Tower of Heaven

The air was hot enough to burn the hairs off one's arms. The breeze was dry and painful when it touched the skin.

The sky was a deep orange and red color. Usually, there was a decently thick cloud layer hovering over Alfros, but it was gone today.

The red sun in the sky cast a dim yet powerful light on the land below, illuminating the scene taking place.

It was a circular clearing within a volcanic mountain range. The scenery had changed significantly since the last time it was seen.

The only things that remained the same were this clearing and the massive volcano behind it.

But even they were changing now.

[I observed your progress while you were still in this realm. I have to say, I was impressed.]

Rumble!

The ground rumbled strongly as the volcanic rock was shifted out of place. Atlas was forced to jump out of the clearing and scale one of the nearby mountains.

Nevertheless, that voice reached him as clearly as ever.

[You do not even realize how your actions in this realm contributed to the Legend of your Society. You have no idea just how miraculous and fortuitous your journey these few months has been.]

The voice was starting to become clearer. The ground rumbled less with every syllable, but that wasn't because the voice was losing power.

It was leaving the ground, losing its connection to the earth as it became its own entity.

[I have decided to show myself. You must already understand what this means.]

Atlas nodded even though he knew the guardian wasn't asking for a response.

Before his eyes, the volcano itself became a being of unrealistic proportions.

Its entire body was made of the same volcanic rock as the world. Its legs were so wide that ten men could hug each one without overlapping. Magma flowed through the cracks and divets in the rock, making its body glow in an orange hue.

Its torso was like a piece of ornate armor. It was as if several plates of volcanic rock had been layered over each other to form an almost demonic-looking chestplate. The contours in the rock looked like the roots of a tree, showing both age and power.

Its arms were smaller than its legs but not by much, with each hand having five fingers like a human. As for its head…was it closer to a basket?

It had a mostly flat and cylindrical head that rose up into the shape of a crown. Its eyes and mouth were openings leading to the pit of lava trapped inside.

Oddly enough, the lava didn't spill through those holes. It pressed against them, ready to burst forth the moment it was given the command.

Standing atop the mountain, Atlas was face to face with the guardian.

[The nature of this trial is not something that can be attempted without the knowledge of what is being attempted. You are challenging the right to enter the underworld as a living being. If you attain victory, you will be transported to a space that you may never be able to escape. Are you prepared for what lies ahead?]

The guardian's mouth didn't move, but its booming voice still entered the world.

It told Atlas exactly what he had been seeing in his mind for the past half year. Ever since that moment when Artemia and Horus were kidnapped, this had been his goal.

"I am prepared."

He responded firmly, drawing his weapons.

The Hell Guardian only looked at him for a single moment more.

[Very well.]

And then, it no longer spoke.

BOOOOOOOOM!

A massive arm swung out. The guardian's hand slammed into the mountain where Atlas stood, sending plumes of lava flying into the air.

RUMBLE!

The force of the impact took a chunk out of the mountain's base. As it went crumbling to the ground, Atlas jumped into the air.

'Finally.'

There was no fear in his heart facing a being dozens of times his size. There was only calmness and fighting spirit in his mind.

This was his moment.

It wasn't any random moment. This was the moment he had been setting up for so long. He would not feel anything unnecessary here.

'It is large, which means its movements are laborious.'

It couldn't match his speed, but to make up for that weakness–

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ground shattered and four geysers of molten lava spewed up into the air around Atlas. Hot lava rained down all around him, forcing him to shield himself.

'Its range is monstrous.'

Tshhh!

His qi made a hissing sound as the lava burned through it.

[Astral Step]

Atlas strengthened his barrier and rushed through the lava geysers. He felt his skin burning away in certain places, but it was a worthy sacrifice.

'As long as I am far away, it will never miss.'

Its every attack would cover so much ground that he would just be stuck in an endless array of flames and lava.

'And, it's not just a flame guardian.'

It was a guardian of the gates to the underworld. How could flames be its only power?

Atlas pressed off of the air around him and blasted forward. He knew that the sickles wouldn't be able to do much damage as projectile weapons, so he kept them firmly in his grasp.

Within moments, he was directly in front of the guardian's face.

[Harvest Moo–

[You are too rash]

Those words rang out before Atlas could mobilize his qi. At this distance, the vibrations they caused slammed into him like mountains.

Each word pushed him back and rattled his organs.

He found himself barreling through the air before he could do even a single bit of damage. Your next chapter awaits on empire

"Tch!"

'It isn't so powerful that it can kill me in an instant. As it said, its strength is matched to mine.'

However, its strengths outweighed its weaknesses, at least from a preliminary inspection. It wouldn't be an easy opponent.

'That changes nothing.'

Once again, he stepped off of the air. It could push him back with its words, sure, but it wouldn't be able to stop him from attacking.

[Flow Like Silk]

It was an attack meant to be executed from the ground, but Atlas essentially turned the sky into something similar. He turned into a bolt of blue that streaked through the air, appearing once more on the other side of the guardian's head.

The blue line cut into its crown, but the rock hardly took any damage.

Turning around, Atlas prepared himself and galvanized his qi.

[Dark Flame Dragon Claw]

He swept his hand out. A clawed projection of a dragon's claw made of everburning flames crashed into the back of the Hell Guardian's head.

The titan didn't move or flinch, but Atlas could see chunks of rock falling away.

'This isn't the answer.'

BOOOOOOOOM!

By the time he'd finished making those two attacks, the guardian moved again. Out of the crown atop its head, floating rivers of lava flew into the air.

They chased Atlas down like snakes, forcing him back into a defensive position.

He hadn't been able to make a single ounce of progress in the first several seconds of battle. It almost seemed like breaking through the guardian's defenses simply wasn't the answer.

'It isn't the answer?'

A thought suddenly came to Atlas' head.

Perhaps this fight wasn't meant to be as direct as he originally expected.