The Cavern

Atlas sat quietly underneath the stars. Unlike the city, on the Hurk mountains, he could pretty much see every individual speck of light in the sky. It was a wonderful sight that took one's breath away. It had been days since Atlas had had a solid night's sleep and this was his chance, however, he would much rather stare at something beautiful than sleep at that moment.

"Why…do I keep helping her?" he asked out loud.

Nothing responded to his question. Not even himself. He began to think. Think hard. He knew he had put his family at risk for this woman, who wasn't a stranger anymore, but at the time had been. So why did he continue to help her?

Atlas couldn't figure it out until a single phrase echoed throughout the forest.

"Because you're a good person," Goodspeed said.

Atlas sat up and turned towards the doorway to face Raven.

"Mr. Goodspeed…"

Raven closed his eyes and sighed quietly.

"I thought about what I told you. I was curious myself, so I proposed the question, but here's the answer. You're a good person. An elf with a good heart."

Raven approached Atlas and patted his back.

"You've always been a good guy, Atlas. Ever since I met you."

Raven took a seat next to Atlas and let out a loud grunt.

"You sure you'll be able to keep up, old timer?"

"Do you know who you're talking to, boy?" Raven replied slyly.

"Yeah… an old man!"

"You-"

The pair began to laugh together.

"You know…you remind me of another elf. My nephew. We used to hang out just like this a lot."

"What was his name?"

Raven stood up and began walking away.

"Doesn't matter," he said as he stepped onto the porch, "he died a while back."

Primrose sat quietly on her bed, her arms folded around her lap in a formal manner. Her eyes sparkled with tears as they made their way down her face.

"Damn it," she said as she bit her lip.

The princess had no real reason to cry, yet, she found herself doing so. She knew she was the cause of ruining the elf's life. She knew sooner or later he'd be killed…like her other friends had been.

The princess sighed as she stared outside of the window and felt the presence of someone staring back at her. She narrowed her eyes to see better and spotted Atlas, staring back at her with a smile.

She waved and he waved back. She quietly got up and walked over to the curtain. She shut it slowly and closed the door behind her. Primrose opened her palm and a fire emitted from her hand. She stared at it carefully as it rotated around her hand.

She applied it to her skin and a soft hiss was heard as the first began to slowly engulf her body. What she was doing was applying a battle aura around her. A skill she had been practicing for a while. She couldn't hold it for very long and didn't want anyone to know about it unless absolutely necessary because the power was considered rare among knights and highly valuable.

With the cloak of fire mana around her, Primrose's tears evaporated and her skin began to heal. Pretty soon, she was almost fully healed. She was aware that she would have to act like she was still injured, but that didn't bother her. She was prepared for any emergency.

She reached over to the drawer in front of her and opened it. Inside were some bandages that Raven Goodspeed had told her she could use. She carefully wrapped a bandage around her hand and then did the other. As she finished the last hand, Atlas burst through the door and immediately grabbed Primrose's arm and wrapped it around his neck.

"We need to leave, now!"

"Wh-what's wrong?" Primrose said, startled.

"Mr. Goodspeed sensed a threat. Looks like they found us-"

A sudden crack of lightning sounded in the distance and a roar followed.

"Let's go!"

"Right!"

An arrow whistled in the wind nearby and rain began to pour suddenly. The duo made it to the front door where Raven Goodspeed was firing arrows after arrows at the trees. It was unclear what he was shooting at, but Primrose knew better than to judge him or think that the old elf had gone senile. She trusted Atlas.

She definitely sensed a presence. Something malicious was chasing them.

"Go!" Raven yelled at them as he drew back his bow.

"But-"

"Just go! I'll hold them back!"

"What about Hungus? We can't take him with us because of the thick trees! It'd slow us down. It'd be better if we stayed and fought-"

"I'll catch up with you guys once I kill them all," the old elf said as he smiled at Atlas, "I'll bring your friend with me."

Atlas nodded reluctantly and Primrose pulled on his sleeve.

"We should get going," she whispered.

"Don't die, okay?!" Atlas yelled..

"How could I die yet, boy? I'm supposed to go on at least another ten adventures!"

Atlas smiled as the duo fled the scene.

Together, the Primrose and Atlas ran through the trees. It was clear that the princess' "condition" was slowing them down. She would need to improvise.

"Hey, do you know wind magic?"

Atlas shook his head.

"Well, I do, so let's try something."

Atlas stopped and Raven pointed at the floor.

"Wiva!"

Suddenly, Primrose and Atlas found themselves in the air, launched by the burst of wind that had come from the princess' finger tips.

