Walking through the forest at a brisk pace, Nythera having come up to walk along side them, the three little hatchlings just chatted aloud, "So you're saying that Velathra was the city of research?" Atlas asked.

"Kind of. It wasn't really the city of research, but the most advanced city of the Arkaen on Nitelfall. It had ventured furthest into the Nexus Zones, had the most Essence Wells, and even mastered space manipulation to a vastly higher degree than the other three Arkaen states. The only real problem they had, at least when I was around, were the Divinites," Nythera explained, a smile on her face at Atlas's seeming curiosity. This was good, the more he was curious the more she would share, the more they could bond.

Of course, she wasn't the only one explaining, [Indeed. According to the most recent bloodline memories, Velathra even reinforced the Cradle multiple times in the last generation. Apparently they made training grounds for the brood, and advanced stations that gave accurate predictions regarding the path one should follow.] Blanc added, pride undeniably painting his mental voice.

"Sounds pretty sweet. I'm getting a little excited, but will they just let us in?"

"They should. The defenses of Velathra are extremely thorough, they first determine whether you're Arkaen or not, then your bloodline, date of birth, history, and other various factors as soon as you come within range. Most would be stopped at the first checkpoint, meaning they aren't Arkaen, obviously there are exceptions though. But in you three's case it shouldn't be a problem. If you were ever in the Cradle at all, then your eggs and life signatures were recorded as well." Nythera said.

"Nice. Sounds so much better than airport customs..."

"Airport customs?"

"Nothing, it was a brain fart memory."

As they walked through the valiant trees, the birds chirping above, Atlas and Blanc could barely hold back the urge to sprint ahead. They were nearing the first barrier to Velathra, once they passed it they'd soon come upon the outskirts of the guardian city, Astrafol, apparently meaning "Astral Fortress," to pay homage to the stars and the [Fold]. Still, they kept themselves back and tried to busy their mind with questions.

"Mom, is there a specific order to which parts I should focus on mutating?" Atlas asked.

"Mm. Usually it's dependent on what you want to do, your form is also quite unique compared to the standard Spiris, thus I'd return that question back to you, what do you want to do most? Once you have an answer to that, you probably won't even ask, you'll already know." she said.

"What do I want to do? I want to level up a ton and evolve even more, what else can I do?"

"Hahaha," Nythera chuckled, "There's lots you can do. You could explore, study art, craft ships, build artifacts, open a store, start your own lab, go into Nexus Zones, there's lots and lots. It just depends on what you feel like doing. If leveling up and evolving is your goal, that's more aligned with the idea of just getting stronger, which isn't wrong per say, but you'll probably come up with more personal reasons over time. But, if you're sure that's what you want to do, then before you decide, how about some training with me when we get to Velathra? That way we can find your most preferred fighting style."

As he thought over the question in silence, the sound of the wind and the birds his companions, Atlas felt a pulse of energy rapidly spread through his body. It wasn't invasive, but more so unblockable, at least that's how he felt. It seemed they'd just passed Velathra's first barrier.

Feeling the energy sweep through his person from head to toe, he couldn't help but admire their methods. It was almost comfortable and yet he didn't even have to stop moving for it to work. Once it was done, it just disappeared, determining that he was allowed to be here.

[Wow,] Shine muttered in awe, [How can you even get past that? You can't even tell when it's coming!]

"Seriously. I'm not sure how, but I could instinctively tell that if I tried to stop it, nothing would have worked." Atlas agreed.

"Well that's obvious, these defenses operate at the level of the soul, nothing but soul defenses could hinder them," Nythera explained, smiling at the children's expressions.

"So, does that mean we're almost there?"

"Yes... but, something seems strange." Nythera said, her expression warping in confusion, "We should be able to hear Astrafol already, but it's far too quiet."

[I thought so too,] Blanc added, picking up the pace.

As they heard the words, all of them felt a deeply unsettling sensation rise in their chests. They didn't know why, or where it came from, but it urged them forward much faster than before. It was this rush that made them miss the expressions on Nythera's face as she followed behind them.

Confusion, shock, sadness, then finally, wrath.

'So this is why you wanted a seal that required conscious control of my powers... You little bitch, you're watching right now, aren't you? If you had a hand in this, I swear not even your creator will stop what is coming.' She thought, her gaze turning colder than ice as she imagined the System's expression.

As they trudged further, the song of the birds growing oddly silent, a massive sight appeared in their vision.

It was a ruin.

A collapsed city of immense proportions, covered in nature's greens and earthy stone, the outline of collapsed and abandoned structures blotted their minds. It looked like an apocalypse had come through, ages ago, and this was all that was left.

