CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 277: HE HAD LOST BOTH OF THEM

Liora instantly sensed the change in her surroundings, as, just a moment ago, she felt the same force pulling her out of the memories. But with the help of the system, the memories continued.

Liora’s eyes were already wet, looking at the lifeless body of herself. And soon, she saw someone appearing beside her lifeless body. It was her brother, Atlas.

Just as his boots touched the ground softly, his heart dropped with a violent jolt.

He saw her instantly. His sister.

Lifeless.

"No..." The word left his throat like a breath stolen from his chest. He rushed forward, falling to his knees beside her. His hands trembled as he reached out, gently lifting her into his arms. Her head lolled slightly, her body already cold.

"Aeris," he whispered, shaking. "Aeris, open your eyes... tell me what happened. Who did this to you?"

His fingers gripped her tightly as his body began to shake. Anger, guilt, and helplessness surged through him in one devastating wave. He pressed his forehead against hers, tears stinging his eyes.

If he had not been so far away from here, maybe he would have been able to come earlier, and maybe his sister would still be alive... but still, he could not wrap this around his mind. How could something happen to her? And why...

His tears finally fell, burning hot trails down his cheeks as they dripped onto her skin. "I’m so sorry..." His voice cracked, a sound so broken it barely resembled him. In that moment, Atlas felt the kind of emptiness that swallows a man whole.

Then suddenly, he felt it. A presence behind him.

He turned sharply towards the source.

Kazren stood at the edge of the ruins, his eyes dim, his expression unreadable. His dark coat fluttered slightly in the wind.

Atlas narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Kazren’s lips curled slightly, and he muttered under his breath, "She ruined everything... all of it. If she had to die, she could’ve at least fulfilled her role."

Atlas’s heart stopped.

"What?" he whispered.

"She ruined everything... no, not her—" His voice shifted mid-sentence, faltering like he was arguing with himself. "If she had to die... I didn’t want—" His jaw tightened, and his eyes went mad again. "It wasn’t supposed to end like this."

And that was enough.

Atlas stood in a heartbeat and punched him hard across the face.

Kazren stumbled back, blood already blooming on his lip.

"How dare you," Atlas growled, eyes blazing. "How dare you say that about her! Have you become a fucking monster, Kazren? Don’t tell me it is your doing."

Kazren steadied himself, wiping the blood with the back of his hand. "You don’t understand."

"No," Atlas hissed. "I don’t. So explain it to me—or I’ll break every bone in your body."

Kazren’s eyes flickered, not with fear, but with something strange. Cold and detached, like he could not care less about Atlas and his grief. The only thing he could see was his plan, ruined in front of him.

On the other side, Atlas was horrified. How could he do that to her? How could he go this far? Had his friend already died? How had he allowed this to happen to her? Atlas felt like murdering him.

This bastard—he was ruined beyond measure. Now Atlas could not even think straight. He felt like hacking this man in front of him into pieces, friend or not.

With a swipe of his hand, a big floating clock appeared behind Atlas, and soon many chains shot out from it to hold Kazren down and drag him to hell.

But Kazren easily dodged all of it and raised a hand, tearing open a thin slash in the air beside him—a dimensional rift. From it, monstrous shapes began to emerge, creatures from other worlds, twisted and unnatural, clawing at the edges of space.

Atlas clenched his fists. His eyes were burning with anger and resentment. Because of this monster, he had actually lost his sister... but he did not have much time left—he had to take action fast.

Time around him froze mid-motion. His form blurred, split, and accelerated. He dashed forward, striking with perfect precision, disrupting the rift before the beasts could fully pass through.

But Kazren wasn’t done.

He summoned another and another. The air warped. Atlas dodged through collapsing time loops, resetting seconds before impact, reversing the monstrous strikes, and turning milliseconds into weapons.

They fought with power against power. Time itself screamed around Atlas while Kazren pulled beasts from forgotten dimensions—creatures that roared and struck with deadly force.

The ground was torn apart. The air itself became unstable.

But Atlas refused to back down.

With a final surge of rage, he lunged forward and punched Kazren hard across the jaw—again. And again. Each strike rang with pain and fury.

"Wake up, Kazren!" he shouted. "You bastard! What happened to you?! How could you let this happen?!"

Kazren fell back, laughing madly, his eyes flickering from their original color to blank.

"You don’t get it," he whispered, his voice suddenly strange and layered.

"That bastard... he’s going to control me." Kazren’s voice broke into pieces. For a heartbeat, his eyes darted left and right as if he could see someone standing behind him. "He already is." His mouth kept moving, but some of the words weren’t even in his language.

Atlas grabbed him by the collar and slapped him, hard.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

"Fight it!" he roared. "You’re stronger than this! Don’t let him take you!"

Kazren’s body jerked, his breathing sharp and ragged.

Then suddenly, his eyes cleared.

He blinked.

The madness drained away.

He looked at Atlas with wide, confused eyes, as if waking from a nightmare.

"...Atlas?" he murmured.

And then, without warning, his knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Atlas stood over him, chest heaving. The rage inside him hadn’t cooled; if anything, it burned hotter, tangled with a grief that clawed at his ribs.

He glanced back at Aeris’s lifeless body, and for a moment, his vision blurred. He had his friend alive before him, yet somehow he felt like he had lost both of them.