Atlas looked on in mild shock and amazement. He tried to speak but nothing came out. The Fourth Brother began, “I see you have found the place of my mistake, and my brothers wish you to destroy it. The balance was really the only thing on their minds, they never cared for the beings in the worlds they created, only the equilibrium of energies. I was here to show them balance is not everything, and this crater was what’s left of that talk. The peoples on this planet were a violent and volatile race before this….” The Fourth Brother motions to the crater, “.....They fought since their inception into this universe, until I came. I came for my brothers to see that the balance could be kept by the very thing that unbalanced it, power. Whether it be a lack of power, or an excess of power. You can always unbalance what is balanced and always balance what is unbalanced. That is what they failed, and still fail to see. You’re wondering how I am here talking to you. I left part of my being in many places, all of which you have been, this being the last. I gave the most of it here, and your path has brought you to collect all of my power. That glow was the aura of this planet, which was given to it by the terrible war that ravaged this planet and eventually led to my distribution if you want to call it that. I chose your planet as it had the perfect means to grow my power until the one my brothers were looking for would arise, you. I was within many different humans of Earth over my stay, Hammurabi, Muhammed, Jesus, Alexander the Great, and essentially many of your species more important figures. I sparked many of the religions of your planet by trying to once again become a physical form, I still am not able to, only this visage that you see. Thats is why you must use the power I have helped you use so many times, on my brothers. I want you to do it to me once I reach the physical form, I am the most powerful of my brothers and even them all at once. Do you have any questions Reaper?”

Atlas looked at him confused for about 30 seconds before he said, “So you want me to harvest the souls of the Three, my master’s after I do it to you?” The Fourth Brother said, “Yes, it must be done, it is as you have foreseen is it not?” Atlas asked, “Are you talking about those dreams? They were not accurate, they could not be, could they?” The Fourth Brother said, “I have the art of foreseeing the future, which is why I know what you will do and how powerful you will become after you follow my instruction. Your closest care will eventually make for an impressive target for a Rebellion attack, your planet will be chosen, and you will become the most powerful being in the Universe. Until next time, Reaper.” Atlas wanted to ask him more but the flash of light came again and when it dissipated the Fourth Brother was gone, returned to the depths of Atlas’s mind. Atlas turned, now focused on his mission, saw a single elder man standing near the steps.

The man took a deep bow and motioned for Atlas to follow him. As Atlas walked the presence was still very heavy and it clung to every bit of air he breathed in. He walked through ruins of an ancient battlefield, towers once gleaming and buildings that once stood dominant over the horizon. He followed the old man to the center of this town, where half of a statue resided, the bottom half. Atlas looked at the statue and wondered who it had been of and what had happened to it. Atlas was interrupted by the old man who said, “We have waited a long time for you to arrive. We know why you’re here, and what you are to do. We will make this easy for you and surrender, but first you must prove to us that you are in fact, Reaper.” He was then led from the center of the town through the main part of it towards a coliseum, or what remained of it. As Atlas was being led through the town the people who lived there peeked out of their houses just to see the one they spent their entire lives ready to meet. Atlas felt on edge, this was very weird to him but he would continue on as he noticed the presence shift as he and the old man entered the coliseum. The old man said, “Proceed to the center and your test will start.” Atlas said, “Alright then, I bet this place was magnificent in its glory days.”

The old man said, “It was, it was indeed. Your task has been one tested by many who came here, they failed, our hopes are that you will not. And that you will finally be the one who we’ve waited for.” With that Atlas went to the center of the immensely large coliseum and stood in the center of it. He turned to see the old man gone and the presence was growing stronger and stronger. Atlas felt he presence become so heavy he thought only one thing, move. He dashed to the side and drew his blade when a massive armored behemoth smashed through where he was just standing. Atlas chuckled and went to cut the beast down when he saw a person riding atop of it, wearing a belt of jewels that radiated the presence that he felt. Atlas wondered what the belt came from when he felt the all familiar Fire rise up within, ready to explode outwards, it screamed in his head, “That is the one who stole my heirlooms, kill him now, and reclaim my birthright.” Atlas charged forward sword in a backward hold. He slashed at the legs of the behemoth while he slid under it and the beast stumbled a little but was not taken down. The behemoth turned and went towards Atlas slamming down into the ground with the massive metal fists which sent Atlas flying back into the lower stands of the coliseum. Atlas stood up and ran towards the behemoth sword drawn and jumped from the lower stands and buried his sword into the chest of it.

