Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1016 Manipulation

Chapter 1016  Manipulation

A faint glow flickered in his abyssal eyes, a small ripple. But Draktharion was far too enraged to notice.

"What lies are you yapping about—"

In an instant, his mind exploded as millions of questions flooded in.

But Carius didn't speak. Didn't blink. Didn't move.

"…What is expected of me?"

Hated that he was fighting a battle within himself.

His wings twitched. His claws flexed, as if seconds away from rending the Dimensari Apex into pieces.

"I will grant you the privilege of seeing your family again." He corrected.

"Wait a second… How do you even know about my past!?"

Draktharion wasn't much of a planner. He was prideful, a brute to his core. However, even he was smart enough to realize the danger of people like Carius.

However, it was only those he had overpowered. For Atticus and many of the other superior Apexes, he hadn't gained anything.

Among all the Apexes, he had been labeled the most dangerous of them all. Back when the other Apexes hadn't even met each other, when many of them were still struggling to grow stronger and undergo their third Life Weapon Trial, Carius had already been active.

Carius allowed the silence to stretch.

He let the doubts fester, let the thoughts swirl uncontrollably in Draktharion's head.

Then, Carius spoke.

The seconds passed.

Silence.

Still, among those he had glimpsed, only two were alive. And he determined this particular dragon to be the best option.

His breath quickened, nostrils flaring.

With it, he could distort their perception of reality so profoundly that they couldn't take any action without contradicting themselves.

"What if… I could see my family again…?"

Carius let the silence linger for a moment before speaking…

Yet, despite all of these precautions, Carius's first statement had shattered everything.

It took time to figure out how to use it effectively.

He was a planner. A manipulator.

He simply stared at Draktharion.

"Your life isn't what's at stake here. You were betrayed. Stabbed in the back by your closest aides."

"What do you think will happen to them?"

'It's possible.'

Yet, Carius still didn't answer.

It was a horrifying realization, one that Draktharion was struggling to comprehend. He had never told anyone. Not a single soul.

"No!" He snarled, slamming his fist into his palm. "That's not it. How will you make me see my family again!?"

Yet, despite all of that,

As soon as he felt Carius's presence, Draktharion had raised his guard to the absolute peak. His entire body had tensed, and he was ready for battle at any given second.

"I will grant you one of those requests. Submit yourself to me and follow my every order."

Draktharion's voice was gravel, his teeth clenched so tightly it was a wonder they hadn't shattered.

"What if the being had told him about my past?"

The questions and contradictions in his head intensified. His hand clenched so hard that his fist cracked and bled.

Because he had taken control over the dimension and clashed wills with the other Apexes, Carius had gained glimpses of their memories.

BOOM!

Carius stood still. He observed Draktharion like he was studying an inevitable outcome.

Draktharion stomped forward, his sheer presence shaking the void itself.

With teeth gritted to the extreme, he spoke words that he had never thought he would speak.

Paradox Imprisonment.

So how did Carius know?

Carius's placid gaze didn't change.

But to do this, Carius first had to get into their mind.

"What did you just say?"

Draktharion stood straight and utterly still as he faced this enigma of a man in front of him.

He was cold. Ruthless. And most dangerous of all, he was a planner.

One of them was an ability.

Carius's abyssal gaze remained fixed on him.

Suddenly, something shifted in the air.

The Dragon Apex's muscles coiled like tightly wound steel, his molten eyes burning dangerously.

Carius had named it;

The air became scorching as an intense heat radiated from Draktharion's body.

The Dragon Apex shook his head.

"Some being reincarnated all of us into this world!" His claws flexed. "You're in the same position as all of us! What makes you think I would be stupid enough to fall for this nonsense!?"

"What if he was telling the truth?"

"Never!" He roared. "I owe him my life! A dragon's honor is everything! I would rather die!"

Then, his thoughts stopped.

Draktharion froze. His earlier rage evaporated. His mind spun fast, his teeth grinding against each other.

He could feel something encroaching into his mind, something foreign and yet, natural.

Carius watched, unbothered, as Draktharion's rage grew.

A weakness.

 But the moment those words had left Carius's lips, something inside him fractured.

A suffocating, yet subtle force. An unseen presence slithered through the space. The air around Draktharion became distorted but the Dragon hadn't noticed.

And as he did this, he pondered the situation.

He hated all the questions.

One he couldn't ignore, no matter how absurd it sounded.

During the Nexus, when Carius had taken over his grandfather's dimension and turned the entire competition into a deathmatch, he had also gained insight into many things.

"You're not worth repeating myself for."

He had already been planning ways to whittle down the competition and end up as the sole remaining reincarnator on Eldoralth.

"By submitting to me and following my orders."

He knew, he knew, he wasn't supposed to believe a single word coming from Carius's mouth.

Draktharion's eyes narrowed to the point where they were barely visible. His voice rumbled, thick with restrained fury.

It was akin to the Dimensional Loop, but this one targeted the mind. A terrifying ability that trapped a target in a logical paradox, eventually forcing their mind into submission.

An ability none of the Dimensari had ever awakened.

Hated that for the briefest moment, he wasn't sure of himself anymore.

"I've been in contact with the being that brought us to this world. He granted me three requests if I fulfilled certain conditions."

"Bullshit!" he roared. "How is that even possible!?"

Carius Valarius. The Apex of the Dimensari Race.

This was where the second insight had come in.

Draktharion hated it.

His breathing grew heavy. His heart pounded.

Or at least, try to.

In manipulation, the most effective tactic was to let the manipulated fill in the blanks themselves.

"You said you would help me see my family again?"

And as he finished, Draktharion's eyes widened to their extremes.

Carius's tone remained leveled.