It lasted for a few conscious seconds, moments that made Atticus feel as though he was flying through the cosmos, as though he was invincible, as though the world couldn't contain him.
As soon as he felt the extremely comfortable space initially enveloping him vanish, Atticus instantly opened his eyes, a small smile on his face.
Atticus found himself inside some sort of small room, and as his gaze swept around, he noted that he wasn't the only one there.
'The top 10 of the first years?' Atticus pondered. He had been the first to recover from the long-distance teleportation, and as the others started recovering one by one, they each followed Atticus' lead and looked around the room.
As they turned and saw Atticus standing so close to them, each instinctively jumped backward, creating a safe distance from the figure, their gazes alert.
But Atticus wasn't even staring at all of them; his cold gaze was currently focused on one person, a particular boy with vibrant orange hair and a gem embedded in his forehead: Seraphin Stellaris.
Seraphin focused on Atticus with shock etched on his face. It had been months since the incident between him and Atticus happened, but it still felt fresh in his memory.
His shocked expression suddenly morphed into intense anger, the gem in his head radiating a golden glow.
Although he had heard and watched the video of Atticus fighting those second years, Seraphin was still angry and wanted nothing more than to beat the crap out of him.
Atticus gazed at Seraphin coldly. 'Finally,' he thought in relief. He hated having unfinished business.
Since the incident, this was the first time he would see Seraphin. He would settle the matter with Seraphin here.
But just as Atticus was about to move, as though already aware of his intentions, a feminine voice suddenly permeated the space, "You boys should save your fighting for another day; today is an important day."
Atticus paused. 'Isn't that…' There was no way he wouldn't recognize that voice. It was the same voice he had listened to almost every day for a year now: Isabella's.
Atticus fixed his gaze coldly on Seraphin, who narrowed his eyes in response. The rest of the tier ones stared at the duo in confusion.
None of them wondered why Seraphin hadn't shown up in class for more than eight months; they didn't care. Instead, they were more worried about something else.
Was this monster going to fight another tier one family again!? Just what was going on?
Atticus suddenly felt an insanely soft hand grip his shoulder from behind. He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
Turning his gaze, he saw Zoey gazing at him while subtly shaking her head.
Atticus sighed. He really hated putting off something that should be finished instantly, but it seemed that he couldn't do as he wished here.
Looking at Seraphin once more, 'Later,' Atticus decided.
He removed his gaze from Seraphin and then turned to face Zoey, his lips instantly curling up into a warm smile.
"Hey, queen. You look as gorgeous as always."
Zoey turned her head away, flicking her hair. "Stop stating the obvious. Besides, I told you to stop calling me that."
Atticus's smile widened. "What do you mean? You're my queen."
Zoey scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she muttered under her breath while rolling her eyes, "The so-called queen you completely ignored when she was talking to you."
Atticus easily heard what she said, and his expression froze in complete disbelief.
"That was 9 freaking months ago, Zoey!"
"So? That doesn't matter," Zoey suddenly turned to face Atticus, a small frown marring her beautiful face, "Or are you trying to say that I wasn't your queen then?"
Atticus simply stared at Zoey in shock for a few seconds, unable to utter any comeback.
'Damn, she got me good,' he cleared his throat awkwardly the next second.
"Of course, you were always my queen."
Zoey rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right."
The rest of the tier one students gazed at the figures of Atticus and Zoey flirting without any care in the world.
Was this really the place to flirt? They all wanted nothing more than to scream these words at them, but neither one of them stepped up and simply faced their front, deciding to wait for their next instruction.
Not all of them performed that action, though. Among them, the intense stare of two tier one students was still focused on them.
The first was, of course, Seraphin, who gazed at the figures of Atticus and Zoey flirting while clenching his fist intensely, blood seeping out from his clenched fist.
Staring at them for a few seconds, Seraphin suddenly averted his gaze while clicking his tongue.
The second was Kael, who kept on looking at Atticus with a huge grin on his face. His appearance hadn't changed much, but the current aura radiating out of his form was undeniably stronger than in the past.
The promised one-year period had already passed, and their promised battle would take place anytime soon.
He couldn't wait!
Only the sounds of Atticus and Zoey speaking echoed in the room, with the rest choosing to remain silent.
Then, an AI voice suddenly sounded,
"Zoey Starhaven, Atticus Ravenstein, and Kael Stormrider, please go through the door on your left."
The students were initially baffled. What door? They had checked when they got here but hadn't seen anything that would pass as a door.
But as they turned towards their left, their bafflement increased as they saw a door had suddenly appeared there.
The trio listened, immediately approached the door, and entered.
As they walked through the door, they each found themselves inside another room, but this time around, there were three incredibly large pods in the middle of the room.
Turning his gaze upwards, Atticus noted the tinted glass at the top, covering a large booth. 'That must be where she is,' he surmised.
The sound of an AI speaking suddenly broke them out of their thoughts.
