Atticus’s Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Killing Lucas would end it all. But there were reasons he just couldn't. Not now.

Firstly, Lucas had been his companion for years. He had been with him from the beginning. They weren't friends, but Lucas wasn't someone he could just discard.

At the end of the day, he was still one of his own.

If Lucas had blatantly tried to stab him in the back, that would've been different. Atticus would have killed him without hesitation.

But that wasn't the case.

There were suspicions that he had just proven. Lucas hadn't done anything to warrant death, not yet.

And killing him in cold blood didn't sit right with Atticus, no matter how he tried to rationalize it.

Secondly, if something was being planned, Lucas wasn't acting alone.

He was weak.

He couldn't even harm a strand of Atticus's hair, even if given the opportunity.

And most importantly, he was feeling regret.

Which meant there was a chance… a slim, delicate chance to extract the information Atticus desperately needed.

Lucas continued, his voice low.

"Honestly… I think those of us who survived would have preferred to die during the experiments. But lo and behold, we survived.

"Some tried to kill themselves multiple times, but the eyes on us were too much.

They treated us like treasure, even going as far as giving us luxurious food and care. But most of us had lost the will to live."

His tone darkened.

"That was… until they used them."

"They brought in our families we thought were already dead and used them against us.

They threatened us with their lives, forcing us to sign mana contracts that bound us to them for life… turning us into nothing more than slaves."

The expressions of everyone darkened, and the pressure in the area intensified.

Atticus's aura bore down on Lucas, causing a streak of blood to fall from his nose.

"What do they have planned?" Atticus asked, his voice heavy.

Lucas smirked.

It was an expression unlike anything he had ever shown before, a crazed expression, like that of a madman.

"You have to listen to my favor first."

Atticus's eyes narrowed.

"You're a traitor. What makes you think I'll help you?"

Lucas grinned wider.

"Because I asked nicely." Then he burst into laughter again.

The pressure intensified again, and Lucas's body slammed into the floor with brutal force.

"Lucas!" Nate screamed. But he still couldn't move.

"Atticus, I'm sure we can—"

He tried to reason, but before he could finish, Atticus's spoke.

"Do not take this as a joke. The only reason you're still alive is because of the information you possess."

"This will be the last time."

The pressure doubled.

Lucas coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Still, he managed to speak, gasping.

"I'm still going to ask for my favor… regardless. And I'll tell you what you want after it."

He paused.

"Keliata and Yesmin Ravenstein. My mother… and my sister. If you happen to survive this, which I know you somehow will, please find them. Help them."

His eyes lowered slightly as he begged.

But Atticus said nothing.

Lucas continued.

"You're lucky the restrictions on us weren't strict on information. I guess they thought it better to have no restrictions than the wrong ones."

"The people who captured me… were the Obsidian Order."

Boom.

The gravity in the clearing intensified, and Atticus's aura surged like a storm.

"Continue."

"These are the real Obsidian Order," Lucas said.

"The ones who make up their inner circle. Their true goal, the Cores."

Atticus's eyes sharpened.

"These are my conclusions, considering everything I've seen and heard. They needed a place where they could acquire them all together… a place secure and estranged, somewhere the race leaders couldn't reach after they had taken it over."

He paused, eyes meeting Atticus's.

"This place… is perfect."

Atticus's gaze narrowed into pinpricks. His thoughts raced.

'They're coming here.'

He turned sharply to Lucas.

But how?

His aura surged outward, encompassing the entire island.

The island was massive. But so was Atticus's perception.

Far away, Colonel Zenon, meditating in his training space, snapped his eyes open.

"Huh?"

He had just felt Atticus's aura sweep through everything.

Atticus checked and scrutinized every inch of the island. He didn't bother hiding his probing.

Even the other Apexes paused, eyes sharp as they felt his overwhelming aura sweep over them.

What was going on?

But Atticus couldn't find anything. Not a single anomaly on the island.

'Maybe it's on another island?'

The training camp was massive. Even for him, it would take a few seconds to fully check it all.

'But what artifact…'

Lucas didn't have anything. The last time the Obsidian Order had done something like this was in Sector 8, and then, someone had used an artifact to call them.

'The Dimensari and Dragon Apex…'

That was why they were missing!

Before the thought could settle, Ozeroth's voice echoed in his mind.

'Hold on, Bond. This place is not like your Sector 8. This is another dimension, and its defenses are tighter.'

Atticus narrowed his eyes.

'So…'

But before he could finish the thought, Lucas spoke again.

"I think you're forgetting one important thing."

"What is my role in this?"

Atticus's thoughts froze.

And then, an intense aura exploded from his figure, sending a gust that shook the forest to its roots.
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What could it be?

What could Lucas's role possibly be?

The pressure to kill him intensified.

But Atticus still couldn't bring himself to do it. It was a moral dilemma. His heart ached as he clenched his fist hard. If it had been a random person, he would've killed him without hesitation. But it was Lucas… a fucking Ravenstein! Someone he had known since childhood!

His aura grew more imposing as he tried to force Lucas down again, yet Lucas only smiled.

His eyes turned to Nate.

"You were the brother I never had. I enjoyed every bit of our relationship. I love you. Always."

Nate's eyes trembled.

"Lucas…"

Lucas turned to Atticus. Only his eyes moved, his body still frozen.

And Atticus felt it, a new emotion.

Acceptance.

'I can't kill him.'

Atticus realized. This would be the first time he would face a situation like this. It was odd. It was surreal. In the heat of battle, Atticus wasn't sure what he would do, but now? He couldn't kill Lucas in cold blood.

Regardless, he was far from being stupid.

Atticus blipped, his arm striking Lucas from behind with heavy force, knocking him unconscious.

Lucas felt his consciousness slipping, and as he started to fall, the smile on his face widened as he muttered his last words.

"There's nothing greater than life… I give mine for his capture."

And then, Lucas exploded.