Chapter 117: Same Ends
Atlas lay sprawled across the thick, wide branch of the tree blooming with soft purple flowers. The petals swayed gently in the breeze, some falling like lazy snowflakes around him as he gazed at the vast sprawl of Rendely city below.
His hand rested on his chest, fingers lightly curled, as if gripping at something unseen.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the memory.
The flash came in harsh and fast, the moment of the fight.
The platform roared with voices as Atlas faced Azrael Rodeny, their figures standing apart but locked in an invisible thread of pressure.
Atlas dashed forward, his neba flaring green around his fists as he exchanged blows with Azrael. The strikes cracked against each other, heavy and raw, neither side giving in.
Azrael stepped back, lifting his hand, and that's when everything changed.
Atlas's body suddenly seized up. A stab of pain shot through his left shoulder, sharp as a dagger. He gasped, and before he could react, another wave of agony hit his right knee.
Then his lower back. Then his chest. Every strike invisible, every pain shifting in an unpredictable rhythm.
His legs buckled.
Azrael's neba pulsed around him like liquid heat. His eyes gleamed with cruel excitement as he stepped forward, calm and sure, while Atlas gritted his teeth and tried to push back.