Chapter 1215: The Quiet Flame

Atticus dropped into a stance. A sharp sound rang out as he slightly drew his katana.

His perception stretched outward. Elements at the ready. Will primed to erupt.

There was no doubt, Atticus was ready for anything.

However, several seconds passed… and there was only silence.

The figure’s glowing golden eyes simply stared at Atticus, intrigued.

“Kin of the fallen star. I welcome you to my domain.”

The voice echoed like an ancient scholar, worn and sagely. And as it washed over him, Atticus immediately felt the sadness spike even more violently through his chest.

“…”

Still, no words came from Atticus. His eyes didn’t leave the figure for even a moment.

“The earlier we get over this mistrust, the faster we can conclude this meeting. Here, have a seat. You have a prideful one there.”

Behind Atticus, a throne rose from the ground silently, until it reached the same height as the one the figure was seated upon.

Atticus narrowed his eyes. ‘How?…’

He had felt Ozeroth’s raging emotions the moment the figure addressed them from a throne. The man could barely stand it, it looked as though the figure thought of them as lessers. But how did the figure know that?

Atticus didn’t move from his stance.

Then, the figure’s voice grew louder, booming like a decree.

“I am your segment star. I’ve seen enough to glean that much. Now sit, and let us discuss.”

Atticus hesitated for a second, but Ozeroth’s constant nagging, his furious muttering to stop letting the man talk down to them, filled his head. He tuned him out.

‘He’s the Segment Star.’

That was all the confirmation Atticus needed. This was the being he had come for.

He exhaled heavily, calming himself. Slowly, he rose from his crouch and sat on the throne, still holding his katana.

“Good,” the figure nodded. “Then I will start with the introductions.”

His voice rang across the ruined world.

“I am called the Quiet Flame. And I am the star of the First Segment. Aelrion.”

He looked at Atticus carefully.

“Atticus Ravenstein.”

The Quiet Flame paused, as if expecting more, but Atticus remained silent. Watching. Studying.

The figure’s cloak of darkness flowed over his head, casting a heavy shadow across his face. No matter how hard Atticus tried, he couldn’t make out a single feature.

“You’re not going to ask me anything, Kin of the Fallen Star?” the Quiet Flame asked after a moment of silence.

“Are you going to answer my questions?”

The Quiet Flame wasn’t surprised by Atticus’ composure. Despite being in a new world, in front of a being beyond comprehension, Atticus spoke with confidence. Not a single tremble touched his voice.

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He had been watching Atticus for too long to be surprised. The boy had been an anomaly from birth.

“Why don’t you ask them first, anomaly?”

Atticus ignored the strange title. “Alright. Let’s start with who made that hole in your heart.”

He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he could swear he saw the Quiet Flame smile in the shadow.

“I see you’re well informed,” the Quiet Flame said, turning his gaze upwards.

“Unfortunately, I’m not ready to be erased from this world just yet. I will be unable to answer that question.”

Atticus simply nodded. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy.

“Why are there so few worlds in this segment?” he continued without pause.

He had asked Whisker the same thing once, and the man had only shrugged. Said he hadn’t checked the other segments enough to compare.

But Atticus felt it. Something was off.

The only two significant worlds had been the Zorvan world… and Eldoralth.

Now, the Quiet Flame confirmed his suspicions.

“There’s a reason the strongest of Eldoralth are so powerful compared to those of the Zorvan world,” the Quiet Flame said. “Eldoralth is already a combination of multiple worlds.”

Atticus’ eyes glinted. “Who combined them?”

“That whose name shall not be spoken.”

‘So the being that tore a hole through his heart.’

Atticus believed the wound was symbolic. That being hadn’t just attacked Aelrion, it had pierced through the segment itself. Still, he had just confirmed it. The same being was behind all of this.

He pressed on.

“Why did this being combine them?”

The Quiet Flame paused for a second. “I would reckon… to make everything more fun.”

‘It’s him.’

A surge of anger roared through Atticus’ body as he remembered that night. The last words he heard before a bullet pierced through his head:

‘Entertain us.’

He hated those words.

‘Is this some kind of game?’ he wondered.

“What about the Spirit King?”

Atticus felt Ozeroth’s emotions stir violently, but he ignored them.

“What about him?”

“He’s been devouring worlds for centuries now. And you just let him. Why?”

The Quiet Flame shook his head. “Unfortunately, I am bound by my own rules. I only exist to enforce them. I cannot interfere in anything else.”

“Higher worlds invading lower ones isn’t against the rules?”

“No.” The Quiet Flame shook his head again. “It is the responsibility of the Star to keep unwanted guests away. But because I’ve been… weakened, they were able to get through. The only thing I’m able to do now is enforce the law that ensures their powers do not exceed what is permitted in the lower plane.”

“Why haven’t you healed after all these centuries?” Atticus asked.

“Because the wounds I received were… complicated,” the Quiet Flame said, and Atticus felt the sadness intensify once more. “It is something that requires more than time to heal.”

“Why you? There are multiple segments, right? Why did that being select you? Was it random, or do you have something special?”

“That… that should be because I am the First Segment. The first ever born. I was the most powerful.”

Atticus nodded, then pressed on.

“What do you require?”

“What do you mean?”

“You claimed that healing your wound will require something more than time. What is it?”

“Power.”

“How will you get this power?”

Atticus’ eyes narrowed in on the Quiet Flame. Somehow, that question made the atmosphere tense.

Whether a battle would soon erupt around this ruined world, or whether they would simply sit and talk, depended entirely on this answer.