Chapter 828 Doubts

Chapter 828 Doubts

Celestial's silence was deafening.

At Atticus's subpar answer, all she did was stare at him intensely. That was it? If she were being honest, Celestial had expected something more. Even if Atticus had to lie, wouldn't it have been better than this?

Yet, even after several seconds passed, the silence lingered. It seemed Atticus had no intention of adding anything further.

Celestial suddenly shook her head as if clearing her thoughts. Her eyes regained their focus, and she walked to the side, folding her hands behind her back.

"Do you know the history of the Starhaven family, Apex Atticus? How we came to be a tier-one family?"

Atticus glanced at her, a bit surprised by the abrupt change in topic. 'Her aura has also shifted.'

He could sense it immediately. When she arrived, her demeanor had been calm and expressionless. But now, with his heightened perception, he could see her aura was slightly muddled, as if she was unsure about something.

'Let's see where this goes,' Atticus thought, his curiosity piqued.

"Enlighten me," he responded after a moment.

There was a brief pause after his response as Celestial reached one side of the room and stared at the wall.

She began to speak.

"We were once weak," she started.

"We were weak, beautiful, and utterly helpless. That was what defined us. Our beauty made us prey to the world. The strong turned us into concubines, playthings, and worse. Some of us were even sold into prostitution to serve those who ruled over us. We were dominated, oppressed, and left with nothing but despair."

She suddenly turned back to Atticus, her crimson eyes growing colder as she recalled the history of the Starhaven family.

"That changed when we encountered the spirits. On the entire planet of Eldoralth, only those of Starhaven blood could interact with them. The spirits were as lonely as we were."

"Through our bond, they gave us power. Power to stand up for ourselves, to stop being victims. Generations later, we've gone from the oppressed to one of humanity's leading families."

Celestial turned back to him, her gaze piercing.

"Apex Atticus, I'm sure you've already figured it out. The spirit world, their purpose... Why are the spirits really here?"

Atticus's voice was calm. "I think you already know the answer to that question."

Celestial hesitated, her expression strained.

"B-but... they saved us."

Atticus tilted his head slightly. 'So, she's still conflicted,' he thought, understanding her turmoil.

Before this incident, Celestial's entire existence revolved around the spirits. She revered them. To her, they were everything. But now, that belief was crumbling.

"Let me ask you this," Atticus said. "You said it yourself, only your bloodline can bond with the spirits. If they could bond with anyone, do you think they would've chosen you in particular?"

Her eyes widened slightly as the implication sank in. 'He's right.'

If she was being completely honest with herself, Atticus had a point. The spirits had come to them because of their affinity, not because they wanted to save them.

"Stop making them out to be saints," Atticus continued. "There were millions of people suffering then. Why did they only help you?"

Celestial's gaze grew clouded, her mind swirling with conflicting thoughts. The only reason the spirits had helped them was that there was no other choice.

But then she suddenly shook her head, refusing to accept it.

"It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "They still saved us. That fact doesn't change, even if they had ulterior motives."

Atticus gave her a faint smile and nodded.

"It seems you've already formed an opinion," he said.

Celestial frowned, confused. "Pardon?"

"You have doubts," Atticus said plainly. "Why don't you just state them? I won't waste time convincing you otherwise."