Chapter 1369: Asterra

A weight settled on his shoulders, a heavy one. The weight of a leader, Atticus realized.

His people would follow him, even through the scorch of hell. But it had just dawned on him that should anything happen to them, it would be his fault. That thought alone made his eyes harden and his demeanor shift.

"The portal will close in 3 seconds. See you on the other side, or not."

The saint went through the portal, leaving the tense atmosphere. With a breath, Atticus followed, phasing into the portal.

A flash of whiteness filled his vision, then his eyes cleared. He found himself standing in the middle of an expansive hall.

Atticus could feel many piercing gazes on him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the incalculable number of cannons surrounding them.

They were fitted to the walls, nozzles pointed toward the portal in the middle. Towards them.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Atticus finally turned away from the weapons, observing the people in the room.

The saint stood, conversing with a group of men clad in pure white. They each wore a headband with a red dot on top, long swords resting at their waists. Atticus didn’t miss the cold looks they threw at him and the rest.

He focused on the one who’d spoken. Atticus had known who it was before he even turned.

"Lazio." The ’friend’ he made at the will hall.

Lazio smiled. "I didn’t expect you here so soon, friend."

"And where is here?"

He suddenly stretched out his arms wide, gesturing to the world.

"Welcome to Asterra. The stronghold of the resistance."

There was a moment of silence. Then Atticus heard Whisker’s whisper in his ear.

"We’re fucked."

...

A few minutes passed before Atticus could fully understand the situation. Lazio had patiently explained it all to him.

So, as it turned out, this was the saint’s world, but it was also considered the stronghold for the resistance.

"Resistance?" Whisker had asked. "What the hell are you resisting? You’re literally in your own world. You can do anything you want..."

Lazio had only smiled at Whisker, but Atticus didn’t miss the flicker of cold in his eyes.

"It seems like we’re in control, but we’re not." He didn’t say anything after that, and Atticus used the brief time to enter his mind.

’I can feel my will but...’ This was another world, and Atticus couldn’t feel a hint of mana present. Though he still had the mana within him and access to his world’s. He was at full strength.

Regardless, something else grabbed his attention. ’The plane will, it’s higher.’

Atticus had always battled the full effects of the plane will, but though this world was blocking the full effects, he knew this world was at a higher elevation than Eldoralth.

’Too bad I can’t check how big the world is.’

To do that he would have to spread his will across the world. There was never a better way of challenging a god than doing that.

The saint finished conversing with the men, and they approached him. Lazio stepped out of the way and bowed.

"Welcome to Asterra," she said simply, though no smile graced her lips. Her eyes were fixed on Atticus.

"You are all my guests and will be treated accordingly. Since you’re well acquainted, Lazio will see to your needs. You should get some rest, your mind needs it."

"We need to talk."

Hands reached for hilts. The men behind the saint narrowed their eyes. The tension spiked.

"Watch your mouth h—"

A raise of the saint’s hand silenced him. The saint didn’t turn her eyes from Atticus.

"We will." She said simply, but Atticus could feel the seriousness in her voice, the importance. "But you should get some rest first. Like I said, you mind needs it."

She turned and left together with the others, leaving only Lazio with them.

"This way."

Lazio said, and began leading them out of the room.

’Is there a reason we’re still here?’ Whisker asked telepathically, but Atticus remained silent.

’My god, don’t tell me she charmed you or something?’

’Bond has a girlfriend already. He can’t be charmed.’

’Ah poor man... I thought you would understand things better, seeing as you want a harem.’

Ozeroth frowned. ’That’s because no one woman alone is worthy of my greatness. Plus, what does that have to do with this? I make my intentions known from the beginning. Only a coward cheats.’

Whisker held in a chuckle. ’Well, are you a coward, supreme ruler?’

’You’re reading too much into this. Like I said before, if you have a better idea, let’s hear it.’

’Hmm, I don’t think so, though. Why don’t we let someone else judge. Kancilot, what do you think?’

Kancilot was taken aback by the sudden call-out. He felt eyes on him again and gulped.

’Do you think our supreme ruler is acting oddly? Or do you think this is... normal?’

Kancilot coughed. ’I haven’t had the honor of getting to know your eminence, so I can’t say for sure.’

’Oh, quit it, fucking pussy.’ Whisker clicked his tongue. ’Just speak your mind. He won’t do anything to you. Right, supreme ruler?’

Atticus had never wanted to slap a man so bad.

’Say your mind.’

Kancilot sighed. ’Honestly, I think it’s odd.’

’See! I told y—’

’But I believe there’s a reason for it.’ Kancilot cut in, ’there’s something going on that your eminence hasn’t deemed it necessary to tell us. I believe that is the missing piece that would make us understand his decisions.’

The group fell silent after that, and Atticus took note of the perceptive nature of the aged king. The man clearly thought.

"How did you meet the saint?"

Atticus was brought out of his reverie by Lazio’s question.

"The willess world."

Lazio smiled. "Still as direct as ever."

"The resistance," Atticus continued, oblivious to Lazio’s sarcastic smile. "Who do you fight against?"

Lazio’s countenance suddenly changed, hate spilling into his words. "The evil, so called major faction."

Whisker coughed.

Lazio led the group through a set of grand hallways of white and gold. Atticus had seen multiple men and women dressed like priests and priestesses wandering past, and he had to admit, the environment gave him the vibe of a church, or a place of worship.

They were led up multiple flights of stairs and were each given a room. He informed Lazio of wanting to rest and once he confirmed that the door was locked, Atticus plumped down on the bed, and released a large breath.