The behemoth staggered back and fell backwards, Atlas stood on the chest of the defeated beast and watched the man on the top who jumped off before the behemoth fell. Atlas heaved his sword free from the chest of the dead behemoth and walked towards the now scurrying to stand man. Atlas sheathed his sword and went to soul harvest him when the Fire rose again and took over, Atlas blacked out for a while but when he came to he was standing over a headless man, bloodied hands, and a belt of magnificent jewels in his right hand. Atlas could not feel the Fire anymore so he shrugged it off, he cleaned his hands and went to do his job, end this place.

He walked into the center of town, the old man kneeling in front of the half destroyed statue and he drew his blade. The old man turned and looked afraid and he said, “You beat him? You truly are the Reaper then.” Atlas cleaved his head off with one swing and said, “You’re damn right I am.” He used Apochrimation to board the Daedalus and he told Korvan when he arrived, “Scorch it, and plant the seed. I will need to make a quick stop before we go to the next planet. I will update you when we will leave and to where.” Atlas looked at the Helios beam as it tore through space and slammed into the planet, blanketing it with a glorious fire. This made Atlas remember, the Fire was alive and he needed to have a talk. Atlas walked a short distance away and then he remembered his vision or dream and he had knowledge in it of a place on the Daedalus that only he could go, to meditate. Atlas thought this was a good idea and he made it somewhere near the core of the ship and he went there to speak with the Fire. He kneeled and searched deep within his mind where the Fire slumbered. Atlas awoke him and said, “Who are you really?” The Fire said, “I am one who was cursed by the Seer, I am his brother and his opposite. I am the embodiment of anger, war, and destruction. He rather, is the embodiment of happiness, peace, and construction. I never told you this because you did not need to know until now. I remembered that planet, I was there you see, when the Fourth fell. I brought him down, and my punishment was this, to be coupled with the species I hate most.” Atlas interjected, “I thought you killed millions of humans to be stuck like this.”

The Fire replied, “No, although that was the reason I went to that planet, I heard that they like war, so I wanted to test them. I was however, met with the Fourth brother and their armies. My power was stolen from me by the one whom rode atop the beast he created with it. My belt, the fiery gems have no equal, I have no need of them now so they are yours, use them to enhance your power, and you will also find they have as much knowledge to give as they have power. You know the power to take from the gems, they are the souls of 6 Lord's from my planet’s high court, immensely powerful and near all knowing. They thought they were so invincible, I showed them why they weren’t.” Atlas laid the belt out in front of him and soul harvested the gems, he could feel the life forces of the souls trapped within these gems, and he was disturbed. They were conscious the entire time, they were able to see and feel all that was going on and they knew their end was here now. They were screaming in intense pain, and the Fire said, “That was a measure so they would stay, they would die if they left, but it would take millennia for them to do so and it would be unbearably painful. I held no respect for them after their wave of destruction shocked our planet from behind cover of an almighty warlord.”

Atlas felt a little less terrible about causing them intense pain now that he both heard it from the Fire and felt it from the memories of the Lord’s coursing through him. Once the belt was completely empty Atlas saw inscribed into each of the sockets a name. Atlas read the names to himself; Bavarius, Ichidna, Faregraves, Carreon, Geljarden, and Tarkor. Atlas asked, “Are these the names of the Lord's?” The Fire said, “Yes, they are the ones responsible for the ending of our race, but I ended them before what they caused to happen unraveled. Their greed and corruption caused my species to go to war up until the point none but me and the Seer remained. I left them in eternal agony, but soul harvest is an even darker end.” Atlas said, “Then you’re not too bad of a guy after all it seems.” The Fire chuckled and said, “Oh no, I still very much am, I just have my moments.” Atlas talked with him for about another hour when he went back to the bridge and told Karee, “Head to the Realm of the Three, I have a few questions, let me know when we get close.” Karee nodded and set course for the Realm of the Three and Atlas returned to his newly fashioned room to meditate.

