Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground novel Chapter 1192

Ozeroth remained silent that night. And as his bond, Atticus could feel everything the spirit felt.

In all honesty, Atticus understood, perhaps better than anyone, that the prideful spirit had a lot to process.

If he had just found out that everything he believed his entire life was a lie, twice in such a short span, he wasn't sure he'd have handled it any better.

Not only had Ozeroth discovered that the power he'd spent centuries pursuing was merely fueling another's path, a cheap imitation, as he often called it, but now there was the possibility that the man he hated most in the world might be his father?

To anyone else, it might seem like he was overreacting. But now, Atticus understood just how important the concept of kin was to Ozeroth.

That night, the spirit had reflected on everything, and, thankfully, he hadn't blocked his thoughts. Atticus had heard it all.

Ozeroth had never had anyone to call family. Not once in all his centuries. So when he'd finally said Atticus was the first person he could call kin, Atticus had been genuinely honored. He had smiled warmly.

"You're my family too," Atticus had said. And for a moment, Ozeroth's thoughts froze. Atticus could feel the delight ripple through him, though his words quickly masked it.

"Why are you being so gay, bond? I don't swing that way," Ozeroth blurted out.

Atticus laughed. It was typical Ozeroth. The mood lightened briefly… then the silence returned.

Ozeroth resumed his thinking, but Atticus interrupted.

"Why don't you do something about it?"

Ozeroth paused. "What do you mean?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but the two issues you're dealing with right now are the possibility of the Spirit King being your father… and the fact that you've been walking a false path all this time, right?"

Ozeroth didn't respond, but the silence was answer enough.

"Then instead of brooding, why not do something about it? Find your true path. At least it'll keep your mind occupied, and you'll get stronger while you're at it."

Ozeroth fell into deep silence, digesting the words. But Atticus wasn't done.

"As for the Spirit King… there's nothing we can do now. When we ascend to the Midplanes, we'll get all the answers we need."

More silence followed.

"…Then I'll have to start again," Ozeroth finally said, the weight in his tone was heavy.

But even as he spoke, Atticus could feel it, he had made up his mind. He wasn't happy about it, but no one was as prideful as he was, he wasn't going to cling to a falsehood.

Atticus smiled. "I don't think so."

"Hmm?"

"I don't think you'll have to start from scratch."

Those were words Ozeroth wanted to believe. He said nothing, letting Atticus continue.

"There are two reasons I believe that. First, our bond. Our powers are in sync. Even if you abolish your current path, my Will will still influence you. There's no way it wouldn't."

The assumption made sense. Still, Ozeroth waited for the second part.

"And second," Atticus continued, "I don't think that's how Will works. From what I've seen, the power system you follow in the Spirit World is different from Whisker's and his siblings, but they're built on the same foundation. Yours has three folds, awareness, integration, and manifestation. That's just another way of saying intent, impose, and manifest."