[H-How... No, this is impossible. How- How can this be?] Shine stuttered, her mental voice shuddering in a painful emotional turmoil.

"Is this... Astrafol, the guardian city?" Atlas asked, hoping he was wrong, that they'd gotten lost at some point and ended up in these ruins. He knew what this place meant to the three of them, to his mother and his two siblings. It was a haven, an impenetrable barrier, proof of their people, and an immense source of pride. If this was truly its state...

"So... Velathra has fallen." came a voice from behind, Nythera having joined them at some point. Her voice sounded neutral, as if she was merely stating a fact, but Atlas could see the thick signs of sorrow in her eyes, "Come, let's go through the gate, we must check on the state of Velathra," she said, urging them forward.

They all merely nodded, moving forward with haste, the chirp of the birds long having settled and the eerie silence of the once beautiful city playing it's own tune. Atlas could see signs of what was once a grand collection of peoples. Structures of all seeming sizes were collapsed and destroyed, overgrown with moss and shrubbery, he could even see what looked like playgrounds with unique structures for different races, it made his heart churn, rising to his throat.

Before long, they'd passed what was probably once a square, a market district, a crafting district, a large compound of what seemed like government buildings, more playgrounds and even what Atlas imagined a school would look like, before arriving in front of a massive structure.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It was an absurdly large arch, hollow throughout, but towering high into the sky. It looked to be made of marble or some kind of granite, but he doubted whether such materials could hold the weight of the arch themselves, thus it was probably something else. At the base of the massive arch was a platform, and that was it. At first he was confused why they'd come here, but before long his confusion was answered.

Nythera merely walked to the center, moved one of her hands, and a pulse of energy spread out from her as the focal point. It traveled into the arch, the platform below, and continued onwards. Then, moments later the entire arch turned into a massive swirling gate, like a vortex of water had appeared vertically. Atlas could feel the energies of this gate pulling him towards it, and was pretty terrified at first, but seeing the calm expressions on the others, he figured this was like one of those "star-gates" or something, so he went with the flow, and followed them in.

Expecting to arrive in another city of ruins, Atlas's mind was utterly blown.

What appeared before them was a massive island standing strong among roaring waves of ocean-blue water. The island was so big he couldn't see the end of it, but this wasn't what made his jaw drop to the floor. On this seemingly endless island was an titanic mountain. It was ridiculous, so large Atlas couldn't even see the top, it put Everest to shame, and spat on it in disrespect.

Surrounding this 'ginormous' mountain was another dense forest, like the one they'd just left.

"Welcome to the hidden land of Velathra," Nythera said with a sad smile, "This place was once our greatest pride and joy. Sadly... It doesn't seem to be standing anymore." she finished, her voice tinged with regret.

Nythera hadn't used her powerful senses to scout out the situation of Velathra or Astrafol as they traveled. She could have easily realized the situation if she had, but she'd wanted to journey with the children, and take things as they came. Seeing the distant situation with her senses now, she couldn't help the boiling regret in her heart. 'What happened? How could it fall like this? It looks like everything fell at the same time...'

Hearing her words, Shine and Blanc's minds just stopped. They didn't even know what to think. All of their bloodline memories from generation after generation of Spiris, told them a grand tale of a legendary city, a beautiful place that was home to many and the center of the Nitelfall continent. It was their pride and joy, and the first time they got to see it, to lay eyes on this vaunted place, it was already destroyed.

Before long, both began to cry, doing their best to hide their sobs as they followed a distance behind. Nothing could have prepared them for this, nothing. It was like waiting to meet their parents for the first time, only to hear they'd been in an accident. That was the level of sorrow they both felt. After all, to the Spiris, all of Velathra were practically family.

"Ny-Mom... Do you know what happened? Why it's not like... their memories tell them?" Atlas asked. He didn't want to interrupt anyone's mourning, he felt like he understood how important that was, but he felt terrible for his siblings, and his new mother. He wanted to at least start figuring things, even if he couldn't do anything about it.

"... No. I have no idea," she said, her eyes glazing over, "I'd tell you if I did, really. It's every Spiris' responsibility to care for this place, including yours, but I really don't. Whatever happened, it was too fast. From what I can tell, everything happened within hours. I have a few ideas what might have caused it, but each is more absurd than the next. I truly have no way of knowing."

"I see..," Atlas murmured, his head down in thought. They were still walking towards the mountain, the three hatchlings had never seen this apparently destroyed city that Nythera had already sensed, but he didn't know what they'd do, "So what now? Can we do anything about it?"

