Tower of Heaven

"KRGH!"

Atlas groaned in pain, but he realized that he had no choice but to deal with it. Since this was the work of his own treasure, it was at least guaranteed that he would not die.

For several seconds, Atlas existed in the world without a heart. The qi that gathered around him and formed a torrent inside of his body substituted its presence and provided vitality to his body, allowing him to live at the very least.

However, he was not free from the pain. He felt as his blood lost its path of circulation and aimlessly wandered through his body. His eyes opened wide as he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay silent.

Those several seconds were a true hell, but they were bound to come to an end. The pieces of Atlas' heart and the blood spread throughout his body coagulated near the center of his chest. It formed an organ much more powerful than the one that was left behind, one bathed in a misty stellar blue light.

"Haa…haa…haa…"

Atlas sat alone, sweating buckets.

'That was more difficult than any of the others.'

The pain was one thing, but the addition of suffocation and encroaching death made it a very unpleasant experience. Atlas, for one, did not want to experience it a second time.

Always was a stretch, but in the context of the situation, yes. His suffering would be properly rewarded.

The vitality that flowed out of the newly reforged heart was much more bountiful than what flowed through him before. He felt like his every action was filled with life. His every movement was springier and lighter.

A qi blade appeared on his finger and cut into the skin on his forearm. Hot blood flowed out for a few moments, but there was something different about it.

'Is it flowing slower?'

The blood spilled at the same rate that it always did, but Atlas could feel that the source of vitality was draining at a much slower pace than it should have been.

'Even if I bleed the same, I will not be the first to die, is it?'

It wasn't something like a great automatic improvement in his strength, but small building blocks with incredible foundational power such as this heart would become the core of his strength eventually.

He didn't plan to look down on the change just because its effect looked minor on paper.

'I feel that I should be exhausted, but I am actually filled with energy.'

Of course he was. He'd just broken through so his energy was livelier than before, and with the change in his heart, his physical body was the same. Atlas could be said to be in a peak physical state right now.

Whoosh!

The sound of searing wind entered his ears. The hot breeze carried his senses into the surroundings, expanding Atlas' perception beyond himself.

[Intrinsic Foresight]

He activated it carelessly. His intuition nudged him into it ever-so-slightly.

And, because Atlas expanded his perception, he was able to see them approaching.

'They are setting off intuition.'

A group of six people who had their faces wrapped in a strange cloth. The closer they came, the stronger his intuition signaled him, however, at its height, it was only a slight push.

'Their presence will aid me, but it is also fine if I choose not to engage them.'

Atlas fell into thought for only a moment before making his decision.

'Well, there is no harm in meeting them if they have the potential to be useful.'

He didn't wait for them to reach him. He stepped into the ground and pushed off, vanishing into the horizon.

Since he'd sensed them first, it was his duty to give them a warm welcome.

***

Dragons, as a species, whether they were from the Heavenly side or the Cosmic side, were independent creatures. "Dragon Clans" were actually a relatively new concept that was formed a few millennia before the Tower appeared.

Because of that, most smaller Dragon Clans didn't have any sort of backing at the beginning. Their strongest members were weaker than the members of the strongest clans like the Azure Dragons.

In that situation, they were forced to group up. Especially when the Tower appeared, the scattered Dragon Clans all grouped into two overarching entities meant to ensure the overall survival of their race.

While the Heavenly Dragons chose to remain with other beasts and create their own space, the Cosmic Dragons chose to follow the established power of Heaven's Gate.

These two sides had differing opinions. They had differing views and differing origins. They were of the same species, but that was where their similarities ended.

The Heavenly Dragons and Cosmic Dragons were practically fated to be at war. They were fated to clash and clash until they'd formed irreconcilable grudges between themselves.

However, the current enmity between the two sides wasn't based on something so simple.

What began as a rivalry between two different sides of the same species became a true blood debt.

A blood debt…

…that was entertained by silence.

Despite the occurrences of the past, it was oddly quiet.

There was a strange lack of conflict between them in the past one thousand or so years. At first, the people of the Tower wondered if something sinister was happening, but they were forced to accept that the silence was truly just silence.

For one thousand years, the two sides acted like their enemies simply didn't exist.

But the perception that their feud was over was only on the Heavenly Dragon side. Under Alaric's rule, they had carved themselves into the Tower properly. They no longer needed to worry about such conflicts.

The Cosmic Dragon Clans were indeed plotting. With the aid of Heaven's Gate, they formed an elaborate plot over the course of several hundred years.

The move against Artemia was only the first.

"They are not acting how we wished."

A voice rang out in a grandiose scenery of wealth. It was an ornate gold and white amphitheater with eight large thrones on its cardinal points. The voice came from one of said thrones, and his responses came from the others.

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"They are not. There is no doubt that the Calamity Dragon wanted to do something. There were several reports about great tremors through Vanatos. Somebody must have stopped him."

They knew Alaric Tatsuya well enough. He would never make the wise decision on his own even if he knew it was the right thing to do. His heart was always ablaze. It was both his greatest strength and his most easily exploited weakness.

"It is too early to say anything. They are still unable to point fingers at us. The messenger…"

"He is gone. Such a person no longer exists in the Tower."

"Good."

"Then, shall we maintain silence?"

"Yes, but we should also continue. If they do not act accordingly, then we can only force them to do so."

"We have more than enough ability to provoke them into action without using our own claws."

The eight people who sat on those thrones were in agreement with each other. Their clans did not get along whatsoever, but they who held absolute power all had the same mind.

They, as the ones who led the Cosmic Dragons, would find themselves at the peak of the Tower.

Above Heavenly Dragons.

Above Heaven's Gate.

Above the Heavens themselves.

Only when they stood at that position could they ever call themselves content.

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