Part One: The Tainted Divinity (1)

Atlas was an ordinary young man until he woke up and found himself in an entirely different world.

He remembered that he had been working in a convenience store before his manager ushered him to go take a break.

Perhaps it was because of him working all day without a rest, by the time he changed into his casual attire and sat down on the sofa in the staff room, he was in a deep sleep.

As he woke up, he found himself in a different place, lying on a bed.

"---!" a girl with blonde hair and golden eyes appeared in his vision as she spoke of an unfamiliar language.

Startled, he sat up from the bed and glanced at his surroundings.

He was in a small hut which consisted of a simple bed made out of straw and a piece of cloth, an antique stove with a jar beside it and a little table in the middle of the hut.

His eyes shifted to the girl as she stared at him with inquisitiveness. The girl wore a worn-out dress and leather boots. She flashed a kind and friendly smile at him as Atlas observed the girl.

Attempting to communicate, Atlas said with uncertainty, "Who... are you?"

The girl gave him a delighted smile, "------!" The girl then pointed to herself, "--."

Through her gestures, Atlas realised that she was telling him her name. He stared at her with uncertainty before trying to pronounce her name, "Kaity…?"

Kaity clapped her hands as she exclaimed, "---!"

As soon as Kaity finished her sentence, another person entered the hut. It was a boy who looked like an exact copy of the girl and he was carrying a hatchet and chopped wood. There was something about the boy that differed from the girl. Unlike the innocence that radiated from the girl, the boy's eyes had the light of maturity. It was as if he had seen the cruelty of the world.

"Ah. You're awake." Unlike the girl, the boy spoke in Atlas' language.

As the boy put down his possessions, he spoke, "I'm Luc and that's Kaity. You must be a dimension traveller."

Confused, Atlas asked, "A dimension traveller?"

Luc stared at Atlas with a knowing gaze and said, "Oh. This must be the first time for you."

He then strolled towards Atlas with a casual expression, "You have the ability to travel between dimensions. I guess, for some reason, you have landed on our world. We found you near our house, unconscious, so we took you in."

"How old are you? How do you know that I'm a dimension traveller?" Atlas asked as the child had a sense of maturity in him.

"We age differently than humans. Although we looked like children, we are 101 years old."

"101!?" Atlas exclaimed in shock.

Luc nodded like it was nothing, "We're angels, that's why."

"I thought angels have wings and halos?"

"Oh. Only the queen has those."

Luc's expression then turned into a serious one, "Listen, human. Dimension travellers and humans are banned here, that's why I know. If anyone sees you, you will be sent to prison. Worst case scenario, public execution."

"P-public execution?" Atlas stared at Luc with a horrified expression.

"That's why you should stay here in the meantime. I would suggest you hurry and figure out how to get out of here." Luc said as he shrugged his shoulders.

Atlas nodded, trying to process the new information and thought to himself, 'I have nowhere to stay anyways. Might as well stay here in the meantime…'

***

It had been a week since Atlas arrived at this place.

He had asked Luc about his knowledge of his language and their past. But, Luc would avoid the questions. Respecting his privacy, Atlas had abandoned his curiosity.

Luc had told him that angels had distinct features. Every angel had blonde hair and golden eyes. He also informed Atlas that most angels had supernatural abilities. Unfortunately for the twins, they had no abilities. Hence, they were left in this hut to rot away.

Atlas had learned that the twins weren't living in good conditions. Their hands were full of scars which seemed like an adult's. Their only clothes were torn due to time. Atlas couldn't even imagine how they had lived through those harsh years. But there was one thing that Atlas was sure of: The twins had an unbreakable bond. Atlas had known for a fact that it was the reason that the twins had survived through hardships.

Maybe it was because of pity, Atlas had been trying his best to make their lives easier and better. He had helped with chores and cooked meals which received lots of praise from the twins.

However, Atlas couldn't figure out how to go back to his world. Every night, he had been trying to recreate the moment before travelling to this world. He would think about his ordinary life on Earth and dozed off to sleep, hoping that he would miraculously travel back to that convenient store. He was, however, unsuccessful.

It was raining outside tonight.

Atlas laid on the bed made out of straw while the twins slept soundly beside him.

Unfortunately for Atlas, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Instead, he stared at the only mirror that the twins had which reflected his appearance. Atlas' brown hair had grown longer ever since as it reached his shoulders. His blue eyes shone like sapphire, indicating that he hadn't lost hope. He was still wearing the clothes before he travelled to this world.

Listening to the sound of raindrops outside. He wondered what would happen if he was stuck in this place forever. He wondered if people would notice that he was gone.

Then, Atlas glanced at the twins and noticed something strange. Kaity was panting as her face was twisted in pain.

Horrified at what was happening, Atlas immediately woke Luc up, asking what was happening to Kaity.

Luc looked at Atlas with a frightened expression, "It… it's the curse… I… I thought we would be safe from it!"

Luc's body was shaking. His hands were clutching Kaity's hands as he stared at Kaity with panic.

Atlas forced himself to calm down. He glanced at Luc with seriousness and said, "Is there a cure?"

Luc shook his head, "Only the queen can cure it…"

"Why don't we find her then? Maybe she can help us?"

"No… We are merely peasants. The queen will not help us as we have the lowest status in this world."

Atlas put his hand on Kaity's forehead and noticed that she was burning up with fever, "Luc, go and get a cloth and cold water. She has a fever."

Luc immediately ran towards the jar of water that was resting near the stove. He picked up one of the worn-out clothes and submerged it in water.

Twisting the cloth, Luc returned to the bed and gave the cloth to Atlas. Atlas put the cloth on Kaity's forehead and said, "Are there any medications that she can take? Maybe it can stall the curse for a bit."

"We can't… We don't have enough coins for it."

Atlas stared at Luc who was kneeling beside the bed. His eyes, which were fixated on Kaity, were filled with despair. His hand was clutching the other, trying to prevent them from shaking. Then, tears rolled down his face.

Dread filled Atlas' chest. He felt like a boulder that was sinking in water as he watched. Atlas had been a courageous and resilient man as he had endured lots of misfortunes in his life. He had bounced back from the most despairing situations back then.

Despite all of that, there was nothing that Atlas could do to make the situation better. He could only put his hand on Luc's head in an attempt to comfort him and hope that Kaity would recover the next day.

This was the first time that Atlas had deemed himself to be powerless and incompetent…