Chapter 371: A Beating

Atlas’s eyes snapped open in a familiar darkness. Even with his vision still blurry, he could easily recognize the massive, translucent tree standing before him. As his vision gradually cleared, his thoughts returned, and he looked around before focusing on the tree once again.

’I... am inside the swirl of Null again?’ he questioned inwardly, before raising his head and noticing that the fruits hanging from the tree had suddenly grown even larger.

He stared at the enormous fruits, noticing that their colors had also changed considerably, as though they had ripened to an extreme degree. For a moment, he simply observed them, trying to understand what had happened while he was unconscious.

However, his attention soon shifted toward the memories of what he had witnessed just before losing consciousness, ’Is... my body safe? More importantly, why did I even wake up in here? Shouldn’t I have awakened inside my own body?’

The moment those questions formed in his mind, a familiar voice sounded from behind him. "Don’t worry. Your body is safe in the infirmary of the Conclave, Seraphiel fell asleep while taking care of you."

Atlas immediately turned around, his gaze settling on another version of himself standing behind him. The translucent eyes, facial features, and overall appearance were identical to his own, although there was a noticeable difference in their forms.

Compared to Atlas, the second self appeared far less substantial, its translucent body looking considerably sparser than his own. He studied the second self for a moment before narrowing his eyes and asking, "You... did you somehow drag me in here?"

He couldn’t be certain what his second self was capable of, especially considering its unusual personality. The thought that it might have done something to his body immediately entered his mind, and his expression grew colder as suspicion took hold.

’Did he take over my body and...’ Atlas didn’t allow the thought to continue before moving forward and grabbing the second self by the throat, "W-Wait! Listen, Khug!"

Atlas’s translucent eyes turned extremely serious as he tightened his grip, "Speak, you will only get one chance. If you lie, I will remove you and create another second self from within me."

The second self immediately wrapped its hands around Atlas’s wrist, its eyes squeezing shut from the pressure around its throat. Atlas eventually released him, allowing the second self to fall onto the darkness beneath them.

It coughed repeatedly, struggling to recover before finally lifting its head toward Atlas. "Cough! Khuk! Damn it, why won’t you listen?! You think just because my personality is different, I’ll do something to Sera? You don’t even know yourself, yet you keep going around acting cold!"

Atlas paused at those words. He couldn’t come up with a response as despite the second self’s irritated tone, he knew there was truth in what it had said. Even now, he had attacked an existence that was fundamentally a part of himself before giving it the chance to explain anything.

The second self finally managed to get back on its feet. It rubbed its throat before looking directly into Atlas’s eyes, its previous amusement replaced by an expression of genuine irritation, "You asked me not to lie right? I was considering exactly that, let me fill you with absolute truth then."

After a brief pause, he finally began, "What happened after you collapsed was nothing but a nightmare for Sera! You promised her that you wouldn’t do dangerous things in the infirmary, yet you went and did it anyway! Who do you think has to bear the consequences of that?!"

Atlas’s eyes widened slightly. He had known that Seraphiel would be worried about him, but he had deliberately pushed that thought aside to focus on the matters surrounding the trial and the mysterious location he had witnessed.

Now that the second self had brought it up, he couldn’t pretend that he hadn’t been aware of the promise he had made to her, ’To think... I would push thoughts about Sera to the back of my mind. Why does this keep happening?’

He lowered his head slightly, remaining silent as he considered his own actions. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about her feelings; if anything, the thought of her suffering because of him was something he could never accept and would blame himself inwardly all the time.

The second self watched Atlas for a moment before continuing, its voice growing louder as its frustration returned, "You suddenly attacked me before even hearing me out! I also know that I, no, we, as the same being, are cautious and can’t easily believe others. But... you can’t even believe your own self?!! What the hell has happened to you?!"

Its shout reverberated through the darkness, and Atlas felt the core of his being tremble violently. His eyes widened as the words reached him, but he didn’t interrupt. He knew that he had become increasingly cautious over time, but he had also lost some of it because of Seraphiel yet even then...there was a massive part that was still there.

The second self noticed Atlas’s reaction but didn’t stop, "You know it yourself that you want to trust others but cannot do it because of the circumstances! Your subconscious mind, which is directly connected to me as well, constantly hopes that there are people you can trust. But every time you face reality, that hope turns into nothing more than a pipe dream!"

Atlas’s translucent hand twitched slightly, but he still didn’t speak. Those words weren’t simply accusations thrown at him out of anger; they were thoughts he recognized, feelings he had experienced but rarely examined. Somewhere within himself, he had always wanted to believe that he could rely on others without constantly questioning their intentions.

However, every time he encountered a new threat or an unfamiliar situation, his instinct was to remain guarded.

"However, that doesn’t excuse you from refusing to believe in your own self! If you continue hiding behind that facade of not trusting anyone... you’ll eventually reach a point where you won’t even trust Sera!" The moment those words left the second self’s mouth, Atlas’s eyes widened even further.

His translucent hand trembled as he slowly raised it toward his chest, as though he wanted to feel his own heart at that very moment.

For several moments, he remained unable to respond. He trusted Seraphiel more than anyone else, yet he had still kept parts of himself hidden behind the same walls he had used in the past to protect himself from everyone else, ’Could I really... reach a point where even trust becomes difficult?’

The second self watched him lower his head, but its expression remained stern. "I’ll give you some credit for developing the sense you have now, but you... you’re a hopeless guy who doesn’t want to understand the truth about yourself!"

It paused, watching as Atlas slowly dropped to his knees without being forced to do so. For once, Atlas didn’t try to interrupt or silence the voice confronting him, even though every word made him increasingly uncomfortable.

"You know your subconscious tells you all the time, all the damn time, to take a little rest! Maybe go on a date with Sera, live peacefully with her, and keep your distance from all these threats. But..." The second self clenched its fists, its expression becoming even more serious. "You also know that the same subconscious tells you to keep growing stronger if you want to protect her and yourself, you bastard!"

Atlas remained on his knees, his gaze lowered as he listened.

The second self took a step forward, looking down at Atlas with an expression that mixed frustration with something closer to concern, "You keep telling yourself that you need to become stronger to protect what matters to you, but you never even considered that you’re sacrificing that very thing along the way!"

"You want to live peacefully with Sera, yet you keep putting that life aside for a future where you think nothing can threaten you!"

Atlas’s eyes shifted slightly, but he still couldn’t bring himself to answer. He couldn’t deny that he had repeatedly postponed the things he wanted to experience, always believing there would be a better time once he had dealt with the next threat.

The second self suddenly stepped forward and threw a punch toward Atlas’s face.

The strike was neither extraordinary nor particularly devastating, and Atlas could have easily blocked it or stopped the second self with nothing more than a thought. Instead, the punch landed, forcing his head to turn slightly as he raised a hand to his cheek.

"Now stand up, you bastard!" the second self shouted, drawing back its fist as though preparing to continue. "You need to understand some nasty things about yourself, and apparently, a few beatings are necessary before I tell you everything that happened after you collapsed!" Its expression remained irritated, but Atlas could sense that the anger behind its words wasn’t simply about being attacked.

The second self was trying to force him to confront something he had avoided all the time.

All the things he had buried deep within himself were now coming to light.

These weren’t inherent powers he had awakened, like the one that emerged during his encounter with Harbinger.

These were his emotions, personality, subconscious thoughts and overall...it was him.