Tower of Heaven

The conflict Atlas hoped to enter became meaningless.

In his mind, he saw a collection of dark energy strands flowing into and through his body. They flowed through his soul and were sucked into the black hole.

The energy that came out of that interaction didn’t become the same pure qi that existed in the outside world. Rather than a nice azure blue color, it remained a grayish-black hue.

It felt almost normal, but when Atlas tried to get in contact with it…

’What did I feel?’

An inexplicable sensation coursed through his nerves. His eyes shot open, and immediately, his body lowered into a fighting stance.

He retreated several steps back until he hit a wall, looking at the being that appeared in front of him.

Rather, he was looking at the environment that had come to surround him without his knowledge.

[You pulled an interesting one into your realm this time, didn’t you?]

The woman who spoke evidently was not addressing him. She spoke to someone who Atlas could not see, but he did not doubt the presence of that individual.

After all, even this woman’s voice rattled his mind.

Even her voice made him feel like dropping to his knees and submitting himself. It was as if every bone in his body saw him as inferior to that woman.

She was a woman of exceptional beauty. She was a woman who radiated the color gold, a color that was most prominent in the waterfall of hair cascading down her back.

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She sat in the air with a posture any man would find seductive, her eyes holding a special kind of charm. However, it was just as subtly clear that anyone who approached her would die without question.

Why was a character of this caliber appearing?

What did she have to do with Atlas?

He didn’t speak. Remaining where he was, still ready for combat, he stared at that woman with piercing eyes.

[Hahahaha…]

She laughed, her voice like heavenly chimes blowing in the wind.

[Boy, what is that expression on your face?]

Did she expect him to answer her? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he was feeling a dangerous aura from her that he couldn’t ignore.

His body may have been pressured to submit, but his mind was screaming at him to not acknowledge that woman’s presence.

Her eyes turned a degree colder when she realized he had no plans of entertaining her.

[You know…]

The golden aura around her became a level stronger.

BANG!

Atlas was slammed to his knees. The ground below him cracked into pieces as he gritted his teeth.

[This isn’t the kind of demeanor you should show to your seniors.]

She had an innocent smile on her face as she spoke, but her words were filled with knives.

She glared at him with that gaze, a gaze that made his body freeze up.

Though it didn’t seem like it, she had turned her very presence into torture.

Atlas’ body was being squeezed by the pressure of her aura and his blood was being frozen by the force of her words. She used the power of a Divinity so subtly that it didn’t kill him, but just enough that it made him feel a pain worse than death.

"Khhhh…!"

For what reason?

Did she feel pleasure tormenting a person she’d never met? Or did she take offense at such a little thing because she saw mortal beings as nothing?

Atlas genuinely didn’t care about her reasoning.

All he knew was that she was trying to kill him over nothing more than his refusal to speak.

He strained his neck as he held his voice in. He stared her in the eye, refusing to bend to her will.

As her expression twisted into something uglier and her qi started to press on him even harder…

[Enough.]

A cool voice spread through the space, completely dispersing the woman’s aura.

[You come into my domain and act wild for what reason? If you wish to act a fool, return to Asgard first.]

A cloud of darkness descended from the sky. When it touched down on the ground, it dispersed, revealing the figure within.

[That boy is someone I personally invited here. Are you toying with him because you are aware of that?]

Her tone was powerful, completely drowning out the other woman’s ego.

Her expression had become much, much uglier than Atlas could have ever made it.

After all, no matter how their power matched each other’s in any other realm, this was the domain she ruled. This was where her power was most concentrated.

Against the ruler of Hel, the person after whom the realm was named, she could not say a word.

[Tch. Remember what I’ve said. I will say no more.]

She accepted defeat easily after considering the situation. After giving Atlas one last harsh look, she vanished into a cluster of light.

In the meanwhile, the woman who saved him looked at Atlas with a smile on her face.

[Welcome.]

His eyes were still as sharp as ever, but she didn’t respond nearly as negatively as the other woman.

Half of her body was that of a stunningly attractive woman with black hair and green eyes. She had a serene look to her, but she also seemed to be cloaked in misfortune.

The other half was that of a corpse. Rotting skin peeled off of her skeleton, revealing her internals to the world.

Atlas didn’t know where to look. He didn’t know how to perceive this person in the slightest.

[I’ve been expecting you.]

However, as her words entered his ears, one thing became fact in his mind.

Right now, he was encountering Death herself.

***

When the war stopped, it never ended.

Horus didn’t realize it would be like this when he first joined Spirit Arm. He knew they were at war with some other nearby influences, but he didn’t realize what war meant in the afterlife.

People didn’t die until their souls were completely eliminated. The more one’s cultivation rose, the harder it was for the soul to be extinguished.

The people of this realm fought in wars because it was the easiest way for them to accumulate spirit essence and grow their cultivation.

Those who fell would lose everything they earned while those who lived would grow much stronger than ever before.

This kind of war was ceaseless. Until both sides agreed to take a break, they would never stop fighting.

Horus was caught in it without a way to escape. He fought when they fought and almost died alongside them. He desperately struggled, increasing his strength slowly and gradually.

He pushed into enemy territory and charged into their main camp. As he continued to draw blood from his enemies and banish their souls, his eyes caught sight of a flashing light in the distance.

It was the glimmer of something shining off of a metal surface.

’Metal?’

There were no metals in the Underworld. Metal was a rare commodity worth more than even spirit essence.

How was there metal here?

Horus fought in that direction, pushing through the crowd until there was nothing separating him from his goal.

And that was when he saw it.

The face of a person he hadn’t seen in years.

"Artemia!"

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