The sun rose, and with it, a sense of safety washed over Atlas.
This was the day, the day they traversed to the bottom of the waterfall, the day they finally left this godforsaken place. His time here was something that changed him forever, although it was relatively short.
He learned new ways to use Aether. He learned more about his powers, how the world works, and even gained a new sense of self.
Ivan now looked in better shape than before, his wounds still in a clash, but his Aether was slowly taking over. The parts that had healed did not heal cleanly, leaving him with a nasty scar on his abdomen.
The two walked through the jungle that was now completely dead, this time not in silence.
Atlas shared stories of his time from home, electing to actually converse in a pleasant way instead of putting a large wall between himself and Ivan.
At one point, he was about to talk about his name, but Ivan refused again. In all this time, no matter how much bonding they had through the trauma and pain, Ivan still could not tell Atlas his name.
Ivan wouldn't just stay quiet this time. Instead, he spoke more on the gods and what blessings they have, how once they leave this place, he wanted to start a commune of worshippers and bring light into the mortal world.
Again, Atlas felt weird about the whole mortal world part but overall paid it no mind.
Finally, after hours of this, they both got quiet as the sound of crashing water became louder.
They reached it.
This waterfall was not something that could be replicated in the real world. This thing was absolutely massive.
The height was taller than the tallest mountains in the world, ascending all the way to the top of the sky and into the deep ocean above. It wasn't just a straight fall either; it was twisting and turning in some parts as if a vortex was in it.
Atlas got to see it closer now. Far above his head, near the top, clouds ringing with lightning shook the world above.
It gave him a sense of awe knowing that something like this could exist here in a Door trial.
Ivan paused briefly with him before whimsically skipping closer to the bottom.
"Wasn't this guy supposed to have a hurt leg?"
Atlas couldn't help but think about the times Ivan would walk around as if it was a debilitating injury but the next moment soar through the air at speeds faster than sound.
Following slightly behind, he felt in a better mood and walked towards the bottom as well.
During this time, he could not help but take account of what he gained, again this time in the form of power.
Atlas dove into his AetherCore once again, directly into his room while walking, a skill that seemed easy enough but actually required great concentration.
The walls were written to show off Atlas's gains.
{AetherCore}
Level: 1/6
{Warp}
Rank: Sentinel
Level: 0/6
{??? Eye}
Rank: ???
Level: ???
{Night Spires's Fang}
Rank: Paragon
Level: 1/2
{Gods Will}
Rank: Veiled
Level: 0/4
Each one of these items he read off was full of potential, and that's how he should view himself, not as a stronger being but as someone who has potential.
Although a little pride, not ego but pride, swelled inside him. He did feel more accomplished now than before.
He warped a couple of times, catching up to Ivan, and reached the very bottom of the waterfall.
A deafening roar was coming over them from the water, but Atlas started to tune it out. He knew that Ivan had a plan for them to traverse this waterfall; otherwise, why would they come to the bottom without a way to go up?
Looking at Ivan, he asked the question:
"How do we traverse to the top?"
Ivan turned and smiled that damn smile of a madman and laughed again.
"Like we always do, my dear vessel. We pray to the ones who have given us life and strength—the almighty and the all-knowing."
With that, he sat down and started to pray.
More hours passed with Ivan still praying. This quickly bored Atlas, so he walked a bit further off. The sun was still high in the sky, giving him plenty of time for safety.
The jungle around them was actually stunning without the sight of the creatures that once roamed here before that damn shadow got released.
He was able to stop and smell the air, although still pungent with blood, here it wasn't so bad.
Walking more, he saw a large ravine in the ground with darkness enveloping it. The trees overhead cleared out, and the sun was beaming into it ever so slightly.
Curiously, Atlas peeked his head over it.
This time, there wasn't a monster, only darkness due to how far it went down.
Thinking back to the shadow again, he pulled his vision away and turned around, walking back to Ivan.
After a few steps, a sound came from behind him in the ravine.
The echoes of a monster fighting something else.
Suddenly, the earth shook but only for a brief moment, making Atlas fall.
Before his head hit the ground, he warped his body upwards to avoid injury.
The screams from the ravine died down, but it left Atlas with a sense of dread.
Something was down there. It could be the shadow, or it could be something else entirely, but no matter what, he did not want to stay here and find out.
He made his way back to Ivan's praying location, this time summoning "Gods Will" to give himself confidentiality and some type of stealth just in case.
Atlas ran through the forest at his top speed, occasionally having to warp either through or around a tree just to practice this skill more.
After ten minutes, he found Ivan, but this time not praying.
Watching from afar, Atlas saw him using a large blade that looked like a machete made of pure gold on a tree.
He was cutting something from it, and quickly as well, as if in a hurry.
With a few cuts using this machete, the tree fell apart like it was butter, and he started crafting a log into a makeshift canoe.
The next second, it was hollowed out more, and the next, it was being finished.
Ivan did this all so fast it was inhuman, but of course, Atlas was used to seeing things like this—or at least more used to it.
The odd thing was what Ivan did next, which was use his Aether and suddenly make the tree disappear into flames, erasing the evidence.
The next second, he was gone and back into his praying location.
Atlas really did think that this was weird but released "Gods Will" and went back to Ivan.
Approaching, Atlas walked slowly and asked,
"Did the gods give you an answer?"
Ivan broke his prayer and stood tall.
"They did, in fact, my dear vessel. They said that my strength is amendable, and they will bring us something come the end of the day, and that we shall traverse the waterfall at night when luck is with us."
Atlas stared with a blank expression.
Was this guy trying to convince me that the gods are going to bring us a canoe when I just saw him make one?
Atlas started again to question the reality of these gods, now with more proof Ivan was just crazy.