Chapter 193: Awakening

An invisible weight settled over the clearing. Leaves rustled without wind, and loose stones rattled against the dirt. Leo watched the chaotic energy war inside the boy. The dormant bloodline was waking up, clashing and fusing with the new power.

Atlas bared his teeth through the pain.

"AAAGH!"

Leo wanted to help, but he forced himself to stay back. Blind interference could turn a fragile process into a fatal one. Atlas lifted his head, locking those glowing eyes onto Leo.

"Food..." The word was a strained croak. "Big Brother... Food!"

The message clicked. Leo reached for his belt and unleashed a flurry of Resource Cards. Piles of provisions materialized on the dirt: protein bars, cooked rice, vegetables, and mounds of meat.

Atlas lunged. He tore into a protein bar, swallowing it whole before grabbing a second, then a third. His movements turned animalistic.

"Food..."

He choked down mouthfuls and reached for more. Leo summoned another batch. Raw slabs of meat, prepared meals, more vegetables—it didn’t matter. Atlas devoured whatever sat closest, shoveling it past his lips in a blind frenzy. The massive pile vanished at an alarming rate.

Leo watched in disbelief. Just how much energy does this bloodline need?

He tossed down more food, and Atlas attacked the fresh pile. Beneath his skin, the golden veins burned brighter. His muscles twitched in time with the relentless drumbeat in his chest.

DUK! DUK! DUK!

But a shift was happening. With every bite, the agony on Atlas’s face eased. The endless eating was feeding the chaotic energy, settling the storm in his veins.

Soon, the last scraps disappeared. The forest fell quiet. Leo readied another set of cards, but the golden light under Atlas’s skin flickered and faded out. The suffocating pressure lifted from the clearing. The boy’s blazing irises cooled back to their natural shade.

Atlas froze, the trembling gone. The frantic drumming in his chest slowed to a steady rhythm.

Duk... Duk...

Then, stillness.

Atlas stayed crouched in the dirt, chest heaving. Leo kept a careful distance, scanning for any sign of failure. Slowly, Atlas raised his sweat-drenched face. He looked utterly drained, yet the twisted mask of pain had vanished.

"Atlas." Leo kept his voice low. "How do you feel?"

Atlas blinked, his hand moving to rest on his stomach. For the first time since the nightmare started, the raw desperation was missing from his eyes. Instead, he just looked baffled.

"Big Brother..." He paused, feeling his own words. "I’m not hungry anymore."

Leo raised his eyebrows, stepping over to place a hand on Atlas’s shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked. "Do you feel strange?"

Atlas scratched his head. His usual foolish grin returned.

"Ahh... I don’t know," Atlas said. "I feel fine. The hunger I was feeling is gone. I feel full."

Leo let out a heavy breath. If something had gone wrong, he had no idea how he would explain it to the rest of the Freedom Convoy—especially Nina.

He offered a hand. Atlas grabbed it and hoisted himself up. The moment their palms met, the sheer force of the grip caught Leo off guard. He had to dig his heels into the dirt just to keep from being yanked off his feet.

Such raw power.

Narrowing his eyes, Leo closed them and reached out with his senses into the surrounding forest. The shift in the air became obvious. Ambient Aether drifted toward Atlas, sinking right into his skin.

It was the exact same pull Leo remembered from his own superhuman awakening. Atlas was still evolving, his body still adapting to the change. As long as he absorbed the energy, his power would only grow. On pure physical strength alone, Atlas might already top the ranks of the Convoy.

Standing at his full height, Atlas shifted his weight and looked down with an embarrassed expression.

"Sorry, Big Brother," he muttered. "I ate a lot of your food."

Leo shook his head.

"Don’t worry about it." His expression sobered. "Just promise me one thing. Use that strength to protect yourself and the others."

Atlas nodded without hesitation.

"No problem, Big Brother."

That familiar, foolish grin stretched across his face once more.

"Okay, let’s get to work then." Leo glanced at Atlas. "I have a pretty good feeling that your appetite is going to increase."

He paused, scanning the trees. "So we need to hunt some good game."

Atlas gave a firm nod. "Okay, Big Brother!"

The two pushed deeper into the forest. Leo kept his Void Sense active, washing over the surrounding area to track prey and watch for hidden threats. After walking a short distance, he halted. He sensed a faint trace of Aether drifting from the thick roots of a nearby tree. Changing direction, he approached the trunk with Atlas trailing right behind.

At the base of the tree grew a small mushroom. At first glance, it looked perfectly ordinary, but the Aether trace Leo felt earlier had vanished directly into the pale cap. His eyes narrowed. Crouching down, he inspected the plant.

Leo opened his Void Pocket in front of Atlas. Reaching into the empty air, he pulled out a thick, heavy book.

Atlas’s eyes widened. "Big Brother..." He hesitated. "Are you a magician?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Atlas scratched his head. "Well..." He counted on his fingers. "You can turn cards into paper and food." He pointed at the book. "And you can put your hand inside that black space and take out a book." He thought about it for a moment. "That sounds like magic to me."

Leo couldn’t help laughing at his reasoning. "Well... something like that."

"Wow!" Atlas looked at him with pure admiration.

Leo shook his head and hovered the thick tome over the mushroom. "Alright." A small smile touched his lips. "Let me show you another kind of magic."

The book was the Spirit Plant Encyclopedia. The moment Leo held the book over the mushroom, its heavy pages began flipping on their own.They rustled in the quiet air before coming to a dead stop. An illustration of the exact mushroom appeared on the left page, flanked by a block of text.