Tower of Heaven

How much time has passed?

What is the purpose of this trial?

Who even am I?

As he drifted within the colorless void, Atlas continued to ponder on these things. He truly had no clue as to why he was still there.

He was Atlas Vaun. Who else could he be?

For what reason was he still trapped there?

None of it made sense to him. And even as he continued to ruminate on the endless amount of questions that continued to bloom in his mind, he never found an answer. Instead, he stumbled upon more questions.

Then, am I not Atlas Vaun?

If not, then who am I?

The Heavenly Emperor?

But who is the Heavenly Emperor?

What is his name?

What is my name?

His body was weightless and the only thing keeping him company were these questions. But why couldn't he find an answer?

If there was any solace, it was the small blue box that continued to float around his head.

[5:23:43:52]

It had been a day already. It was an entire day spent doing nothing. These past 9 trials, he had essentially been able to breeze through.

Even when he had to exert a greater amount of effort, he never found himself stuck like he was now.

After all, those trials were about prowess. The first 5 trials tested his base prowess, his knowledge, and his capability.

Meanwhile, the last 4 tested his adaptability, his strength, and his decision-making.

This trial, though…what did it test? Did it test his knowledge again? No, if it was that, there would at least be a problem to solve.

Did it test his wisdom? After all, wisdom and knowledge weren't the same thing. He could say that the Heavenly Emperor was wise, but was that helping in this trial? It wasn't.

Then, what did it test?

It was a trial of self.

A trial of introspection.

But no matter how hard Atlas thought and no matter how far he dug within himself, he couldn't understand what he was supposed to be doing.

His mind drifted back to the previous trials. How he overcame obstacles, how he used his mind when strength wasn't enough, and how he blazed through his enemies.

Thinking about the titanic beast he fought just recently, he couldn't help but smile. That battle was truly epic.

But…something happened during that battle, didn't it?

Piercing his sickle into the beast's skin, his teammates rushing to do the same, the tail mace bludgeoning two Ascenders into meat paste.

He froze at that moment. He got distracted from the battle in front of him. But something happened, didn't it?

"Atlas!"

The burning smell of the beast's leathery skin, time slowing down as the world became grey, and a massive tail mace rushing towards his head.

He really would have died there. He actually thought he was going to die. But something happened, didn't it?

"Atlas!"

That voice…who was the owner of that voice? Who was the one who snapped him out of his daze when he saw those Ascenders die, and who was the reason he lived when he was about to meet the same fate?

'Dammit! I am the Heavenly Emperor! No mere Core Formation Realm beast can kill me!'

That is correct. I am the Heavenly Emperor. Why would I let something like that instill fear into me?

I am the Heavenly Emperor. Why would I admire a Tier 3 pill?

I am the Heavenly Emperor. Why would I be afraid to kill another person?

Why would I enjoy my time on the shoreline of an unnamed island? Why would I gape in wonder at the sight of an ocean? Why would I have problems with critical thinking in such perilous situations? Why would I? Why would I?

But…

I am Atlas Vaun. I've never seen a beast so large.

I am Atlas Vaun. That pill was the purest item I've ever laid eyes on.

I am Atlas Vaun. Killing is immoral and something I would never do.

I enjoy playing around. I never got to do that as a child. The ocean was so vast and amazing. Did you know that so much water could exist in one place? I've never been in such a life-or-death scenario where I needed to think fast. I always just let myself get beaten.

But you are me, are you not? You have my memories and I have yours.

Yes, I am you. But that doesn't mean I can immediately absorb everything you've given me.

But are we the same being, or are we two inhabiting the same body?

Is it possible for us to be two? There are so many signs that we are in fact a single person.

But, if that was the case, then why are we able to communicate like this? Why are we two separate egos?

But are we? Are we truly two separate egos? Or are we just two versions of the same person who haven't been able to meld as one?

Ah! That's right! There is no way for us to be two!

And why is that?

Because of that damn treasure. That damn treasure fused with my soul. If we were truly two, then how could you be able to use the effects of a treasure only I can use?

That's true…but we are not truly one. At least, not yet. But we are the same person. How do we become one?

How do we become one…

[3:12:34:22]

Atlas drifted aimlessly within the colorless void. Every question he asked led to another question. By this point, his confusion was much greater than it previously was.

But is it not simple to become one? There is no need to set a dominant ego as there were never two egos to begin with.

There's no need to change who we are since the experiences of both lives are extremely important to our character.

And so, all we truly need to do…is accept it, correct?

I am the Heavenly Emperor. I am Atlas Vaun. The good parts of both can be fused. They can be brought together. They can be molded.

I want to keep my critical thinking. I want to keep my ability to kill. I want to keep my knowledge of cultivation. I want to keep my knowledge of everything I learned in those thousands of years I lived.

In fact, there is nothing I truly need to throw away from my time as the Heavenly Emperor.

As for my new life, this life…I want to keep the love I learned from my parents. I want to keep the struggle I felt in the beginning. I want to keep it all.

The only thing that needs to be thrown away is my hesitation, my naivety. These things will not help in the slightest. It's already been proven through the past 10 floors that if I stay this way, I'll end up getting myself killed.

So, in the end, who am I?

I am Atlas Vaun, son of Daniel and Melody Vaun, and a child who has experienced both the good and the bad in life.

And I am the Heavenly Emperor, who once reigned supreme above all. I am a man who cultivated diligently and spent his entire life on the battlefield.

I only learned of Godhood, of immortality, close to the time of my death. I never truly got to achieve what I feel I have the potential to achieve.

There is also this damn treasure. It didn't do anything for me in my previous life, but here it is providing me so much now. I want to find out why and what its purpose is.

And there is something else. I cannot quite remember what, but there is most definitely something else. One day, through my ascension to the very peak of everything, I will find out what that is.

That is my ambition. That is who I am. My strengths? My weaknesses? Those are irrelevant. They will change along with the ebb and flow of time.

There is only one thing that matters…

Atlas's eyes, which had closed at some point during his endless drifting, once again saw light.

The storm-grey color of his pupils burned with fervor. And even if his cultivation base was minuscule, his aura radiated as that of an emperor.

Cracks began to form in the white world around him. The atmosphere itself began to rumble. It was as if the heavens themselves were waiting for his next words.

And so, he spoke them. No, he roared them into the heavens.

"I am Atlas Vaun! I am the Heavenly Emperor! And in this world, not a single soul shall bar my path!"

Thunder rumbled throughout the tower, attracting the gazes of everyone within.

Even in the Mortal Realm he came from, such a phenomenon was glaringly present.

From their house, Daniel and Melody stared at the rumbling clouds that overtook the sky with tears running down their faces. Something told them it had to do with their baby. Call it a parent's intuition or call it fate, it didn't matter.

But they knew…

Their son was going to achieve something great.

And as Atlas roared his declaration, as Atlas truly introduced himself to the tower…

The Void Space shattered, giving way to an entirely new world.