The Daedalus arrived within hours at the ‘gates’ of the Realm of the Three. Karee radioed Atlas and he arrived at the bridge via Apochrimation. Atlas said, “Good to see the familiar portal again, we will not be here for long, only so I can get some answers.” Karee said, “Alright, we’ll have the ship ready to leave as soon as possible. Atlas nodded and paced side to side in the bridge as the Daedalus approached the Realm of the Three. Atlas watched while still pacing from side to side he saw the familiar portal closing around the bridge of his ship. As soon as he saw the white disappear behind the bridge he saw, stretched out before the Daedalus the same white landscape. His dream flashed through his head showing a dying plane, masterless, towers crumbling, energy taken from it. Atlas stopped pacing and stood, contemplating what exactly this had meant and what it had to do with what the Fourth told him. Once the Daedalus was in position, Karee snapped Atlas out of his trance by saying, “The Seer is waiting for you. As are the Master’s.” Atlas looked over and saw the Seer standing at the landing pad, Atlas looked back at Karee and said, “As soon as we can leave, do it.” Karee nodded and Atlas teleported beside the Seer who did not seem too intrigued to ask Atlas about it.

The Seer only said, “Long time no see Reaper, you have filled in well so far. You have questions for us yes? Of course you do why else would you be here. Let’s get going, you don’t want to stray from your job for too long.” Atlas and the Seer went to the top of the central tower as they had before. They once again faced the Three masters they followed. Atlas began, “I have experienced somewhat of a disturbing image through my dreams. I do not wish what I saw to happen so I would like a little clarity on why I saw what I did. I also saw into the future.” The Seer said, “I can explain easily. You are experiencing the Fourth brother in you, he had the visions of the future and sadly he could do nothing to stop what he would become. It may be different with you as you saw it while in sleep, the Fourth only saw it in battles or when in extreme focus. That is all and nothing more.” Atlas said, “Makes me feel a little better but I also have another pressing issue.” The Seer asked, “What is that Reaper?” Atlas turned to the Three and said, “Your brother spoke with me on the same planet he was lost on. I touched a statue in the center of a crater and he became a physical form that I could see and could’ve touched. He told me some disturbing things that I do not wish to repeat, for even the thought of them eats at my soul. He tried telling me that no matter what I did the things he said would happen would, and I would be the means to my own destruction as he was. He said it was my inherited fate, once he clung to my soul. I would follow the ashes of his rebirth, to the ashes of this universe and only I would stand.”

The Three looked at him and their barren faces showed no sign of emotion so Atlas could not tell what they are thinking. Fate said, “Would you show us this vision, we would only view this and not the interaction between you and the Fallen One, Veruchion.” When Fate said the name of the Fourth Brother the Realm shook, Both Time and Destiny looked upon Fate in wonderment. The Three swore to never speak The Fourth’s name in the Realm of Three. Fate felt their piercing gazes and said without looking at them, “He was our brother, no matter what he did, we simply failed to keep him in check. We must see this vision, to fully gain the severity of our Brother’s words. So that if what you say is true, then we may prepare.” Atlas nodded yes and opened his mind where all but the Seer were transported deep into Atlas’s mind, seeing the vision once again. Once the vision was over the Master's disappeared almost immediately. Atlas and the Seer were left wondering where they went when suddenly they flashed back in front of them. Destiny said, “Reaper, it is time for you to meet the two who cause your job to be needed, you are going to meet Hebrechrion and Archurion.”

Atlas could not comprehend the two figures he saw instantly materialize beside the Three. One, a fiery apparition that had obsidian like armour, and a hulking figure, towering over the Three. Two, a shining individual with armour like diamonds stood defiantly and proudly. The both of them opposites in every way, but in all ways they were the same. They were separated by Fate, Time, and Destiny. They were the causes, along with the Fire of so many religions spread throughout the Universe and with the nudging of the Fourth. The Fourth spent most of his time trying to convince humanity they are not alone but it seems they were not ready for the truth. Atlas after all he saw and has done could not understand what he saw. He saw the literal causes for God and the Devil standing before him, the causes of so many wars and religions. He thought a great deal about the two who stood in front of him, separated by the Three so they would not fight amongst this meeting. Hebrechrion and Archurion stood, emanating the power they possessed at all times as they were in control of many things at every moment. Atlas bowed his head to them and said, “It is and honor to finally meet you both.” Hebrechrion said, “The honor is….” Archurion cut him off, “...Mine, o’ Reaper.” Hebrechrion stepped towards Archurion which caused Destiny and Time to step in front of him and Fate to stare down Archurion. Hebrechrion said, “Forgive my naive opposite, he doesn’t get out much.”

