The First Relic

"Please hand over your weapons, young man," requested the guard accompanying Atlas, after they had descended many stairs and arrived in front of a mysterious door guarded by two other guards.

Atlas, having only his katana as a weapon, surrendered it without protest before passing through the door.

The place was not beautiful at all; it was a long, sinister corridor emitting a strong smell of mold. Several cells were on both sides. One would almost think that there were only good people in town, given the number of empty cells, evidence of the council's lack of work despite its numerous responsibilities.

"Your cell is at the end, move along," ordered the guard to Atlas, pushing him in the process, almost causing him to fall just for fun.

Atlas didn't react much to the guard's actions; he remained completely indifferent while thinking to himself:

'What a crappy attitude, typical of this kind of person. He's trying to boost his ego by humiliating me. Pathetic!'

After a few seconds of walking, they arrived at the cell that would be Atlas's new home according to the Grand Council's plans. Then the guard said authoritatively :

- This is it, get in.

- Thank you, sir, I really appreciated your company on the road. Replied Atlas, smiling mockingly at the guard.

- Shut up and just get in. The guard retorted.

- Okay, no need to get worked up over so little.

The guard then locked him in his cell and left. It wasn't very big and was very dirty, hence the stench that pervaded the entire room. There were also many runes carved on the cell doors to seal the prisoners' magic.

"Hmmm... it's not very clean here. But anyway, it's just what's needed for criminals," Atlas said with a disgusted expression on his face.

- You're quite direct.

- AAAAHHHHH!!! You're sick, scaring people like that could cause death.

In the darkness at the back of a cell facing Atlas's, there was an extremely old man. Yet despite his many wrinkles, he gave the impression that many beautiful and long years awaited him. His clothes were in tatters, and he was blind, not to mention all the scars on his body. However, one could barely distinguish these details because of the darkness seeming to exist only where he sat.

- Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to scare you. The man apologized, raising his hand.

- Yeah, I wasn't about to die from that either. Atlas replied, sitting on the ground like the old man. "What's someone like you doing here, locked behind these bars? I thought, according to rumors, this careless council doesn't arrest anyone."

- It's true that these people hardly care about their responsibilities. Yet here I am, let's just say destiny wanted me to end up like this.

- I see... so you believe in destiny?

- Of course not, I said that to joke. He replied with a smile. "It's not a compelling force that put me here, it's me who consciously chose it."

- You chose to be here!? But why?

- Because this life has given me everything, but I wanted more, and now it has nothing left. I wanted to stop everything, stop living, but the people I loved made me promise to always accept life, so I don't have the right to give up. Yet I'd still rather languish in prison than live freely without purpose."

- But... in prison, you still live without purpose, right? Atlas shrugged.

- That's where you're wrong. I have a purpose here, to stay until the end of my days.

- Hmmm... you're quite mysterious. Anyway, I don't intend to stay here. Those old folks in the Grand Council are probably congratulating themselves right now for how they manipulated me. But those idiots don't even realize that they're the ones being manipulated. Atlas said, displaying a Machiavellian smile.

- So you're here voluntarily too?

- At first glance, one might say no. I'm here for breaking the law. He replied, putting his hand on his jaw resignedly. "Only the Grand Council would send an assassin to eliminate me; they're afraid of young prodigies. But they didn't want me dead, otherwise they wouldn't have sent such a weak guy. So they wanted me to kill him using magic so they could lock me up."

- Hmmm, so you got trapped?

- That's what the council believes.

- But...

- I need something here. Forcing my way in would have been cumbersome, so the assassin they sent was a blessing for me. It was certain they would imprison me; that's what they want at all costs. So all I had to do was let it happen, let myself be manipulated so I could manipulate. And since I'm here, there are only simple bars separating me from my goal.

- I see, but how do you plan to get out? All the cells are sealed with runes here.

- I have my methods.

