Tower of Heaven

If there was anything more to be done, Atlas would inevitably die.

The moment clarity entered the world inside the Hell Guardian, Atlas' body collapsed.

In the first place, he'd run out of qi some time ago. His body had become a medium through which several types of qi from the surroundings mixed, but his own qi supply was exhausted when he was forced to combat the death qi.

Did the damage he'd taken even have to be mentioned? He was burned, sapped of vitality, and had his arm cut off all in the span of only a few minutes. The mental exhaustion he felt after completely untangling the threads of vitality couldn't just be laughed off either.

When his body sensed that there was no danger in the vicinity, it gave up. His qi left him, his strength left him, and he plummeted to the solid surface below.

Bang!

He landed with a loud sound, just barely managing to stabilize himself so he didn't get more injured in the process. Sitting down, he finally stopped using [Regeneration] and supplemented its effect with healing pills.

He felt like fainting right there. His body was really about to keel over and stop listening to his command.

However, he forced it to stay upright. He forced his eyes to stay open and aware of his surroundings.

It was silent for a moment. The swirling dark energy in the air didn't try to make any moves as if it was waiting for something.

This silence was only broken by the voice of the Hell Guardian.

[Relax yourself.]

The rumbling tone was far less abrasive than it used to be. Atlas was almost confused when he heard it, questioning if that was the same Hell Guardian he knew.

He had felt it fall to its knees, but he didn't know anything that happened after that.

Actually, the change was more significant than he imagined.

[I made you aware from the start. My strength will always only match yours. Did you think this would be an impossible feat?]

Atlas didn't have the energy to respond properly. He only nodded his head, focusing mostly on healing.

His attention was down on his own body. Everything else was slowly healing. Only his arm refused to heal from the strength of the pills he had alone.

[This was a test; a challenge only meant to prove your worthiness to enter the underworld. The underworld itself is an even greater challenge, a struggle that trumps this one in every possible way. You have done enough to gain entrance, but that is the end of it.]

Fighting against the Hell Guardian certainly wasn't easy. Atlas' battle sense and bravery carried him a long way, but in the end, didn't he suffer a lot already?

Still, what the Hell Guardian said made sense. Even if it was one of the more difficult Underworld Guardians to challenge, it was, at the end of the day, still only an entrance examiner.

The true trials awaiting those who challenged the guardians were at their destination itself.

[A portal will appear before you at any moment. As long as you enter it, you will be halfway to your final destination.]

On queue, that terrifying black energy moved. It encircled itself and swirled, creating a large gateway into pure blackness.

"You want me to enter that?"

Atlas couldn't imagine submerging his entire body in a force that could erode him so easily.

[Fear not. It will not harm you any longer. In the first place, it is not hostile to you. You were only warned because you touched it without permission.]

Narrowing his eyes, he stared into that gateway. There was no aura coming from it, almost like it didn't exist at all.

'Is this the nature of the underworld?'

He questioned it with a severe expression. If that was the case, then perhaps his arm was only a small loss.

"Will it heal?"

He had to ask. He couldn't feel secure about anything until he knew for certain.

[...]

The Hell Guardian took a moment to respond.

[It will. You will not easily regain your faculties, but it is possible. For the time being, however, it will not affect you. Have you forgotten your destination?]

Atlas nodded. He'd done enough research to understand at least that much.

In the underworld, even if he was a living being, his soul would take priority over his body. In that kind of state, his left arm would still be intact,

Only in the real world where his body had prominence did this problem exist. But, the real world was also the one that mattered most.

Atlas clicked his tongue as he was forced to accept that healing his arm wouldn't be as easy as waiting for his qi to replenish.

"I just have to walk through that portal, correct?"

As he asked the question, he slowly got to his feet. His energy had reached an acceptable enough level for him to stop showing weakness.

[Correct. Though, before you do so, there is something I'd like to show you.]

The Hell Guardian briefly mentioned that it had been watching Atlas along his adventures, but it didn't specify anything.

Atlas didn't realize that throughout the meteor calamity, he had been trailed by this entity. It existed as one with the earth, so he was unable to sense it, but it was always present.

It watched his actions in the Feng Clan. It watched him fight and tame the Kitsune cub. It watched him confront enemies and allies alike as he moved towards its goals.

The Hell Guardian had high hopes for Atlas in ways that others couldn't necessarily fathom.

It was due to those hopes that it decided to show him what others wouldn't necessarily see in this situation. Discover hidden content at empire

Because even his solutions to the problems he encountered were unique.

In most cases, Ascenders would use force. Even when they used their heads, they found ways to banish the death qi around them rather than looking for ways to unravel the core.

Atlas' methods were as unique as his thought process.

[Perhaps you will learn something in the future from what you see here.]

Atlas' vision suddenly expanded. He saw a view of the world outside.

Or, more importantly, he saw a view of the Hell Guardian.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Huge chunks of rock were falling from its body, revealing the bronze exterior that was hidden below.

The Hell Guardian was never meant to be a volcanic entity. As Atlas had been thinking from the start, it was more of a golem than a living entity.

Its body was made out of pure bronze, shaped in the form of a beautiful armor that would make any knight fall to their knees in jealousy.

As the rocky shape of its head fell away, a beautiful helm was revealed. It was ornately decorated with patterns that had been painstakingly etched onto its figure.

This kind of grand scene, this appearance that was completely hidden…

Why was it revealed now?

Did Atlas' interference have anything to do with it? Was this the result of him freeing the dark energy from those roots?

'It can't be.'

Atlas shook his head.

[You will not understand anything now. That is how it should be, as what you have seen is related to things you have never contacted. Eventually, this scene that seems insignificant will hold great value in your mind. I have shown it to you for the sake of that time.]

Essentially, he was too green, so what should have been profound was nothing more than the scene of a bronze armor being revealed beneath the rocks.

"Hmm…"

He didn't necessarily know if he should thank the Hell Guardian or not. Instead of thinking about it, he focused his attention back on the gateway.

Before he realized it, he was already walking towards it. His soul was being pulled in by an unavoidable current.

'This is it.'

He didn't feel any hesitation in this moment.

Why would he?

His thoughts were the same as when he first approached the guardian.

This was what he had been pushing towards with all of his power for the past half a year.

He had been desperately working to save his friends, and now, he was standing in front of the very gateway that would take him to where he needed to be.

Why would he hesitate?

Why would he question himself?

His steps didn't halt even once.

He feared the darkness, but fear had no place in his heart anymore.

He only saw the goal in his eyes.

One step after another. One step after another, he approached until he was standing directly in front of the portal.

And then, with the entire world unaware, under the gazes of the Gods themselves and the Hell Guardian, Atlas disappeared from the world.

He entered a plane of death, a plane where he would not meet another mortal being for a very, very long time.

Atlas took his first step into the underworld.

But, for certain others, the underworld had become a much more familiar environment than it ever should have been.