This comment made Archurion take a slight step towards Hebrechrion and the Three to intervene by standing in between the two of them, bracing for the only inevitability between the two, violence. Atlas and his more morbid side wanted to see a slight skirmish between Archurion and Hebrechrion, he knew that if they started to fight the Three would not have the power to contain them both, so Atlas would have to intervene, which he felt eager to try to find the summit of his power, should any point exist that is. Atlas took a few steps back, leaving about 15 foot in between him and where the Three and Archurion and Hebrechrion stood. Noticing this Fate said, “With the hopes of these two the universe would implode, which is why we, and you, have to do our job.” Archurion added in there, “Ya, right, Farchy….This is what he means.” When Archurion said that the Three knew what would come next and they moved swiftly out of the way of the blast of energy Archurion sent towards Hebrechrion. Hebrechrion however knew his opposite well, they were brothers after all, and he dodged it with ease and uppercutted Archion sending him tumbling backwards towards the edge of the tower. Archurion stood up and drew a obsidian-like blade that blazed with fire Atlas had not seen before, the Fire of Creation. Hebrechrion drew his axe in response, a blindingly white light emanated from it, the Light of Creation. The Three tried to intervene but they could not stop what was bound to happen, the inevitable can never be stopped.

As the two titans clashed Atlas watched intently never taking his eye off of Hebrechrion nor Archurion. Atlas called upon the inner Fourth brother from within him, beckoning the will, the will of balance. Atlas drew his sword and grasped it in two hands, he felt the power of balance fill his very being, he poured it into his blade and self, making him grow in size. He grew to the same size of the titans currently locked in a voracious battle not noticing what was going on nearby. Atlas’s sword started to become half fire and half light, he pulled his hands apart and his sword came into two equal halves, Fire, and Light.

He walked towards Hebrechrion and Archurion and started to feel he was becoming something that would end up backfiring on him, he did not care. He got to the two titans and they separated for a moment and then both wound up for a strike, all three swung at the same time and they all clashed at the same moment, a moment that shook the universe, and left only one standing. Atlas, stood, no longer as Atlas but as the pure embodiment of balance, a swirling vortex of fire and light, endlessly moving and shifting, always changing. The Three looked on, they were happy. They saw the future in front of them, they saw the Fourth once again. This abruptly ended when Archurion got back up and struck the Fourth in the back which caused him to stumble forward a single step. The Fourth turned to him smiled and laughed which he then slammed the pommel of the Fiery half of his sword into the jaw of Archurion. This sent Archurion flying backwards and Hebrechrion attempted to capitalize on this by attacking the Fourth’s whose back was turned, this was not a good idea. The same thing happened to Hebrechrion, he was slammed by the pommel of the Light half of the sword and was sent flying backwards. The Fourth took up a position directly in between both Archurion and Hebrechrion, facing the Three. Archurion and Hebrechrion both charged at the same time at the Fourth and they jumped towards him. The Fourth stared only at the Three while Archurion and Hebrechrion hurtled towards him, at the last second the Fourth caught both of them by the throats holding them off the ground.

He said defiantly, “Balance…will…prevail…” He took Archurion and Hebrechrion and slammed them into each other several times, then alternating them slammed them into the ground with such force and intensity the tower shook from the force of the blows, after about a solid 10 straight minutes of this the Fourth took both of them up and slammed both of them down at the same time, once again shaking the tower. He said, “As it always does…” The Fourth slammed the two sword halves together, reforming the single blade and he slowly shrank back into Atlas. When Atlas was once again back he collapsed onto one knee and he was breathing hard. He looked up to the Three, then at the beaten and battered Archurion and Hebrechrion lying on either side of him struggling to stand. Atlas asked, “What happened? I felt such power, power I have never felt before then nothing. My mind went black and suddenly I’m barely able to stand and I have two of the most powerful beings in the Universe laying beside me, barely able to even move.” Destiny stepped forward and let out an aura onto Atlas. Destiny said, “This is a restorative aura, it will help with the side effects. That was the first time any of us had seen the Fourth since his fall, all that time ago. His power now openly flows through you, he has given you it. You should be honored now, for you have his soul. The soul of Veruchion…..” As Destiny said that name, the Realm hummed with satisfaction, and shook for several seconds and stopped.

