Atlas shrugged like it was nothing. "Yeah. Exactly the sa mont."
Her breath caught.
"...So all my friends—"
"Still here," he confird, interrupting her before she could even finish.
Her eyes widened, a spark of joy flashing through them.
"They didn’t leave?" she whispered. "They didn’t move on? I... I don’t have to search for them through this entire damned world?"
Atlas nodded lazily. "Nope. To them, it’s like you vanished for half a second. A blink. That’s it."
She could’ve hugged him if she wasn’t still emotionally recovering from being kicked through a window thirty-seven tis.
A weak laugh escaped her lips instead. She looked away, blinking fast. "I was really starting to think I’d never find them again..."
"You’re welco," he said again, even smugger than before.
She shot him a look. "Don’t ruin the mont."
Atlas chuckled and walked over to the broken window, casually inspecting it like nothing had happened. "Ti inside the misty forest flows differently," he explained. "It’s one of the few natural ’ti pockets’ left. When I opened that teleportation circle, I tethered it to the exact mont we left."
"Tethered it?" she echoed.
He nodded. "Think of ti like a rope. Normally, when you move between places using teleportation or portals, you’re just jumping locations. But I anchored the portal’s destination to the sa second in this tiline. So even though you spent a month inside the misty forest, the tiline here never advanced."
She frowned. "But the mist still flowed normally, didn’t it? We aged, we felt ti, we slept..."
He shrugged. "That’s what my ability does. I have full control over it. I can go on any tiline I wish."
Liora exhaled deeply, absorbing the weight of it all.
So all that pain, that confusion, the loneliness of being stuck there for weeks thinking she’d been abandoned... It had only been a heartbeat here.
She let herself sink to the floor, finally allowing the tension to drain from her shoulders.
"God, I hate your ability," she muttered.
Atlas chuckled again, "You’ll get used to it."
Liora snorted. "No, I won’t."
Then after a mont of silence, Atlas reached into his coat pocket, pulled out sothing small and tallic, and then casually tossed it toward her.
Liora caught it with one hand, not even looking at first.
It was a small, round device, no bigger than a plum. Smooth silver surface, slightly warm to the touch, with faint etchings that looked almost like runes. She turned it once in her hand, curious.
"Teleportation ball," Atlas said simply.
That made her freeze.
Her eyes snapped up to him, disbelief written all over her face.
"Wait—what?"
Atlas shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned back against the cracked wall. "Just wish where you want to go. It’ll take you there. Works on the energy of high-level crystal cores, so don’t waste it."
Liora looked down at the object again, this ti with much more care. Her grip instinctively beca gentler, more deliberate, like she was holding a rare gem.
She had thought it was just so trinket. A toy, maybe. But if what he said was true...
"You’re giving this to ?" She asked quietly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You? The guy who trapped in a ti loop just to hear beg?"
Atlas smirked. "What can I say? I’m full of surprises."
She scowled but didn’t throw it back. "What’s the catch?"
"No catch," he said, shrugging. "I’m not completely heartless."
"Debatable," she muttered under her breath, then brought the ball closer to examine the markings. "So this... this can take anywhere?"
"Any location," Atlas corrected, holding up a finger. "Not a tiline. You can’t link this thing to a specific point in ti—that’s my ability, not the ball’s. What you’ve got there is just a high-grade space-jumping tool. Think of it like... punching a hole between here and wherever you want to be."
Liora’s brow furrowed. "How does it know where I want to go?"
"It reads intent," he explained. "You have to focus clearly on the place—visualize it, imagine yourself standing there. The more accurate your image, the more precise the teleportation."
She raised an eyebrow. "And if my image is not accurate?"
"You’ll still land sowhere near," Atlas said. "But don’t try to imagine a mountain and end up on a volcano. That’s on you."
Liora stared at the silver sphere. "You could’ve just given this instead of kicking through windows."
"Where’s the fun in that?" he said without sha.
She sighed and turned the sphere in her hand again. "So... it needs energy?"
"Yeah. High-level crystal cores only. Don’t bother with those low-level ones—they’ll fry the circuit. And don’t expect it to work endlessly. One core equals one use. And the purer the energy inside the crystal core, the farther it can teleport you."
She gave him a deadpan look. "You’re telling this now?"
He ignored her tone. "There’s a slot that’ll open when it senses a core nearby. Insert it, hold the ball, focus on the destination, and wish. That’s it. Smooth and fast."
Liora tapped the device lightly, then glanced up. "Can I use it for other people too?"
Atlas tilted his head. "If they’re holding onto you when you activate it, yes. Otherwise, no. It’s keyed to the first soul it locks on. That’ll be you now."
"So no remote rescues. Got it."
"Nope," he said. "You’re the teleporter now."
Liora was silent for a while. She held the ball carefully, like a fragile dream. A month ago, sothing like this would’ve felt impossible. She’d been running blind, scared, swinging her sword just to survive. But now—this changed everything.
"It’s a gift," Atlas added quietly.
She glanced up again, a little surprised by the shift in his voice.
He t her gaze without a grin this ti. "For when you get stuck. Or scared. Or tired of running. Use it. Don’t hesitate."
Liora blinked. The weight of it all started to sink in.
"Thanks," she said, softly, honestly.
Atlas gave her a rare, quiet nod. "Don’t lose it."
She held the teleportation ball tighter against her chest. "I won’t."
Suddenly, Liora noticed sothing different in Atlas’s voice.
It had softened. There was no sarcasm this ti, no teasing edge. Just a quiet sadness.
"...I’m going," he muttered, almost to himself. "Take care of yourself. And Eli."
Liora froze.
The words hit her harder than she expected.
He was leaving?
Just like that?
Her fingers curled tightly around the teleportation ball, and she stood rooted in place, staring at him with disbelief.
They had bickered constantly. He annoyed her more than anyone else ever could. But not once... not even for a second... had she hated him. In fact, sowhere deep in her chest, there had always been a strange warmth when he was around. A familiarity. A sense of belonging that she didn’t even understand.
He turned away and walked over to Eli, crouching slightly so they were eye level. With a soft smile, Atlas ruffled the boy’s hair gently, like an older brother would.
"Protect your aunt, okay?" He whispered so low that Liora couldn’t hear it. "She’s suffered enough."
Eli nodded quietly, unusually serious.
And just as Atlas was about to stand, Liora finally found her voice.
"Wait."
He paused.
Her voice cracked slightly. "Why... Why are you so good to ?"
Atlas didn’t turn around.
Liora swallowed, her throat dry.
"Who are you to ?" she whispered.
For a long mont, there was only silence.
Then Atlas slowly turned back, and for once, there was no smirk or sarcasm in his expression.
Only a beautiful, quiet smile that carried sothing unreadable. Gentle. Wistful. Almost like goodbye.
He didn’t answer her question.
And just like that, he disappeared.
Gone.
As if he’d never been there at all.
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