Fears

"Ahh... what a beautiful day," Atlas said to himself as he yawned and stretched in bed. "Today, I set off for Aspell, and it will be the beginning of a great journey. I can't wait."

He had spent the night in a hotel room at the hot springs building. The room wasn't very big, but of reasonable size for just one person. There was a window near the bed, offering a magnificent view of the great stretches of water in the city of Cirenn. At his awakening, the day after the conversation with his master, the sun was already beginning to rise, illuminating his room with its rays. Atlas got out of bed and contemplated the beautiful sunrise for a few seconds before getting dressed, not forgetting his katana. It was now time for his journey to Aspell to begin.

"The master is an early riser; he has probably already left the city in search of new adventures. It is now up to me to go; it will take me half a day to reach the sea," Atlas thought as he left the building and began his journey.

The path to the supernatural world was only known to mages, for only the eyes of those chosen by magic could see the gates of this world. There were several portals in the world of people unable to use magic, leading to this place. The one closest to Atlas was at the edge of the sea, about a half-day's walk from the city of Cirenn.

…

Seven hours after his departure, Atlas finally arrived at the end of the island. From the top of a 430-meter-high cliff, he could see the sea. He approached the end of the cliff and said to himself, "Nature is sometimes cruel to us. Why did this portal have to be here? No matter how many times you do it, this thing is still so scary."

After these words and a few seconds of hesitation, Atlas jumped from the top of the cliff to activate the portal and thus reach his destination.

The descent was brutal; he felt like the wind wanted to take him away and that as soon as he touched the water, it would be the end. He could have easily cast a spell to slow his fall, but that wasn't his objective, so he opened his arms to dispel any feeling of fear and enjoy his fall into the void.

When Atlas finally touched the water, he felt it as if he had only dived a meter.

And just one second after that, he was standing in a place where the notions of time and space seemed not to exist. This place was the link between the two worlds.

Only a few steps separated him from a gigantic luminous door, and when he crossed it, he had arrived at his destination.

In this world, there were all kinds of fantastic animals: very rare phoenixes, dragons, giants, griffins, etc. There were beautiful landscapes filled with magic, supernatural phenomena that could only be observed in this place. It was the magical world of Aspell.

…

After crossing the portal, the spectacle before Atlas left him amazed. There was a great and beautiful city with many stone constructions, without losing its greenery. Due to an unknown magical phenomenon, the sunlight constantly illuminated this city; there was no night, yet it was never hot there. This beautiful city was called Solis, the City of the Sun, and the capital of the kingdom of Valley, one of the most prosperous kingdoms of Aspell.

To the east of the city, a building stood out from the others. Although it was not impressive in height, it was still huge in terms of space. The walls of the building were painted white, and two large golden knight statues were placed on either side of the entrance. This was the headquarters of what everyone called the Grand Council, a group of independent men and women from the various kingdoms of Aspell responsible for making all necessary decisions regarding magic, including relations between the magical world and the non-magical world. Their main headquarters was in the city of Solis, but they also had other headquarters in the other kingdoms of Aspell.

The reception received by Atlas upon his arrival was uncommon. As soon as he crossed the portal, he was accosted by three heavily equipped guards, probably at the service of the Grand Council.

- Atlas Turner, you are called to appear before the Grand Council of mages for deliberate violation of the first law inscribed in the mage code. Please follow us without resistance. Said the guard in the middle, who seemed to lead the small troop.

- It seems they have no time to waste, the old fossils of the council. Said Atlas, looking at the guards with a vague air.

They were surprised to see Atlas's lack of respect for the members of the council, but they just gave him furious and haughty looks before taking him to the council headquarters, fearful of having to fight in the middle of the city and draw the wrath of their superiors.

As he walked through the beautiful streets of the capital, passersby looked at him and whispered all sorts of things about him. Some admired him for his courage in the face of feared soldiers of all, while others judged him and looked at him with contempt.

Upon arriving at the council headquarters, Atlas, accompanied by the three guards, walked through long corridors whose walls were marble and adorned with precious stones before arriving at a very large door leading to a grand hall, the Hall of Judgment.

An old man with white hair presided over the council from his platform at the front of the room, accompanied by two others, a man on his right and an old woman on his left. They all wore long white robes with gold-colored trim.

