Tower of Heaven

[You have come to a decision?]

Atlas stood in front of Hades once again.

His conversation with Persephone ended rapidly. After their brief encounter, she simply ushered him away from the garden.

[Well then, it is time for you to leave, is it not? I will see to it that you are treated well in the palace if you plan to return.]

With such words, she made it impossible for him to stay, not that he had plans to overstay his welcome.

If he wanted to converse with Persephone again and learn more about her, or if he wanted to see more of the gardens she’d created around the palace, he could do it at a later time.

Now wasn’t that time.

Nevertheless, after he left the garden, he didn’t dwell on the conversation.

He’d met too many Gods in rapid succession. At this point, he couldn’t bring himself to be surprised and linger on every detail of those interactions.

They were all interesting people with their own defined characters that refused to overlap in his head. Even as he stood in front of Hades again, Atlas couldn’t help but think about how his Divinity shaped the way he portrayed himself to the world.

"I have indeed. I have come to request transportation to the overworld."

Atlas answered Hades’ question simply. He showed his resolve already, and unlike Persephone, Hades didn’t seem like a person who enjoyed extraneous conversation.

[Hmm… I wish you luck on your journey.]

He didn’t say much. He only raised his arm and expressed some of his power, opening a pitch-black portal a few meters in front of himself.

The hero in front of him…

He didn’t quite have an opinion on him yet. He was an interesting fellow and the way he interacted with undead beings was certainly unique. He made contact with Persephone, but even the way he regarded her was different from the usual visitor.

He wouldn’t say that he didn’t have any goodwill towards this young cultivator, but it was too early to even call it goodwill.

This quest was a test in its own way. The only difference was that if Atlas managed to pass this test, his rewards would be much, much grander.

Atlas looked into the portal with narrowed eyes.

"Will I have to struggle to return here?"

[That is not necessary.]

It was really the last bit of hesitation in Atlas’ body. He truly didn’t want to have to go through hell to return to this Underworld.

[Take this token.]

Hades flicked his wrist, perfectly tossing a small golden bell into Atlas’ hands.

[Ring this bell when you enter Purgatory and you will be summoned directly to the palace.]

The clapper was made out of pure white soul flame. Even the gold was slightly illusory. It was undoubtedly an artifact, but Atlas doubted it had any use outside of the Underworld.

’Having to return to Purgatory is…less than ideal, however, it is the best possible scenario.’

At the very least, he would be summoned from Purgatory immediately.

The steps he took to gain entry to the Underworld in the overworld didn’t need to be repeated. Even if Atlas had to fight another Underworld Guardian, he could choose one that was easier to defeat.

In the end, the journey that was extremely hard to make at first would be several times easier the second time.

"Next time we meet, I will be here with your prized treasure."

He said those words as he looked into the God of Death’s eyes.

And just before he stepped into the portal, he saw the first real change of expression on Hades’ face.

[Good.]

The God of Death’s lips curved into a smile, his eyes tinged with amusement.

[I shall await your return.]

Then, Atlas was inside the portal.

The world he was returning to…

It certainly wasn’t the one he remembered leaving.

***

Whoosh!

A cool breeze.

It was always something like that, wasn’t it?

The cool breeze, the warm sunlight, or even the feeling of fresh dirt beneath one’s feet. When returning to the world after a long period away, these small things were what made it feel real.

Atlas didn’t know where he was. When his body materialized in the world, he was standing on the slope of a mountain and looking down on an unfamiliar scenery.

It was a place he had yet to visit, but that wasn’t odd. There was much more land in the Tower that he hadn’t explored than land that he had.

Spiritual sense spread through the space within seconds, and only when Atlas confirmed that he was alone on this mountain did he fall down onto the ground.

His body shook violently. Atlas struggled onto his fists and then moved himself into a meditative position. He held down the nausea filling his throat and exhaled deeply.

Every single spark of his existence was vibrating. His soul and body had just returned from a prolonged trip to the land of the dead, so it would have been stranger for him to be completely fine.

His body and soul forgot what harmony felt like for only a moment before they started to integrate again, but that single second practically tore apart his mind.

Atlas sat down and circulated his energy. He felt fresh qi from nature entering his system for the first time in more time than he even knew. He held his mind together as if he was using rope to tie the pieces to one another, and slowly, he regained control of himself.

He knew that this wasn’t a situation entirely caused by his body’s need to adapt.

No, that problem was solved when his qi circulation reached a constant and balanced state.

The problem was his mind.

His mind was broken not by the strain of travel, but by the strain of the journey. He was shattered in Purgatory, he was shattered in the path of torture, and he was just waiting for the moment when he was shattered again.

’A break

Feeling the cool wind on his face, he truly had the urge to take one. He couldn’t deny that it was necessary.

’However

Something within him told him to keep moving. Something within him told him that he wasn’t allowed to stop. If he stopped now, everything would go wrong. If he let go of the momentum here, then everything would spiral out of his control.

’Everything has gone mostly as expected thus far.’

He suffered more than he thought he would, but that was a variable that could be accounted for.

Variables that couldn’t be accounted for would only appear if he gave them the time to fester. If they couldn’t become problems before he moved past them, they didn’t matter.

Atlas cultivated silently on the mountain until he reached total stability.

Though it wasn’t his original intention, almost twenty drops of qi in his dantian had been liquefied in the process. It seemed they had been waiting for the moment he returned and gave them attention.

It was a small improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. As he celebrated it silently, Atlas grabbed a communication talisman from his spatial ring.

He couldn’t stop moving.

He couldn’t lose control. Explore more at

Therefore, immediately after he left the Underworld, he was already contacting Scarlet Fox.

And, like always, her response came almost immediately.

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