A vast board. Dozens of powerful Marquis whose sheer presence warped the air itself. Every single eye was on him, yet Raziel didn't seem to notice any of them.

His gaze cut across the board and stopped on one spot. Where a lone figure stood. Atticus.

"Found you."

'He made it.'

A deep frown creased Atticus's face. It had been so long since their last encounter that he'd started to believe Raziel was dead. Raziel was a Marked, just like him. It wouldn't have been strange if the Willguard had gotten to him.

But that thought had been completely wrong.

Not only was Raziel alive, he'd caught up to him and reached the Marquis layer. More importantly, he was far stronger than before.

Even from this distance, Atticus could feel it. Raziel's aura then couldn't compare to now. Now, he was a Marquis. One who carried the power of multiple Solvath fragments.

Their next fight wouldn't resemble the last.

'That him?'

Whisker's voice echoed in his mind.

'Yes.'

'Huh… I pictured the bastard taller. Guess I'll have to revise that.'

Atticus ignored him and entered into his thoughts.

'Another threat… I need a way to deal with him.'

He had barely finished navigating the pressure of the Dravek and the other Marquis. For a new one, one even worse than than others, to appear now was nothing short of cruel timing.

They held each other's gaze a moment too long.

Around them, Marquis began to exchange looks. Quiet murmurs spread as it became obvious the newcomer and Atticus were locked in something far heavier than coincidence.

"Do they know each other?"

"He's smiling. Is that an ally?"

"Then why does it feel like they're about to kill each other?"

"Tch. Anyone connected to that child is bound to be trouble."

Soon the whispers faded and the board fell silent.

Raziel chuckled.

"Man… I'm seriously glad you lived. I missed you, you know? I looked everywhere. Where the hell have you been hiding?"

"…"

Raziel clicked his tongue. "Ah… shit. Am I doing that gay stuff again? Sorry, sorry. I get carried away when I'm excited."

When Atticus still didn't respond, Raziel sighed and leaned back.

"Wow. You're even quieter than I remember."

His gaze finally drifted away, slowly sweeping the board, until it stopped.

"Ah… I get it now."

His smile vanished, and a coldness settled into his eyes.

"You're still dragging dead weight around."

'Shit.'

As Atticus clenched his teeth, Raziel planted his staff into the ground. The sound echoed faintly as a dangerous smile crept across his face.

"So… why haven't you dropped it yet?"

'Looks like he hasn't changed at all.'

Atticus silently agreed with Whisker. That insane fixation on his people, on Magnus, was still very much there. And right now, it was the last thing he needed in this situation.

Whispers spread among the Marquis. Eyes flicked between him and Raziel, and Atticus could feel the suspicion building as they tried to piece together what they were seeing.

'They can't know.'

He'd worked too hard and done too much to carve the fear they had now into their minds. He'd cornered Dravek. Forced the other Marquis to hesitate. Letting his one weakness surface now would undo everything.

Raziel, of course, didn't care.

He skimmed the rules once, barely paying them any attention. The die snapped into his hand and he rolled a two.

"You. Two domains left."

One of the five identical figures behind him stepped forward. Light swallowed it, transporting it to the selected domain. As the restriction was announced and resolved, Raziel didn't even pause before taking his second turn.

A three.

"Two left. One forward."

The champion vanished again.

When his turn ended, Raziel looked back at Atticus and smiled.

"Relax. I'll handle it for you."

Atticus's fingers tightened around his katana.

Raziel had entered from the left side of the board. Across two turns, he'd only advanced a single champion.

Though some of the Marquis frowned at the inefficiency, Atticus didn't. They weren't careless moves, they were deliberate.

His gaze turned to Magnus, standing silently several domains behind him.

He couldn't, no, he wouldn't let it happen again.

'I have to act befo—'

"Raziel Voss."

Atticus paused, then turned to the voice to see Ordan staring straight at Raziel.

"Grandson of Azeron Voss, leader of the usurpers," Ordan said calmly. "A multi fragment bearer and high priority target."

Several Marquis stiffened.

'They know that name.'

For the Marquis to react like this… the usurpers' shadow ran deeper than he'd expected.

Raziel blinked, then frowned.

"Do I know you, old man?"

"Three filths in one place. A fortunate day." Ordan smiled faintly. "Setting aside your worthless existence, you've done me a service. I was struggling a bit to understand this new toy of mine. But you've shown me exactly where to apply pressure."

He let out a soft chuckle, then turned his attention back to Atticus, eyes glinting with interest.

"You've shown me how to break it."

Atticus' heart hammered in his chest.

'He knows.'

The worst possibility had just become reality. Ordan's cryptic words were enough to figure out his intent. Through his brief interaction with Raziel, he had clearly deduced the hidden meaning.

As Raziel's turn ended, the game continued and other Marquis began to roll and move their champions across the board.

The fear was still very much present, and none came after Atticus or his people. But Atticus' focus had already left them to focus on the immediate threat.

It finally came to his turn, and he rolled a two. He chose to move Noctis one domain forward, then did the same for Magnus.

'I have to keep it under wraps.'

The last thing he needed was the entire board learning his weakness, especially Dravek. He silently scanned the board.

Right now, he was positioned in the high middle section. Only three domains stood between him and the center. Ozeroth was on his far right, pushed there by his earlier challenge. Magnus and Noctis were a domain apart, both a step ahead of Whisker.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.