Atlas burned qi lightly as he jogged, just enough to compensate for the injuries he had sustained. At this intensity his illness was manageable. The pain that crystal lung caused was less than that of his injuries and the interference from the crystals minimal.

He had abandoned his wagon in turn for two sacks balanced on his spear; a makeshift carrying pole. They contained only the most essential survival items namely water skins and some qi rich food.

Occasionally he passed by a corpse. He ignored them, there was nothing he could do. At first the number of corpses had increased as he headed west towards Tinith, to the point where he took to running on the sand dunes instead of navigating the sea of bodies. After a while the number had dwindled to a few dozen bodies per mile.

The wind blew past Atlas’s face. He was still exhausted from the fight with the lizard. Aches and pains covered his whole body, and every step scratched at his willpower. He felt that he could sleep for a whole month if given the chance to.

For hours Atlas kept his pace. If not for his dwindling qi he would not have even taken a break. He worried that if he even sat down, he would fall into slumber. He only stopped long enough to eat a bag of qi rich jerky. Then he was off again, rhythmic steps on sandy stones.

Atlas jogged through the night. Only when the sun began to rise did he stop to sleep. He had made it to the 40-mile marker, 40 miles more till he reached safety.

Atlas’s rest was short and peaceful. He dreamed of Fire, of the planets, of worlds yet unvisited, of people he would meet and of returning home to see his family and friends.

Atlas woke with the sun high above him. Howling winds and rumbling thunder met his ears, his blotches and blanket billowing in the wind. Atlas rose to a seated position, before him in the midday light he could see dark clouds far in the east. They stretched north and south as far as he could see forming a long wall. Lightning and rain fell from these clouds turning the dry desert into a treacherous web of flowing waters channels and flash floods. These waters snaked out ahead of the clouds like fingers reaching to trap any beyond the storm.

It was too far to see but Atlas suspected that beneath many, many tainted beasts roamed.

What Atlas could see was the speed at which the storm wall approached. It was fast. Atlas didn’t know if he had it in him to reach Tinith before the storm reached him. He did not want to be Fleet racing a storm to his death. Atlas wanted to live.

Atlas packed quickly, there was little to pack after all. He rolled up his bedroll tightly and secured it, and then he was off.

And so, Atlas ran.

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He went at a slow pace at first, minding his wounds. But when he looked back the thunderstorms seemed nearer than before. Fear entered his heart, fear of being engulfed by the storm, urging him to sprint away with all his might.

Faster Atlas ran.

Atlas had little qualms burning qi as much and fast as he could, he had more than enough qi rich food for a single day. Atlas pushed his qi to his limit, a little beyond what he would have used to haul a full load. Atlas reached inward, he pulled and pushed his qi cycling it into the pattern of the Body of Peerless Strength. It was a familiar pattern; one he had practiced for long enough to be done subconsciously by a normal person. Equally familiar was the pain and the resistance as the crystals in his lungs burned his qi.

For five miles Atlas continued, a eight of the way to Tinith. He looked back, the storm had closed a fourth of the distance between them.

I won’t make it. I need to push myself harder.

And so; faster Atlas ran till he reached his limit.

His mind was focused inward. This was as much qi as he had ever tried to cycle in his whole life. And this time he was doing it for far longer than he had ever done it before. With much effort Atlas maintained the technique fighting of the interference of the crystal lung and of the pain running rampant through his body.

For a hundred steps Atlas ran.

Then his focus on the Body of Peerless Strength frayed and for a moment, its empowering effects fled. Atlas’s leg crumpled on his next step, and he went down taking a mouthful of sand. He picked himself up and began to cycle the Body of Peerless Strength again.

For a hundred steps farther, Atlas ran before once again the Body of Peerless Strength failed. This time he caught himself before he fell. On he ran.

Over and over Atlas stumbled and fell, but he held firm and continued. The fear of the incoming storm and tainted wave surpassed pain and exhaustion.

Eventually he did stop but only when his body was bereft of qi.

For a moment Atlas felt a sense of elation and accomplishment. He had pushed himself harder than he had ever before. And for all his many falls he had made it another nine miles towards Tinith, only twenty-one miles remained.

Looking back to the storm Atlas found his high dashed. The storm was even closer now, more than half the distance from when Atlas had first saw it.

Even at his limit he wouldn’t make it, the storm was just too fast. Atlas made a decisive choice, he needed to do something drastic.

He took out a single water skin and a small metal box from among the remaining belongings on his makeshift carrying pole. Then he tossed his spear and all his other provisions onto the side of the road. Either he made it, or he didn’t, a fine spear, an extra day’s food and water, these things no longer mattered.

With great care he opened the metal box which was no bigger than his palm. The interior of the box was shaped into four indents on both the roof and the base. When closed they would form spherical pockets to perfectly hold four quarter-inch spirit pearls.

Atlas took out one of the spirit pearls and placed it onto his tongue. The outside was like cotton candy, in a moment it melted away leaving behind small sugar crystal like pieces. The fluffy exterior tasted like cherry blossoms and lychee. The small crystal pieces gave a satisfying crunch as he bit into them; they dissolved as he did not stick to his teeth like the mundane counterpart would have. These solid pieces echoed much of the same flavors but with heavier notes of rose and longan.

In that one mouthful Atlas went from exhaustion and devoid of qi to brimming with energy and spirit. It was like eating half a dozen bags of qi rich jerky simultaneously.

With new vigor Atlas once again raced the storm.