After these words, Atlas bit his finger to let blood escape. With this blood, he began to draw his own runes on the ground while saying to the old man, "I'm very lucky that the old folks on the council hardly care about anything, except their little tranquil lives in power. They clearly underestimate me, and that will be their mistake of the year. The runes inscribed on these bars have a big weakness; I noticed it as soon as I entered here. They are indeed very powerful for keeping the door locked and blocking almost any form of magic, but they have weak protection against the cancellation of magical runes. And nothing beats runes to counter other runes."

{CANCELLATION}

The runes traced with his own blood by Atlas were not numerous but very powerful. As soon as he uttered these words, they began to glow. And as his runes shone, those of the cell began to erase, finally disappearing completely.

- Impressive! You look very young, but your knowledge is exceptional.

- I may be young, but I've experienced many things. As they say, it's in adversity that we progress the most.

- I completely agree with you.

- Thank you! Well, I have to go now. I guess you're going to stay here.

- Yes, I have nothing to do outside. The old man said, smiling.

- In the end, we spent very little time together. By the way, my name is Atlas Turner.

- Pleased to meet you, Atlas. Call me Alnaïr the Blind.

Atlas nodded, smiling happily, and left.

- What an interesting young man; the future surely holds great things for him. I hope to hear about him in a few years despite the doors of this prison.

...

Upon leaving the small prison, Atlas noticed that the two guards watching the door were no longer present. They were a little further down, on the stairs passing in front of the door, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. There was also the guard who accompanied him, lying with his katana in hand. He then realized that someone else was in the building, and the chances that he was there for the same reasons as him were enormous. The problem was that unlike Atlas, this person had chosen a forceful infiltration. So he might have to hurry before reinforcements arrived. Therefore, after retrieving his katana, he hurried down the steps in front of him.

The back floor resembled a maze due to all its corridors and doors, and no outsider should be able to navigate it.

"It seems I'm going to need to search. And it won't be easy."

Ten minutes into his search, Atlas still couldn't find what he was looking for, and unfortunately for him, the guards were starting to fill the corridors of the floor.

Moreover, Atlas soon encountered three guards, all three equipped with two-handed swords. He was about to draw his sword to confront them, but unexpectedly, his instinct dissuaded him. He couldn't understand the origin of this bad feeling he had towards his famous katana, but before hesitation completely froze him, he charged barehanded at the three guards in front of him. The first one reacted immediately by pointing his sword at Atlas before continuing to send a direct blow to sever his head. But he had good reflexes, so he dodged by ducking to deliver a powerful punch to the guard, who crashed into a wall and took one of his allies with him in the process.

The third guard knew he had no chance, so in a final burst of courage, he charged. But fear was perfectly visible on his face. He probably wanted to see his family or friends one last time, but he was on the wrong side, and his lack of luck could have caused his death. Fortunately for him, Atlas just gave him a kick under the chin that sent him crashing into the ceiling and then to the ground, completely knocking him out.

...

After about an hour of searching and fighting through all the corridors, Atlas still couldn't find what he was looking for. So he said to himself:

"This is endless, I'm almost sure I've searched everywhere. I even retraced my steps several times. So why, why can't I find anything? Were all those rumors just lies? I should probably leave, there's nothing here."

He was about to leave, but as he took the first step, he noticed a strange variation on the wall to his left. As he approached, he realized that this part of the wall was actually an illusion, caused by magical effects.

With some hesitation, he tried to put his hand through the wall. And when he found that everything was fine, he crossed it completely.

"Well! I'm impressed! I've never seen illusion magic at work before. Of course, it doesn't look very elaborate since I noticed the trick. It makes you wonder how careless these old folks can be," Atlas said to himself as he passed to the other side of the wall.

Behind this illusion that was the wall, there was actually a long dark corridor leading only to a door at the very end.

The door in front of him could have been a trap or it could have been the only route leading to his objective. But at the same time, he knew he had no choice and that he had to go anyway, just to check.

Upon passing through this last one, Atlas found himself in a very large room. There were all sorts of treasures, gold cups, jewels, huge quantities of gold and silver coins, etc. Despite all this, one thing caught his attention, the large golden door at the back of the room. Behind it, a particularly powerful force seemed to be calling him.

