Atticus’s Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

“It took you long enough… Zoey.”

Zoey stared at the petite spirit held by chains, her eyes trembling.

“L-Lumi…?”

“In the flesh,” Lumindra smiled.

The floodgates broke, and memories surged through Zoey’s mind.

Lumindra, the enchanting drake.

The first Tier 7 spirit to ever grace Starhaven. A being who had been her companion for as long as she could remember. Her family.

How… how could she have forgotten her?

Zoey fought the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Her legs moved faster than her thoughts.

“L-Lumi, w-what’s going on? Are you okay?” She reached her, hand stretching toward the chains…

“Don’t!” Lumindra’s panicked voice rang out.

Zoey froze, her hand suspended mid-air. She turned to her.

“Don’t touch those chains… or you might get trapped too.”

Zoey stepped back, her gaze trembling. She drew in a deep breath, steadying the chaos in her heart.

‘Calm down,’ she told herself. Then, with slow determination, she opened her eyes and met Lumindra’s tired gaze.

“What’s going on, Lumi?” she asked. She was still overwhelmed, but panicking wouldn’t help.

Lumindra saw the seriousness in Zoey’s gaze and smiled faintly. “Think. What’s the last thing you remember?”

Zoey closed her eyes and dove into her thoughts. The memories came instantly.

The fall of the last Aegis Shield. The Blade of Eldoralth taking a stand, protecting the remnants of the alliance.

The sudden shift of Starhaven, teleportation into nowhere.

Her talk with her grandmother, Seraphina.

Seraphina’s death.

The annihilation of Starhaven.

The descent of the Spirit King.

One after another, the flashes hit her. Zoey’s hands trembled and clenched.

Her aunt was gone. Her grandmother… dead. Her entire family, slaughtered.

She clenched her fists tighter, fighting back the tears. But Seraphina’s last words echoed through her, and the floodgates broke.

Two streaks of tears slid down her face. But the look in her eyes, focused, burning, was something else entirely.

“What happened?” Zoey’s voice quaked with pain, sadness, and anger. But she held it all in. Her grandmother’s voice still rang in her mind, keeping her grounded.

Lumindra gave a sorrowful smile and began to explain.

“We’re inside our shared consciousness. You’ve been… in a dream world since then. You were placed there by—”

“The Spirit King.”

Zoey finished her sentence, but Lumindra only gave a wry smile and shook her head.

“No. I put you there.”

Zoey froze.

How could she forget?

Before she had been transported… Lumindra apologized.

Before Starhaven was destroyed… she apologized.

You only apologize when you’ve done something wrong.

Had she… betrayed her?

Zoey wanted to ask, but the fear of the answer held her tongue.

Lumindra sighed. “Ask your question, Zoey.”

“Did you… betray me?”

“Yes.”

Zoey’s world cracked. But then…

“…And no.”

Zoey blinked. “What do you mean?”

Lumindra smiled gently. “Let me start from the beginning. Why I came to Eldoralth in the first place.”

Zoey listened in silence.

“As I explained before, we spirits came from a world known as Aerithis. There, we followed the will of the Spirit King. He was our ruler, his word was law, even to us Primarchs.”

“Decades ago, the Spirit King summoned us. He spoke of an alien threat, something powerful enough to destroy our world, even he couldn’t stop it.

“But… before panic could set in, he reassured us. There was a way to save Aerithis, one of us had to descend to a world in the lower plane.”

“We had questions, of course. What were we supposed to do? How would that save our world? He answered simply: ‘Spread spiritual energy across that world, and it will strengthen us.'”

Lumindra paused again, then let out a soft, humorless chuckle. Even now, she couldn’t believe how naive she had been to swallow that lie.

“We stopped asking questions. Then he introduced a technique, one he’d personally created.”

“He explained it would allow us to bond with the people of that world. A way to blend in. Eventually, I was chosen to descend. But before leaving, the Spirit King sealed away a portion of my memories, so that whoever I bonded with wouldn’t uncover the truth.”

“When I arrived on Eldoralth, I was surprised to find spiritual energy already present. But I rationalized it away. Told myself that a Primarch’s influence would speed up the mission.

I needed to find a host. And after searching… I found you.”

Lumindra’s gaze settled softly on Zoey, who remained silent, drained.

“I was only meant to live a quiet life,” she said. “To support the Starhaven family, ensure they thrived. But then… the orders started coming. Strange, unsettling commands, direct from the Spirit King.”

She exhaled softly.

“At first, they were simple. The Spirit King asked me to take over the Starhaven family. To ensure they stayed loyal to the spirits, and remained at the top of Eldoralth’s food chain.”

She paused for a moment, her tone darkening.

“Then, months later, another order came. This time, he instructed me to take over Eldoralth entirely, its people, its lands, everything. A-at the time… I didn’t think it was wrong. He hadn’t told me to kill anyone or start a genocide. And since I was a Tier 7 being, my bond with you would eventually reach a level never seen before in the world. Taking over Eldoralth felt… achievable. So, I accepted the order.”

Her voice shook slightly.

“But what I didn’t know… was that the Spirit King had been watching everything. He knew all about you. Your unwillingness to train. Your lack of ambition. The way you didn’t seem to know what you truly wanted in life.”

Lumindra turned her head away, almost as if she couldn’t bear to meet Zoey’s eyes.

“So… he decided to give you a reason. Your aunt, Jeneva.”

Zoey flinched. Her entire body trembled at the mention of that name. She prayed, prayed, it wasn’t what she thought.

But Lumindra closed her eyes, as though the next words physically pained her to say.

“Your aunt Jeneva… wasn’t killed by the Zorvans. The Spirit King ordered her death. A spirit, her spirit, took her life.”

“N-no…” Tears poured from Zoey eyes. But Lumindra continued.

“He thought… if someone you loved died, it would give you a reason to fight. A purpose. And… it worked.”

She looked into Zoey’s tear streaked eyes and said,

“I can say I didn’t know what he did until it was already done. I can make that excuse. But it doesn’t change the fact that I kept it from you.

“And… I’m not done yet.”

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