Ding! Ding!
Inside the highest pavilion on the Divine Sect, a small golden bell rang two times. There was a room there, the same room where the miniature of the Maze of Despair stood.
"Mhm?!"
The noise attracted the attention of the only person in the room.
"Someone entered the Maze?"
The middle-aged dwarf approached the maze lazily and started searching for the small dot, yet he didn't find anything at the entrance.
"Hmm... Strange!"
Confused by the peculiar phenomenon, he looked all over the place and, to his surprise, noticed something moving faster toward the exit.
"What the hell? He crossed all the traps in a few seconds? That's impossible!"
The dwarf couldn't believe his words, but that was what his eyes were showing him.
"Something is wrong here..."
His mind was in disarray, yet after thinking properly for a while, a possibility struck him: "Maybe he's that little fellow who went missing six months ago... Yes, this should be the case."
Considering the other possibility was too much for him, so he alerted the other Elders in the Divine Sect.
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"Huu... fresh air and the sun... finally this warm feeling again."
Atlas escaped from the Maze of Despair five days later and was so content with feeling that refreshing air that his voice reached far away.
Even Uranus, accustomed to more verdant environments, released his muscles from the constant tension and ran around happily.
"Hahaha... Little fellow... we are still in the midst of the desert. It's a bit too early to rejoice so much."
Atlas's words were the truth. Indeed, the maze's exit conducted them inside another desert, yet the beautiful oasis visible from afar brought them a bit of joy.
"Silly thing... Stop running in a circle. Go there!"
Uranus followed Atlas's order immediately, but just as their trip started, Atlas felt some movements inside the Nihility Dimension.
"That sleeper has finally woken up... he could have helped me inside the maze, but no... he slept soundly, ignoring my plead over and over."
Atlas cursed his bad luck with all his heart and pulled that fellow forcefully from the realm.
"Bloody hell! Little boy, at least warn me before you do something so dangerous."
Deus was in his tiny body form, so he landed on Uranus's back effortlessly.
Looking around curiously, Deus found the place around him somehow unfamiliar, so he asked: "Geez... it's so hot here... where are we?"
"We left the Maze of Despair a few minutes ago... without your help!" Atlas replied, annoyed by this fellow, and notably remarked on the last words twice to clarify things.
"Hoo... good job, little boy. That place was quite dangerous for someone at your level. You did great!"
Hearing his response, Atlas's following words were full of ridicule and lies: "Hmm... I didn't notice it because I slept all the time. It was Uranus who brought us out."
"This little bear?!" Deus looked down at the poor fellow and denied arrogantly: "Nha... He is way weaker than you."
Grrr...
Uranus' answer came in the form of a low bestial growl, demonstrating all his dissatisfaction.
"Well... little bear, I'm telling the truth. Even if our realms are entirely different, I'm stronger than you by a lot."
Atlas was waiting for those words and scolded: "You are blabbering so much nonsense. At least Uranus helped me fight, but what about you? You slept all the trip and even ignored my calls a few times!"
"Geez... stop shouting!" Deus lamented lazily as if he didn't care about anything: "So what if I slept all the trip? My favorite food is gone, so I need to preserve my strength. I'm thinking for your well-being, too."
"Such a shameless creature! You bragged so much about this and that but hid at the first sign of danger."
"Ohi... ohi... It's called thrift and not shamelessness!"
While the duo was discussing, the distance between them and the oasis reduced drastically.
Probably, at their speed, they could reach their destination before night.
Dues and Atlas had changed the subject of their discussion a while ago, and Deus couldn't help but ask about a problem he noticed when they met the first time.
"Anyway... I heard that some humans also cultivate the body, the so-called Tyrannical Titan path, so why is your flesh body so weak?"
"Oh... currently, I cultivate only my Chaotical Core and will start soon with my soul... as for the body, I will do it when I find a good Martial Body Manual..."
Hearing Atlas's response, the creature looked at him strangely and barked: "Are you stupid? Why are you wasting all this time? I don't think it's a good choice for you."
Since there was no need to hide this matter from him, Atlas told him the truth: "Well... my physique is a bit unique and requires an appropriate manual..."
"Oh?! I was right then. During our battle, I noticed something strange. After hearing about the Devourer of Chaos, I thought it was the reason for that strangeness, yet I was wrong back then."
"You noticed something strange too?" Atlas asked, intrigued by his words.
"Well... you fought against me for so long... This is a bit too shocking, even if you are the inheritor of that manual..."
His words made Atlas think a lot since there was some truth to them.
"Why don't you try my Dragon Body Art? I have a version of it that is even stronger than those stupid fellows on the sacred island."
"Well... sure, why not?" Atlas wasn't stupid enough to give up such an opportunity and agreed immediately. Still, surprisingly, Deus looked at him strangely and kept moving his head around as if searching for something.
"What are you doing?" Atlas asked in perplexity.
"Oh... nothing much. I was searching for a tail or a horn... damn, something that resembled a dragon... HAHAHA!"
Deus's joke made him speechless, but his response came in the end, and it was quite fierce: "Ohi... so-called dragon... where are your wings? Should I start calling you a little lizard?"
The human and creature looked at each other fiercely, but none spoke for a long time. That dangerous silence continued until Deus's voice was heard: "Bloody hell! I'm just in my juvenile form. When the time comes, you will be shocked by my body!"
"Sure... but until then, I will call you Deus the lizard!" Atlas commented sarcastically, adding more fuel to the burning flame.
"Geez... such an annoying fellow..." Deus groaned in resignation for a while and then added: "Anyway, I can't give you the Dragon Body Art because you don't have the proper physique... If you don't find your destined body art, we will find a way to change your body constitution and adapt it to the Dragon Body Art. For now, we should wait and see."
During this short period, their relationship grew closer, and the young man's journey became even more lively.
As for the oasis, it was just a few miles away from them.
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While Atlas's group was proceeding toward the oasis, a group of people on top of a giant eagle appeared above the Maze of Despair's doorway.
"Elder... we are late. That little boy left in that direction."
The youngest of the group, a little girl in her early twenties, called out, noticing the large imprints left behind by Uranus.
"Damn... I told you to move quickly, but no... you stopped every now and then. So now we will waste even more time to find him."
The second person, a middle-aged man, was clearly angry at someone, but no one responded to his provocation because the one accused had an ashen expression: "This direction is where..."
Ouauuu!!
Just as the last person, the so-called Elder, in the group was giving his orders, a defiant roar came from the same direction where Atlas's group was located.
"This stupid boy... he made that old monster angry... Seig, hurry up!"
Screech!!
An eagle cry followed the shout, and just as the group of people appeared, they disappeared in the distance.
As for Atlas... he'd just fallen into a nice pile of steaming shit…