[Wa-wai-wait! Put me down! We can talk about this! PUT ME DOWN!!]
Atlas cried and struggled to the best of his ability.
Unfortunately, his struggles did not account for much when he was roped to a long wooden totem pole that required four hobgoblins to support its weight.
Drums echoed within the cavern, drowning out any semblance of Atlas' cries. A mighty fire raged at the center of the room, growing larger by the second as the Chief, a Goblin Shaman—as Atlas came to realize belatedly—danced around the pit, waving his bone staff while throwing accelerants into the fire.
The massive horde of monsters stood on either side of the pit of fire and enthusiastically danced.
In this era where entertainment was hard to come by and lives were short-lived, ritualistic sacrifice was a rare occasion where everyone came together to be merry.
It was a time to put down your differences with your fellow monster folk and have a good time.
All while watching a live creature being sacrificed to your patron God.
Need I say more?
[Wait! Wait! Time out! Guys, please! Hey you, dude. Psst! Psst!]
Atlas desperately psst-ed towards the nearest hobgoblin and tried his best to draw his attention. The carrier did not so much as twitch his neck hair in response and completely ignored Atlas.
Not wanting to give up lightly, Atlas tried his best with the three other carries…to no avail.
Moments later, the group arrived and stopped at the edge of the pit of fire. At the moment, the blazing fire had grown so large that it reached up to the 10m high ceiling from the bottom of the pit.
Seeing this blazing pit of inferno, the madly cackling Chief who chanted with zeal, and the horde of monsters that danced with utter joy, Atlas had a revelation.
'Now I get it! I wasn't transmigrated…I simply arrived in Hell!'
With this revelation, his panicking mind came strangely to ease. It was understandably really, after all the things that he had done in his previous world it would be strange if he didn't end up in Hell.
'Satan really does live up to his name. Giving me the sweet hope of release before casting me into the flames of inferno. Bravo.'
Closing his eyes, Atlas ceased his struggles.
It was hopeless.
There was nothing that he could do at this point.
It was better to gently go into the night.
'On the bright side, I get to die twice. Once by hanging and once by burning. I wonder how many others can boast such a rich and varied experience.'
'That reminds me. I wonder if the good people back home received my message.'
He suddenly smirked and let out a chuckle.
'I wonder how their faces will look when they realize that there are no bombs. That the entire game was a hoax from the start.'
'Ah~, the people's trust in governmental bodies around the world will suffer tremendously. There won't be any war for a good few decades at least.'
Atlas felt himself being hoisted up and thrown in the next instant. For a second, he felt free and weightless. Like a bird that had been freed from its cage.
Sadly, the respite of death lasted for less than a second.
He was almost immediately dragged down and headed into the pit of roaring inferno.
The cackling chants of a maddened Chief, the fierce drumming of the beast-hide drums, and the laughter of the monsters…Atlas heard it all with great clarity.
'Well, they seem to be enjoying it very much. Can't be too mad at that, I suppose.'
Darkness claimed him, as John Doe died for a second time.
---
"Child."
Atlas snapped his eyes open and yelled.
"Oh, come on! What's with this blue-balling!? Either just kill me or let me live! Make up your mind, idiot!!"
"Uhmm…let you live, I suppose?"
A voice hesitantly answered.
"Whoa! Who's that!?!" Atlas abruptly sat up and hurriedly looked around.
He found himself to be lying against the rock floor of a dry, empty cavern.
Pointy rocks and gravel filled the ground around him while the ceiling had a large open skylight, in the form of a hole, at the far side. Blue moonlight entered the musty cavern through this skylight and illuminated its interiors.
Turning his head around to the other side, Atlas instantly discovered the shimmering pond which rested stilly with nary a single ripple. This discovery promptly brought back the burning sensation within his throat, reminding him of how utterly dry it was.
Still, Atlas held back his desire to immediately rush towards the pond of water. Instead, he hoarsely asked.
"Could I take a sip of that water before we engage in conversation?"
"You're welcome to do so, child. It is within your right and instinct to do so."
An ancient, wizened old voice replied.
Having received the mysterious voice's approval, Atlas promptly moved. He half-ran and half-crawled his way towards the pond of water and dunked his head into it.
Immersing his entire head into the water, Atlas then began to take large gulps of it. He scarcely cared about the water threatening to enter through his nose and instead single-mindedly focused on filling his stomach with water.
After doing so for fifteen seconds, he pulled his head out of the water and harshly coughed. Taking a few seconds to calm down, he then parted the wet hair covering his face and patted it down.
Facing the bleak moonlight-lit cave, he asked.
"Are you God?"
"What ever gave you that impression?" asked the voice, curious.
Unhesitantly, Atlas answered, "Your voice, primarily. You've got this whole deep and ancient thing going on. I don't know if you're God, but you definitely sound godly."
"Also the fact that you keep calling me 'Child'. That too gives me the 'God' vibes."
"I see," the voice seemed to be momentarily surprised. Heaving a heavy sigh, it replied, "Well, I will have to disappoint you. I'm not God."
"Oh."
Atlas neutrally voiced, unsure of how to reply there.
"Well, I suppose I must thank you for saving me from that pit of fire. How did you manage to do that, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't," the voice generously answered. "It was but a simple application of 'shadow' magic."
"Just as your body was about to fall into the pit of flames, I manipulated the surrounding shadows to warp you and transport you to this place. The monsters that live in the mountain den above suspect nothing and still think that you were sacrificed to the Gods."
"I see."
The mysterious voice's explanation had answered a lot of questions within Atlas' mind. While he wore a calm and pondering expression on the outside…inwardly, he was anything but that.
'Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! OH MY GOD! I HIT THE JACKPOT!! This IS a transmigration into a Fantasy world after all!! YAAASSSS!!"
His face continued to maintain its stoic expression as his hands rubbed his chin.
'Monsters! Magic! A mysterious old man's voice inside a cave!! Watch out world! The legend of Atlas whatever-my-last-name is about to begin! Heeheeehehehe!~'
He stopped rubbing his chin and replaced the stoic expression on his face with a solemn one.
Putting his arms by his side, Atlas performed the most perfect bow that he had ever performed in his life, and spoke, "May I ask Sir for the name of my savior?"
The mysterious voice had been watching Atlas' calm demeanor and was even immensely surprised by the young boy's mental strength.
Its impression towards its possible successor only continued to increase as it witness the young boy's politeness, steadiness, and caution.
Hearing his question, the mysterious voice let out a light chuckle and replied, "Name? I haven't had one in a long time. But titles, I have many."
"Mortal Realm's Brightest born in the Era of the Griffin!"
"The Dark Wizard that Singlehandedly Slew an Army of Ten-Thousand!"
"The Only Magician to achieve Demi-God Rank in recent history!"
"But the title, by which I'm known far and wide and the one that I want you to address me by is…Shadow Monarch!"
Hearing that awe-inspiring title, Atlas grew absentminded for a second.
He then unconsciously muttered.
"Jinwoo?"