Tower of Heaven

"Put that away for now. Let's focus on healing first."

Those words were followed by half an hour of silence. Horus had his own methods of rapidly healing. Atlas couldn't use [Regeneration] as often as he did in the tutorial, especially not with larger wounds. He had to find other ways to treat himself.

The main problem was chaotic qi. Atlas first brought it under control so it wouldn't do any more damage. The rest was merely a matter of time.

When he and Horus were both sufficiently rested, they had to decide on what to do with their newly acquired golems.

"Can they follow us?" Horus asked.

"Clearly not. They will not be able to fit into the corridor," Atlas responded.

"Right," Horus said as he glanced at it, "then do we just have to leave behind such a blessing?"

Atlas furrowed his brows.

"How large is your spatial storage?"

Horus dressed like a barbarian, but he was clearly well off. All of his jewelry was made of gold, and those transforming gauntlets couldn't have been cheap.

He didn't doubt that Horus had a spatial storage, nor did he doubt that the man had enough space to hold at least a few of these statues without difficulty.

Horus smiled wryly as if he had been exposed.

"I didn't expect you to be so sharp. I do have a spatial storage, but I can carry four of them at most."

It was likely a lie, but Atlas understood his need to conceal information. After all, he was planning to do the exact same thing. The spatial ring he received from Kallos had a massive space inside. It was to the point that he didn't think he'd need a new one for a very long time.

If he wanted to, then he could absolutely store ten of them without a problem. But, as far as Horus knew…

"I can only hold one. We will have to be content with what we can carry."

It would have been better if they could take all that remained, but five of these statues would still be more than just helpful.

Atlas and Horus did as they said, taking two swordsmen, a spearman, a shieldbearer, and a bowman with them.

Horus gave the remaining few a sad look while leaving, but he still followed Atlas into the new corridor. They walked for just a few meters before they encountered another fork in the road.

"So…an eye, a clock, and a branch," Horus said.

"Yes. It seems there is some sort of pattern," Atlas responded.

The split corridors were each labeled with one of those three symbols. If the chamber they came from was also counted, then its symbol was likely a mirror.

Understanding that a pattern existed was easy. However, deciphering it was simply impossible. They had not experienced enough of it to put together any inferences.

"Should we pick randomly?" Horus asked.

"I chose at the last crossroads. You may do the honors this time."

"Then…let's go with the eye."

Horus' tone was no different than usual, but Atlas sensed something strange from his attitude.

'An eye…?'

He took note of the behavior. Nevertheless, he followed Horus' choice and went with him into the eye corridor.

They walked for quite a while to reach the next chamber. When the corridor eventually opened up, their eyes went to the ceiling and widened.

Hanging from there was a disgusting entity. It had arms and legs like a human that latched onto the ceiling. Its head drooped down, completely disproportionate to the rest of its body.

While its arms and legs were roughly three meters long each, its head was a single massive eye that took up most of the empty space in the room.

It was enclosed in a thin film of skin at first, but the moment they walked in, it shot open.

The gruesome thing stared at them for a moment, its limbs fidgeting strangely.

However, after only a glance, it turned away and closed its eye again, uninterested.

"T-that…" Horus stuttered.

"...is not our concern," Atlas finished.

"Seeing how it is not reacting, this must be the wrong path."

Horus had a look on his face like he was expecting something entirely different. Still, there was nothing he could say.

The two of them turned around and attempted to return the way they came, but the corridor was blocked by an invisible wall.

They had no choice but to walk under the massive eyeball and into the other corridor.

'If that eye was hostile, it would be terrifying.'

Even walking past it was enough to strike terror into the hearts of the bravest men. Imagining what it would be like if it acknowledged their presence was not something Atlas wanted to do.

As he and Horus walked through the corridor and arrived at the crossroads once again, Atlas sighed.

"Wood, clock, mirror."

Mirror was indeed an option. It was also the first chamber that the two of them entered. If a path back to that place was appearing, then their next move was obvious.

"We must return."

Horus nodded in agreement.

"That's our starting point. At least we can confirm that the eye isn't next. That leaves us with only two options, right?"

He was correct, but Atlas still smiled wryly at his attitude.

"We will likely need to retry the mirror trial," he said.

"Then, we'll get another control gem?" Horus responded excitedly.

Atlas shrugged. That was still to be seen. For now, the two of them followed the mirror corridor and returned to the chamber. Along the way, Atlas explained everything to Horus so that they could execute a proper strategy this time around.

With the two of them working together and already aware of the hidden clear method, they finished the trial much faster.

Atlas immediately jumped up and pelted a lump of flame qi at the nearest chrome structure while dragging a mirror down with his sickle.

Four statues stood up to respond to the two people who entered, but the beams of light were already shining. Atlas tossed the mirror to Horus, who grabbed it and rushed to the place where the final beam landed.

The light illuminated six different figures than the ones Atlas saw last time, proving that this was indeed a new room.

And, with both Atlas and Horus running straight for the gems and ignoring the rest of the statues, they were able to gather them quickly.

Atlas tossed his half to Horus, who put them together and formed his own control gem.

He grinned as the statues fell to their knees.

"Nice!"

There wasn't much to be said as they moved back into the corridor.

Just… in that moment when Horus had his back turned, Atlas swept his hand and activated the power of his spatial ring.

It was subtle. Barely perceivable enough for someone nearby to sense it. Horus was several meters ahead, so he remained unaware.

Atlas caught up before he could ask questions and approached the crossroads again.

"You pick," Horus said.

"I clearly do not have the same luck as you."

Atlas smiled and shook his head. It definitely wasn't something like "luck" that brought him success.

[Intuition] was refusing to activate, clearly unbothered by small choices like this one. If Atlas had to choose between the branch and the clock at random…

"I will choose the clock."

Time had a large impact on his life, did it not? Strange workings in the fabric of time reincarnated him into this era, so it was a law that Atlas developed a particular interest in.

His feelings had nothing to do with the trial, but he allowed them to influence this random choice.

Together, Atlas and Horus approached the next chamber, a place that forced them to ask themselves a certain question.

Time…

What did it truly mean?

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