Tower of Heaven

Atlas intentionally made some noise and revealed his presence. The woman that accompanied Artemia was strong enough to sense him even without actively attempting to, so the fact that she didn't acknowledge his presence until he revealed it was a move that garnered his respect.

"You…Atlas?!"

Artemia exclaimed as she realized that he was already present.

"Hurry up and run before they catch you! You really don't want to go to my clan, I promise!" she yelled before anyone could say anything.

Atlas jumped off of the tree branch and accompanied them on the ground. Giving a nod to the other woman as a polite greeting, he turned his attention to Artemia curiously.

"Why is that? I do not have any problems with your people, do I?"

"That doesn't matter. Trust me, if you don't want to go through hell, then run right now. If you leave, I promise they won't follow you."

Atlas shook his head with a smile. Discover chapters at m-vl-em|p-yr

'She is being completely serious, but her concern has nothing to do with my safety. Instead, is she fearing something that she had to experience there?'

It was a comedic kind of reaction that clearly wasn't entirely serious in nature despite her tone. Her reaction made Atlas less worried, in fact, since he was very familiar with that expression.

'She has been going through hell training.'

That was the look of someone who was forced to train without doing anything else. Artemia wanted to escape it, but with her insinuation that Atlas would also have to undergo it if he followed them…

'...is that not better for me?'

Hell training was always his goal. Divine Sanctuary was bound to have facilities that he could not easily gain access to otherwise, so its headquarters was an ideal location if he could find a way to stay there.

"Putting aside what my talkative niece is saying, since you have revealed yourself, you have already decided to follow us, yes?" the woman beside Artemia said, breaking into their conversation.

"Mm. I do not quite understand what your purpose is, but my intuition tells me that it is of no harm to me. I am curious about what the true strength of a Great Society looks like as well."

Artemia's aunt smiled.

"Good. Then, let us leave right away."

Artemia looked between them with a panicked expression on her face. She didn't like how fast their conversation was progressing at all.

"Wait, Atlas, don't you want to think it over a little? Maybe it would be a better idea for me to show you around Vanatos for a few days or weeks or months before I have to… I mean you have to go to the clan?"

Her rants went ignored, much to her dismay. Unfortunately for her, Atlas wasn't going to save her from whatever training she had to do.

'It will benefit you in the future, so bear with it.'

With that thought in mind, he returned his focus entirely to the woman who introduced herself as Adella Tatsuya.

"I have sent a request. We should be teleported to the palace soon," she said as she put away the device in her hand.

"Unfortunately, you will not be able to see the entirety of what Divine Sanctuary has, but you will be more than satisfied with the majesty of the Azure Dragon Clan."

"Azure Dragon Clan?" Atlas echoed in surprise.

"You didn't know?" Artemia interjected after having accepted her fate.

"I'm a dragon, and so is Auntie. I thought it was common knowledge, really."

How could it be common knowledge? It was nothing of the sort!

Back when Atlas was alive, dragons were rare beings who could only be seen by those with immense luck. Now, was Artemia telling him that not only she and her aunt were dragons, but also the entire rest of their clan?!

"What exactly is…Divine Sanctuary?" He asked as the realization dawned upon him.

A ring of light appeared underneath the three people, slowly turning into a runic circle that confirmed their connection to their chosen destination.

As they were picked up and taken to a different place, the last words Adella said stuck in Atlas' mind.

"Divine Sanctuary is exactly as it sounds. It is a Sanctuary for Divine Beasts, for those beasts of all lineages who wish to have a home. Led by our Azure Dragon Clan, the Vermillion Bird Clan, the White Tiger Clan, and the Black Tortoise Clan, it is a place carved into the tower for people like us to go."

That kind of description put a grand image in Atlas' mind that was further exemplified by the sight captured by his eyes when the teleportation finished.

'Wow…'

It was breathtaking, really. Atlas had seen many grand monuments in his past, but certainly nothing of this size.

There was a massive rectangular lake leading to a palace so unbelievably large that it was almost too much. Surrounding it was a city that spanned as far as the eye could see, populated by the people who served under those who lived in the palace.

"Don't be too stunned by what you see here. The inside is actually pretty shabby."

Artemia's words went in one ear and out the other. The moment Atlas saw the palace, all comments from her became words of a rich woman. Her opinions on the palace were irrelevant.

"Still, she is not entirely wrong. This exterior is only for others to admire. Where we are going can be considered far more…homey," Adella said wryly.

She and Artemia led Atlas across the lake and into the palace, explaining along the way the things he needed to know.

The Tatsuya Clan, otherwise known as the Azure Dragon Clan, was immensely respected in the world. Atlas never knew about it because their origins were in the Immortal Realm, beyond where he'd ever been in the past.

There were many interesting things about the clan. For instance, despite having a large influence, the actual member count of the pure-blooded Azure Dragon Clan was quite low, still under a hundred.

It was because all of them had immense strength and it was because the other Azure Dragon Clans were so loyal that they held so much influence.

And, most importantly of all, their leader was someone with a reputation that spanned the entire tower, striking fear into the hearts of all.

"In case you weren't aware, the Tower has a system to award those who make great accomplishments. The height of that system is the status of the 9 Heavenly Kings. Each and every one of them can stand above the rest of the Tower's Ascenders and is considered most likely to eventually find a way to the peak. At the very top of that list, the first of the 9 Heavenly Kings…"

"...the Calamity Dragon, Alaric Tatsuya. That is who we are going to meet."

Atlas nearly froze in place.

The 9 Heavenly Kings. He had heard of the title, but that was the extent of it. To know that they were the stars above all other cultivators in the Tower was a completely different thing.

The man who was even stronger than the other 8 Heavenly Kings, who was presumably also Artemia's father…

'...I am beginning to understand why she told me to run.'