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Once Archurion and Hebrechrion got back to their feet, both of them being put back into their place, they stood quietly and waited until the meeting was over. Once it was over Atlas walked with the Seer back to the Daedalus, talking with each other along the way. Atlas suddenly dropped to one knee, a voice thundered through his head, a voice of the Fourth. The Fourth called out to him, “The time is soon Reaper, the time in which my plan will swing into motion and you will achieve the fate you were destined to.” Atlas felt the presence of the Fourth leave and he stood up. He turned to the Seer and said, “I’m still feeling a bit odd from the what just happened, do not worry, I’ll be fine after a bit of recovery.” The Seer only nodded but had a questioning look upon his face, Atlas not fully sure if the Seer knew about it but he was willing to risk it. Atlas and the Seer reached where the Daedalus was docked and they bid each other farewell but before Atlas left the Seer said, “Remember what the downfall of the Fourth was. Greed. Do not let your power control you, control it. Until next we meet Reaper, good luck in the Oxcreneanunarion Hypersystem….full of especially nasty denizens.”

Atlas nodded and said, “Thank you Seer, good luck to you as well in your endeavors.” Atlas boarded the Daedalus and the Seer returned to the Three and both Hebrechrion and Archurion who had not yet returned to their respective realms. The Seer brought up an interesting point of concern that would be talked about while Atlas was on his next several missions, it would raise suspicions about the real intentions of the Fourth returning sooner than they had thought he would. What they did agree on before Atlas left the Realm of the Three was that Atlas was exceptionally strong already to have been able to take a full switch to the Fourth and back so easily, as well as able to withstand his full force in order to even come back unless they were working together which was a fear of all of them. Altas upon leaving the Realm of Three knew that they were talking about him, he could see them, he could not hear them however. He saw them, through the Fourth’s revealing of a power he himself had used to keep an edge on his two unbalancing brothers, Hebrechrion and Archurion. Atlas knew that he would have troubling times ahead of him, he walked to the Universe map and looked for the system the Seer had pointed out, Oxcreneanunarion. He found it fairly fast as it was labeled under the ‘Entry NOT Advised’ list, which only included three other systems, which have not yet reached unbalance. It was the highest risk related system in the entirety of the Universe, and it was in need of balance.

Atlas teleported to the bridge and said, “Listen up… our next stop will be the most dangerous one we will ever face. I want all guns armed and all systems manned at all times the planet is within 10 light years. Load the guns now and keep those trigger fingers hot, I will continue to find information and will update you all as I deem fit. He teleported back to the map and continued his research into this System. After several hours Karee radioed and told him the planet was in sight, Atlas felt the massive ship lurch to a halt. He teleported to the bridge and said, “This will be an especially dangerous one, possibly the most dangerous. Regardless of that however, balance will reign supreme. Be ready to provide air support with the broadsides.”Atlas teleported to the planet's surface and he immediately felt the heavy pressure of the atmosphere and the intense humidity that was present.

Within seconds of teleporting to the surface loud cries rang out all around him. He was suddenly taken down from behind. Atlas threw whatever tackled him off and got up but it sped off into the bushes before he could see what did it. He drew his sword and marched off towards a large mountain that Atlas saw was mentioned in the information about the planet. He made it 10 feet when he was attacked again, this time by a group and he was once again taken down and he threw the attackers off again and swung his sword at them but he missed and they ran off into the bushes with immense speed once again. He was starting to get angry now and he continued his way towards the mountain, the screeching only seemed to grow louder as well the farther he trudged through the dense humid jungle. Atlas heightened the ambient sound detectors in his helmet and he could hear all around him the scurrying of feet and hissing, he assumed this was who kept trying to attack him and he kept his guard up. After about another 40 feet he was once again attacked but this time he was prepared. He slashed out with his sword and cut three of the would be attackers in half, he turned and locked eyes with another one and tried to soul harvest the being but it did not work and it raced away crying loudly as it fled. He looked at the corpses before him that lay in halves and studied them.

