The young man had been thrown so violently that he could not even open his eyes, and it was only after a few seconds, when his body landed gently against something rigid, that he could look around.
"Fortunately, that old fool used his power wisely. Damn, I was flying so fast I thought I would crash somewhere. Phew..."
In fact, the old man had arrested his fall with the leftover Chaos Energy remaining inside his body.
However, none of this was important for the young man because what surrounded him was far beyond what he had anticipated.
Between the warm rays of the sun and the slightly visible white clouds, the sky gave something additional to that place.
A heady scent from the giant expanse of flowers just a few meters away from him assailed his nose, cleansing that place of the stench of death that had disfigured it for the past few days.
Only after a few deep sniffs did he realize that the poison spread to every corner of Obscurium had vanished, replaced by a refreshing fragrance.
"Ah..." Atlas sighed in relief a couple more times and then turned his gaze around, precisely in front of him, where there was a dense, verdant forest filled with all kinds of plants and flowers.
He could even catch a glimpse of tiny creatures moving stealthily among the branches of the trees.
A place filled with life totally different from the barren expanse of death from which he had just escaped.
The scenery ahead intrigued him incredibly, and he wanted to venture immediately into that little paradise, but first, he had to make sure of a few things.
The young man put that idea aside and turned around, scrutinizing the horizon for Drunkum's location. Surprisingly, about a mile from the shore, he saw him on top of a small boat, intent on checking things out.
It was impossible to communicate with him from there. However, it was evident from how Deepy acted that she had seen him and was doing everything she could to warn her companion.
Communication between them was minimal, but after so many years together, even if only by a little, they still managed to understand each other.
In fact, after a few seconds, Drunkum headed the other way, accompanied by his humble boat.
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Atlas stood on the beach's edge, so what he could see was not much, but that little awakened his heart burning with desire.
Beyond the nearly ten-meter-high forest, abundant with every kind of life, Atlas could glimpse a majestic mountain in the distance.
Strange feathered creatures flew over the treetops, looking docile at first glance, but in such an unpredictable world, it was hard to trust appearances.
Staying on the beach was unwise, so he skirted the forest's edge for almost an hour, assessing the dangers lurking among the roots that nearly covered the soft ground entirely.
"Damn... there's no point in staying here. The compass is pointing clearly toward the heart of the island..."
The Soul Compass could not be wrong, so Atlas cautiously entered that little paradise after gripping his faithful companion in his hand.
Medical plants, ideal for potions and Chaos Runes, were scattered almost everywhere. It was difficult even to walk through that dense vegetation.
And even though he proceeded very carefully, each step he took broke the stillness lingering in that forest by awakening the tiny insects that dwelt on the bark of those mammoth trunks.
Some of them were known to the young man and appeased his restless soul by a little, but of course, some of dubious origin worried him much more and raised his level of caution to an unprecedented level.
Enveloped by that green-soaked world, Atlas followed the direction indicated by the compass and, after a few hours, reached the end of the forest.
Fortunately, that paradise turned out to be much quieter than he had expected. In fact, he had encountered no dangers, leaving his body unharmed from that short journey.
It only took a few steps to cross that tree-dominated world and enter a completely different area, composed chiefly of giant grass as tall as his body.
There was nothing special about that place, but the view was entirely different, given the absence of those boring trees.
Finally, the mountain was clearly visible. However, besides being surrounded by an abundant layer of vegetation, the distance was still too far to notice more details.
The young man was particularly intrigued by that small crater, but he had to quell that impelling desire for later.
With the fearsome parchment to protect him, Atlas made no bones about it and undauntedly followed the direction indicated by the compass, going deeper into that prairie.
Entirely covered in vegetation, Atlas walked much more calmly and carefully, but again, all that apprehension turned out to be useless as he reached the end of that long expanse of grass without a hitch.
Calling it a little paradise was not so wrong after all...
After all these hours, the red light in the compass had become much brighter than before, and feeling close to the end, Atlas did not stop to rest and instead wandered further until he arrived a few hours later at the base of that imposing cratered mountain.
The journey had been uneventful, but the closer the young man got to the mountain, the more the temperature rose as if he was one step closer to a giant volcano.
Sweat now covered his body entirely, and even as the temperature continued to rise, he flanked the massive rock wall at the mountain's base in search of a safer passage.
After walking around the mountain's base for hours and catching glimpses of the tiniest hills beyond, he discovered that the direction indicated by the compass kept pointing toward the mountain.
Having reached that point, the young man knew exactly how to proceed, but after noticing that the sun was one step away from setting, he opted to take shelter in a safe place and then continue the next day.
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In a few hours, the full moon took the place of the scorching sun, bringing a much cooler breeze that significantly reduced the fiery temperature caused by that imposing mountain.
Now that the sunlight had been replaced by a dimmer, brighter one, the island had been completely transformed.
Myriads of tiny creatures with luminescent wings had appeared in the forest, illuminating every corner and soothing the young adventurer's restless soul.
Naturally, those tiny creatures were not the only things bringing some light into the darkness. In fact, some plants and leaves of unknown origin were slowly producing a dim but intriguing blue light.
Atlas had found shelter on one of the tallest trees in the forest and was serenely enjoying the nightly awakening of the fauna and flora in that beautiful forest, accompanied by some fruits he had found in the area.
Looking around, he noticed an intense scarlet red glow coming from the top of the mountain, revealing its true nature to the young man.
"So it is the mouth of a volcano... now I understand why the temperature is so prohibitive at its base..."
That was the only logical explanation he could think of, but the young man knew that glow could also mean something else in a world steeped with such profound energy.
Oddly enough, other than the insects, the other magical creatures were much quieter, as if fearful of the small, winged creatures that loitered in the tree canopies and roots.
Atlas expected to see strange things prowling through the vegetation or hear weird noises from inside, but the night went on so peacefully that he slowly fell asleep, tired from the long journey on one of the tree's larger branches.
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The first light of dawn awakened him like the gentle caress of a lover, and when he opened his eyes, what he had witnessed the night before seemed like a dream.
After a hearty breakfast with the exotic fruits that abounded in the canopies of some prosperous trees, Atlas resumed his journey around the mountain, always keeping an eye on the Soul Compass.
It would probably take at least two days to go around the entire base of that colossus, but fortunately, the young man did not have to go that far.
Indeed, late in the morning, he encountered something unexpected.
At first, he could not believe his eyes, but when he put his first foot on top of the smooth stone slab, he realized there was a flight of steps leading toward a deep cleft in the rocks.
"How is this possible? These are clearly stairs... Who would create something like this in such a remote place?... Could someone else truly live in this remote place?"
The young man could not believe his words, too, but he had to accept it when he reached the crevice in the rock and found a long line of glowing stones along a long path directed toward the heart of the mountain.
"Heck... then there is seriously someone in this place..."
Although there could be many dangers awaiting him inside, he absolutely had to save that stupid girl, so Atlas continued to squeeze through the heart of the mountain, following the path indicated by the glowing stones...