Atlas watched the jotunn fall to the ground with heavy eyes. He stood there, panting from exhaustion and bloody from the consecutive battles. He wished he could taunt Loki, but he wasn't in the clear yet.
"He mentioned mom that time. I have to get home…"
As he spoke to himself, the barrier that separated the stage from the world came down as though it wasn't there. The people behind it resumed moving instantly. Although, oddly enough, most of them had glazed eyes.
Apollo didn't yell or call out but his presence already told Atlas that he was aware.
'Since the rest of the crowd looks confused, then that means…'
The figure wearing the black crow mask appeared and hoisted the Jotunn with one hand. It then turned to Atlas and beckoned forward.
Atlas did as he was told and found himself transported into a new space. It was a cosy room with shelves filled with ancient tomes, expensive furniture and a warm fireplace with strange coloured flames.
An unfamiliar man was already on one of the stand-alone chairs. Atlas looked around for the crow-masked figure that brought him there and found no one next to him.
"Please sit down Atlas the second."
The man's voice was deep. Unnaturally deep. Atlas couldn't actually tell how he looked as it seemed that the man's face was being blurred. The only thing Atlas could pick out was the expensive white suit and clean shoes.
"Are you the owner of this place?" Atlas asked carefully. If that person was truly a God that could handle Zeus, then he had to be very careful with the way he spoke.
The man, however, didn't answer that question and only continued speaking in his deep baritone.
"I'm sorry about your father's death. I would've come, but unfortunately, some matters kept me waiting."
He sounded as though he was familiar with Atlas' father. When paired with his very rumbly voice and blurred face, it was pretty scary.
"Don't be sorry about it. I'll find the killers soon."
Atlas sounded sure of himself when he said that, but his mind was already in shambles from thinking about the powers of his father's killers.
"Wonderful. As expected of his son."
When the man said that, an awkward silence passed through the room, allowing only the crackling of the flames to be heard.
"Do you want this place?" the man asked, his voice steady.
Atlas was taken aback. "Pardon?"
"I asked do you want this place?"
Atlas didn't answer but his response made it clear.
"I will give you when you reach the level of a real demigod. Ask that spawn of Zeus and he will tell you the levels. In the meantime, train to protect yourself and your mother."
The man sounded very serious about it, hence, Atlas took him seriously. He realized that his time to leave had come, and he got up from the chair.
He turned around to meet the crow-masked figure who had disappeared a moment before and walked forward when he heard the man's strange voice.
"One more thing, Atlas."
"What?"
"You got lucky with that spawn of Zeus. He isn't like the others. As for the rest, I recommend that you stay wary."
With those words of warning in mind, Atlas left the cosy room and appeared back on the stage instantly.
Apollo was there waiting. Atlas looked at the god with a strange glint in his eyes.
'So Apollo is a good guy?'
"What happened?" Apollo asked, his face tense but his eyes soft.
Atlas saw the worry and decided to explain everything that happened. When the explanation was over, Apollo nodded in understanding.
"I see what happened now. Let's get to your house. I'll protect you this night."
Atlas nodded, and they left the space without second thoughts. Atlas moved especially fast as he was worried that they had attacked his mother.
However, contrary to his worried thoughts, his new house looked untouched. He left Apollo standing outside the door and hurriedly made his way up the stairs with a newfound burst of energy.
His mother's room was the first door in the long hallway.
"Please, be safe." Atlas prayed to whatever existence he could think of as he slowly pushed her door open.
Low rhythmic breathing reached his ears as soon as the door was ajar. His mother lay on the bed, sleeping more peacefully than any other time in years.
He let out a sigh of relief and closed the door in the next second. Atlas looked at the door and wondered what would have happened if she was hurt. What would he do then?
After contemplating for a while, he went back to meet Apollo who still stood at the door.
"Is she okay?" the god asked softly.
Atlas nodded, "Thanks for your help."
"No problem. Just get some sleep and recover. I'll protect you this night."
Atlas nodded again and offered for Apollo to enter the house.
"Don't worry about that. It's better outside, anyway." Apollo laughed and pushed Atlas back into the house and closed the door.
Atlas stood in front of the door for a while before heading to his room. However, he couldn't sleep. Not after Loki's vicious threat.
'I'll just stay in front of mom's room for a while.'
He crouched down in front of his mother's door and warily watched the stairway from there.
It was one of the few times Atlas was truly terrified bout the future. The first time was when his father died when Atlas was at the ripe age of thirteen years old.
The hours went by fast, and Atlas noticed the sun coming up.
"That technique. I have to practice it... More strength... I'm too weak... I need more strength to protect mom..."
He looked for the closest windows and began to circulate the energy drowsily. It underwent one round of movement in his body unit it forcefully stopped.
Atlas fought against his desire to rest in order to cultivate the technique. However, the moment he tried to activate it again, his eyes went white, and he collapsed to the ground, frothing at the mouth.
"Must... get... strong...er."
****
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[Real Note: Are you enjoying it so far? What peeves do you have about the main character? Address it in the comments and I'll respond. And do you also feel like you can relate t him? If you can't, tell me why in the comments!]