"Geez... that was terrible..."
Evidently, consuming a fragment of a Ruler Artifact was simply too much for him. Yet he wasn't the type to renounce without trying everything at his disposal.
Atlas had never thought of using them for this reason, but he didn't hesitate and swiftly gulped down one of his grandmother's Regenerating Potions. Still, he didn't stop there and threw to the ground a dozen of Chaos Stones.
He wouldn't let that stupid fragment defeat him, and soon, he was ready for the second round. Astra was once again in contact with the fragment, but this time, with the help of the potion's effects, he could maintain that bit of lucidity that he needed to absorb the Chaos Stones in rapid succession.
"Man... the amount of Chaos Energy needed is tremendous. But I hope the benefits are tangible..."
Finally, the pickaxe vibrated intensely, and then the gold glow disappeared, indicating that the fragment was absorbed entirely.
"Oh... I did it..."
It took him a while to recover from the excessive use of internal energy. However, there were still many fragments at his disposal, so he grabbed Astra once again.
The fragment with the gold glow was gone, yet there were still many blue and non-colored fragments in the basket. So, the young man took out one of the blue ones to continue.
The two objects touched, yet even after releasing his internal energy, nothing changed.
"How strange... let's try another one..."
He pulled out two other fragments, one blue and one standard. Alas, once again, there was no response.
"Is that all?"
The pickaxe looked identical to before, and the inexplicable situation confused the young man in no small part.
Atlas was not the type to give up easily. In fact, he immediately began to check on his faithful companion.
"Hmm... nothing has changed in the handle or the stone set at the base... Even the metal part seems unchanged..."
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, the young man grew impatient, but at one point, in a precise spot on the metal, his eyes noticed something.
"Hmm!?...what about this? I'm sure it wasn't there before..."
Atlas looked closer at the symbol, and to his surprise, he noticed a resemblance.
"This... this is a Chaos Rune!"
His index finger rested on the surface, but no engraving sign existed.
Usually, on metal weapons and armor, Chaos Runes were engraved to make them much more durable or to gain unique abilities.
"How strange... it is definitely a Chaos Rune, but... somehow it seems generated within the material as if born with it..."
The situation was getting more confusing, but there was no way to find out the truth, so Atlas tried to find out the rune's origin.
"Hmm... the shape is not perfectly visible, but... this is definitely the outline of a canine... Given the symbols on the root, it is definitely a representation of a canine... Perhaps it is the Bloodthirsty Rune?"
The symbol was too damaged to get an answer, so Atlas gripped his faithful companion and let the energy flow into the handle.
"The only way to find out the truth is to test the pickaxe... I cannot do otherwise."
The pickaxe absorbed the energy smoothly, and within moments, the front began to emit a dark red mist.
"Incredible..."
Incredibly, it was not a dream. The pickaxe had evolved magnificently from those fragments and had even acquired an incredible Rune.
His faithful companion had not failed him and instead had proven to Atlas that he would not discover the wonders of this world alone.
"I spent 60 Chaos Stones and more than 20 for absorbing these fragments, but it was definitely worth it..." Atlas stared contentedly at the almost imperceptible rune for a brief but intense moment and then turned his gaze back to the village.
Consuming all those shards had brought the young man to exhaustion, and unfortunately, the consequences of that act were felt harshly, causing the poor young man an incredible migraine.
"Well... it seems that Astra has reached its limit for now... probably that's the limitation Nihilir was talking about..."
Indeed, Nihilir had warned him of those problems. Still, he had never imagined that those few shards were enough to reach that level.
"Well... I can't do anything about that other than advance in my cultivation path... Anyway, along the journey, I'm sure to find some bastards looking for trouble... So... it's time to leave this place for good this time..."
Staring at the top of Lonely Mountain, Atlas inhaled and then turned to the west, exhaling that long breath filled with frustrations and fears.
"The moment has come... I must complete Nihilir's request as soon as possible... Damned creatures tremble, for I am coming!"
Finally, after a few days of pure madness and wonder, Atlas was about to shock the World of Oblivion with his incredible existence.
Atlas was ready, but... was the world ready for an unpredictable existence like him?
|||
"I don't want to...I don't want to...please..."
Somewhere in the universe, in a place hidden from everyone's eyes, darkness was the only acceptable existence.
"I beg you... I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!"
Shrouded in darkness, where no one would dare set foot, a figure had found the courage or enough madness to do what no one would ever do.
"I don't want to die... I wish to live forever."
The figure was driven by desperation. In fact, that was what led it to that place.
"Whatever the price to be paid... I will pay for it... Grant me eternal life... I desire nothing more!"
The battered figure stood in the center of a huge room surrounded by pure darkness.
It had found a way to get there but did not dare to look around, so it did the only wise thing. It knelt down and bowed, proving himself a loyalist ready for anything.
"... I will be your faithful servant for eternity if you grant me this wish of mine..."
The pleas continued for a long... long time.
But the madman seemed to speak directly to the void.
Even after months and years of pleading, no one answered.
It was only when its body was reduced to a dry corpse that a terrifying voice brought some life back to that place of death.
"Now you are ready... My Chosen... rise again!!!"