I descended rapidly, with Atlas slowly losing consciousness from immense blood loss from his arm and stomach. After everything he put me through today, I don't feel much remorse for what I did. This makes us a little more even, but I do feel a tremendous gratitude towards him. I hope one day I can repay his kindness in full, but first, I have to make this plan work. Our descent took longer than it should have, as my energy almost completely dried up, and having an absolute unit of a guy on my shoulders didn't help.

"Work those wings boy,” Atlas teased, barely uttering.

"Oh, you're still alive? You should keep quiet and focus on staying awake since you're in such a fragile state, I would hate for you to die while I am the one who is responsible for your life,” I quickly responded.

"Heh, it will take a lot more to kill me than a loss of an arm and a little poke in the stomach. You should worry about yourself; those tiny golden wings of yours seem to barely swing,” he retorted.

"You sure seem to have a sharp tongue. Now, keep it up and stay awake.”

"You seem to be kind like your mother, even though you killed hundreds of soldiers and a councilor. Still, kind enough to care about someone as wretched as I am.”

"You keep mentioning my mother. You knew her?” I inquired.

"Seraphina and I grew up together. You and her are similar in many ways, you know?”

"I wouldn't know. I barely know anything about her, and what I do know, is nothing more than gossip on the streets; a gossip that doesn't paint a pretty picture.”

"She was so much more than baseless rumors on the street. She was an adventurous spirit, one that could not be easily contained. She would always come to me whining, begging me for help, and then, she would get in trouble again the very next day. It was an endless cycle until I could no longer protect her...” he paused, seemingly in pain, but not a physical one.

"It's alright, I don't need to hear the rest of it.”

"I just stood there, Valerian! Lips tied and eyes shut! I let her get banished, and for the longest time, I blamed you and your father for the fate that has befallen her. But it was not long after I realized that she was not forsaken, but saved. Her screams still haunt my dreams sometimes, pleading for her baby's life and begging the council not to take you away from her. After so many years, I finally have a chance to reunite you two, a chance at salvation for all my wrongdoings. I hope she can forgive me,” he barely finished his story, a heavy cough overcoming him, his body slowly giving up.

"I'm sure she will. Now, rest. We are here.” I said as the avian army came into view.

Once again, their numbers increased, forming a line as far as the eye could see. Their positions were now more heavily guarded, with each unit assigned a couple of mages and summoners. Mages were responsible for defensive measures, while summoners had the power to summon mystical beasts from other worlds, strengthening the avian army's offense.

"Look up there! It's Sir Atlas! He's finally returned and..." one of the soldiers cheerfully yelled as he thought he saw Atlas returning victorious, but his joy quickly faded.

"Go and give them hell, kid," Atlas whispered just before losing consciousness.

As the eyes of every avian on the scene turned towards me, I needed to act quickly and demonstrate my power and dominance to them, for this could be my last chance at a new life.

"Is this the best you can offer, proud avians?" I screamed at the top of my lungs, raising the sword and with one swift move, throwing Atlas's unconscious body from it onto one of the flying rocks for everyone to see.

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"Is this your hero? The one you call Atlas? I have to give it to you, at first, he did seem like a threat, but after some time, I saw he was no different than the rest! He bleeds like the rest, and he falls just like the rest! Did you think you could stop me with only one Atlas? You would need at least a thousand of them to stop me!" I continued to make a show, lying left and right, because I knew if Atlas wanted to get rid of me, he could.

The most important thing now was to rile them up, to make their actions ruled by fear. While most of the soldiers, and even some commanders, were visibly affected by the fall of Atlas, one figure seemed greatly amused by it all.

"Is it possible that the great Atlas has fallen? My, my, how intriguing. I always knew you would be special, dear Valerian, just not this soon. But of course, you were born from the same cloth as him," Lucius spoke.

I couldn't quite grasp what he was saying; it sounded like the ramblings of a madman.

"Hmm, the smoke around you is the same smoke he used to have, or so the history books say," he continued, materializing next to me and grabbing my shoulder.

"Even your wounds have healed as if nothing ever happened. And you even defeated Atlas, supposedly," Lucius mumbled, seemingly lost in thought.

"What do you want?" I asked, feeling a growing unease.

"I am a man of science; I want everything. Now, what do you say to a deal?"

The uneasiness intensified, and while my gut urged me to kill him right now, I couldn't bring myself to act without hearing him out.

"What kind of deal?" I inquired.

"It's simple. I will grant you banishment, so you can be reunited with your mommy," he answered, his sharp green eyes full of deceit piercing through me.

"And what do you get out of this?"

"Let's just say, you leading a happy life is enough for me," he grinned, though his eyes betrayed only contempt.

Deep down, I knew that accepting his deal would only lead to more suffering. But how could I pass up such an opportunity when it lay right before me? It seemed he already knew I hadn't defeated Atlas and what my wish was. It was as if he could see right through me, predicting my moves before I even thought of them. The best I could do was accept his deal and consider the consequences later, as a chance like this might never come again.

"Fine, I will take your deal," I declared.

„Marvelous! Now, follow my lead and strike my face. But not too hard okay? I wouldn't want you to damage this pretty face of mine.” just as he said that all my pent-up anger and frustration flowed into my punch, and with an incredible force his body flew to the frontlines, one of the commanders catching him mid-air.

„Someone, bring forward the High priest! This avian needs to be banished! If we prolong this any longer, our entire civilization will be in danger! Look at the dark smoke surrounding him, it's only proof that he is a reincarnation of the First Sin!” Lucius screamed, pointing a finger at me.

A First Sin? What is he talking about?

Soon after, a high priest came forward, heavily guarded by the order of holy knights. He wore a white robe with golden ornaments, and in his hands lay a single silver chalice.

„If what you speak is true, time is of an essence,” he spoke, and then raised the chalice high above his head, and started an incantation.

„Forefathers of old, I call upon the celestial blood of Valerian the Golden! From this sacred realm, from this hallowed ground,

I command thee, by ancient decree:

Begone!

May the gates of oblivion open wide.”

Just as he finished his incantation, the chalice glowed with a blinding light, and a surge of blood flowed from my wrists, straight into the chalice. A pain so immense came over me, that my body started trashing around mid-air, and then I took a fetal position. The golden feathers atop my wings started to wither away, leaving only bear bones. The small white particles started leaving my body, making me feel like my skin was tearing itself off.

Oh, so this is what mother felt? The pain was intolerable, but the thought of a new life made it just a little more bearable.

As the particles left my body, most of my being became transparent. It became clear that the celestial essence was leaving me, and soon I would cease to exist.