Magnus reached Sector 3 and took Atticus to his personal training room, setting up bedding and other amenities to ensure his rest was as comfortable as possible.
After placing Atticus gently on the bed, Magnus stood up straight and began scrutinizing him thoroughly.
'It's bad,' Magnus thought, his frown deepening.
Atticus had pushed himself far beyond his limits, and now he was paying the price. The energy and power of a paragon were too much for his body to handle, and the strain was evident in every inch of him.
His muscles had been pushed beyond their natural capacity, tearing under the immense stress. His brain had worked at a speed and intensity it wasn't built for, leaving him mentally and physically drained. Every nerve in his body had fired continuously, and his very cells had burned through energy reserves he hadn't even realized he had.
Magnus could see it clearly, Atticus had been running purely on adrenaline and the surge of borrowed power. But now that the power had left him, his body simply couldn't hold on any longer.
'But…'
Magnus's gaze flickered, a trace of astonishment crossing his face. 'Incredible.'
He noticed something he hadn't expected. Atticus was healing. Of course, healing itself wasn't surprising, it was normal, even expected.
But what shocked Magnus was the pace of the healing. It was insane.
His torn muscles were mending before his eyes, the fibers weaving back together like threads being stitched in real time.
It wasn't just fast, it was beyond anything Magnus had ever seen. Not even grandmasters could achieve this level of passive recovery.
As Magnus stared at Atticus in astonishment, he suddenly sensed multiple presences approaching. Recognizing who they were, he controlled the door to let them in.
Anastasia, Avalon, and the three stars burst into the training room. Avalon and the three stars paid their respects to Magnus, but Anastasia was too worried to remember to bow.
She rushed to Atticus's side, kneeling beside him with anguish etched across her face. Her trembling hands touched his forehead as she carefully examined him.
As she took in the extent of his injuries, tears began streaming down her face. "Not again," she whispered, her voice cracking.
Avalon's expression was a mix of anger and sorrow as he turned to Magnus. "What happened?"
Lyanna, Sirius, and Nathan also turned their attention to Magnus. Even though Sector 8 was far away, the news had reached them immediately.
When Ozeroth's presence had been felt, all the sectors had activated their Aegis shields and established contact with one another.
They had a general understanding of what had transpired but lacked the full picture.
As Magnus began recounting the events, jaws dropped. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
What the hell…?
Had Atticus really fought a paragon and forced him to run?
While they struggled to wrap their minds around the situation, Anastasia's worry deepened. If Atticus had fought a paragon, it meant he had been dangerously close to dying.
As they all tried to process how this could have been possible, Magnus's voice broke through their thoughts.
"We can't let our guard down," he said firmly. "The situation demands that we remain in a state of constant vigilance."
Their hatred for humanity's apex.
When Oberon finished, a heavy silence engulfed the citadel. It was overwhelming.
"You're telling us we've been invaded by beings from another world, and we didn't even realize it?" Thorne Alverian said in disbelief.
Oberon nodded.
"I understand how you all feel. But I believe there's one more important thing we need to address."
The paragons turned their attention to Oberon.
"I've thought about it and reached the conclusion that, without Atticus, our future looks bleak. The Zorvans, the other races, and now the spirits, we can't handle it."
The paragons fell silent. It was a heavy realization, and a wave of shame rippled through them as they accepted it.
Things were moving too fast, and they were barely keeping up. The Spirit King hadn't even fully revealed himself, yet his presence alone had been enough to immobilize them.
This was far beyond what they could handle.
Everyone remained silent, even Octavius, who was usually quick to express his frustration.
They turned their gazes back to Oberon, gesturing for him to continue.
"This is why I'm suggesting this: we focus all our resources on him and nurture his growth."
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