Unknown Powers

"Nihilir... what did you do??"

Atlas couldn't believe those words and almost cried out his name when no one else was around.

"Hey... You can't do it again... not now! I need answers!"

The young man stood there, lying on the bed, breathing deeply, but even after a couple of minutes, there was no response from the other side.

"No way... you can't be so shameless... I agreed to help you with your expeditions, but you can't throw me here without giving me a proper explanation."

Another minute passed in complete silence, and sure, the young man started to get angry, but before he could even start complaining again, a feeble voice echoed in his mind: "Calm down... little fellow. I brought you here for a good reason... After all, with your meager cultivation realm, it's practically impossible for you to accomplish this mission, so I have found you a good helper. But, from now on, it's up to you whether you can convince him or not... just remember that you can't fail no matter what!"

"A helper?" Atlas asked, a bit perplexed, "Who are you talking about?"

"Well... the one you have met on the wharf... He is the only one that can safely bring you to her!"

"That drunkard? Really?!"

Atlas was even more confused by his words and shouted out in response. Alas, Nihilir was gone once again, leaving him alone with only his thoughts in a complete mess.

"He is gone... again... really?!"

A long sigh escaped his lips, filled with resignation and exhaustion from the aching pain all over his body.

Atlas found this situation simply too strange. After all, with such a powerful ability, he could have sent him directly to where the young woman, Rose, was staying and saved him from going there on his foot, risking his life.

Or, more than absurdly, he could have moved her to a safe place, afar from the perils, and made all this ridiculous expedition null.

With such a power, many possibilities popped out inside the young man's mind, making him even more confused and inevitably causing him to doubt his intent.

Undoubtedly, Nihilir wasn't after his life because he could have taken it when he was useless trash with no power to defend himself.

So, what was going on?

'Hmm... maybe he can act only through me like he said before, and his interaction with this world is limited to this. But, then, why did he send me to that underworld cave in search of that mysterious power? How did he know about Rose's difficulties and all the other information? How is that all connected? Why is he doing this?'

It was inevitable. Atlas' mind couldn't help but wander endlessly across those thoughts in search of answers, and, at some point, his reasoning halted in front of a possibility.

'He told me that he needed my help, forcing me to seek the truth by myself... Maybe he is leading me toward a different path concealed from the others, and now he is training my heart and testing my resolve in front of an aberrant wall.'

Many possibilities opened up in front of him, and soon, his mind clouded, slowly but inexorably dragging him into a long, peaceful sleep.

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"Hmm..."

He didn't know how long he had spent in that bed, but luckily, when he woke up, the pain was gone, and his body could move freely.

Since the only way to find out the truth was in his hand, Atlas didn't dwell more in his messy mind and instead looked at the peculiar rune on his hand. After all, he wanted to know what had happened before and surely control that power.

"Yet again... this little thing reacted because of imminent danger..." Atlas looked at his hand in wonder and contemplation, "What a mess... if I want to find out the command, there is no other solution..."

Unfortunately, he had not yet discovered a better and safer alternative, so he grabbed one of the throwing daggers in Nihiste and pierced the right petal from which the shield had probably come out.

Mmm!!!

In the past, he had already tried to overcome the defenses of the other two sections. Still, he had not obtained any results because they were protected by a barrier generated by a strange force, which made those two flaps of flesh impenetrable.

Fortunately, the blade tore its flesh this time, and a bright cloud came out of the wound...

"Great..."

OHM!

Enveloped by a dense cloud of mysterious power, the dagger's tip disintegrated the same way it had happened the first time, and suddenly, a majestic black shield appeared right in front of him.

"Marvelous..."

Its shape was similar to a robust arrowhead and extended along the entire forearm, with the tip slightly protruding from the back of the hand and with the broadest part exactly above the elbow.

Indeed, it had a particular form, almost unique. Also, unlike the dagger, the shield was tied to his forearm and could not be rotated or moved. 

"How strange... Stuck in this position, his defensive ability is greatly reduced... But, at least, compared to the Ruthless Void Blade, the shield doesn't require an excessive amount of Chaos Energy to stay in this world."

In fact, the amount was so little that his energy was enough to maintain the shield concrete for a long time.

At first, he was surprised by the substantial difference between the two, but when he thought back to what had happened when the shield had tried to stop that disruptive arrow, all his doubts were resolved.

"Well... probably, its effective consumption will depend on the damage absorbed. I still don't know exactly the level of the inhabitants of this village, but from that terrifying blow, I would say it's far above my realm. Who knows where the hell I've ended up..."

