Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 846  Eternal Labyrinth

Blackgate couldn't understand it.

He had used his gates all his life, in every battle he'd faced. They had collapsed countless times, against overwhelming force, when his control slipped, or when he pushed them beyond their limits.

He had seen them break under pressure from opponents stronger than him, shatter when he misjudged the flow of mana, and collapse when faced with overwhelming attacks.

But this… this was different.

With just a single flicker of his eyes, Atticus had collapsed his gate. No overwhelming force, no drawn-out battle, just one moment, and it was gone.

No, it wasn't that he couldn't comprehend it. His mind was just finding it hard to accept. Blackgate could understand it in theory. Atticus had seized control of the gate, manipulating it from the inside and forcing it to collapse.

It was insane.

The fact that Atticus had taken control of his power so easily made Blackgate's pride burn.

He gritted his teeth, his rage peaking. But that didn't last. Fear took over.

As Atticus's katana descended toward his head, Blackgate felt his entire life flash before his eyes. But he instantly rid his mind of the thought.

He wouldn't be dying today.

His hand clenched as he roared.

"Explode!"

Blackgate's roar shattered the air.

Instantly, countless black gates materialized, spinning wildly in every direction around them. Atticus's katana froze mid-swing. He barely had time to react before—

BOOM.

The world detonated.

Shockwaves rippled out, faster than sound, carving the sky in jagged streaks of violent crimson and deep obsidian.

The heavens seemed to shatter as the explosions reverberated, bending clouds and painting the horizon in hues of blood and ash. A blinding flash drowned everything in stark light, then plunged the world into chaos.

The ground beneath trembled violently, as if the earth itself was trying to flee the destruction. Structures in the distance cracked, their remnants rising like dust in a storm.

Magnus and the other paragons stood still against the tide of destruction, their eyes narrowing to slits.

Their auras flared as they moved in unison, shields of mana and elemental force erupting to contain the cascading devastation.

As the cataclysm ended, Blackgate's cold voice pierced the stilling air.

"Eternal Labyrinth."

The world froze.

Then, an immense pitch-black vortex consumed the sky. Darkness poured forth, swallowing the sun.

A deep, oppressive shadow blanketed the sector, and silence replaced the lingering echoes of the explosions. The swirling blackness seemed alive, pulsing and twisting, as though it were an entity of chaos itself.

Magnus acted immediately, his spear of lightning appearing in his hand, arcs of electricity dancing along its length. Instantly, he hurled it.

CRACK!

The spear shot forward like a star falling from the heavens, slamming into the swirling mass.

A thunderous explosion erupted on impact, and entire chunks of the black vortex vaporized in an instant, but—

It reformed. Just as fast, just as solid.

Magnus's eyes narrowed. The energy of his strike still lingered, but the mass had devoured it entirely. His expression darkened, his aura surging to an even greater peak. Just as he was about to attack again—

"Wait," Oberon said sharply, suddenly appearing in front of Magnus. His voice was calm and serious, causing Magnus to pause.

Magnus's eyes were filled with impatience, but he restrained himself. He didn't speak, but his questioning gaze demanded an explanation. The black mass had swallowed Atticus; he couldn't afford to waste time.

Oberon nodded, his mind already working through the myriad of possibilities.

"This vortex is composed of the same volatile energy as his gates. Each molecule in that mass is a potential bomb. And Blackgate can trigger every single one of them… at will. Imagine if he detonated this entire structure. It wouldn't just destroy this area, it could destabilize the entire sector. Possibly further."

A heavy silence followed. The paragons of humanity had gathered, each one pondering Oberon's words. Seraphina's aura had turned icy, the air around her trembling as her expression darkened. Even the blind could see it, she was furious.

If that black mass exploded, not even the paragons would be able to contain it. Sector 8 would be obliterated, and the shockwave would destroy millions across the surrounding sectors.

"So what do we do now?" Thorne Alverian asked, his brows furrowed. "Sit here and watch?"

Oberon turned back to Magnus, his gaze serious. "You can still feel him, can't you?"

Magnus nodded tightly. When Atticus came to Sector 8 for training, Magnus had placed his usual lightning mark on him. Because of that, he could vaguely sense his location within the black mass, along with his general wellbeing.

"Then trust him," Oberon said simply. "If he's in real danger, we'll act. But until then, we wait. That boy has defied expectations before. Let him do it again."

Magnus's thunderous aura crackled, but he didn't argue. His eyes remained locked on the vortex, his fists clenching as lightning flickered around him.

Oberon was right. The mere fact that Atticus was battling a paragon in the first place was reason enough to trust him. Magnus didn't like it, but he had no choice.

The paragons all fell silent, their gazes fixed on the swirling black abyss, their thoughts racing.

While the exterior of the black mass appeared plain and unassuming, the inside was anything but.

Atticus stood alone, calm and collected. His katana was sheathed, his body still as he assessed his surroundings.

The Eternal Labyrinth.

It was the pinnacle of Blackgate's power, his ultimate ability. It was a technique he rarely used, but when he did, no one had ever survived.

The labyrinth was a nightmare of endless dimensions. Gates littered the space, each leading to a fractured location. They spun and twisted, defying all sense of logic and reality.

Everywhere Atticus looked, he saw different worlds. It was like standing in a vast black void with countless gates surrounding him.

'An infinite maze,' Atticus thought, his senses sharpening.

He could feel it, his perception dulled, the laws of physics warped, and an oppressive presence watching him.

"He's everywhere," Atticus murmured, radiating divine calm.

He could feel Blackgate's presence everywhere, omniscient and oppressive.

Atticus's eyes flicked to his right. The air shifted, distorted.

Movement.

A swarm of razor-thin spatial blades tore toward him at supersonic speeds.

Whoosh!

A wave of energy erupted from Atticus, shredding the blades mid-air. The remnants disintegrated into nothingness.

But there was no respite.

The gates in the labyrinth abruptly swirled faster, their dizzying speed increasing. In the next second, they converged, hurtling toward him like a black tidal wave.

Each gate shimmered with a different light, threatening to swallow him whole.

Atticus moved.

He flickered, a streak of motion too fast to track, reappearing miles away within the darkened world.

The gates pursued him, relentless. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Another wave of energy shot toward him, its force making the fabric of the space tremble.