Tower of Heaven

Alaric continued to talk, kicking off the so-called "festivities." It seemed that others had been informed that this was more of a "party" than an "assembly."

Alaric came down the staircase on the right and started casually conversing with everyone who came up to him. From what Atlas could hear for those first few seconds, they were indeed speaking about expanding trade and the scale of projects on Vanatos.

However, that was the last thing Atlas heard. In the next moment, he was almost floored as his mind was split in two.

Whoosh!

A sound entered his ears and his ears alone. On one hand, he saw the familiar scenery of the ballroom, and on the other, he saw… a table?

Atlas could feel his connection to his body. He could still actively control it as if nothing was wrong at all. Yet, within his mind was a scene of a starry sky and a ground of pure blackness. In this scenery was a long white table, at which he was seated.

He tried to steady himself, swaying ever-so-slightly so as to not alert anyone in his surroundings. With his eyes closed, he focused only on the scene in his mind.

"Haa…"

’I am motionless.’

Motion only existed in the real world. The other scene was nothing more than a still image. If he only viewed it as a memory, or a recollection…

"Huu…"

When his eyes opened again, his mind was able to focus.

"Boy, you came! Good!"

"This is why I called you here before anyone else came."

Atlas had only stabilized for a moment before his head was thrown into a loop again. Alaric’s voice greeted him from both the mental plane and the real world in two completely different tones.

If the public could see Atlas’ face, it would not be a pleasant sight. Well, not until Alaric placed his hand on his shoulder, at least.

A calm wave of energy spread through Atlas’ body, bringing his internal chaos to peace. Atlas looked into Alaric’s eyes, seeing the other man nod at him.

"Calm down. Accept these two worlds as separate yet connected, and your mind will adapt."

The Alaric who spoke was seated at the head of the white table in Atlas’ mind. Still, as he suggested, Atlas didn’t draw a distinction between the two.

"Focus. If you can’t act normally in the real world, then I’ll have to exclude you from this assembly."

Those words were motivation enough. The seconds passed slowly for the two of them, but their interaction didn’t last long at all.

"Anyway, kid, enjoy the festivities! I’m sure there are some young people around somewhere, so you can go socialize and form some connections while everyone’s gathered."

Alaric patted Atlas on the shoulder one more time before he was called away.

Still, by the time he left, Atlas was already stable.

"Is this how it works?"

"Please bring me another drink."

Two different sentences came from the mouths of two different Atlases, yet they were one and the same.

In the outside world, Atlas found himself a place and sat down. He wanted to minimize interactions if he could, but he was prepared for conversation if anyone approached him.

With most of his attention focused inside of his mind, Atlas finally looked at the Alaric in that world.

"This is…elaborate."

"Hahaha!"

Alaric immediately laughed.

"You’re a talented kid, so I figured you could do it. This whole assembly thing only came together recently, so I had to take a gamble on your talent, but it worked out."

Atlas glanced around. There was nobody else at the table aside from the two of them, so what was its purpose?

"People will arrive soon enough."

Alaric easily answered the question.

"I’m sure you’ve guessed it, but every important ally of our clan is present at this party. The goal is to separate our allies and enemies properly."

Atlas nodded. This much was easy enough to predict considering the chain of events that led to this.

"Those who are verified as allies will be brought here for the true assembly, while the rest will be led to believe the lies I feed them. I brought you here early so you could adapt, but the first batch should be…"

As if he had timed his words perfectly, three spots at the table were filled right before his sentence finished.

To his right appeared a woman with a flaming red colored hair that Atlas was already familiar with. She had an ethereal kind of beauty that made one see her as above the common population, and the icy expression on her face perfectly juxtaposed her otherwise bold features.

To his right. A man just as preposterously large as he was. He had spiky white hair and a long beard. His face was completed by a long scar that went from his chin to his forehead, cutting through his golden eyes.

And finally, there was another man seated next to him with a massive belly and a bald head. He looked like a monk from the olden days, only, his skin was the same color as the ground and his body was covered in tattooed geometric patterns.

Atlas didn’t need any introductions. Along with him, they were the people Alaric knew he could absolutely trust, the comrades who he established Divine Sanctuary with.

"Quite an elaborate setup. I wouldn’t expect something like this from you."

The Phoenix Clan Matriarch was the first to speak.

Alaric grinned like her jabs meant nothing to him.

"Well, times have changed. I need to do what I need to do, right?"

"Hmph."

She looked away, her eyes happening to land on Atlas.

"And this is…?"

"You don’t know him? He was visiting your clan just a bit ago, though?"

"Did he?"

The Phoenix Matriarch raised a brow.

"Then, perhaps you are the one he sent with his challenge token?"

"Indeed, that is me. I am called Atlas, and it is my pleasure to be seated at the same table as esteemed individuals such as yourselves."

He spoke respectfully in a completely different tone than the one he used for Alaric. After all, while Alaric was just an old man to him, the rest of these people were Supreme Ancestors of Divine Sanctuary. He wasn’t close enough to any of them to dare consider speaking casually.

However, the ice was broken before he could get too nervous.

"This is the kid you’ve taken a liking to? I thought he’d be a lot more like you."

"Nonsense. He is only wary of our strength. Boy, you do not need to worry. Alaric has told us enough about you for us to look upon you favorably. Act comfortably for the sake of this meeting if nothing else, as you have evidently been invited here for a reason."

The White Tiger and Black Tortoise Patriarchs spoke one after another. Atlas couldn’t completely drop his guard because of words alone, but he had to admit that he was able to sit back from the edge of his seat a little.

The four Supreme Ancestors continued to speak to each other as Atlas listened in. At the same time, he focused on the world outside, entertaining the few people who took an interest in him after seeing him interact with Alaric.

With the passing minutes, more and more seats at the table were filled. As more allies were verified, the table itself grew in order to provide them with seats.

The crowd was being gathered at a proper pace, and soon enough, the true assembly would begin.

Alaric’s true plans that were too sensitive for him to reveal in the real world…

Atlas was more than just a little curious about what they could be.

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