Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground novel Chapter 926

Chapter 926 Chill

In all of Sector 10, silence reigned.

The people stood frozen, hearts pounding like war drums. Each person instinctively reached for the hand of a loved one, or even a stranger, seeking the comfort of human contact, the smallest reassurance against the growing dread.

A crimson glow blanketed the sector, its light swallowing the sun's brilliance. It reflected off their terror-stricken faces, casting them in an otherworldly red, like harbingers of an impending apocalypse.

Sector 10 was the pride of the human domain. Governed by the Nebulon family, at least, that was what the general populace believed. The truth was far more complex.

Sector 10 was not just Nebulon territory; it was a hub shared by all the tier-one families. The Nebulons controlled the majority, but each tier-one family had carved out their strongholds, their influence stretching across different parts of the sector.

Sector 10 was the largest and most vital of the human sectors, a massive ring encircling the entire domain. Within it lay humanity's most valuable resources, and along its vast borders stood countless fortresses facing the territories of Eldoralth's other races.

No single family could defend such an expansive region. Each border was assigned to a different tier-one family, their collective strength forming the shield that protected the human domain.

But now, that shield felt fragile.

The people of Sector 10 stared at the crimson cloud looming on the horizon. Fear rooted them to the spot, their minds racing with the same chilling thought.

That was where the Resonara fortress stood. The border with the vampyros.

The word formed in their minds, one that sent a chill down their spines: War.

It was a word that conjured images of death, destruction, and despair.

Some tried to convince themselves it wasn't true, but the scene that followed crushed their fragile hope.

A sharp tearing sound split the air, turning every head skyward.

Streaks of light, vivid and multi-colored, pierced the heavens, racing toward the source of the crimson cloud.

The people gasped. They didn't need to guess.

The paragons of humanity.

Fear surged like a tidal wave. If all the paragons were responding, the situation was far worse than they could have imagined.

Realization dawned on them, heavy and suffocating. Sector 10 wasn't just in danger, it was a ticking time bomb.

"We have to leave this sector!"

"Now! Grab whatever you can carry!"

"Forget the bags! Just run!"

Chaos erupted. People scattered like ants, flooding the roads leading to Sector 9 and the outer edges of Sector 10. Panic swept through the population as families, merchants, and soldiers scrambled to escape.

While chaos engulfed the sector, the first paragon reached the epicenter of destruction.

A streak of multi-colored light halted abruptly in the crimson-stained sky. The glow dimmed, revealing Zephyrion Nebulon, the paragon of the Nebulon family. He was the closest to the scene and it was no surprise that he reached here first.

Zephyrion floated above the battlefield, his piercing gaze surveying the devastation below.

He was a man of few words, one who preferred observation over conversation. Even among his family, his thoughts were a mystery, his silence a cloak of enigmatic calm. He prided himself on his ability to understand the incomprehensible, to remain composed even in the face of chaos.

But now, as his sharp eyes took in the scene before him, his composure faltered.

The words escaped his lips, unbidden, carried by a disbelief so profound it shook even him.

"What the hell is this…"

The heavens were drenched in crimson.

Jagged streaks of red and black scarred the sky, as though reality itself had been torn asunder by the battle's fury.

The ground below was a wasteland. Craters and fissures stretched as far as the eye could see, the earth scorched and broken. Steam rose in ghostly tendrils, mingling with the thick, suffocating haze.

But it wasn't the destruction that unnerved Zephyrion.

His gaze pierced through the haze, locking onto the center of the devastation.

There, amidst the wreckage, stood a figure.

Unmoved.

Unshaken.

The crimson haze swirled around him, but it seemed unwilling, or unable, to touch him. His white hair flowed faintly, undisturbed by the chaos. His katana, sheathed at his side, radiated an almost imperceptible glow.

Zephyrion's gaze trembled. His mind raced to comprehend what he was seeing.

A paragon-level battle, yet here stood a 17-year-old, untouched by the carnage around him.

This wasn't normal.

This wasn't natural.

For the first time in decades, Zephyrion felt a chill crawl up his spine.

But he already knew.

Atticus Ravenstein was an anomaly.

And anomalies had a way of turning the impossible into reality.

The boy floated in the air, his azure and purple gaze piercing through the haze like a beacon of defiance.

His body bore no wounds, no signs of the destruction that had reached even Sector 10, a great distance away.