"Grandma... Grandma... please. I... I can't stay here for all my life..."

"Sure, you can... you won't survive out there... it's impossible even if you deeply desire it..."

"No... I don't believe you... all my friend followed their heart's desire... so, why should I root in this damned place... why?!"

"Atlas..."

"No, I won't listen to you anymore..."

Ultimately, the discussion between them ended with the young boy running away, cursing his lowly life chained by the cruel hands of a twisted fate.

"Atlas... where are you going?!"

The old woman tried to call back his only nephew, but she could do nothing to soothe that seething anger growing in his young heart.

The young boy kept running faster and faster, even if his fragile body warned his brain to slow down. The reason wasn't because he was ill but because his mortal body differed greatly from his peers. Something crucial for his future path wasn't in the right place. Something that no one in this world could somehow fix.

"No... no... I won't die here of old age... I won't let this stupid body rule over my heart and my dream."

He ran and mumbled his mantra. A simple but cruel memento that was gradually pushing him away from that inevitable truth.

"There must be something out there... something capable of smashing this injustice..."

The young boy headed further from his small hut and from the warm embrace of his family.

Still, he wasn't randomly running across the forest because he had a clear destination in mind, where no one would bother him for a while.

"Huh... huh..."

It took him a bit, but soon, the young boy could again gaze at the stunning valley view from a point high enough to allow such a spectacle.

"Lonely Mountain... You won't be my grave... Never..."

Warmed by the sun and cooled by the frigid wind, Atlas peered the world behind the valley, behind the small village at the foot of the mountain. It was a world filled with wonders, mysteries hidden by the passage of time, and also perils, deadly perils even for the overlords of this world.

However, his young heart was beating rapidly, his body was shaking, and his blood was flowing through his veins like a raging river. He wasn't dead and didn't lose his heart at all because he knew that the world out there was also his.

"Huuu... NEVER!!!" Taken over by that brief moment of ecstasy, the young boy took a deep breath and roared so loudly that his small voice expanded far and far, reaching the sky and even the depths of that ancient mountain.

Finally, his anger was released, and Atlas could finally relax and drop his tired body onto the ground. It wasn't the first time he had let his body fall toward the soft grass, yet something unexpected happened this time.

"Mhm?! What's going on?!"

His back should have hit something hard and maybe soft in some parts, but he suddenly realized that his body was still falling. His eyes opened almost instantly, yet a pitch-black world welcomed him.

"Ahhh... Grandpa! Grandma! Ahhh!!!"

Scared by the horrible situation, the young boy shouted and called his closest ones. Alas, no one could hear him in that place.

His body kept falling toward the unknown, and this simple thought assaulted his young mind, driving him to desperation.

"Help me! Please!"

His hand moved left and right as if searching for something to hold him still, to block that dreadful fall. However, that hellish hole was devoid of anything.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but inevitably, the young boy stopped crying or shouting. It was as if his heart and mind had lost all colors.

"Please... I want to live... please..."

Sometimes, his mouth moved, letting some faint sounds escape. He pleaded with all his heart, hoping for a miracle, and after a long time, somehow that miracle came.

All happened too fast for the young boy's mind to realize that the world around him had suddenly changed. In fact, Atlas woke up from his stupor only when a soft voice dragged him back to reality.

"Atlas..."

"Mhm..."

He looked toward the noise, and the black world was gone, replaced by a bright place filled with a green light.

"Atlas..."

"Where am I? Who... who are you?"

The young man followed the noise to the origin, yet there was nothing there other than a shapeless, ethereal form made of light.

"I can give you what you truly desire..."

"Really?!"

"Y... e... s..."

"Hey!"

Suddenly, the ethereal light started to dim, and the voice gradually vanished.

"Hey... Can you really help me? Hey!"

Atlas screamed loudly, yet that voice could not reach him anymore.

His body was suspended in the void, so he couldn't walk forward. However, nothing stopped him from waving his hand in a futile attempt to reach that light as if swimming across that vacuum space.

"Damn it!!... answer me... please..."

The young boy tried again and again, but still, no response came until that soft green light became as brilliant as the purest emerald.

"Atlas... if you don't let your impendence hinder your life, we will meet again in ten years... find the city of the Inflamed Chalice before that day…"

"Hu..."

The young boy opened his mouth, trying to get more answers from that strange being, but before he could do that, the emerald light exploded, and he suddenly found himself on top of the Lonely Mountain as if the previous encounter was only a mere illusion.

Drenched in sweat and with his heart in utter turmoil, Atlas lifted his body from the ground and stared at the ground in search of responses.

"What was that?! A dream?!"

Confused by the strange event, the young boy stared at the soft grass for a long time. But then, he felt his right hand burn as if holding a blazing stone.

"Geez... What the hell is going on?!"

He rapidly moved his gaze away and directed all his attention toward his palm, only to find out that there was a beautiful emerald mark on top of his skin.

"It's a c..."

Atlas mumbled something but couldn't complete his phrase because someone appeared before him.

"Little boy... what are you doing up here?"

"Oh... grandpa, I... I..." He didn't know if to recount his strange encounter, so he hesitated.

Noticing his strange behavior, the old man kneeled closer to him and held his shoulder firmly: "Atlas... we want only your good... nothing else. However, it was selfish on our part to hold you in this place. So..."

"Grandpa..."

"No, let me finish..." the old man interrupted him before he could say anything else: "... You can't be like your peers, that evident and unchangeable, but your luck, intelligence, and willpower are your most potent weapons. They can't fight for you but can protect you from the perils of this world... who knows, they may even help you find a solution out there... so we will help you on your path until we are sure that you can safely wander in this world alone."

Atlas didn't know what to say, but he was undoubtedly happy.

"Grandpa... thank you..."

Those were simple words, but enough to release the old man's heart from a huge burden.

"Hehehe... little boy, it's still too early to thank me because it will be a nightmare if your resolves are not strong enough..."

"Nothing can stop me, Grandpa... I promise you that..."