Tower of Heaven

They had a place prepared. It was good for Atlas, since he had no plans of bringing them into the Phoenix Palace.

They were related to Horus in some way, but he still met them as bandits. He would need a proper explanation before deciding what to do with them.

The group moved to an area inside of a mountain. The entrance looked bleak, but the inside was quite homey. After moving through what looked like a natural cave, they pushed through a natural door.

The cave didn’t expand much in terms of height, with ceilings only ten feet high. However, it branched out into several different tunnels, each of which led to more similar rooms. It was as if the mountain had been specifically carved out so that these tunnels could perfectly connect together the various rooms that made up the group’s home.

It wasn’t too large, but there was more than enough space for fifteen people to live without getting in each other’s way. And, there was more than enough space for them to connect. Rather than the hideout of an organization, this looked like a semi-temporary family home.

They moved through a few different rooms before arriving at a large dining room. The fifteen of them sat at the table as if they had an established seating arrangement already while the little boy named Kusko pulled up a chair for Atlas.

Once everyone was seated, he was also the one to start the conversation. He was the only one with even a little bit of an amiable attitude.

"We don’t know who you are, and you don’t know who we are. It’s a little annoying, right? So, let’s start with introductions. My name is Kusko, and I’m the Captain’s right-hand man!"

The boy’s comrades looked at him with a variety of wry and helpless expressions, but as he kept urging them, they were left with no choice.

The bandit woman spoke begrudgingly, saying only her name.

"My name is Ganon. I still don’t trust you, so don’t act too friendly."

That came from the buff man. One by one, the rest also introduced themselves, some more excitedly and some with clear hostility in their eyes.

When it finally came to Atlas…

"I am Atlas."

…he followed the same tone that they had set.

"I am not here to have a jovial discussion. I only wish to know who you are, what your goal is, and if I should consider you my enemies."

He looked between them. All of them were strong, and they obviously had good feelings for Horus, but that was the end of it. He left the Phoenix Palace to learn about the meteor calamity. His main focus was still the meteor calamity.

’If they are Horus’ people, then it’s fine. I’ll just leave them be.’

He didn’t have any ideas about poaching them or using them, after all.

They were naturally put off by his brusque response, but it also acted as a sort of promise. He didn’t want to antagonize them more if he did not have to, so they did not have to try so hard to antagonize him.

"Well…"

Looking around the table and realizing that nobody else wanted to speak up, Kusko was once again forced to take the stand.

"Are you a friend of the Captain?"

"He is indeed one of my closest comrades."

Atlas responded with a nod. There was no need to deny it.

"Then, there’s no need to hide anything! The story goes like this…"

Kusko was a long-winded child, but he still got his point across. Essentially, each of the sixteen of them was a person Horus had rescued or helped as he climbed the Tower. They chose to follow him, as he had the qualities of a natural leader, and they were working as his arms and legs.

That was how it went until Horus disappeared. His communications cut off, and they were left without any direction.

They were left wondering what to do, and that was when they had the idea to find their lost leader.

After making several attempts, they could not find Horus at all. What they did find, on the other hand, was rumor of a treasure related to him.

Once they confirmed it, they acted, and that was what brought them here.

Evidently, the arrow in Atlas’ inventory was exactly the treasure they were looking for.

As a side note, apparently only Kusko called Horus, "Captain," but Atlas made sure to remember the form of address for the next time they met.

Atlas rubbed his temple. Or well, he imitated the act over his mask.

"So, you have no relation to the meteor shower?"

"Huh?"

Kusko cocked his head curiously. His motions reminded Atlas of a puppy.

"No, I thought that was just a thing that happened in Alfros. We figured it was a good idea when we saw all the phoenixes leaving, so we just took it."

"Haa…"

Well, Atlas’ lead was destroyed with that. Their theft had nothing to do with the meteor shower in the slightest. They didn’t even realize that it was an odd thing in the Neutral Zone. Rather, they were thieves who were attempting to help one of his friends.

Were they that uninformed, or had they been so focused on their task that they forgot to consider the oddity of the world around them?

"What is that arrow’s relation with Horus?"

"Ah, you would never believe it! Apparently, the Captain’s main weapon is actually a bow! We’ve never seen him use it, but that arrow is supposed to be one of the three arrows crafted for the Captain when he was a baby. We thought that if we had it, we’d be able to track him and rescue him from wherever he is."

Atlas furrowed his brows.

"Horus is a bow user?"

The Horus he knew loved to fight with his fists, but he did have a very nice pair of eyes. Oddly enough, Atlas could picture his belligerent friend in a backline role, shooting arrows and covering his allies.

Your journey continues on empire

After thinking about it for a moment, he nodded and accepted it.

"I still do not trust you."

His first words made Kusko’s face fall.

"However, Horus is my friend, and unlike you, I am aware of where he is. If that is truly his arrow, then I will do the job of delivering it to him for you."

Rather than entrusting it to these new people, he preferred to do it himself. He, for one, was a person he could always trust.

His words didn’t make anyone happier, since it meant that he would not give them the arrow back, but they were still a little bit hopeful.

"You know where the Captain is?"

Kusko’s tone was much more sincere than it had ever been.

Atlas was forced to sigh again.

’I guess I can leave the meteors to the phoenixes for a little longer.’

Before he left, he felt that he had to at least give this group the explanation they deserved.

Because their eyes said it clearly.

They were people who truly cared for Horus more than they cared about even their own lives.

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