Chapter 3: Into the Fire
~
A second of airtime, then the river engulfed them as Atlas struggled to keep both the maw of the wolf away from his throat and his own head above water. The animal lunged repeatedly, its teeth catching his collarbone and tearing skin. He elbowed its head in return, but the rushing current prevented any real force from impacting.
The depth of the water suddenly grew shallow, though the speed never stopped. Rolling over each other, both Atlas and his opponent felt the tearing and breaking of bones as they impacted hidden barriers beneath the rapids. A water-filled scream tore its way out of his throat, pain and desperation mixing with an ever-growing anger, a livid madness that demanded recompense for this insanity.
Things began to warp, time stretching out, measured in moments of lucidity. The river banks flew past, nothing but icy stones and wolves keeping pace. Above the water he gasped, below was blackness. His fingers tore into fur and flesh, as claws and teeth demanded their due. He felt jaws close around the side of his head, scraping, tearing. He surfaced once more.
Ahead, a cliff. Water, pouring off into a maddening descent. He did not know how far below, and he did not care. Feet impacted the rock beneath, toenails tearing, stone ripping flesh, bones buckling. The edge lay before him; a gorgeous vista of mountain valleys, green trees fighting against the ever-encroaching march of winter. He barely noticed.
The water would not stop so instead he used its force, letting it carry him forward, to the very lip of the falls. Slamming broken feet into the river bed, he grasped the beast by its neck. Eyes of gold met his own; the alpha, raging against this human who dared fight back, who would not simply die as the prey it was. It snarled, no fear present, only vicious instinct.
The man grinned a bloody smile.
Then… he… roared.
It echoed out, colliding against the mountain stone and heavy sky. It pierced the rushing water, thrust aside the quiet forest stillness. Beneath the sound, a pounding drum. The ancient beat of an unknown authority, a demand for all to listen. To fear what lay beneath the sound, to hide from the sight of its cause.
Something in the back of Atlas’ mind unlocked, even as the river thrust against his legs, muscles giving way. And so, with the beast still in his grasp, he closed his eyes and embraced the plunge.
~~~
Atlas was dreaming. He knew that, because he could feel the faint edges where his consciousness lay. If he wanted to, he could break the dream. Return to the madness of the waking world. Or maybe this had all been a nightmare, brought about by one drink too many the night before. Wouldn’t that be great?
He stood upon a field of grass, the blades softly blowing in the wind. In the fog-covered distance, five massive broken pillars hung in the sky. Between each pillar, a colossal shape began to coalesce, and though their forms remained veiled in mist he could still make out their outline.
An eagle, its wingspan shrouding the heavens. A snake, its body coiled around the world. A lion, its majesty immenating beyond the void. A bull, carrying the weight of time. A choice to be made.
And yet, Atlas gazed beyond. None of these were quite right. He needed something… different. Similar to the bull, perhaps, but with a savage nature. The shadows twisted, perhaps annoyed at his insistent patience. He did not relent.
Suddenly as if heaving a sigh, the dream pulsed. Once, twice, three times. A heavy thud accompanied each wave of power, as if a giant step was taken with incomprehensible momentum. The other outlines faded, dissolving into the mist and giving way to a singular form. Its massive shape blocked out the vision, a dark design of monstrous intent. Fur and claw. Teeth and muscle. A huff breathed into existence galaxies, even as a glare dismantled them into atoms.
The shadow spoke, its voice a deep baritone, carrying an absolute authority.
“Who.. are… you?”
Pondering this, Atlas didn’t immediately speak. Whatever this dream was, it carried meaning beyond his understanding. The last day (had it really only been a day?) was a blur. Everything felt unreal, fuzzy.
He recognized the events that had taken place, but he couldn’t contextualize them. Not yet, at least. So how to answer the questions of what felt like an entity beyond comprehension? Just give his name? Not enough.
The question felt directed, almost rhetorical. It wasn’t just asking about his identity, it was asking about his very soul. A concept he was suddenly very, very uncomfortable with. Still, it felt like an answer was required, so he gave it his best shot.
“I’m… just a man. But I want to be more.” He paused, feeling scrutinized and judged, yet plowed forward anyway. “I don’t know what’s happening. I’m not sure why I’m here. And that makes me angry. No, it makes me furious!” He almost growled the words, tasting copper on his tongue. “I want answers! I want to know if my family is safe. If my world will be protected. And most of all, I want to take those lily-livered cowards who did this and shove a red hot iron poker so far up their spine their brains boil!”
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Teeth grit and hands clenched, Atlas stared up at the giant beast shrouded in fog. What were they going to do, kill him some more?
“Hmmm…” The sound was long, drawn out, but the beast seemed pleased. This was immediately followed by an animalistic grunt, though it now contained a tinge of humor hidden beneath.
“I would like to see that happen, young one. Very well. Take this, and prove your worth.”
A gold light streamed forth, elongating from the shadow so far above, as a giant paw lowered towards him. The stream of power shrunk, condensing into a whirlpool, a funnel leading straight into Atlas’ chest. Even if he had wanted to stop it, he couldn’t, as his muscles locked up and his entire body froze in place.
