Tower of Heaven

When the wall fell, Atlas and the red-haired man were left staring at each other. This matter was not fate, but coincidence. After all, the probability that they would both find the manor and find each other in the manor was not a small one. Since they'd both been present inside for some time, it was really only natural for them to meet.

The red-haired man had a smiling expression on his face, while Atlas was cold. They didn't have any kind of relationship, but it looked like now was the time to change that.

Behind them, one of the walls shifted, revealing the pathway to the "playroom" that the voice spoke of. However, rather than entering it, the two remained where they were.

"You won't let me go until we fight?"

"I have things I need to confirm."

The red-haired man shrugged.

"Then attack and confirm for yourself."

Atlas nodded and did exactly as he was told. He readied his fists and charged in.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A flurry of physical attacks hit the man's body.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

[Flame Wheel]

[Volcanic Spires]

[Hidden Flame Lance]

Qi attacks soon rained down on him as well.

[Twin Serpents' Dance]

[Roaring Dragon, Fading Serpent]

The chain sickles did their job to finish things off.

For the next five minutes, Atlas attacked the man with all of the power he was willing to easily reveal in front of the enemy.

When he was finished, he calmly retreated and faced the man.

"As expected, you are not like us."

He looked at the person in front of him, who was completely uninjured and unharmed.

"Why are you posing as a Mortal?"

That red-haired man who did not even flinch at his attacks, whose skin treated his qi like it was nothing more than air, could not be a mortal.

Even if Atlas' qi couldn't harm a World Core Realm expert yet, it was definitely enough to cause a reaction and at least draw blood from minor cuts and scrapes. Only an Immortal would be able to display a scene like the one he just saw.

"I am not intentionally hiding anything," the red-haired man responded.

"After all, did I not just openly reveal it to you?"

Atlas couldn't say anything against that reasoning. Thinking about it now, he'd only seen the man in a hidden world and a Wilderness. Though neither were meant to accommodate Immortals, neither had restrictions on their entrance either.

"I am merely disguising my aura and qi so the realm does not unnecessarily stress under my weight. There are things I need to find here, after all."

Atlas looked at him strangely, but in the end, he could only conclude that this man was the kind of person who liked to do all of the heavy lifting himself.

He clearly worked with subordinates, since Atlas saw his lip movements as he spoke to them during their first meeting. However, to not delegate work in the lower realms to them…

'Well, those kinds of people also exist.'

He shook his head and ignored the less important facts.

"So you are an Immortal attacking a Mortal Society."

He made a bold claim, but considering the man's attitude until now, Atlas could only find one reason for him to be in a Dusk hidden world.

He attacked the man so he could learn what kind of person he was dealing with. That man's aura had always been concealed, but his appearance was not a natural thing. Even if he was of some mystical race, his physique required years of hard training to achieve.

After testing it, Atlas was certain that fighting this kind of person and those who backed him was not a good idea.

Since the man himself said they weren't enemies some time ago, it was something Atlas had to be sure of before he thought about things like cooperation.

Looking at such a man, who had a thought process deeper than the ocean, the red-haired man could not help but be impressed. He smiled as he responded.

"Indeed, I am an Immortal attacking a Mortal Society, but there is a bit more to it than that."

"I had my people research you. Your name is Atlas, and you are relatively new to this Tower, but you already have a grudge against Dusk. If I'm guessing right, you aren't attacking them now because of that…"

His smile turned wry as he saw Atlas' sharp gaze.

"...but we don't need to talk about that. I only brought it up because our purposes somewhat align."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, prompting the man to continue.

"Let me start with an introduction, since it's awkward when only I know your name. I am Bernan, and originally, I was a member of the Drake Clan."

Atlas was aware of it. When he went to Vanatos, he asked Alaric for information about the Cosmic Dragons. Though it wasn't his problem, he wanted to know about it.

The Drake Clan was one of those prominent Cosmic Dragon Clans that dealt with the Dao of Fire. They were the enemy, but the man's words…

"It seems you know of my clan, so I will keep the rest brief. My clan, along with many others, have been following Heaven's Gate ever since the induction of the Tower. You don't need to know too much as an outsider, but I will say that the values of our clans changed. The way they operate changed, and their leadership changed. It all came to a point when they made an irreversible mistake."

Though he was retelling the story in as little detail as possible, the emotion in his eyes was still palpable.

"That day, I turned against my clan and the Great Society it is a part of. Along with a few close companions, I have gathered those scorned by our Cosmic Dragon Clans together. Essentially, our goal is to strike and weaken Heaven's Gate while we start a rebellion in the Cosmic Dragon Clans and usurp control."

He said it in a tone that was almost as if he was going to end his words with, "Simple, right?" However, what he said was nothing like a simple plan.

"So you are starting from Dusk, since they are Heaven's Gate's limbs on the lower floors."

It was only a hypothesis for someone like Atlas who didn't know the workings of Immortal Society, but it was fact to Bernan.

Dusk was extremely important to Heaven's Gate.

No, Dusk was practically a miniature Heaven's Gate created exclusively to control the lower floors.

"Yes. Once Dusk is destroyed, we will move on to the other aspects of Heaven's Gate."

With Bernan confirming his suspicions, Atlas nodded.

'It's almost too perfect, but it makes sense. Even Aeon was someone scorned by Heaven's Gate.'

The number of people in the Tower who wanted revenge on Heaven's Gate or Dusk wasn't small. It was just that only a very small portion of them were actually willing to act.

'They are targeting Dusk and the Cosmic Dragons. Not only will they be useful allies for me, but they can also provide the old man with new information and a new angle to approach his attack at.'

Bernan was like a lucky star that fell out of the sky.

Seeing that he was also entertaining an attitude of cooperation by disclosing all of this information freely…

Well, Atlas had high hopes for what they could accomplish.