"Still Blade."

For the first time in the battle, genuine alarm flashed across the Nature King’s face. He immediately threw himself aside.

An invisible blade cut through his Will and severed his arm instantly.

"What?"

He turned in shock, only to find Atticus already before him, blade descending toward his chest.

His eyes widened. Nature Will condensed instinctively around him, but the Life Weapon tore through it and carved down through his shoulder toward his heart.

The Nature King’s expression twisted with rage.

Boom!

An overwhelming surge of Nature Will erupted outward, engulfing them both. Then his hand shot forward, gripping Atticus’ wrist with crushing force and bringing the strike to a halt.

"You... stupid trash..." His voice trembled with fury. "Don’t mistake a lucky strike for equality."

The Nature King appeared pitiful. His body was nearly severed in two, bluish blood pouring from the wound, yet the air of superiority around him hadn’t diminished. If anything, it had become even heavier.

The coldness radiating from him seemed capable of freezing worlds.

Atticus’ expression tightened. At this distance, the potency of Nature Will was at its peak, and the Nature King’s grip only worsened the situation. Nature Will was seeping into him, flowers bloomed endlessly across his own Will. At this pace, he would soon run dry. And when that happened, Life Weapon or not, it would be over.

"It’s unfortunate..." The Nature King’s voice gradually steadied. "That something like you managed to push me this far. Something that still doesn’t understand when it stands before its betters."

A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.

"I’ll make sure your death is slow and very pai—"

Crack!

The Nature King’s head snapped to the side.

Suddenly, Whisker was there, a fiendish grin stretched across his face. His hair danced wildly around him, shifting colors alongside his eyes as though neither could tolerate remaining the same for more than an instant.

How...

The thought struck the Nature King like lightning. With Nature Will this dense... how had he crossed the distance?

The Nature King’s expression twisted.

"Not you too!"

His Will lashed toward Whisker, threatening to swallow him whole.

"Manifest: True Freedom."

The Nature Will recoiled backward as though it had touched something it could not bind.

"Impossible!"

For the first time, genuine disbelief appeared on the Nature King’s face. Then, as claws extended from Whisker’s fingers, his teeth clenched tightly.

"A fool... and a defective..." His teeth clenched tightly. "Impossible..."

"There it is..."

As Whisker’s claws dug into the Nature King’s neck, his grin widened into something feral as he said;

"That face... I love it."

"You—!"

Slash!

Blood splattered across the skies as the Nature King’s severed head spun upward.

For a moment, there was utter silence. Then, the world trembled. A violent vortex formed around the Nature King, swallowing both his body and head whole.

Atticus grabbed Whisker and shot backward.

The vortex rapidly expanded, its pull growing stronger with every passing moment. Trees. Beasts. Vines. Will... everything was dragged toward it.

Atticus had to exert tremendous effort just to keep himself and Whisker from being swept away. Moments later, once the forest itself had vanished into the vortex, it simply disappeared.

Atticus blinked and stared at the empty landscape.

"It’s... over?"

"Haha..."

Whisker laughed as he collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

"It seems so, my star actor."

A broad smile stretched across his face. For once, there was nothing strange about it, he simply looked happy.

"So what was that vortex? It seemed a bit random."

"If I had to guess..." Whisker shrugged lazily. "The world’s taking out the trash. Try feeling for Nature Will."

Atticus did just that and frowned. No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t feel Nature Will, every attempt to call upon it returning nothing.

’So Nature Will is gone.’

He could already imagine the reaction spreading across the Middle Planes. From the Verge to the Span to the Crowns. Every False Willer who cultivated Nature Will would suddenly lose access to it. Centuries of power... gone.

Many would weep.

Atticus, however, couldn’t help feeling a trace of regret. The vortex had swallowed everything, and there wasn’t even a fragment of Nature Will left behind for them to absorb. It felt absurdly unfair.

Still, he was all smiles. The Nature King was gone.

Finally!

A heavy sense of exhaustion settled over him, and Atticus slowly lowered himself onto the ground.

A moment of silence passed, then Whisker clicked his tongue.

"Rotten world... at least they could’ve given me the honor of burying my father."

Atticus glanced at him strangely.

"You’d bury him?"

"Of course!"

Whisker grinned.

"After pissing and shitting on him for a few eons. Once he’s nice and rotten, I’d toss him into a ditch to spare the world his stench."

"...That’s insane."

Whisker burst into laughter.

"Ah, my star actor! I thought you already knew I was insane!"

"...I almost forgot."

As Whisker’s laughter echoed across the barren landscape, distant booms drifted toward them.

Atticus’ attention immediately shifted. Whisker sighed and reluctantly pushed himself to his feet.

"Urgh..." He dragged a hand through his hair. "Can’t we get an hour’s nap or something? We just killed the fucking Nature King."

"We’ll nap later. We need to meet up with the others first."

"My star actor, your priorities are terrible."

They were facing the Spirit King. There was no telling what was happening over there. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the distance, and Atticus narrowed his gaze.

The light... it was heading toward them.

"Oh, what now?"

Whisker groaned and straightened fully. As the light drew closer, however, they recognized the figures within it.

Anorah, Ozeroth, the Pride Queen and the others. Each of them wore a grim face.

"Hm." Whisker scratched his cheek. "That doesn’t look good."

Atticus silently agreed.

’Something happened.’

The moment they arrived, he immediately asked;

"What happened?"

"He wasn’t there." Ozeroth’s voice carried a barely restrained anger.

"What?"

Atticus immediately looked toward the Pride Queen, but shook her head with an equally grim expression. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"The Spirit Army was there, but he wasn’t." She said. "Knowing my husband, that means he’s planning something."

Atticus fell silent. They were in the middle of a war, and every important figure was here. What could possibly be more important than...

Atticus froze. He abruptly turned toward the distant horizon, the direction of the City of Origins.

His Will churned.

"We have to return no—"

Suddenly, a pillar of purple light suddenly pierced the distant heavens.

Atticus’ body went rigid.

"No..."

His family. His mother. His father. His sister. Everyone...

For a brief moment, he couldn’t move.

Then, an overwhelming aura swept across the land.