Falerra...
Atlas knew that name well.
It was one of the creatures Falgnis was looking for. Alas, the current situation was beyond his expectations because Falerra was clearly dead.
Then what about his task? And what about the Celestial Fruit?
The Fiery Divine Chains inside his body were burning fiercely, confirming the creature's words, yet there was no happiness in Atlas's mind.
"Lord Falerra... What happened to you?"
Atlas wanted to know the truth.
Luckily, the creature didn't ignore his words and turned its transparent body around: "Young man... I can feel the power of one of my dear brothers in you... it should be Falgnis."
"Yes... Lord Falgnis asked me to search for his brothers... He even asked me to give you this fruit..."
Following his words, a Celestial Scarlet Peach appeared in his hand. Naturally, the fruit was the bigger version given to him by the fire spirit.
"Ohh... well... as you can see, I can't use it anymore... but it will turn useful later for you..." His words confused Atlas a bit, but there was more.
"So... At least the hand of Fate has brought me one last gift. Since one of my kind chose you, I will bestow you some good fortune..."
His words were a bit vague, but he wouldn't say no to this so-called fortune.
"The Stony Tree of the Underworld died long ago, but I managed to preserve three of his fruits..."
Another shocking revelation hit Atlas. How could such an immortal tree perish?
"Since I'm dead too. There is no need to give those fruits to my brothers. Instead, let's use them for something more useful..."
Suddenly, three objects as big as a human head appeared from Falerra's corpse. A pungent odor followed them. It was so intense that Atlas almost puked on the spot.
"Damn lord... what is this reek of death..."
His eyes were even starting to tear because of them.
Atlas was driven crazy by the objects, yet his Stony spirit was trembling on the spot as if excited by their presence.
"Go ahead... child. You can take one..."
As soon as those words reached the Stony Spirit, the creature snatched one of the fruits floating in the air.
He took one of the smallest with a thorn-covered rind in golden color.
It didn't take long for the fruit to disappear. In fact, the Stony Spirit ate it in one go.
"Good child... Let's see what good fortune you will receive..."
Soon, a golden barrier surrounded the Stony spirit, isolating him from the outside world and leaving Atlas and Falerra alone...
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"Ahhhhh... I found you again... this is the right path..."
Just as the fruits emerged from the corpse, the creature running inside the endless tunnel felt their presence.
Even surrounded by pure darkness, that mad creature found its way again, attracted by the putrid stink from the fruits.
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"So... Young man... are you ready?"
"Ready for what?" Atlas asked, a bit confused.
"Hehehe... to eat this fruit... naturally..." Falerra replied with a bizarre smile.
"NO WAY! I will never eat that demonic thing... It stinks so much I can't even imagine its taste... NO!"
Atlas shouted, taking a step back, a clear sign of his resolution.
"HAHAHAHA... What a stupid fellow..." Falerra laughed out loud, seeing his attitude, but turned serious again after a while: "Do you know what those little fruits can do?"
Atlas had an idea about their powers but didn't care: "I knew some of their usages, but in my case, they are pretty useless. I already have a Divine Elemental Core related to the Earth element."
"As I said... truly an ignorant child..." Falerra sighed in disappointment: "Sure, the Celestial Golden Durian can be used for this purpose, but it can even enchant your core's purity, and more importantly, you can mix it with another fruit... Do you understand now?"
"Fuck..."
Atlas now comprehended the meaning behind his words but was still reluctant. He indeed desired the power to control the fire, but the mere thought of consuming such a gruesome thing made his stomach twist.
"FINE!! Let's do it..."
It took him a long minute, but he found the courage in the end. After all, he wasn't so stupid to miss such a good opportunity.
Falerra couldn't help but shake his head seeing his attitude: "Such a weirdo... You should be glad and thank the gods for this opportunity... its smell is a bit revealing, yet its flavor was one of the most researched in the past."
"I hope so..." Atlas mumbled with a downcast expression.
The destiny of the second fruit was decided, yet there was still one left. It was a precious object and the last one in this world.
"What about the last one?" Atlas asked curiously.
"Well... you can take it too, but..." Falerra already had a plan in his mind, so he kept no secret: "... but you must find a heavenly location to transplant it and let a new Stony Tree of the Underworld be born."
His request was acceptable and feasible. Actually, it was a blessing for Atlas since he owned a place where no one could enter and disturb this celestial object.
The place Atlas was thinking of was clearly the Nihility Dimension.
"Sure... There will be no problems with that... it's just that I don't know how long it will take..."
"Well, that will depend on the seed's desire." Falerra smiled and then continued: "You can't do anything about that; just find him a proper place and let it grow peacefully."
"Anyway, I must inform you about something... Only a remnant of my soul still exists, and as you can imagine, I can't stay in this world for too long."
Atlas had thought about this possibility before, so he wasn't surprised: "How long can you stay in this world?"
"Well... no more than one year... but it should be more than enough for your evolution. Furthermore, this cave is secure, so don't worry about anything else."
"One year is a lot. I hope that after the process, you can answer some questions." Atlas was at ease hearing that, but something was troubling him: "How long will the transformation process take?"
"Not too long... probably only six months if nothing goes wrong."
"S... six months?"
This time, he was shocked. He had so many things to do outside...
He wasn't worried about home, but what about his entry into the Divine Sect?
They would think of him as a worthless idiot if he took so long to find a way out of the Maze of Despair…