A brilliant warmth infused his body and heart, the pounding thrum of its beat taking on a different, heavier tone. He wanted to collapse, to fall to his knees as the overwhelming energy coalesced within his form, but he couldn’t even move his jaws to scream.
Finally, after minutes of agonizing pain, the stream of power completed its journey; now nestled comfortably around his heart and core. A core he was suddenly fully aware of, adding yet another oddity to an already very odd experience. Mostly, he just felt tired. A heavy all-encompassing exhaustion that began to pull him down into darkness.
The last thing Atlas heard before falling into blissful unconsciousness was the quiet huff of a colossal beast, and a few words whispered into the fog.
“Once more we rise. It has begun.”
~~~
Water lapped against his cheek, the cold sensation gently rousing him from a deep slumber. Slowly, Atlas stretched his arms out, pressing his hands against the muddy bank. His body felt broken and bruised. “Probably,” he thought with a grimace, “because it is.”
Finally managing to get his hands beneath him, he pushed forward, inching his way out of the freezing river. It took a minute, but bit by bit he crawled up the embankment, till finally only soft leaves and pine needles lay across the ground. Rolling over, he stared into the sky and gasped in pain. Everything hurt.
But, in the first good news of his currently catastrophic existence, somehow he hadn’t died. Yep, that’s right, against all odds, Atlas Matthew Durand was still breathing. Score one for the little guys. Or maybe, the slightly taller guys.
He remained there, on his back, for some time. Slowly, he ran back over everything that had happened. The somewhat normal, if unusually annoying, beginning of the weekend. The trip to the mall. The sudden appearance of giant silver orbs that spat out chains of light. Encountering the increasingly commonplace feeling of being unable to move. The flash of light, and disappearance of all those connected by the orb’s tethers. Lexi!
Jerking upright, he grimaced in pain but felt adrenaline flooding his system. How had he forgotten!? Ok, to be fair, he hadn’t gotten a chance to stop until now, but still. It hadn’t been just him taken by the orb. Lexi and at least one of her friends had been grabbed as well.
Atlas forced himself to stand, but immediately started feeling woozy and almost collapsed. Catching himself on a tree, he tried to take stock of the damage. His entire body was bruised, and his collarbone and neck had been torn into, with little strips of flesh hanging loose. His arms didn’t look much better. His feet were the worst though, appearing as if they’d gone through a meat grinder. Several bones were broken, and his legs were simply pulverized. He sank to the ground, back slowly scraping against the tree.
He wouldn’t be going anywhere fast.
Trying to think past the pain, he looked around in his vicinity. He was in the forest proper now, apparently being carried quite a ways by the river. That was good, it might mean he had lost the wolf pack. He couldn’t see the body of the alpha anywhere, but it was quite likely it had drifted further down anyway. Unless, of course, it too somehow survived and was currently licking its wounds.
He was reminded of something his brother would sometimes say. “Remember the fifth rule of television, the bad guy ain’t dead if you can’t find the body.” Josiah was probably right. But back to his immediate surroundings.
Other than various trees and undergrowth nearby him, there wasn’t much to look at. Which meant he was basically screwed. Unless…
Glancing down, Atlas could make out the small STATUS symbol in the corner of his vision. It was frankly weird how much it looked like a normal UI for a video game, but honestly, who cared? He swiped it upwards, letting the menu partially fill his vision.
{Legend of : *(NAME NOT SELECTED)}
Level: 3
Attributes: 0 (+6)
Titles: 4
Skills: 1
Quests: 2
Fame Points: 5
Power Points: 15
“Ok then, now we’re talking!” He grinned, excited despite himself. He’d played his fair share of video games over the years, and it didn’t require a high intelligence to figure out what the designers of this system wanted.
“Top to bottom then.” He quickly selected the place for a name, but then paused. If this really was a type of “game”, and one that was being broadcast to… well… everyone, it probably wasn’t a good idea to put his full name where people could see it. Instead, he spoke a name he’d occasionally used for various characters in MMOs.
“Atlas the Unbroken.” He thought the irony fit rather well. The Status screen adjusted to show his title, and he moved on to the Level tab. Or, at least he tried to but apparently, it was either not interactable or he just hadn’t unlocked it yet. Mentally shrugging, he moved down to Attributes.
This did open, displaying a screen both familiar and odd at the same time.
{Attributes}
Available Points: 6
Might: 0
Agility: 0
Vitality: 0
Intellect: 0
Wisdom: 0
Resolve: 0
“Well, that’s incredibly basic.” Shaking his head, he searched for a better description or some kind of detailed breakdown for each attribute. Nothing seemed to pop up. All he currently could do was add his open points to any of the six options. It did let him add and remove as much as he wanted, he would just have to finalize the decision before they remained selected.
“Ok, let’s come back to that.” He quickly glanced around, still able to see most of his surroundings even with the menu up. The sky remained overcast, so it was hard to determine exactly how much time was left in the day, but he didn’t want to chance it too much. He’d quickly go through the rest of the menu and hopefully find some magic health kit or the like. If not, well, he’d drag himself to a better shelter. It wasn’t like he had a lot of options at the moment.
He took a second to readjust his position against the tree, feeling his back already begin aching. Then he turned back to the screen, fingers crossed.
Next up. Titles. He could only hope it was worth it.