They were a reptilian race extremely close in resemblance to a chicken were it clad in scales which shone with a pearlescent gleam that shone defiantly against the dense dark jungle background. They had razor sharp claws which they scratched deep grooves into the back of his armour which he was not happy about at all, as it was the hardest part of his armour and the claws cut through it with ease. He radioed Korvan aboard the Daedalus and told him, “Bombard the region between my current location and the mountain, do not hit the mountain itself thought. Use the broadside Hyper Turrets and level the area.” Korvan replied, “Better hope you brought your umbrella, we’re bringing the rain.” Atlas looked up into the planet's atmosphere and through the clouds came the Daedalus with the broadside cannons flaring up preparing to fire. Atlas smirked and though, “Survive this you scaly fiends, balance is inev…….” he was cut off by something slamming into his back with much more speed than anything that he previously saw and he smashed into a large boulder about 10 feet away and his helmet cracked and he was knocked out, he is after all still human. The Daedalus rained down on the area Atlas wanted them to and they soon returned to their position a ways away from the planet, ready to help again if needed.

Atlas awoke with a violent shake, he was being carried rapidly through the dense jungle. His armour had been ripped off of him and he was in severe pain, his spinal brace that his armour normally goes when he does not wear it was damaged severely and had sparks shooting out of it. He could not move and his legs and arms were being held by many scaly hands, claws digging into his flesh at spots. He was taken to a somewhat more open part of the jungle and he was thrown down into a hole. Atlas heaved himself up against the wall of the hole, he looked around the rim of it to try to find a way to get out. He was very angry that he did not see this coming and he was determined to get out when he remembered Apochrimation. He went to teleport to the Daedalus and level the planet before taking it over, and annihilating all life on it and retrieve his weapon and armour after, but it did not work. His power was weakened and he could not figure out why when an all too familiar voice rose up within him, the Fire. The Fire said, “Those don’t work, they seem like an uncivilized race but those were only their drones. There’s a reason no one goes here, if you do, you die.” Atlas chuckled and said, “I will break that cycle.” The Fire said, “Not in your current condition and not with conventional means of warfare.” Atlas replied, “What do you mean by conventional?”

The Fire said, “You will have to stealthily kill them, poisons will not work, you cannot soul harvest them because they have technology that resists it. The only way you can kill them is to cut them down with a blade. Your sword is currently being fought over by their strongest warriors. In order to see who will wield the blade, also who will kill you with it.” Atlas laughed at that and said, “Even without my armour and sword I still hold power enough to kill them all.” The Fire said, “Any normal race here yes, but not their warriors, their warriors are protected by an obelisk within their main hive. They are a hive mind planet which is why when one of them knows where you are, they all will. They will be able to collapse to your location in the thousands should you escape here, you must not show them your power yet, or it will ruin the surprise.” Atlas asked, “What surprise? We’re in a hole remember.” The Fire said, “The one where you will copy yourself as the Seer did to fake your death and you will sneak your way into their hive, kill their hivemind, and destroy the thing that prevents your power from having an effect on them. Which in turn will lead all of the planet onto you but you will be able to easily dispatch them once you have destroyed the obelisk, I remember this planet before they were bestowed this power, they were worse than now and were far more deadly.” Atlas asked, “How were they more deadly than they are now?” The Fire replied, “They had a natural resistance to things like your power, this technology removed this from them, they are fully dependant on it now, which is why they will die.”

Atlas waited and plotted for what felt like months, which on this current planet in this system was true, he waited for 2 straight months. He plotted, he sat, he felt as though he may never get out. He never thought it would be like this, him trapped at the bottom of a hole waiting to be killed by his own sword from an ancient race of lizards. He stood up, gathering his strength, he amassed all of his energy into his legs and fists. He jumped from the center of the hole as hard as he could in one fast, explosive launch that carried him not only out of the hole but away from those supposed to guard him. He landed in thick bushes about 40 feet away from the clearing where the hole was. Atlas then remembered what the Fire had told him, to copy himself and make the entire planet think he was dead. He went to the edge of the clearing and focused his energy into making a near perfect copy of himself. It is impossible to make a perfect clone and there is always a single downfall, the clone dies within a set amount of time as so designated by the creator of said clone.

