Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Atticus frowned. He had just confirmed his assumption.

"How so?"

Quiet Flame sighed, and his next words radiated even more sadness.

"The stronger the star, the stronger the worlds under him. Unfortunately, my dwindling strength would also affect the growth of any world under me."

"Compared to other worlds, how much weaker are we?" Atticus asked in a serious tone.

From Quiet Flame’s words so far, Atticus had gleaned an important point. He was currently the weakest amongst the stars.

ZThe strength of the stars affected the strength of the worlds under them, which meant there was a very high possibility that other worlds were much more powerful than them.

Quiet Flame paused for a moment before answering.

"I would say you’re about a quarter weaker, but considering your… uniqueness, it’s hard to tell."

’Is he talking about my varying powers?’

In a battle of life and death, it went without saying that Atticus’ plethora of abilities granted him an edge.

"Eldoralth is the combination of multiple worlds. Are you saying we’re still weaker than other worlds?"

"In a sense, yes," Quiet Flame said. "It is precisely because of this fact that you’re not any weaker than this. Combining all the major worlds helped narrow this gap."

Atticus furrowed his brow and entered a deep thought.

"So…" he tapped a finger on his lap, "the other worlds have multiple gods then?" He finally asked the question that had been on his mind since.

Quiet Flame nodded his head.

’It’s becoming more dangerous by the second.’ Atticus’ thoughts were moving fast, planning his next move.

The competition, or Virelenna as Quiet Flame had called it, was his only way of ascending to the Middle Planes. He had no choice but to participate. But…

’There are multiple worlds participating from each segment. And each segment’s worlds could potentially be allies…’

Not only this, but they were supposedly more powerful than Eldoralth as well.

His opponents for the competition were more dangerous than he thought.

’I need to confirm some things.’

Atticus decided to ask more questions to understand the situation fully.

"When you say stronger… do you mean energy wise, mana, or in every aspect?"

"Yes, mana. But as you already know, mana affects all things, your bodily strength, your speed. The strength of your star affects the amount of mana each world under them could harness. Unfortunately, as time passes and I lose strength, this output is only decreasing."

Seeing Atticus silent, Quiet Flame continued.

"I’m sure you’ve noticed the signs already," he said. "While Eldoralth’s mana increased when you linked yourself to it, you’ve noticed the time it takes to recover used mana is unusually long?"

Atticus nodded. Each time he made an Eldorian, he had to wait for a month before the energy recovered.

"So they have more mana, are stronger and faster than us?" Atticus asked.

"Like I said, in a sense, yes. But Eldoralth has one advantage over the other worlds. The abundance of unique abilities.

’I see.’ Atticus understood what Quiet Flame was trying to say. They might be weaker when it came to mana, but unlike them, Eldoralth was the culmination of so many worlds. The number of abilities an Eldorian had was far too numerous.

’Nineteen races… nineteen worlds…’

It was all starting to make sense. Why the world core could be split between nineteen different parts in the first place. Why splitting it had birthed nineteen different races on Eldoralth.

’Each race initially had their own worlds.’ Atticus’ eyes narrowed.

Before that being had pierced through the Segment Star and combined the worlds together, there had been nineteen different major worlds. Twenty, if the Zorvan world was included.

But Atticus’ thoughts had already shifted away from that revelation. Instead, he was focused on the implications.

’We have more abilities than the other worlds.’

An Eldorian was nineteen different races put into one. Nineteen different power systems. Nineteen different worlds.

’That’s our edge.’

The other segments might have multiple worlds. They might have more mana than them. But where Eldoralth had an edge was in their varying abilities.

"Alright." Atticus nodded. He was a bit relieved to find out that it wasn’t at all hopeless.

"Tell me everything about the opponents."

As Quiet Flame began to speak, Atticus listened attentively to every word he uttered, absorbing everything.

Quiet Flame gave a reasonable account of everything Atticus needed to know about the segment and his opponents. And after he was done, Atticus was silent for a few moments.

He was in deep thought.

"So…" Atticus said after a few seconds, "how do I join the competition?"

The Quiet Flame smiled. "I believe the next Virelenna is set to hold in a month of Eldoralth’s time. All I need is your consent."

Atticus stared at Quiet Flame for a few seconds. There was only silence in the ruined world.

’Consent, huh.’ Somehow, Atticus found that word suspicious.

’That odd feeling I felt when we made the deal…’

When the Quiet Flame had agreed to his terms, Atticus had felt some kind of connection form between them.

One he couldn’t quite explain, like neither of them could go back on their words once they agreed on something.

’Is it some kind of relationship between god and star?’ he suspected.

Still, there was no way to be sure. So he decided to tread carefully.

"I consent to only let you enter me and my world into the Virelenna."

There was a long pause where Quiet Flame remained silent. And through the cloak of darkness covering his face, Atticus could swear he saw a wry smile.

"Well played, Kin of the Fallen Star."

In the next instant, he waved a hand, and Atticus vanished from the ruined world before he could react.

After a moment of silence, Quiet Flame shook his head. The cloak covering his face suddenly receded, revealing an aged face framed with a large white beard.

’He figured it out…’

Atticus’ decision to be cautious had been the right one. Quiet Flame had been after something all along.

The agreement between a star and its gods was akin to words etched in stone, they were final. It was one of the rules of the segments.

But it was a rule that could be bent. When Quiet Flame had asked for consent earlier, he had kept it intentionally vague. If Atticus had simply given it, the star would’ve been free to carry out his plan.

But somehow, Atticus had seen through it, and chosen to be cautious.

’I wanted to attach a part of myself to Eldoralth…’

Quiet Flame frowned, then muttered quietly.

"What a frightening child."