Tower of Heaven

[Regeneration] was circulating energy through his body. He could feel himself healing, though his mind was being drained at an equal rate.

He was only confident in allowing the skill to do as it pleased because of the scene in front of him.

His gamble paid off.

In that last moment, Horus' power trickled off. He was wounded severely by Atlas' strike and fell to the floor, succumbing to his injuries.

His body was there, covered in a green light that assured he was still alive. Still, he wasn't going to be able to move for a long time.

Atlas waited for ten minutes before his legs were finally in a good enough state for him to walk. He pushed himself off of the wall and limped forward towards the green structure.

However…

"W…ait…"

A bloody hand grabbed his ankle.

"You…how are you still conscious?" Atlas said with both weariness and surprise in his voice.

Clearly, Horus did not hear him, because he continued on without even thinking about answering the question.

"Don't…take…it…"

"Please...don't…take it…"

He repeated the sentence over and over again. He begged sincerely with his mind still foggy and not completely awake. The very deepest instincts in Horus' body pleaded for Atlas to listen to him.

Ordinarily, it would not have been enough to turn Atlas' attention. Only, Horus was a genius that he was interested in. The man was amiable at most times. Even in this battle, he never once showed killing intent.

He was planning to spare Atlas, only wanting to defeat him to get to the treasure. Horus was someone with a story behind him that made Atlas curious. More importantly–

'–If I wish to climb this tower properly, then I need to make my allegiances.'

He needed people with him or under him that could aid him in his travels.

Horus was a good person to recruit. From the looks of it, he was unaffiliated as well.

'I have already passed this trial. I do not necessarily need the rewards that lie beyond this point.'

Horus clearly knew what the final reward was.

'If I wait for him to wake up and hear the explanation, I can decide at that point whether it is worth listening to his demands or not.'

Atlas pulled his ankle from Horus' grasp. In the first place, his grip strength was barely anything in his current condition. The firmness he had at the start was just a manifestation of his determination.

Sitting down against the wall, he focused on replenishing his own energy for the next hour or so. Only then did Horus finally have the strength to sit up and talk properly.

"Harmon, how much do you know about this tomb?"

Those words were the first to cut through the silence between them.

"I know no more than the average Ascender. In fact, I may even know less."

Horus smiled wryly, propping himself up against the wall.

"That's odd. I figured you were from some great clan that knew everything. That's how you act, at least."

He shook his head. The words were rhetorical, so he continued without expecting an answer.

"This tomb belongs to a sect from the distant past known as the Great Mu Sect. More importantly, it is the tomb of their Founding Ancestor, the Unfettered Saintly Immortal."

"He was a man with a great story, but even that is irrelevant, for my story is not about him or his sect, but the treasure he possessed."

Horus turned, looking directly at Atlas. Reaching up, he put his fingers into his right eye socket and yanked out his own eye.

Atlas' eyes widened slightly for a moment before returning to normal when he realized it was a fake.

"Now, I will tell you how I lost my eye."

There was a Society in the sky, a Society beyond any of those that Atlas had contact with thus far.

That was because this particular Society existed in the God Realm above the Tower. It was a land that Atlas couldn't even imagine.

That Society, filled with Gods who shared their Myths, was called The Ennead. At its head sat a God named Osiris and his wife, Isis.

"Originally, I was born without a natural eye. That is because I was fated from birth to follow the Myth of our Society and inherit the Eye from my father. It was the natural course of action that even the Heavens deemed fit."

However, Osiris' control over the Ennead and the Underworld was becoming something the other Gods in his Society feared. His brother, Set, was the worst of them.

The other Gods all knew about Set's envy. He had always desired the throne, but he was unable to reach it because it was always fated to belong to his brother.

Instead of trying to calm him or assure him, those hidden in the shadows fueled his desires in secret and set him on the path of destruction.

Set eventually betrayed his brother and mutilated him, crippling his Divinity so he could never regenerate or become whole.