Upon crossing this huge and mysterious door, Atlas found himself in a room where it was extremely dark. There was, however, a faint glow in the middle of the room, and the force attracting Atlas seemed to come from it. As he approached a little closer, Atlas smiled with satisfaction. He had reached his first goal: to find the first relic.

The relic found by Atlas was suspended in the air above a small stone pillar. It was small and round in shape. There are 5 of them in the world. And it is these that Atlas is searching for because they are more than essential to help him achieve his ultimate goal: to find the greatest of all things.

He had heard a rumor that one of these legendary relics might be here, at the headquarters of the Grand Council. However, he thought it was impressive how easily he had reached this relic, showing how truly senile the old council members were. Because reaching a relic is considered extremely difficult and almost impossible.

Atlas began to approach the relic but when he was about to take it...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

- DAMN IT! An alliance was made to stop my heart today?

- Hmmm?

A man was sitting in the darkness, holding his right arm covered in blood. He was a young man almost the same age as him. His hair was silver, and his eyes as blue as the ocean. He was dressed in a white medieval shirt and simple black pants with boots.

- What do you mean, you wouldn't do that if you were me? Asked a curious Atlas.

- It's obvious. He replied, looking at his bloody arm.

- Hmmm... it's true that it's a nasty wound. Thanks for warning me, but I absolutely need this relic. Atlas replied, determined.

- Know that I need it too.

- You want the relic? So it must be you, the one who eliminated the guards upstairs.

- They were just obstacles in my way, weaklings about to receive the call of death.

- Hey... calm down a bit, man.

- Anyway, it will be almost impossible for you to get out of here. If you ever manage to take this relic.

- How do you know? I may have enough power to wipe Solis off the world map.

- Wow, then you must be immensely powerful. Replied the man in a sarcastic and mocking tone.

Atlas looked at him, raising one of his eyebrows, to show him that he didn't take him seriously with his words.

- All right! I have more important things to do. If it's so dangerous to take the relic with my hands, maybe I should do something else.

Atlas then stretched out his left arm towards the relic and took a deep breath, contracting his muscles, a few seconds passed, but nothing happened. The man sitting on the ground then said:

- Are you trying to use telekinesis, one of the most powerful magics of the space-time law?

- Yeah, but I don't master it perfectly. Maybe that's why the relic isn't moving an inch.

- You're mistaken, that's not it. In fact, magic from the outside doesn't reach the relic.

- Ahhh... that's very problematic!

- Yeah! you'll have to shatter your arm if you want it.

...

"Okay... When it's time to go, it's time to go!"

Atlas was about to grab the relic. But this time, he contracted his muscles as much as possible, causing numerous veins to appear on his arm. Only one small millimeter separated him from his goal, yet everything was going perfectly well. But the moment he touched it, he felt his energy draining away like water from an overturned jug. And his arm started bleeding everywhere, as if it were about to explode. Realizing that he absolutely must not leave his arm where it was, Atlas pulled the relic with all his strength and without wasting time. Fortunately for him, the pressure the relic exerted on his arm greatly subsided when he removed it from the small pillar, as the opposite would certainly have caused his demise.

- Impossible! exclaimed the stranger, unable to believe his eyes.

- Not as much as you'd think. replied Atlas, displaying a proud expression as his left arm was in tatters.

- No, I'm serious. I didn't expect you to actually succeed in taking it. Maybe you're the heaven-sent one come to get me out of this mess.

- Don't dream!

- Come on! You'll surely need help too with one arm less, I'm sure of it.

- It's true that in this case, we're in the same situation. But I have no trust in you.

- Who said trust was important? We'll just help each other to escape from this place.

- Well... if you say so. Anyway, I can't refuse an extra hand to get out of here. By the way, I'm Atlas. What's your name?

- I'm Alpheus Lakeman, an elemental magician.

- Very well, Alpheus. I'm willing to help each other get out of here, but don't be a burden.

- Don't worry about that, Atlas, I'm sure you'll be amazed to see me fight. Replied Alpheus, standing up while smiling, showing his eagerness for what lies ahead.

****