"We're going to crash!" Atlas yelped.

Primrose fired off another burst of wind that sent them propelling forwards.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Atlas yelled over the wind.

"I just need to get us far away!" Primrose said, sweat pouring down her face.

After more than a few bursts of wind, Primrose and Atlas found themselves falling towards the earth. A couple seconds ago they had been flying over the trees, the moonlight lighting their surroundings and birds squawked from having strangers enter their homes at such a late time.

"Ajar!"

An earth pillar rose and intercepted their fall. Unfortunately for Primrose, who had activated her battle aura, had crushed the pillar and fell onto the hard surface, causing the ground beneath them to cave in.

"Ugh…"

Atlas lay flat on his stomach, a rock stood still on his back. His arms were crushed and his legs were broken. The young elf looked up at the trees above and coughed violently. Blood oozed from his saliva and splattered on the coarse ground. It glistened under the moonlight that peaked from the treeline from which they had fallen from.

Atlas slowly tried to stand up, but his broken bones prevented him from doing so. The rock on his back slipped off after his attempt, allowing for a little more mobility. That's when he fully understood his injuries.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!"

He screamed and screamed. The pain was something he hadn't experienced before. It was to the point where he thought he was going to pass out, but that's when he heard it.

"Atlas!"

Someone was calling his name. Atlas turned to face the other side of the crater and saw Primrose, seemingly unharmed and standing far from him. A boulder stood in between them with small cracks from which he could make out her figure. It seemed almost impossible for her to reach him.

"I'll have to figure this out myself, then," Atlas said through gritted teeth.

"Atlas! I'll get you, okay?"

"..."

Atlas put his most capable arm in front of him and clawed at the dirt. He planned to drag himself forwards. Drag himself towards something he spotted in front of him.

He seemed to be in front of a cave; one littered with crystals and glowing flowers. It seemed docile, from where Atlas was laying, so he continued to drag himself forwards. Every drag put him in more excruciating pain. Every breath caused his eyes to shut a little more. Every speck of darkness tunneled his vision. He eventually blacked out.

Atlas awoke and seemed to be deeper in the cave. He groaned and sat up. He then got onto his feet and looked around.

Atlas scratched his head and walked down the corridor of the cave until he ran into the same hallway he had awoken in.

"What the-" he finally said.

Suddenly, a force brought him down to his knees and he lay in the same position. He flinched at the power that seemed to ooze above him. It curled around Atlas and snapped his bones one by one.

"AHHHHHH!" he screamed.

The screaming continued until the pain stopped and he found himself on his feet again. His injuries disappeared and it was as if something beckoned him to go forwards, to travel through the tunnel once more.

Fearing the same pain would come back, he refused, and instead, he stayed standing still, resisting the feeling. Atlas had no clue what to make of the situation, but that's when an idea came to him. What if he were to try to exit the cave from behind him? He turned around and headed the opposite way towards the exit.

As he traveled he wondered why the terrain seemed to look so similar and that's when it clicked. Doom loomed over him as he stood in front of the spot where he had felt the pain. He could tell it was there because there was a small hint of blood that seemed to be disappearing drop by drop.

"What in the world?" Atlas said, frightened.

He backed away slowly and fell on his butt.

"What kind of phenomenon is this?"

The cave answered with silence.

"Primrose?!"

No one replied for a second, until an echo of his own voice exploded into his ears.

"Primrose?!"

It almost seemed like the voice had come from within his head and not his surroundings. It was as if his words had been projected back at him through thoughts. Atlas didn't know what to do. Using earth magic was too dangerous to escape from the cave and using light magic would be pointless.

"Crap," he said.

Atlas took a seat and pondered what to do next for a while.

"Haaaah…"

The young elf decided he would need to wait for Primrose to find him. That probably wouldn't be possible, though. The crater was covered in rocks that separated both of them.

"Hmmm?"

Atlas noticed that next to where he had been sitting, his staff was leaning against the cave wall.

"Has this been here the whole time?" he asked himself.

That's when something clicked in his brain, once again. Someone was testing Atlas. Someone extremely powerful. Had he been captured by whatever had been chasing them? That was hard to decipher. He had passed out, so he wasn't sure. But why test him? What was the point?

Atlas chuckled to himself and then let out a huge laugh. The laughter echoed throughout the cavern and bounced off the walls before filling his head again.

"Without Primrose here, I can go all out, huh? Is that why you brought me here, stranger?"

Atlas nodded and held out his staff as he stood up.

"Fine, have it your way! But don't blame me if I get out and kill you!"

