Atlas immediately regretted his actions. He tried to take the next step from the twentieth, using his guns as a crutch, but it turned out everything had a price. Yin and Yang increased in strength and firing power, but in doing so, they required much more energy to activate. Energy his reserves could only provide once, even in his fully rested state.
And it turned out the first boundary was crossing the twentieth step. It was one-fifth of the entire set of one hundred steps and tens of thousands of beasts.
"What to do at this point? Will the hammers work in the same way? Still, I don't want them to get stronger until I'm sure I'm just slightly below that level, not leagues away."
It was a heart-wrenching price to pay, but after a quick twenty-minute break and thinking session, Atlas made an unbearable decision.
He took in a deep breath and walked backwards rapidly.
