Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground novel Chapter 1026

On an island far away from the main island where the banquet was being held, a figure stood on a massive boulder, calmly overseeing a small army of youths.

The figure was tall and imposing, his presence cold and distant as he stood on the boulder with both hands clasped behind his back.

His expression was emotionless, as though carved from ice. He looked down at the trembling youths below, hundreds of them, shaking, some praying under their breaths, others staring into the void with lifeless gazes.

Yet, he looked at them like they were nothing more than ants meant for slaughter.

With the unmistakable features of the Dimensari race, Carius’s lips parted, his voice rolling out like a death sentence.

"You have one minute to come to terms with your fate. Prepare to fulfill your destiny."

The shivering of the youths intensified the moment they heard him speak.

One minute.

Just one more minute, and they would die.

Despite this, there was only intrigue in Carius’s gaze as he stared at the hundreds of youths in front of him.

It was an odd occurrence, but Carius was truly intrigued by the situation. It had come as a shock, even to him, but a well-warranted one, considering the sheer depth of what was unfolding before his eyes.

’Not everyone is as stupid as I presume,’ Carius admitted in his head.

Because while the youths below were consumed by despair at the thought of their impending deaths, Carius looked at them as beautiful creations, perfect pieces in a complex puzzle.

They were a result of ingenuity, one that even Carius had to acknowledge.

He was a planner. Every step he took was calculated. He made plans for plans. Which was why this foresight from the Obsidian Order truly intrigued him.

The Obsidian Order had been orchestrating this for a long time.

They planned for years.

They had kidnapped children from different races of the Alliance, experimented on them, and placed them back into their respective societies, only to be used in the far, far future.

But even this wasn’t what fascinated Carius the most.

It was their execution. What they had achieved.

A feat he would have never imagined possible.

At least, not in this world.

’It’s beautiful,’ he thought.

The experiments they had performed on those children, the reason only a few hundred remained, were all tied to one incredible objective.

The Obsidian Order had turned the youths into living artifacts.

A feat Carius never thought possible.

They had been transformed into beings who, upon death, could issue a single command, fueled by their life force.

’There’s nothing greater than life,’ Carius thought.

One could have overwhelming mana, aura, spiritual energy, and power…

Yet, he had just discovered something far greater.

Life force.

The Obsidian Order had obviously discovered this too and had successfully learned how to harness and utilize it.

From what Carius knew, there were still limitations to the ability.

The command the youths could issue was limited to one sentence. It was also bound by strict laws: it had to be physically actionable. Its strength scaled with the individual’s life force, meaning the younger the person, the stronger the effect.

Abstract or cosmic-defying requests would fail. While the effect could be devastating, it offered no guarantee of success, only a powerful attempt.

And most importantly, the transformation was irreversible.

The moment the command was spoken, the youth’s soul would vanish, leaving behind only ash and silence.

’Beautiful,’ Carius thought again, his eyes gleaming.

He wanted it.

He wanted to be in control of such a force.

’Soon,’ he resolved in his mind.

After this, he would dedicate all his efforts to attaining it.

But his thoughts soon shifted to the Obsidian Order, the very group he had temporarily allied with.

’I should be getting ready to sever my ties.’

After his loss to Atticus during the Nexus, Carius had been unable to fulfill his original plan of killing all the Apexes and becoming the sole remaining reincarnator. So, he had made another plan, another move.