Chapter 321: Chapter 320: Make it so.
Atlas rose above the spires of the half-broken castle, air peeling away from his skin in molten ribbons.
The wind screamed around him, folding into thunder as he broke the sky with a single beat of force.
The world blurred into colorless streaks until the summit formed beneath him, jagged stone and crumbled parapets where only ghosts of kings once stood.
Doom.
The sonic boom rippled down into the valley. Below, priests clutched their robes against the shock, warriors staggered, and even angels shielded their eyes from the blast. Beside him, Ureil trailed, her four wings snapping with violent rhythm, each stroke a desperate echo of his velocity.
Boom.
She landed a breath behind him, dust curling around her boots. The air still trembled, still carried the aftertaste of Atlas’ flight—ozone sharp on the tongue, static prickling skin.
Ureil smiled faintly. Pride? Maybe admiration. She pulled her wings close, feathers shimmering with faint mana heat, and stepped beside him.
His golden eyes stared outward, down upon the endless sprawl of Hell. Fires twinkled like cities, rivers of ash pulsed like veins, and mountains rose like the ribs of some dead titan.
It was a view fit for gods, or for prisoners who thought themselves kings.
But Atlas’ expression... unreadable. The line of his jaw tight, the shadow of thought across his face.
"Prophet Atlas..." Ureil’s voice was tentative, almost respectful now.
He lifted a hand, silencing her, pointing outward to the tallest parapet. "We’ll talk there."
And already he was gone, carried on the gale of his own strength. She shielded her eyes, laughter caught in her throat at the sheer violence of his presence.
Even angels—beings who remembered wars that tore constellations—rarely matched that kind of force.
When she reached him, he was waiting, arms folded, gaze locked on the black expanse. She joined him at the edge. For a moment, neither spoke. The world howled far beneath them.
Finally, Atlas’ voice cut the silence. Low. Weighted. "...You hate demons?"
Ureil blinked. "...Immensely." Her words were not just answer but creed, heavy with centuries.
"They have been our mortal enemy since the age of Beginning. Their corruption devours. Their hands—" she clenched a fist—"slaughtered my kin, and yours too."
Atlas’ lips parted, then pressed shut. A sigh escaped instead, long and frayed. His mind sparked, chasing threads, forcing them into tapestry.
A story. I need a story.
Aurora’s voice drifted in his memory, that moment when she spoke to Azazel and the so-called elder.
Every word had carried weight, every lie stitched with fragments of truth. The priests below had listened like drowning men clutching rope.
If I am to lead them, I need the same. No—stronger.
He looked at his arm. The mark glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat. Loki’s blood there, Loki’s pain.
He remembered the gods, remembered their sons, the demigods striding mortal realms and hell alike, chaos incarnate.
They need a hero. And a villain. I cannot give them Heaven as enemy yet. No... lean first on those who walk between. Demigods. The spawn. And from there... gods themselves.
His gaze turned to Ureil.
"So. The true goal of the Fallen... is to return to Heaven. To reclaim your place by His side."
Her wings flexed, feathers catching the dim light. She did not hesitate. "Indeed. But as Samiel has spoken, we tried. And failed. Again and again." Her voice cracked at the edges, worn by memory.
Atlas glimpsed a shadow of her past—armies of angels charging upward, banners torn, wings burned from the sky. The reclamation war. The silence of Heaven in answer.
"So you know," Atlas pressed, "that with your numbers halved, your might gutted, you cannot even attempt it again."
"Yes." The single syllable hung like stone. No denial. Only resignation.
"And still," he said, words sharp, "you will not join hands with others. Not demons. Not mortals. Not anyone beyond your kin."
"No." She answered outright, conviction diamond-hard. Pride shaped her every syllable.
Atlas exhaled, heavy, dragging the breath from his core. Stubborn. Bound by pride. Blind.
He needed more than their blind loyalty. He needed faith that bent, that yielded to vision. He needed—
The thought struck him like lightning. Sudden. Terrible. Brilliant.
Oh... ohhhh.
His eyes flared gold.
{{{{{ ...Are you sure? }}}}}
The voice slipped into his mind like a whisper between heartbeats.
Atlas stiffened. He knew that voice. The guide. The shadow that slithered behind his choices, always at the moment when the world itself seemed to tilt.
You again.
{{{{{ Always me. You make decisions that fracture the road of history. I am bound to caution. }}}}}
Atlas’ teeth clenched. ’You sound afraid.’
{{{{{ Afraid? No. I don’t know fear. But I knows storms. And this—this choice—you will carve the storm into history. }}}}}
Atlas’ jaw tightened. Then let history drown.
The guide’s tone was neither approval nor refusal, but something colder.
{{{{{ Your choice will not vanish. It may sing for centuries. Or it may scream.... }}}}}
He pushed the voice aside, turned back to Ureil, whose gaze had narrowed. "Who do you speak with?"
"No one," Atlas lied smoothly. His chest burned with the weight of it.
Ureil tilted her head, suspicion flickering, then folded her arms. "You sighed as though with an old friend."
Atlas chuckled, bitter. "Not a friend. Never a friend. But someone whom I had ignored since...."
Ureil’s eyes glazed. ’....could it be? Is he truly...’ she thought.
Atlas met her gaze unflinching.
’I will be whatever story needs. Hero. Villain. Savior.
Monster. It matters little. What matters is that when the dust clears, i remain. We remain.’
The wind shifted, carrying ash across the horizon. For a moment, the castle’s tip felt like the fulcrum of eternity.
_________
Book of the damned V2
_________
Contents
1.The Battlefield of the Soul
2.The Eternal Word Speaks
3.The Way of Faith and Surrender
4.The Path of Righteous Action
5.The Power of Love and Compassion
6.Grace Beyond All Effort
7.The Mystery of Death and Life Eternal
8.The Kingdom Within
9.Union with the Divine
10.The Triumph of Light Over Darkness
____________