The Fire talked Atlas through the entire process even explaining how he was the one who first did it, but he gave the credit to the Seer so he could gain less attention with what he was really doing. Atlas finished creating his clone, and sent him head on into the hole so that ‘he’ could be killed. In reality Atlas would plan on, as soon as the clone would be executed he would slowly make his way to where his armour is so he could radio a replacement from the Daedalus as well as some bigger guns. He made his way South towards the same mountain he first tried to get into months earlier. He had a decent idea of where he was going, he memorized the layout of the mountain as it was in the information system, at least the upper parts. He assumed it stretched far underground as well which the information system had not known, or it was made too recently for the system to find it. Atlas scoped out the front entrance to the mountain for several hours, when he saw his moment to strike. These lizards were a hivemind, at least the warriors were. The work drones that slaved away were not interconnected to the hive of warriors, so as long as he kept away from the warriors he would be fine. Atlas made his way slowly towards an open crate, he climbed into it slowly and shut it. He would hide in this and make his way inside. He felt as one of the drones lurched the crate onto its back and started to walk into the mountain, now he must only wait.

After about an hour of being carried into the mountain the drone that was carrying him suddenly stopped. The crate he was in was set down and Atlas heard hissing and slashing noises. He heard a dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground, suddenly the crate he was in was ripped open and he saw something he never thought he would. Korvan was standing in front of him. Atlas asked, “How did you get here?” Korvan said, “I might say the same with you. I felt as though you were gone far longer than you should have been, so i did a little research and found that they love themselves a little bit of fire. I am pretty much a god to them now, they seemed to only go backwards in the evolutionary chain, they used to be able to speak, not this screeching that they do now, and they also did not used to be a hivemind. Anyway, I know where your armour is and your sword has been won by one of their strongest warriors, they found you had escaped the hole, they brought me there to show you they had captured a powerful foe.” Atlas smirked and said, “These lizards sure are tough bastards, soul harvest wouldn’t work, I probably should’ve went with fire, too late for that now. Lend me your radio will ya.”

Korvan gave Atlas his radio and he contacted Karee and said, “Greetings from a dead man, I need a little something if you would.” Karee asked, “What would that be?” Atlas said casting Korvan a sly smile, “Drop some firebombs to distract them, drop em on a secondary mountain about 40 clicks south of our current position. We need a distraction.” Karee responded, “What do you mean we?” Atlas looked at Korvan and asked him without the radio on, “You didn’t tell her you came did you?” Korvan said, “Nope, It was much easier that way.” Atlas paused for a moment, looking at Korvan who shrugged and said, “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Atlas nodded and said to Karee, “I’m referring to me, myself and I. Don't worry too much.” Karee responded , “Alright, just make sure you give them what they got coming to them.” Atlas laughed and said, “Balance will be the last thing they see. I won’t be too much longer.” Korvan asked Atlas, “Why did you say to drop them on a mountain to the south?” Atlas replied, “It is their breeding ground. They will rush to defend, leaving us time to get my armour back.” Atlas and Korvan made their way to where his armour was, Atlas was in bindings with Korvan leading him, so the drones they passed would think nothing of it. They arrived and Korvan released Atlas and he repaired his armour, to a great deal of pain to himself by re implanting the spinal brace which the armour attaches to.

He finished his armour repairs and re donned his once white armour which was pitted, scratched and dented in many places. He and Korvan turned to see a single warrior, Atlas went to immediately kill it when Korvan stopped him and said, “You will alert all of them, don’t.” Atlas said, “They hate fire don’t they, let's give em all of the fire I got. You might want to get back to the Daedalus also, the Fire spares no one except me.” Korvan nodded and used apochrimation to return to the Daedalus. Atlas dug deep down into his mind and said, “Anyone home? I got a house call for a Hell of a lot of Fire, and we don’t have much time until the deadline.” Atlas felt the laughing of the Fire as he slowly took over, his armour glowed a brilliant red then he burst into the all familiar Fire, who remembered these lizards well. The single warrior turned to meet the Fire in all of his intense glory. The warrior screeched, alerting the entire planet of warriors, and the Fire turned him into a pile of molten scales and insides. He did not stop there however as he made his way to the warrior who had Atlas’s sword. He found him quickly and he screeched in their tongue, “The fires of Hell beseech you, burn now and end in ash.” The Fire worked up great energy and dispatched it in a blast that routed out the mountain he was under, every hall, every room, every lizard whose foul stench lined the walls, turned to ash. This happened in mere seconds and after he did that he called Atlas back.

