The battlefield fell into an endless silence, and Atticus felt the weight of countless gazes settle onto him all at once.

There was fear, awe, disbelief, and something close to reverence woven through them, but he ignored most of it, allowing his focus to drift only toward the ones that mattered.

Anorah, Ozeroth, Whisker, Avalon, Oberon, and many of the other Eldorians stared at him with varying expressions, yet beneath it all was the same quiet relief unmistakable in their eyes.

A sudden streak of light caught his attention, and Atticus turned just in time to catch the abyss god fleeing toward the boundary between their worlds.

"Stop."

The abyss god halted as though space itself had seized him. In the next instant, Atticus was already there, hovering before him.

The abyss god stared back with trembling eyes.

"Y-you… think carefully about what you're doing! The abyss faction already has you in their sights. Kill me, and your world will be hunted down by our full might!"

Atticus drifted closer in silence. The abyss god's gaze flickered downward, catching sight of the countless split corpses scattered across the land, as if reminding himself of the monster standing before him, and he swallowed hard.

"You haven't attacked me yet… good, good. That means you can still think rationally. Release me. You don't have to worry about the people you killed, I'll put in a good word for you. It's war. Death is natural—ark!"

His words broke into a shriek as Atticus' scalding will engulfed him with a vicious hiss.

"W-what are you doing!? You would dare oppose the abyss faction!? Your world will be destro—arkkk!"

Atticus watched without expression as the abyss god screamed. The molecules obeyed his word even as his will burned, freezing all movement and forcing him to endure every moment in place.

Unlike what the man believed, the reason Atticus hadn't ended him instantly, like the others, was because of what he'd done to Anorah.

There was a need for his end to be painful.

By the time the screaming faded and the abyss god had been reduced to nothing but drifting ash, Atticus caught the flash of another streak of light, then he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace.

"Y-you're awake…"

He didn't care about the dirt, the blood, or the destruction as he wrapped his arms around Anorah in return.

"I am."

More streaks followed soon after, and Ozeroth and Whisker arrived beside them.

"Spectacular timing as always, my star actor." Whisker let out a tired sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "You really had me there."

Atticus found himself more relieved than he expected to see the familiar, playful man.

Ozeroth, on the other hand, said nothing at first. He stepped closer and gave Atticus a gentle punch to the shoulder, staring at him intently.

"Welcome back, bond."

"…thanks…?"

Atticus blinked. Ozeroth stood straight, his posture broader, shoulders set higher… something about him was different. He looked… steadier. More grounded. More mature?

"Oh, don't let it fool you. Man's missed you the most amongst us." Whisker said lightly, then leaned closer and lowered his voice. "That shoulder tap was basically him hugging you."

Ozeroth shot Whisker a sharp glare, but it faltered the moment he caught Atticus' faint smile. He scoffed, turning away as though irritated with himself.

"Hmph. Don't mind him. He's just running his mouth as always."

With that, he shot off toward the horizon.

Atticus turned back to Whisker with a raised brow, and Whisker only shrugged in response.

"What can I say? A month without you changed him."

Atticus frowned. The change felt too pronounced to be explained by his absence alone. There was something else to it, something he hadn't yet seen.

'I'll go through his thoughts later.'

"Son!"

The next instant, Atticus was pulled into another tight embrace. Avalon's armor were cracked and bloodied and he held on as though afraid to let go.

Magnus had stayed behind while his father fought alongside the other Eldorians to protect their world.

Soon after, more streaks of light arrived, and the air filled with Eldorians gathering from every direction, desperate to confirm if the Atticus standing before them was truly real, if their god had truly returned.

Atticus kept Anorah close through it all, enduring a series of awkward encounters, including one particularly bold Stellaris Eldorian who asked if they could touch him just to be sure.

Still, none compared to what followed when Oberon arrived.

The smartest man in the human domain, in what he clearly believed to be impeccable judgment, dropped to his knees the moment he reached Atticus and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Supreme ruler! I humbly welcome you back!"

And just like that, the moment Atticus had been trying to avoid arrived.

The roaring cheers echoing across the battlefield died in an instant. One by one, soldiers, Eldorians, even his own father… every single soul fell silent, then sank to their knees, bowing deeply toward him.

"We humbly welcome you back, Supreme Ruler!"

Atticus let out a slow, tired sigh as Anorah struggled to suppress her laughter beside him, then spoke.

"Thank you… for standing together to protect our world."

Whether it was the remnants of his will still pressing down on them, or the weight of what they had just witnessed, he couldn't say, but every single one bowed lower, fists striking their chests in unison.

"It is our honor!"

…

Not long after, Atticus found himself hovering before the boundary between Eldoralth and the abyss world.

He had swept across Eldoralth in its entirety, and what he discovered left him stunned. The Eldoralth of now was nothing like what it had once been.

What had once been seven minor worlds had grown into millions. He was awed by the sheer scale of land and life now under his domain, worlds absorbed from countless factions, filled with people of different cultures, histories, and origins.

He felt a quiet gratitude that Ozeroth, Whisker, Noctis, Anorah, and the others had been present.

Without them, it was easy to imagine everything collapsing into chaos, especially after he'd fallen unconscious immediately after the ascension games.

Still, there were no enemy forces on Eldoralth. With the immediate threat gone, Atticus found his gaze drawn to the blurry path of nothingness stretching before him.

He had felt it the moment the abyss god died, a faint pull calling him toward it.

"Damn," Whisker muttered, staring ahead. "It's practically begging us to stay away. The least the span could've done was make it inviting."

He studied the ominous boundary with a deep frown.

"I think he was more focused on other things than beautifying the place."

"Well… whatever." Whisker shrugged, then flashed Atticus a familiar grin. "After you, fearless leader."

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