Luna’s vehicle led the way, while Atlas followed behind on his own, with Edrik at the wheel as usual. They didn’t plan to travel too far. Just far enough to reach a quiet area outside the city, where they could switch to their flying vehicles and head straight back to their islands. The trip would take about an hour at most.
But even as the city walls faded behind them, Atlas’s mind was stuck on sothing Edrik had discussed the night before. A thought that had lingered in the back of his head ever since.
It wasn’t that he was rushing the matter. Or that he should delay it any longer. He simply wasn’t sure what the right decision was.
Atlas still needed one more elent to complete his arsenal of basic and special elents. The first requirent to advance beyond the limits of the human race and evolve into a High Human.
And Elyndra... possessed the exact affinity he was missing. The Light Elent.
Obtaining a special elent wasn’t simple. Unlike the basic ones, Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. High Elents were rare and incredibly difficult to awaken. But if Atlas were to form a bond with Elyndra, there was a strong chance that her influence would resonate within him, unlocking his own affinity with Light.
Yet... he knew the cost.
For a Fae, such a bond was sacred. Sothing that could only happen once in their lifeti. It wasn’t an act to be taken lightly, nor one to be offered out of convenience or necessity.
Atlas could, of course, use his authority as a Lord to impose the bond upon her. But the thought alone felt wrong. Not after he had freed her. Not when she had only just joined them.
No... if that bond were ever to happen, it had to be by her will. Not his.
Atlas exhaled slowly, letting the thought settle. Maybe he had been too focused on one thing—growth. Always pushing to get stronger, to reach higher, to claim every opportunity that crossed his path. So much so that when a new chance appeared before him, his first instinct was to think only of how to obtain it... not what it ant for the person standing on the other side of it.
This ti, he had almost failed to see the value of sothing sacred to soone else.
He still had ti. Ti to strengthen his existing elents, to raise each one toward High Affinity without rushing into sothing irreversible. And then there was The Heart of the Void, the artifact he had just won at the auction. He planned to consult Dullorak later and find the most efficient way to harness its potential for himself.
Atlas had already walked deep into the realm of the Dark Elent, far enough to unlock its advanced forms, Blood and Shadow. It would be perfect, almost poetic, if he could elevate that even further.
But then another thought crossed his mind.
What kind of existence would he beco if he truly managed to rge all of them. Blood, Shadow, Lightning... and soday, even Light?
Would he still be human at all? Or sothing else entirely. Sothing that stood between radiance and darkness, creation and destruction?
The thought sent a strange chill down his spine, equal parts excitent and unease.
Then, a voice ca through the comms from the vehicle ahead. It was Ember, her tone tense. "Atlas, I think we’ve got company. There are several vehicles trailing us from behind."
"Yes," Atlas replied calmly. "I’ve noticed them too."
"Should we stop and confront them? There are quite a few. Maybe ten or more," Ember said.
"Not yet," Atlas answered after a mont’s pause. "Let’s try to avoid them first. If they keep chasing, we’ll find an open area. Sowhere with enough space to fight if we have to."
On the monitor in front of him, Atlas could see the dots representing the pursuers moving closer. Edrik, focused on the wheel, accelerated sharply. The powerful engine roared, and the vehicle surged forward, but the ones behind refused to fall back.
Both vehicles raced across the dirt road, now speeding recklessly through the outskirts. The hum of engines and the rattle of tal filled the air. Whoever was chasing them was skilled, and persistent.
Monts later, Ember’s alard voice ca through again. "Atlas! Another group’s approaching. From the front this ti!"
"What?" Atlas narrowed his eyes, glancing at the radar display. Indeed, several signals were closing in from the opposite direction.
"They’re trying to box us in!" Ember shouted.
And she was right.
In the next instant, one of the vehicles from the front suddenly swerved hard, blocking the road and forcing a collision course straight toward Ember’s land rover.
"Hold on!"
Ember jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding a direct hit, but her vehicle veered violently off the track, skidding across the rough terrain before coming to a hard stop. Dust billowed around it.
Seeing that, Edrik imdiately braked and pulled Atlas’s vehicle to a halt a short distance away. Within seconds, several other cars surrounded them, engines growling as ard figures began stepping out, closing in fast from all sides.
"There are too many of them!" Ember shouted angrily over the roaring engines. "They’ve been tailing us on purpose, those bastards! They must’ve been watching and waiting for the perfect chance to strike!"
The surrounding vehicles screeched to a stop, forming a wide circle around them. They didn’t move in close, maintaining distance, as if setting a deliberate periter.
But then, in an instant, sothing appeared on the monitor before Atlas could even react.
A massive fireball was descending from the sky. Huge enough to engulf both vehicles in a single hit. The flas twisted violently as they fell, the heat distorting the air around them.
"Damn it! They’re attacking us!" Ember yelled.
Everyone scrambled out of the vehicles, taking cover as fast as they could. Atlas, Luna, Ember, Edrik, and Elyndra gathered close together as several more blazing orbs, dozens of them, raining down like teors.
The impact ca in seconds.
Elyndra’s eyes widened; she spread her arms and raised her voice, the air around her glowing gold and green. A radiant surge burst outward, forming a shimring do that instantly surrounded them all.
The first explosion struck.
A deafening BOOM tore through the landscape, the shockwave rattling the inside of Elyndra’s barrier. The ground trembled beneath their feet as fla and smoke swirled around the do, roaring with brutal intensity.
The sound was overwhelming, like thunder crashing right above their heads. Heat seared through the air, the protective barrier flickering under the pressure, yet Elyndra held her ground. Her arms trembled, but her expression stayed firm, her magic reinforcing the shimring shield.
Outside, the world was chaotic. Fire, ash, and the sound of destruction.
But inside that golden-green barrier, not a single ember reached them. Elyndra’s magic held strong, protecting everyone within.
Still, the intensity of the attack left no doubt. Whoever was behind this, wasn’t just trying to scare them.
They were aiming to kill.
Ember clenched her fists, her face burning with anger as the air around them still shimred from the heat.
"There are dozens of them," she growled. "They ca prepared. Long-range attackers, surrounding us on purpose, trying to corner us like prey."
The ground still trembled faintly from the recent blast, and faint embers drifted through the air like dying stars.
Atlas’s hand tightened. His voice was low. "Stay sharp. Once this barrage stops... we find out who they are."
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