Tower of Heaven

Eventually, the face of that woman who he was forced to call his "liege" was revealed. She was a top beauty of the mortal world, someone that even some cultivators would covet, however, it meant nothing to Atlas.

Regardless of her beauty, she was not a real person. More importantly, seeing her face meant that he'd completed the trial. He no longer needed to be involved with her or her people.

[Ascender [Atlas Vaun] has completed the 26th Floor Trial.]

When he saw it, he wanted to leave immediately. He decided to slip out that very night when he was separated from the rest of the group, but he found himself in the midst of an unexpected encounter.

"You are leaving?"

He was used to seeing her as a black shadow, so this was a new kind of experience.

"I am."

Atlas conversed without feeling surprised.

It was truly difficult to tell whether these Replicas had consciousness or not. They spoke as if they did, but it also could have been a machination of the Tower.

Even in this moment, as the woman confronted him, Atlas couldn't tell if she was acting on her own or if she was following a directive.

"I knew that you would leave," she said.

"They always leave. There are more important things to you all than the happenings of my realm, after all."

She spoke as if she understood what the concept of an Ascender was, but she never said it outright.

"Won't you stay?"

Atlas knew it was coming.

"I can promise you the best life you could possibly live in this realm, so won't you please stay?"

It was spoken in a faltering voice that was more fragile than glass. She spoke to him like she was showing a side of herself that nobody else knew.

But she chose the wrong person to show it to.

"I am sorry, but it is as you said. There are more important things for me to do."

There wasn't a pause in his movements at all. Despite her words and her subtle desperation, he did not even glance at her.

"It is truly impossible for us to reach you, isn't it?"

The woman laughed hollowly. She wasn't necessarily talking to Altas anymore, merely speaking her frustrations into the world.

"This world is real too. We are real too. They may call us something different, but must we truly be separated by such terms and definitions?"

Atlas gave her one look. Just one was enough.

"That is for you to find on your own. I am not the hero you are searching for."

This was a path that couldn't stop for anyone. It didn't matter if she was a Replica or a living being. It didn't matter if her emotions were real or fake.

Atlas was selfish. He was a cultivator who cared for himself over anybody else. He was not someone who would look away from the struggles of innocents, but he also wasn't someone willing to jump into another person's problems to his own detriment.

This woman whose name he was never able to learn could never become valuable enough in his life to properly convince him to stay on the 26th Floor. That was the key difference between a Replica and a living being.

She knew she couldn't say anymore. She could only watch as Atlas walked away and disappeared into the distance.

"My name…"

She whispered, hoping that he could hear her over the wind.

"My name is Fremaveia. Good luck on your journey, young Ascender."

As the words drifted away with the breeze, Atlas faded into the moonlight.

Whether her words reached him or not would only ever be known by the skies and stars. Whether she was real or an illusion, only the heavens could tell.

This path… this story would never cross her path again.

So, as she wished him good fortune in the swaying wind, the world could only wish the same for her.

Atlas was already at the Celestial Ladder, reaching for the 27th Floor.

***

The rivers of time were unstoppable. They could not be inhibited or impeded. The winds changed along with the seasons. People died and people were born. Throughout it all, while supporting it all, flowed the rivers of time.

In the next four months, Atlas conquered the trials standing between him and the 30th Floor. On the 27th, he became an assassin. On the 28th, he became a farmer, and on the 29th, he embodied the life of a wandering cultivator.

These floors were unique in their own ways and presented challenges he needed to face, but by far the most interesting thing was always his battles with Cain.

Cain always managed to find him. He could run and hide as much as he wanted. He could take breaks and move irregularly so his position couldn't be tracked, but he would still end up found.

There wasn't a way to easily escape from Cain's game, and Atlas accepted that. Instead, he did as he said and viewed it as a valuable training experience.

Cain's power was incredibly unique. During their fight on the 27th Floor, he revealed the very first technique that Atlas saw him use.

[Midnight's Fury]

Atlas thought he was using the Dao of Metal to create his arm blades, but the qi he produced did not belong to such an element.

It was dark and malevolent, containing all of the qualities of death.

The technique turned the daylight into darkness and invaded Atlas' body with hostile energy, corroding him from the inside.

When Cain charged at him with the arm blades as well, it posed an immense challenge that he couldn't escape.

During that fight, he was forced to reveal more about his strength. Really, the only thing he could keep hidden was his Dao of Water.

Subtly, as he used [Regeneration], he started to grasp the concepts of wood as well. It was because of this comprehension that he was able to succeed.

During that battle, he just barely managed to manifest [Guriyatra's Life Seed]. The slight life suction force was the exact thing that allowed him to outpace Cain's stamina and take the final victory.

They continued their bout through the 28th Floor. This particular battle could almost be called unsatisfactory, as it ended unnaturally before either of them had a chance to properly enjoy it.

They clashed furiously with their lives on the line, when abruptly, they were assailed by meteors.

The entire realm was showered by large and small rocks for upwards of an hour. Atlas later learned that this phenomenon was normal and happened every few days on the 28th Floor, but it was still unfortunate.

After all, during that fight, as a result of the meteor that fell on their position, Cain was left unable to block Atlas' attack and died just like that.

For them, it felt like everything culminated on the 29th Floor. Because it culminated on the 29th Floor, Cain waited until Atlas finished his task to initiate his attack.

Well, perhaps that was not the correct wording.

Atlas waited for him in front of the Celestial Ladder, and like clockwork, he appeared.

"You could've run, you know?"

He spoke in a jovial tone as if they were friends.

"Are you sure? In my opinion, you would have appeared here regardless of what I tried to do."

They were used to each other's personalities now. They had already been fighting for months.

So, like clockwork, they fought once more.

They fought as if they were enemies destined to face each other since the beginning of time.

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