Atlas went down to one knee and asked the Fire, “Could you keep the temp down a little next time, I can barely breathe in here now.” The Fire chuckled and said, “You call yourself a pyromaniac, Ha! You are merely attracted to the visual, not the actual never ending ravenous hunger that is true fire.” Atlas shook his head to that and grabbed his sword which he could feel the heat through his gauntlets. Atlas sheathed his sword and marched on, he made his way towards the breeding mountain, clearly distinguishable as it was doused in flame and billowed smoke across the entire planet. Alas found the main entrance currently blocked my large stone doors that looked ancient but were basically brand new. Altas opened them and faced an army of lizards in front of him. He charged his sword full of energy and used the skills the Blademaster had taught him and he channeled it into his sword which burst into flame and made the lizards jump and start to slowly crawl backwards, retreating further into the caves. Atlas walked towards them, and the bravest were also the first to die as he cut through them, bodies turning to ash. Those warriors too scared to fight fled deeper into the tunnels, other's rushed to protect their Queen who was at the center. All Atlas had to do was follow the largest group of lizards to where the Queen would be located.

Atlas came upon a massive cavern, along with a massive gathering of lizards around a door, which was about as large as the cavern itself. The warriors turned to him and screeched, the ones in the far back merely stood silent and did not move when Atlas started cutting through their ranks. Once Atlas had cleared all of the warriors except those standing still in the far back he approached them when one of them spoke to him, his helmet made it to where he could understand and communicate with them. The first of the lizards said, “You have disgraced this planet with your stench and your evil magic.” The second lizard said, “You must explain yourself to our court.” The third said, “Who are you stranger, and why do you kill our people?” Atlas responded to them all, “I am the Reaper of the Three, and your time has come to play a part in the destiny of this Universe, and your fate is to die, here and now.” The third said, “You have no say in how we die, we cannot be harmed by a mere mortal, for we have been here since our race was started. We are protected by the Obelisk of Kings, which is not here.”

Atlas said, “Oh right, about that….” he radioed Karee and saif, “Level the other mountain, use the big stuff as well.” The three lizards looked at each other as Atlas spoke in English, he then said to them, “Let me show you my power.” As he said that the planet shook with large impacts, Atlas raised his hands out to the sides as if controlling it. The three lizards shuddered when the bombs reached the obelisk and obliterated it, causing the power to fade and disappear. They fell down to their knees and screeched, “What have you done?” Atlas said, “It is not what I have done, it’s what I have not done that you should be worried about. Now it is time, for your race to play its part in destiny. Your fate is at its end, balance will consume you all.” Atlas walked forward and cut down the three lizards, who screeched the entire time he did, feeling pain as they had not felt in thousands of years. After he had killed them Atlas faced the massive door that stood between him and his prize, the hive queen. He charged energy into his sword and it burst into flame, he swung once punched a hole in the massive door. He looked over the breeding fields and was disgusted by what he saw, thousands of writhing and screeching lizards, who generation by generation strayed further from their original lives, he saw in the far back an immensely large lizard, and four guards who were also large in size. He walked through the fields, ignoring the biting and clawing lizards around him. He reached a large open space which the four guards were located. They lumbered around to face him and the queen screeched, the entire cavern went silent and the guards charged Atlas. He smirked under his helmet and ignited his sword once again, it burned furiously, nearly a white flame and he too charged forward. He mindlessly swept away the first two guards and soon after dispatched the last two.

He walked towards the queen when he heard a quiet but large thumping. Like something extremely large was on its way. The queen hissed, “You will die here and now, my King is on his way.” Atlas turned to see the hole he placed in the massive door was blocked by something on the other side, the door flew open, sending quakes throughout the entire cavern. In the doorway Atlas saw an immensely large lizard and he chuckled, he turned to the queen and said, “I was going to take you for my trophy, but he’ll make a better addition to my collection.” He threw his sword straight into the queens head, killing the broodmother instantly. Enraged the massive King of Lizards rushed Atlas, shaking the cavern and causing the ceiling to come apart in pieces, which crashed down. Atlas charged as well, headfirst into what he called, structured exercise. He jumped and ignited his blade which glowed a fiery white, the hottest of flames. He and the behemoth clashed sending a shockwave through the entire mountain.