"My Eye is semi-sentient. When my uncle murdered my father, he tried to claim it and it rejected him. He threw it into the mortal realms in a fit of rage, and you can guess where it ended up."

"The Unfettered Saintly Immortal," Atlas said.

"Yes. It was the source of his power. In order to maintain itself until it could return to either my father or me, it latched onto a human and used him as its host."

"Then, your father is…"

"Alive."

Horus confirmed Atlas' suspicions.

"My mother was able to save him after fleeing from the God Realm. Her Divinity was shattered in the process as well, but they found a place to hide peacefully and eventually I was born."

Horus' story was easy to discern from that point. He grew up with a rage and hatred towards those who made his parents suffer. When he came of age, he entered the Tower as a new Ascender like all people who first started their cultivation were allowed to do.

"My Eye is the source of my power. With it, I will be able to gain the foundation I need to reach the God Realms and take revenge for my parents."

Horus' expression was more stern than ever.

"Harmon, the entire Ennead is not my enemy. There are still people willing to support me on the inside who are providing me with information along the way. Please, allow me to reclaim my eye. I am prepared to give you anything in exchange."

It was a real hero's story. Atlas was forced to respect Horus' struggle.

The Eye he spoke of was likely an unimaginable treasure. If Atlas had it, there was a high chance that it would boost his strength.

'However, if he is telling the truth, then the Eye will not accept me as its owner regardless.'

At that point, wasn't it better to use this situation to gain something that he otherwise couldn't?

In the end, when Horus' story was added to the equation, his presence here became nothing more than a test prepared for Horus by the Eye.

"Haa…"

Atlas sighed and nodded his head.

"Very well. I will stand back. However, I am not so kind as to give you this for free. I was the true winner of our battle, after all."

Horus gritted his beak and accepted. He knew that there was never anything free in this world.

"Tell me. What is your price?"

There was only one word in Atlas' mind.

"Loyalty."

"Loyalty?" Horus echoed in surprise.

"That is correct. You have your goals in this tower and I have mine. I believe that we will be useful in each other's journeys, so what I want is your loyalty. As long as you are true to it, then that is enough for me."

Horus' eyes widened. It was the answer furthest from what he was expecting.

"Loyalty, huh…"

It was something that he knew well both in its good and bad connotations. His uncle was the definition of betrayal, but the various elders in his life, the people like Thoth who still stood loyal to his father, were his greatest influences.

Loyalty was not something he took lightly, and when Atlas asked for it in this moment, he truly was asking him to give his most important treasure.

Still, the offer made Horus smile.

'Indeed, I also need my allies.'

And Atlas, no matter how mysterious he was, was one of the best allies he could make. Horus' intuition told him that with surety.

"If that is what you want, then that is what I will give you."

It wasn't something he would guarantee with words alone.

Horus stood up and placed his hand on his chest. He took a form as if he was making a pledge, and from there, he spoke to the Heavens.

"From this moment forth, I, Horus, will be an eternal ally of–"

"–Atlas Vaun."

Atlas interrupted him.

If he was going so far as to make a Heavenly Oath, then it was worth telling him his true name.

'The oath will only be valid if he uses my true name as well.'

Horus was surprised by the sudden interruption, but he still took it in stride. In a way, it was also a sign of Atlas trusting him.

"From this moment forth, I, Horus, will be an eternal ally of Atlas Vaun. If I betray him in any way, may the Heavens strike me down."

The strongest pact that could be made between them now was none other than a Heavenly Oath. Horus stated his oath in such a way that any betrayal, as long as Atlas considered it a betrayal, would punish him.

In a way, he turned himself into a slave.

'However, if I truly use the oath in such a way, it will create a rift. Perhaps the conditions of his oath themselves were a test to see how I would respond.'

It was a risky gamble, but it showed Horus' sincerity. Atlas was more than satisfied.

"That is all for us, is it not? Go and take back your possessions."

Horus looked at Atlas thankfully and nodded.

Soon enough, he disappeared into the structure. What happened next was enough to prove everything Horus said as fact in Atlas' eyes.

Really, it was a grand spectacle.