Hearing this question, Nythera just looked towards him, towards her son. She knew he couldn't possibly feel the way they did, but this question, the one he first came to, greatly warmed her heart, "Of course, as long as there are people, Velathra still lives. You three were taken from the Cradle, which means there should at least be a few people still on the island. Your eggs couldn't have begun their soul-awakening without other Spiris making it happen."

"Right... At least there are some people left." he muttered, trying to look at the bright side. He didn't know how to even begin comforting his brother or sister, let alone his mother who had a much deeper connection to this place. It made him feel horribly, sticky with frustration and grief. He hadn't witnessed the city, but he'd heard the pride and hope in the voices of his family, that was enough for him.

As they passed through the forest of trees, these ones much shorter than those that towered over Patinak, Atlas just remained silent. He wanted to see this place too, he'd been excited, but now he couldn't feel the same. The fall of Velathra was one thing, it was terrible in every way, but it meant something more, something much much worse. The fall of the Spiris. The fall of their people.

Thinking this far, his hands unknowingly clenched, not out of grief, but instead out of indignation. It was 'bullshit, complete and utter bullshit.' as far as Atlas thought. From the moment of his hatching everything had gone wrong. He thought he was over it, but not only had he been taken from his people, have to fight in his first hours after hatching, almost lose his mind and life multiple times, but now even one of the most important aspects of his family's lives had been crushed into... this. He felt like the universe was laughing at him, plopping him into the world amidst the worst situations, just to see what he'd do. But along with this feeling, these thoughts and pessimism, something else surfaced in Atlas's mind, something that made cold sweat drip down his back, and Nythera narrow her eyes.

'Start - End - Everything - In - Between'

'This is where it begins, this is where it ends, this is where you start, this is where you fall.'

Nythera heard the voice, she had kept her primordialis related powers on edge from the moment she learned of her son's nature, it wasn't out of fear, but out of care and concern. She didn't want anything happening to him, and it was this fact that allowed her to hear the exact words that had trickled into her sons mind. The voice was cold, distant, horrifying, even to her. Yet one thing about it made her smile in small comfort, even if only slightly. This voice, it didn't originate from Atlas, or anywhere in his body. Whatever this phenomena was, it'd be manifold easier to handle if it was external rather than internal.

Hearing the nightmare of mental fuckery's voice once again, Atlas just froze. His eyes dilated to slits and his breath caught in his throat, he'd thought it was over, at least this part, now it seemed he'd been happy too early. 'Why can't you just leave me the hell alone!?'

Start. End. Everything... in between.

This is where it begins… this is where it ends.

You're here again. But... you never left, only came now.

The path. The fall. The rise... always the same, always different.

Forward. Backward. Does it... matter which?

You tried to start it. I tried to fix it. Neither of us... succeeded, nothing could stop it.

You don't have time... but time has you.

Start. End. Everything. In. Between.

There at the beginning. There at the end.

This is where it starts. This is where it ends.

You don't have...

Hearing what he figured was some kind of reply, he didn't know whether to be glad or mortified. Whatever this voice was, it seemed capable of hearing his thoughts, communicating with him, understanding him, not a single one of those possibilities were a pleasant one. If its cryptic riddles weren't scary enough, its seemingly frigid detachment was. For a moment, Atlas just wanted to run, he had no idea where, but towards the end of the words, all he felt was despair. The worst part wasn't the despair, but its source. It was the voice. The voice had shared it's despair.

"You don't have to look like that, it's just a specter of something that cannot let go. I won't lie to you, my child. I don't know what exactly that voice is. I thought I did, when I found you in the cave, but seeing it doesn't originate from your body, I can no longer be so sure. But that doesn't mean you need to fear. I am still here, and as long as I am, no harm will come to you from whatever it is," Nythera said, having appeared beside Atlas in his dazed state. She just patted his head, rustling his hair softly as she too felt the sensations of the voice, whatever it was.

Hearing her words, the feeling of despair slowly fading, Atlas tried to catch his breathe, focusing on just breathing, in and out. After a few minutes longer, he'd calmed down, Shine and Blanc having appeared beside them at some point and gazing at him with hesitation.

"It was that voice. I don't really want to talk about it." he said, understanding their confusion.

[... Alright. If you change your mind, you'll know where to find us,] Blanc said, nodding in his direction. As red as his eyes were from crying, he still had it in him to care for others. Stoic as the guy seemed, he was just a big softie.

"Right," Atlas said, following them as they moved towards a clearing. They were nearing what looked like a large base of the mountain, somewhere Atlas figured would be ideal for hotels or inns to set-up, some kind of compound at least. Before long, he was met with just that.

Another ruined city.

"Velathra..."