Although he had a lot of time on his hands, the young man's priority remained to find the summoning command.

Previously, activating some stimulus from the dagger had been enough to obtain the desired result, so he stroked the surface with his finger, which was covered by a bit of his blood.

Like the dagger, the shield was also decorated with particular care, denoting its creator's mastery and superb skills.

In addition, the same symbol of the rune, set as a single fragment of a particular vitreous material, was illustrated precisely above the back of the hand.

And it was precisely when his finger touched the symbol that the bright cloud reappeared, generating in an instant a long sequence of words...

"The Impenetrable Void that can devour everything... Impenetrable Void Shield."

OHM!!!!!

Atlas repeated those words two times, and the shield disappeared into thin air as if recalled to another world.

Having discovered the summoning command, it had become easy to fully exploit its powers. Now, the only thing left to do was to find out its limits, yet that was not the right place, so the young man took out the so-called compensation given out by Borbur.

"Hmm... it's a nameless technique... Since ancient times, only the worthiest could summon the loyal elemental spirit from the universe. If you are truly worthy, one of them will answer your call and swear eternal fidelity to his master..."

The young man was a bit shocked reading the text: "So... it's something related to the spirits... I have heard that some gifted people can do it, but it should be an innate ability or a matter of conquering that spirit and not something like this... It's so strange..."

He was a bit baffled about the discovery. Still, he kept reading the content of the ancient scroll: "... If you manage to summon a spirit into your world, he will grow alongside you, feasting on your achievements and suffering from your downfalls... Since a pact between a master and servant for life will be formed. Damn, this... this is a terrifying technique."

The young man could not help but be more shocked about it.

"How could he give me such a powerful technique?"

Clearly, Atlas could not have known that Borbur had tried many times to make contact with a spirit but never succeeded.

"... Use your internal energy and open a small rift to the spirit world. The longer the gate remains open, the greater the chances of attracting the attention of one of them. Remember, these creatures are arrogant, and only a great power can attract them."

The scroll was complete with details on how to open the portal and temp the spirits on the other side, so it was pretty easy for him to understand its content.

After fifteen minutes, the young man had memorized the book's contents and was ready to contact the other world. Yet, opening a tiny gap between the worlds was not so easy. Indeed, Atlas used almost half of his internal energy to create a little hole as large as his head.

"I did it... I can even see the other side..."

The world beyond was surrounded by a thick golden cloud. It was hard to determine what was on the other side, but Atlas could still see some shapes moving from time to time.

"There is certainly someone on the other side ..."

The young man didn't miss the opportunity and started sending small amounts of energy through the portal.

"Now I just have to wait and hope that one of them is captivated by my power."

Initially, it all seemed useless, but slowly, the silhouettes on the other side began to increase and approach the origin of the power step by step.

No one answered his call for nearly an hour, but suddenly the situation changed.

"Gruuu ..."

A deafening noise went through the gate. It was so disruptive that Atlas had to cover his ears to maintain a shred of clarity.

"Finally, someone got in touch with my energy, but what the hell is happening on the other side?!"

"Gruuu ..."

The noise intensified frighteningly, and the silhouettes of the creatures continued to increase disproportionately. They became fuzzier and more chaotic.

BOOM!

CRACK!

"Gruuu ..."

"What the hell ... are they fighting?"

Seeing the shapes vanish one after another, it was evident that a gruesome battle was taking place on the other side. They looked like ferocious ravenous beasts looking for some food.

BOOM!

CRACK!

"Gruuu ..."

Noises similar to the excruciating cries of dying beasts continued to pass through the portal, and slowly, the creatures vanished one after the other, leaving only a few survivors.

"It seems the battle is about to end..."

BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

Thunderous roars followed, and at last, only one figure remained standing.

"Gruuu... Gruuu ..."

The creature's movements were slow and staggering, possibly due to injuries sustained in the battle. But, with time, the outline became clearer.

Finally, the young man could recognize the creature's stubby arms and short legs. The chest was massive, and the head was flattened and attached directly to the body without even the neck.

"Gruuu ... Gruuu ..."

Finally, after a long wait, the creature reached the small portal and began to absorb the young man's power voraciously.

It was evident from his greed how much the creature craved that power.

"Gruuu ... Gruuu ..."

"It seems to work... Soon, the path will be formed."

Atlas was jubilant and couldn't wait to experience this extraordinary new power.

"GRUUU!!!"

BOOM!!!

No one in the village had realized what had happened in the room, but one thing was sure...

Atlas had gained a powerful ally who would accompany him on his travels for the rest of his life.