Chapter 1222: Pathway

Chapter 1222: Pathway

Atticus appeared high up in the skies of Eldoralth, eyes fixed ahead.

Suddenly, multiple figures appeared one by one behind him, hovering silently.

No one said a word. They allowed Atticus his brief moment of silence. And just when the stillness became deafening, Atticus’ voice broke through it.

“It’s time.”

Many tensed. Expressions shifted. The Eldorians followed their god’s gaze upwards.

There, an orb of light had appeared in the sky.

It spoke, its voice like a decree:

“The Virelenna is starting. Eldoralth has been selected as a representative of the Star Aelrion. Get ready. You will all be transported in exactly five seconds.”

It was a voice Atticus couldn’t mistake.

‘Quiet Flame.’

He could still feel the sadness radiating from it.

He had gone straight to the point, and all across Eldoralth, everyone had heard him.

The citizens turned their confused gazes toward the sky. The Paragons turned their dread filled faces toward it. The Eldorians, still hovering behind Atticus, clenched their fists and hardened their gazes.

No one knew what was coming.

But the next five seconds were the most tense moments many had ever experienced.

It felt long, yet it came fast. As the final second echoed in their minds…

The world was consumed in a blinding white light. Vision flooded white and no one could see anything.

And then, as the light slowly receded, the golden rays of their familiar sun were gone, replaced by an intense blue.

The people of Eldoralth turned toward the sky, where their sun should have been, only to see a massive blue star in its place, its radiant glow bathing the entire planet in light.

“I’m here.”

Atticus turned to the side and his eyes landed on Whisker who had suddenly appeared beside him. But unlike the other times, his usual grin was nowhere to be found.

His expression was utterly serious. He looked like a beast ready for carnage.

Atticus smiled and nodded. At the very least he appreciated this about the man. He was reliable when needed.

He turned and faced his warriors. They shifted their eyes away from the blue star to face their leader. For a moment, everyone paused, allowing the moment to descend into silence.

Atticus could feel their emotions. To him, they were as clear as day. Tension. Dread. The fear of the unknown.

Everything currently happening was new and dangerous. A perfect combination that could bring the world to its end. That could end civilizations and turn entire races extinct.

They didn’t like it, not one bit.

‘But there’s no choice.’

Atticus hardened his mind, and his expression snapped into place. His figure radiated only two things, confidence and certainty.

It was an emotion his warriors immediately felt.

As Atticus gave them a firm nod, expressions hardened as many of them quietly resolved in their hearts. Atticus had never failed them before. And after everything, they’d have to be fools to believe he would now.

They nodded back, gazes resolute.

“Good.”

Atticus turned and faced the sky once more. Ahead, an azure pathway was stretching down towards them. As it reached his front, it stopped, and he trailed it with his eyes.

‘It came from the star. They want us to walk there?’ he wondered.

But his question was quickly answered by Quiet Flame’s voice echoing once more.

“God of Eldoralth,” it said, “you have been invited to the Star of Terrvenos for orientation.”

The voice disappeared as quickly as it came, and Atticus glanced once more at the pathway.

“I’m not staying behind this time.”

Atticus turned slightly. Whisker had stepped forward, his expression calm and clear.

The man who would usually joke even on death’s door had not even a flicker of playfulness on his face now. He didn’t look like he was taking no for an answer.

“Alright.”

Atticus had barely spoken before he felt another presence stepping up from behind. He turned, and sighed.

Magnus’s gaze was just as calm as Whisker’s. Right now, he looked more like a stern grandfather than one of Atticus’s warriors.

Atticus had the power to order him to stand down, but it didn’t look like even a mana damn contract was going to stop this stubborn man.

“No one else.”

He sent a glance toward some Eldorians that had been about to step forward, stopping them in their tracks.

“We can’t leave the planet unprotected. The three of us are already too much.”

The Eldorians nodded reluctantly, and Atticus turned to Avalon, offering a smile and firm nod.

“Take care of Mom.”

Avalon smiled back and nodded. “Come back home, son.”

Atticus gave a silent nod before turning and stepping onto the pathway, Whisker and Magnus in tow.

The azure path felt like he was stepping on compressed air instead of solid ground. It was light beneath his feet, and even before stepping on it, Atticus had already known.

‘Mana.’

Without wasting time, they moved forward with steady gaits. Walking out of the planet, none of them felt pressure or atmospheric change, but that could be attributed to the thin blue layer surrounding the path like a barrier.

It blocked everything: air, sound, even the vast and endless expanse of space.

Atticus glanced to his side. ‘Other worlds.’

It was blurry, but he could make out another pathway not too far from theirs, silhouettes moving within.

He looked in another direction and saw the same thing. Another path. More people moving.

‘The whole worlds were transported.’

He confirmed it inwardly. During the brief moment when the white light had blinded them, he had felt it, that uncomfortable sensation of being forcibly moved. But now, seeing the blue star in the distance and the pathways crisscrossing space…

‘I don’t like this.’

He was a god, a being of unimaginable power on Eldoralth. With just a thought, he could bend the world. But even he couldn’t transport an entire world. Let alone, multiple.

There were powers at play here that were clearly beyond him. And Atticus didn’t like it. Not even a bit.

Their walk was quiet. And Atticus could swear it was the longest he’d ever seen Whisker go without speaking. He made a mental note to joke about it later, assuming there’d be a later.