutal end.
The members of the White Omen Division, on the other hand, were far more cautious.
They watched from a safe distance, their instincts screaming at them not to antagonize the furious woman stomping holes into the ground.
"Is it safe to be near her right now?" Nate whispered.
Another Ravenstein youth slowly shook his head.
"Not even remotely."
And so—
They wisely stayed out of her way.
From a distance, Zoey watched as Aurora hurled insult after insult at Atticus, her voice filled with anger.
Yet, Zoey's focus wasn't on Aurora.
Her gaze remained fixed on the point where the figure who had just vanished, Atticus, had been standing.
And in her mind, a single thought echoed.
'He didn't even glance in my direction.'
A small, sharp ache settled in her chest.
'Don't think too much about that,' Lumindra's voice sounded in her head.
Zoey lowered her gaze, her fingers curling slightly.
'Considering what you did to him, this much was natural.'
Lumindra's tone remained matter-of-fact, but when she spoke again, there was a hint of irritation.
'A man has to have pride, after all, especially when he's bonded to that idiot.'
The moment Ozeroth's name was brought up, Lumindra's voice took on a hateful edge.
Zoey bit her lip.
'But…' she started, feeling hesitation creeping in.
Lumindra cut her off instantly.
'But nothing.'
Zoey flinched slightly at the harshness of her words.
'Your focus should be on only one thing, apologizing and making your feelings known and clear. Nothing else.'
'Even if he treats you like dirt,' Lumindra continued, 'just let it out and free your conscience. Hold nothing back.'
Zoey hesitated before finally voicing the question lingering in her heart, the only thing she had been thinking about.
'Do you think he will accept?'
A brief silence.
'I have no idea.' Lumindra's voice softened slightly. 'But I know one thing, nothing will change if you do nothing.'
Her tone grew gentler, but there was still an undeniable firmness beneath it.
'Be true to yourself, Zoey. Be real and see where it takes you.'
Zoey took in a deep breath, her fists tightening before she exhaled.
A determined expression appeared on her face.
Aside from Zoey, there were others who had been influenced by Atticus's appearance and "speech."
Kael looked as happy as ever, his battle intent high as he started toward the middle of the island as though he should head over and 'spar' with Atticus.
But those weren't the only division heads. Back in the academy, there were many other tier ones that Atticus had put in their place. Among them, Seraphine Stellaris had his gaze fixed on Zoey from a distance.
The last time Atticus had seen Seraphine was during the summit at the academy, where he had beaten up all the tier ones from practically every year and won.
It had been a day none of them would ever forget in their lives, and Seraphine himself had burst into tears, an action that still haunted him to this day.
Many had been elated to find out that Atticus had left the academy, including Seraphine. But regardless, there was one thing that had never changed even after all these years, his feelings for Zoey.
Seraphine clenched his fists as he watched her looking at where Atticus had been hovering before.
'Still, huh…'
He had no idea what had happened between Atticus and Zoey. Yet, no matter how much he tried, she just wouldn't look in his direction.
The divide between the humans and the other races had become even more apparent and blatant.
Atticus didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was favoring humanity over the others.
The humans on Atticus's side of the island wore smug expressions, some even going as far as to stick out their tongues at the lower and mid-race recruits across the trench.
Here, especially with Atticus as their overlord, they were practically kings and queens.
The other races could only grit their teeth, resentful but powerless.
They had chosen Atticus's team for a reason, because if they had joined the other teams, they would have been treated as nothing more than dirt.
For the lower races, there had been no choice but to stick together, forced to join teams run by someone on their 'level.'
For the mid-races, joining a team where they were supposedly stronger than the majority had seemed like the logical choice.
But now, it was painfully clear who truly held power.
As Aurora finished ranting, she turned sharply, her gaze locking onto the White Omen Division.
The moment her crimson eyes bore down on them—
They flinched.
"What are you all doing standing around?!" she snapped.
The recruits stiffened.
"Get a move on! Build shelters, fetch food, start setting up camp!"
The entire division scrambled.
Some ran into the forests, some began carving out shelters, while others hurriedly set up supply areas.
Aurora's scream had jolted even the other human divisions awake, making them remember one very important thing.
Aurora had been put in charge.
And disobeying her meant disobeying Atticus.
No one wanted to take that risk.
Without hesitation, the remaining divisions quickly got to work, their movements swift and efficient.
Even the other races, despite their earlier reluctance, followed suit, not wanting to fall behind in this new, unforgiving environment.