Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

A tremor tore through the Aeonian, Elven, Angel, and Nullite domains as the Gardener ricocheted off their Aegis Shield like a skipping stone.

The sudden quake left each of the inhabitants feeling different waves of fear. People clutched their loved ones tightly, holding them as though they never wanted to let go.

At this point, every single race was already fully involved in everything occurring. The leaders of the different races hovered high in the skies behind their Aegis Shields, their expressions dark as they stared toward the horizon.

Aside from the Aeonians, who now had the humans relaying all the events to them, the other races had no idea what was happening.

They had expected a war between the humans and three other races. A swift, overwhelming annihilation of the weak.

But instead, they had gotten an apocalypse.

It made no sense. Atticus should have been the only human capable of standing against them, but even then, there was no way that clash could cause the sheer destruction currently tearing across Eldoralth.

Hundreds of theories flashed through the minds of the race leaders, each more confused and desperate than the last.

Suddenly, two streaks of light surged after the green blur that had ricocheted away, and for the briefest of moments, as the streaks passed through each domain, their gazes narrowed into slits.

The Aegis Shields might have blocked their perception, but they weren't blind. Even at this distance, they could see it clearly, Atticus. He was involved. In fact, he looked as though he was at the center of everything.

None of them could feel the overwhelming power he currently radiated, but the devastation was enough for them to make logical assessments.

They didn't need perception to understand. He had already grown far beyond their reach.

With the realization that Atticus and Whisker, the 'human' paragon who had helped him during the Nexus Banquet, were the ones at the center of this apocalypse, the leaders of the different races couldn't help but fall into grim, intense thought.

When all this was over, a change was coming to Eldoralth.

The Gardener's momentum finally came to an abrupt stop as he rebounded against the Aegis Shield of the Dimensari with cataclysmic force, knocking the air from his lungs and forcing a mouthful of blood from his lips as he soared higher into the sky.

The Gardener's entire body writhed with pain from the rebound, but right now, he felt none of it.

The searing agony that tore through his entire being was the only thing dominating his mind.

Atticus' attack had rattled his Will and sent a wave of pain through him, but Whisker's punch… Whisker's punch had caused even deeper fractures to tear through his Will!

The pain he felt now was truly indescribable.

It was the kind of agony that could drive most beings to madness. In fact, it was a miracle he could even still form coherent thoughts.

Regardless, as the Gardener drifted there, his body broken and battered, he only felt one emotion as he stared at the distant horizon with a hollow gaze… disbelief.

How had he gotten here?

He was the Gardener.

The nurturer.

The one who carved the path, who dictated everything.

Yet here he was, unable to even dictate his own fate.

How had things turned out this way? Where had it all started going wrong? He had destroyed an entire civilization and waited centuries after the cores went missing.

'Yes… that was when everything started going wrong.'

Even now, the Gardener had no idea how the cores had disappeared.

But he had adapted, rearranged his plans, waited patiently.

Then, this generation of Apexes was born, and the cores resurfaced.

After discovering the Apexes had inherited the cores, all that remained was to retrieve them.

It should have been simple.

It had always been simple before.

Make plans. Sure, there were always a few hiccups, yes, but it had never truly gone wrong.

And yet… this wasn't a hiccup.

This was disaster.

His Will had been fractured.

A permanent, irreversible wound. He could never be whole again.

Even if he somehow survived and returned home with this broken Will, their father would never accept him.

In fact, he might be killed, his Will absorbed and erased completely.

The Gardener's face twisted violently as an image flashed across his mind.

For all the devastation, all the collapse, there was only one bastard responsible.

"ATTICUSSSSSSSSSS!"

The Gardener roared at the top of his lungs, the sound tearing through the air with brutal force, reverberating across every domain.

Every being who heard it felt the pain in that scream, raw and soul rending.

And in response, two streaks of light finally reached Solren, just as he managed to regain his balance in the skies.

An overwhelming killing intent flooded the air as Atticus and Whisker surged toward him, their attacks tearing violent streaks through the sky.

But Solren's bloodshot eyes only morphed into pure, unrestrained hatred.

At that moment, it was as though everything else in the world ceased to exist.

His entire being was focused on only one person, Atticus.

The words that came from the depths of his soul spilled out, low and vicious.

"I promise you… no matter how long it takes, I will destroy everything you hold dear. Even if it's the last thing I do."

His Will suddenly erupted around him in a violent blaze.

"Manifest."

Atticus and Whisker's eyes shot up in shock as an immense pressure tore through the battlefield.

Whisker's Will blazed fiercely as he shot toward Solren with even greater ferocity. But before he could reach him…

The Gardener's Will detonated outward.

The skies shook violently as the shape of a massive, ancient tree materialized, its roots tearing through the air and its trunk blotting out the horizon.

It was a manifestation of his Will. Powerful and all consuming.

The colossal force slammed into Whisker mid charge, sending him hurtling backward at terrifying speed, tearing through the skies like a comet.