Chapter 1289: Air

A long silence followed. Then, Maera stretched out her hand. She grabbed the contract and signed it without any change in expression.

Lirae and Ae’ark moved next, doing the same. But neither of them smiled. Their expressions were tight, their movements rigid.

They stared at Atticus with cold gazes. If he felt any remorse for forcing them into this, he didn’t show it.

Once the contract was signed, Atticus simply nodded. "I’d like to know what happened in your trials and see your arts."

The expressions of the apexes darkened further. But unlike before, refusal was no longer an option. Not with the mana contract in effect.

As they began narrating their fourth trials one by one, Atticus listened carefully, making sure not to miss anything.

He could feel the anger radiating off them, even from Maera, though not as much as Lirae and Ae’ark.

’They feel betrayed.’

Atticus could understand their feelings. But did he care? No.

All that mattered was that he had crushed a potential future threat. He didn’t want an apex lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike.

Unlike other weapons, the life weapons could actually harm a god.

He listened closely to each of their stories. The trials were more or less similar to his. No bloodlines allowed. Survive in the wild. A spirit guardian destined to betray them at the end.

Maera had killed her guardian the moment she reached the peak, never trusting him from the start.

Lirae had tricked her spirit into slipping up and revealing the betrayal before it was meant to happen. She killed him at the peak as well.

Ae’ark had fought his spirit head on and barely survived. After almost dying several times, he managed to emerge victorious.

’Their challenges were different, but the end goal was the same,’ Atticus concluded.

Only he had faced the fog and invisible creatures in that quiet desert. The others hadn’t. And likewise, they had faced things he hadn’t.

’They’re saying the truth.’

The mana contract made lying impossible. So... they had actually all passed?

Atticus shook his head. He needed to stop overthinking it. The most important thing was, they couldn’t do anything to harm him or the people he cared about.

"Show me the arts," he said after a second.

Reluctantly, Ae’ark stood up. Atticus and the others gave him space, stepping aside and leaving him in the middle of the training room.

Gripping his spear tightly, Ae’ark settled into a stance. The air went quiet, and the mana stilled.

Atticus narrowed his eyes, watching Ae’ark’s mana carefully. It had begun to swirl, starting from his core, then spreading outward until the mana around him joined in. From a distance, he looked like a black hole just beginning to form.

Then, the speed began to intensify, until... Ae’ark’s voice fell.

"Tempest Howl."

A storm of mana exploded from his body, engulfing the training room in a maelstrom of spiraling blue energy.

Atticus watched, calm, as a pair of irises lit up within the chaos, shining a blinding blue. Then suddenly, the storm receded, its massive form condensing into a roaring storm dragon that raged along the length of Ae’ark’s spear.

Ae’ark raised the spear high, and the training room shook violently. The runes embedded in the walls flickered, fighting against the pressure of the compressed storm.

’It’s like mine. Just with a spear,’ Atticus thought.

He was starting to question what the life weapons really were. The arts were said to be remnants, powers of the previous wielders. But why would a spear wielder create the same art as a katana wielder?

It didn’t make sense.

Without a word, he motioned for Lirae to go next, and then Maera.

Lirae’s weapon was a lance. Somehow, though he didn’t know why, Atticus had always imagined her using a whip, it just suited her more.

Lirae stepped forward and, like Ae’ark, unleashed the storm. The force of hers was even fiercer, her spiraling mana leaving visible cracks in the floor before she called it back.

As she laid it to rest and stepped back, Maera stepped forward. Her storm came next. A wave of roaring mana filled the training room, wild and absolute. Her weapon was different, a pair of hovering, circular blades.

Wind Discs. Round, sharp edged, they spun around her, completely under her control.

Maera and Lirae unleashing the same storm solidified the thought in Atticus’ mind. Different weapons. Same art.

It was as though the art wasn’t tied to the weapon, but the weapon was merely a way to access it.

That was the conclusion Atticus reached... before deciding not to think about it anymore.

"I’m sure you’ll need rest. I’ll see you guys later." With a nod, he vanished from the training room.

The silence left behind didn’t last long.

"You see?" Ae’ark said the moment Atticus left. "I told you he’d eventually force us to sign a mana contract."

"I don’t have the energy for your ’I told you so,’" Lirae said, waving her hand and sighing. "You were right. Now we’re slaves. Happy?"

Ae’ark’s expression darkened. "I can never be happy about that," he snapped sharper than he had wanted.

"Atticus is being cautious," Maera said after a moment of silence.

Lirae and Ae’ark both turned to glare at her.

"You’re still defending him after all this? Really?" Lirae said, voice rising. In this new life, she had sworn to live it free, with no shackles, no bindings.

She knew deep down that Atticus wasn’t the type to abuse the contract, but the idea of being a slave alone made her sick. He could ask her to kill herself, and she’d have no choice but to obey.

Maera nodded slowly, her eyes unflinching.

Lirae shook her head. "I need air," she muttered, already walking toward the door.

Maera and Ae’ark caught up with her in a few steps, all three stepping out, minds clouded with too many thoughts after so long inside the trial.

But none of them noticed the red glows that began to pulse faintly across their backs, each one in sync with their life weapons.

And just as quickly as they appeared... they vanished.

The three apexes left the training room, unaware.