Like an infectious disease, murder had taken over Atlas' brain. Or maybe it had always been there. Laying dormant. Wherever this murderous lust had come from did not matter. It only mattered how Atlas used it. A mage's light magic can turn dark. That's the nature of things.

"HAHAHA! Alright, let's do this!"

Atlas stabbed his staff into the ground and pushed out his hand.

Suddenly, the area around him filled with cracks as a thick darkness pressed against it. The cracks revealed a purple glass and as it became more broken, Atlas began to feel the big effects the spell had on his strength.

The spell was powerful and the caster, Atlas, had done it without muttering a single word. This was an important change in his career that turned him into a spelless mage.

The cube broke and Atlas collapsed onto the ground, groaning as he did. He felt like he was going to pass out. The whole process had drained him more than he thought it would and the darkness had struck a nerve.

Atlas began to think about the dark thoughts that had been occurring in his mind while he broke the cube. He felt ill and vomited on the floor.

"Way to go, Atlas. You don't know if there's food or water and you still threw up," he scolded himself.

The young elf began to make his way down the tunnel ahead of him. He felt that that in itself was also a test. The past one had been about his strength and this one was about his curiosity. Atlas wanted to meet those who had taken the time to cast the time spell, an ancient form of magic he had only read in textbooks.

The tunnel winded left and right, leading him past small creatures and an abundance of mana crystals. It felt like he had been walking for hours until he heard the rushing sound of water. Excited, he ran towards it, his throat parched, and his confidence high.

He entered an opening in the cavern and found himself in front of a waterfall. It looked man-made and a forest stood in front of him with a path leading deeper into the bush.

Atlas dropped his staff and ran to the water, pouring it over his face and drinking from it. He spent some time by the shoreline, enjoying himself, until he felt a presence behind him. It radiated strong mana, and so he ran to the shore to equip his staff. Before he made it, however, he was stopped in his tracks.

In front of him stood a being. Something one can only describe as such because it was composed of galaxies. Large spinning spirals that formed together to make a human-like being. Atlas immediately jumped back and put his hand in front of himself, ready to conjure magic.

"Hello, Atlas Woodsbarrow," a voice rang in his head.

"Who-who are you?" Atlas said out loud.

The being stood there for a while, unsure of what to say.

"I am Largos," he said alas.

"Largos, huh? Have we met before?"

"We have not, young one, but how do I know your name? Did I put you in that trap? How am I reading your mind? These are all valid questions."

Atlas dumbfoundedly looked at Largos.

"I'll start off with your first question…which is…I cannot tell you…Second question is a yes and the third question…I cannot tell you."

"Wha-"

"The one thing I can tell you is that your visit here was not by chance and that you will get something out of it."

Atlas found it hard to trust Largos and kept his guard up.

"What will I get?"

Largos suddenly disappeared from view and appeared behind Atlas.

"You seem to have an aptitude for dark magic."

"What are you talking about?"

"You may not be aware of it, but you used dark magic to break out of that box I trapped you in."

Atlas gritted his teeth.

"I don't want to have an affinity for dark magic."

A laugh echoed throughout the cavern.

"Boy, having an aptitude for darkness does not make you a bad person. Pain fuels dark magic. It doesn't have to be psychological. Of course, psychological pain and evilness makes it more powerful, but physical pain is okay, too."

"Where are you going with this?"

Ignoring his question, the being sat down on a log nearby.

"So you know how there's multiple divisions in light magic?"

"There are?" Atlas asked, shocked.

Largos sighed.

"Boy, did you seriously think that all those light spells you know were the only element of light? You have barely scratched the surface of its potential."

"I understand. Continue."

"As I was saying, dark magic has that as well. There is a long lost art that can be manipulated. It's a part of dark magic because it was forbidden because of its dangerous and excessive power," Largos took a small pause before continuing.

"There is time, gravity, mind control, and darkness itself."

"Interesting," Atlas said.

"You will be trained in time."

Atlas tried to cover up his feelings with a poker face, but it was evidently not working.

"You don't want to?"

"Well, my friend Primrose is outside looking for me," he said as he rubbed his cheek.

"Atlas, this was not a request. You will train with me."

"A-Are you threatening me?"

Atlas stood up quickly, unsure of what to do. The being seemed powerful and he probably stood no chance against him.

"If you want to escape the Human Division and even No Man's Land alive, you must train under me."

"But-"

"Your girlfriend won't leave you. She's attached to you. She'll keep looking until you reappear. Besides…" Largos looked across the cavern towards the exit, "She's dealing with something herself."

"Then I-"

"She's fine. Now, come train. We will begin immediately."

With no other choice, Atlas began his training.