The middle-aged man spoke up in an authoritative tone:

- I now call this court to order. Atlas Turner, son of Sage and Catalina Turner, both traitors to humanity, you are accused of deliberately violating the first law of the Mage Code, which states that no one is allowed to use any form of magic or any weapon related to magic outside the territory of Aspell. What do you have to say in your defense?

- What's the point of defending myself when there's probably a law prohibiting me from defending myself with magic outside of this world...

- Indeed, the second law of the code states that in case of aggression outside the world of Aspell, fleeing or fighting with bare hands are options to consider, as it is never allowed to use magic outside of this world. Hastened to add the old woman, frowning.

- Fighting with bare hands or fleeing from a mage who is willing to do anything to see me dead, you should review your laws.

- There is nothing to review. It is better for a mage to die than to endanger the entire magical community in an effort to save oneself. Said the man in the middle.

- Hmmm... so it is a crime of the highest importance to defend oneself. Replied Atlas sarcastically to the council members.

- You mean to defend oneself by breaking the law. The old man on the left clarified in a calm, serene tone.

Atlas knew that the members of the Grand Council would always find an excuse to imprison him, so he decided to speak bluntly:

- Tell me, bunch of senile old men, are you frustrated to see how easily I killed your assassin? He said, smirking at the council.

- INSOLENCE, DEFAMATION, HOW DARE YOU CLAIM SUCH A THING, ATLAS TURNER. Said the woman, pounding the table with her hands, losing her composure due to Atlas's accusing words.

- Calm down, my lady. Said the judge in the middle to ease the situation, gritting his teeth and glaring furiously at Atlas, who seemed to be enjoying the situation.

- You are not in a position to make such accusations, Atlas Turner. Added the calm man on the left.

- Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were in a dictatorship.

- MAYBE YOU THINK YOU CAN BE SO ARROGANT, ATLAS TURNER. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, YOU MAY BE A DISCIPLE OF GAÏUS, LORD OF TIME, BUT YOU REMAIN NOTHING BUT A DIRTY SON OF A TRAITOR. COMMONER! The woman said even more angrily than before.

After these words, Atlas gave them a threatening look, a look that alone would give chills to any seasoned knight of the Grand Council. A look that could have instantly calmed the three old men if they weren't known to be superpowered.

"Ahem... in addition to your violation of the law, you will be imprisoned for defamation against the authorities of the Grand Council of Mages. Guards, take him away," the middle-aged man said, using his hammer to adjourn the trial before standing up in anger to leave the room.

***

After the guard taking Atlas to his cell had closed the door to the large judgment hall, only the old woman and the man on the left remained.

- This Atlas is a real scourge; we should have killed him on the spot. Said the still-enraged woman.

- You know it's impossible, Bertha. We have a reputation to maintain.

This woman named Bertha had short gray hair accompanied by eyes as gray as these. She could measure 1.65 meters high. Unlike the 1.85 meters of his interlocutor who had long gray hair like his beard with black eyes.

- I know, but this kid is too dangerous to live; that idiot of an assassin didn't even know how to take him out. She countered, furious.

- You forget that the plan was never to kill him; it was to manipulate him until he used his magic or weapon, so we could imprison him temporarily before finding a way to make it permanent.

- I remember the plan perfectly, Edwin. But only death can stop someone on the path to mastering one of the Primary Laws. We all know that's why a man like Gaius is training him. Bertha replied, clenching her fists.

- That's true. If he manages to master the Law of Space-Time in the future, he will be a huge threat to us. Edwin pondered, touching his chin thoughtfully.

- That's exactly what I'm telling you. And maybe it will even be true for the deities we worship.

- Don't overdo it either, Bertha. For thousands of years, no one has been able to rise even slightly to the level of these beings.

- Hmmm… indeed. Either way, Atlas Turner must die.

- But if he dies now, his master will seek to kill us all for revenge. So the best option is to lock him up. And fortunately, we succeeded. He got manipulated like a beginner. Edwin replied with a proud expression.

- You're right about that. Maybe it's better to let him live for now. It will take some time before he becomes a real threat. For now, let him rot in prison. She added standing up, thus ending their conversation..

****