Chapter 370: Secrets?

’My second self?!’ Atlas was momentarily stunned as he finally recognized the familiar voice. His mind drifted back to the moment he had broken through to the Emperor rank after fulfilling all the required conditions.

He remembered seeing his second self sitting atop the massive, glowing tree within him, surrounded by that enormous black swirl. Since then, he had barely paid any attention to that existence, and he certainly hadn’t expected it to suddenly speak to him in the middle of this trial.

’You finally remembered me! I was beginning to wonder how long you would take.’ Atlas frowned slightly at the voice echoing within his mind. Although it sounded exactly like his own, there was something different about the way it spoke, almost as though the person behind that voice possessed a personality entirely different from his own.

He had created this second self himself, so he naturally expected it to share his thoughts and behavioral patterns. However, the excitement in its voice made him question whether he had overlooked something when creating this existence.

’Now, would you like to know the answer to that riddle? After all, you should know that I am you, so there’s no need to be cautious around me.’

Atlas didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he considered the offer for a moment, wondering how his second self could possibly know the answer to a riddle that had left him struggling for several minutes, ’How do you know the answer?’

The moment he asked, a strange laugh echoed from within him.

’Hehehe~ You want to know? You really want to know? Hahaha!’ Atlas’s expression grew even more peculiar as he listened to the laughter. He had expected his second self to behave similarly to him, considering they were essentially the same person, yet the voice sounded almost excited by the situation.

’What’s so funny?’ Atlas asked, his frown deepening.

’Nothing, nothing! I just feel excited after discovering the secrets hidden within this space!’

Atlas’s expression changed slightly when he heard those words. Until now, he had assumed that his second self had simply remained inside him without doing anything particularly noteworthy, but this statement suggested otherwise.

More importantly, the mention of secrets within that space immediately caught his attention, especially since he had never considered that something might be hidden within the black swirl.

’The secrets hidden within that swirl, you mean? What sort of secrets have you discovered?’ For a moment, his second self remained silent, seemingly considering whether it should answer. Atlas waited patiently, expecting it to explain what it had found, but the response he received was quite different from what he had anticipated.

When the voice finally returned, it carried a noticeable hint of amusement, ’Hmm, should I really tell you for free? Well, you are me, and you’ll eventually discover everything yourself, so I suppose there’s no harm in telling you a little right now. But...’

The second self deliberately paused, leaving Atlas waiting for it to finish. Within the black swirl, its translucent expression gradually formed into a grin, as though it had finally thought of something it wanted in return. Atlas already had a bad feeling about what was coming, but before he could question it, the voice continued.

’You’ll let me take control of the original body for once. Hehehe~’ Atlas exhaled once before immediately rejecting the proposal. ’I refuse. I’ll take my time comprehending the riddle rather than accept your offer. Somehow, I seem to know what you want to do once you take over my body.’ His mind immediately drifted to Seraphiel, and his expression turned serious as he narrowed his eyes. ’Even if you and I are the same, I won’t allow you to touch her.’

The second-self fell into a deep silence, as though it was displeased by his refusal. Atlas waited for a moment, wondering whether it would continue trying to persuade him, but eventually, a sigh came from within him, ’Tsk, fine then. Let me just tell you the answer for now. Discover the secrets on your own.’

Atlas couldn’t help but smile a little at that reaction. His second self had gone from acting excited about its discoveries to throwing what was essentially a tantrum simply because its request had been rejected.

’Perhaps a part of my personality that I keep suppressed all the time split off when I created the second self.’ He considered the possibility for a moment before setting it aside. Whatever the reason behind its unusual behavior, he could investigate it later.

With that thought, Atlas lifted his head and directed his attention toward the white space surrounding him, repeating the answer his second self had provided, he finally spoke, "The answer is... Truth."

The moment Atlas answered that, the voice that had been guiding him through the trial responded almost immediately, "How...?"

Atlas tilted his head slightly, confused by the reaction. He had answered the question correctly, so he couldn’t understand why the voice sounded so surprised. "What do you mean, how? I answered correctly, so give me the reward and end the trial already."

The voice fell silent for a brief moment. Atlas waited for it to respond, but instead of hearing another explanation, he noticed something strange happening around him. A faint cracking sound echoed through the white space, drawing his attention toward the surroundings.

Before he could determine what was happening, another crack sounded, followed by several more.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The sounds spread throughout the entire area as cracks appeared across the white space in every direction. The surface surrounding Atlas began breaking apart like glass, with the fractures rapidly spreading until they covered everything he could see.

He remained still, watching the space collapse around him, while the mysterious voice finally spoke again. "You have done the impossible, Atlas Mariorett. Your reward was already prepared even before you came in here."

The statement only raised more questions in his mind. Before he could ask, however, the voice continued speaking, revealing something he hadn’t expected, "The reward lies within you, the part of the World Core you have...Try absorbing it completely on your own."

Atlas’s expression changed slightly as he processed those words. He had a part of the World Core from that barren world, ’But how does it know even this? The world core is in a completely different dimension.’

"Do not fret. It will not destroy you from within, you possess something extremely unique... that will help you..." The voice gradually began to fade, leaving Atlas with even more questions than before. He frowned as he tried to understand how the mysterious being knew what he possessed, especially when it had never revealed its identity throughout the entire trial.

However, before he could pursue that thought any further, the cracking sounds grew louder, and the remaining fragments of the white space began to disappear.

Within moments, the entire space had collapsed.

Atlas found himself somewhere completely different.

He couldn’t determine where he had been taken, as the surroundings were unlike anything he had encountered before. There was no familiar landscape or recognizable structure to help him understand his location, and before he could even begin examining the area, his gaze fell upon something in the distance.

The moment he saw it, his entire body stiffened.

"KHUAAAAGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

An unbearable pain erupted through Atlas’s eyes, causing them to burst as an overwhelming amount of information flooded into his mind. He bent forward, screaming in agony as his thoughts were drowned beneath the sheer volume of what he was perceiving.

Even someone like him, who had experienced countless extraordinary things throughout his journey, found himself unable to withstand the information entering his consciousness.

The first things he had seen were massive spherical structures.

They were so enormous that Atlas couldn’t even comprehend the full scale of a single one, let alone properly observe it. Yet there wasn’t just one structure before him; there were multiple spheres scattered throughout the vast space, each appearing impossibly immense from his perspective.

Simply trying to process their existence placed an enormous pressure upon his mind, leaving him struggling to breathe as his body failed to withstand what his senses were experiencing.

Atlas couldn’t understand what he was looking at, much less why the mere act of perceiving those structures had caused such a reaction. He tried to steady himself, but the information continued overwhelming him, making it increasingly difficult to maintain his awareness.

Before he could even begin to comprehend the situation, his body started to disappear, gradually fading as though he were nothing more than dust being scattered by the wind.

In the next moment, the surroundings changed once again.

Atlas found himself standing on a platform, but the transition happened so abruptly that he couldn’t maintain his balance. His body collapsed forward, and he struggled to gather himself after the ordeal he had just experienced.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Atlas, he had just gazed upon something that would normally be treated as literal Universes.

- - -

[A/N: Before anyone gets the wrong idea, the power scaling hasn’t suddenly jumped to the Universal level. It was a simple revelation of sort and Atlas witnessing something vast, nothing more.

There is still a long way to go before we explore the deeper aspects of the cosmology, so don’t worry about the scaling just yet. Everything will be revealed gradually as the story progresses.]