Edited by: Piamo

Atlas didn’t sleep long. He also didn’t have a very deep sleep. He was on edge the entire time. When the sun rose, he opened his eyes. He felt exhausted, reminding him again that he was in another world and that it wasn’t a dream. 

He didn’t allow himself to dwell on it. If he thought about it too much, he would begin to miss the life he used to have. He missed his bed, missed his parents, and missed cooking breakfast for them before going to work. He also missed his brother, a dog he had in his childhood. He hadn’t thought about his dog brother for a long time, but he really missed his brother, Sir Walter. He wondered if Sir Walter was having fun in dog heaven… or the afterlife.

Atlas sighed. He missed the days that he felt were boring and repetitive. He wanted nothing more than to go back to those days without hardship. 

Now he was stuck in a forest, lost, surrounded by dangerous creatures without another human in sight.  

Atlas decided he was going to look for that massive tree again. His plans were interrupted yesterday, but it didn’t change his goals. That was the only landmark he could get to even if it took some time. In a sea of trees, the biggest tree was the easiest to spot. 

He was hungry… but at least he had water. 

He went to the top of the closest tree and surprisingly saw that the massive tree was a lot closer this time. While being chased by that White Star bear, he had picked a random direction to run in. This was his first time picking the right direction! 

Maybe the blessings from those two Gods are working, he thought to himself. 

Atlas continued his journey while appraising plants and fruits. He put them in his item box that froze time, so he didn’t have to worry about things going bad. 

There weren’t a lot of fruits but there were a lot of plants. Whatever was used for medicine or could be eaten, he picked up a couple before moving on. He munched on an edible fruit that looked like a peach but tasted like apples. According to his appraisal ability, it was still called an “apple” though. Well, maybe things were getting lost in translation, considering he didn’t know this world’s language… 

He walked for 6 hours, taking his time, checking his location, and picking up fruits and plants. He eventually got to the large clearing where the giant tree stood. 

The giant tree was even bigger than a General Sherman tree, especially in diameter. There was a light breeze that rustled the leaves in the tree, and the air carried a fresh crisp smell that was free from pollution. There was no other life in the clearing except for the grass and this tree. There wasn’t even the chirping of birds or buzzing of bugs. He felt a strange feeling of ease like this place was safe and no one would hurt him there.

At the base of the tree was a large hollow, like someone—or something—had carved out a place to sleep. The ground under the tree was slightly raised so Atlas wouldn’t have to worry about rain flooding the hollow. If he put a board in front of the hole, it could even protect him from the cold winds. 

At least for now, it was the perfect place to call home.

With a large hollow large enough for him to stand and sleep in, he knew this tree was old, but it seemed to be healthy. There was no visible fungus growing inside of it, and it was relatively easy to clean the fallen leaves out of it. He just needed to pad the ground with something so he wasn’t sleeping on the dirt… 

Atlas checked his inventory. He had the fur of the white star, but the fur was so soft, he didn’t want to get it dirty. Should he try to battle other monsters after he learns to control his magic? He also needed to gauge how much magic he could safely use so he wouldn’t faint again… 

He had to survive. Even if things were hard, he had to keep pushing forward. Even if he was a little slow, and malnourished, and directionally challenged, at least he was hard-working… 

Enduring… Just like his name. 

Maybe his mother was right to name him Atlas. 

“There’s no time to mope!” he said aloud. “Now is the time to practice and survive. I will get out of this forest one way or another.” 

As for when he would get out, that depended on whether he would be able to find his way out himself or wait for someone else to rescue him. In the meantime, he needed to get used to living in the forest and learn to hunt and gather his own food. Maybe he would even be able to grow his own plants… 

There was a lot to do, so Atlas got to work with the planning and implementing. 

*****

Back in the Divine Realm, Sohtris, Avlios, and Milo finished their discussion and was ready to wrap things up. 

“Well, I think it’s time for you to go back to the mortal realm, Milo,” Avlios said after making sure Atlas was alright. 

Sohtris nodded. “That’s right. Once you get all your memories in order, everything should make sense. Also, don’t worry. We will contact Atlas once his safety is secured. We will tell him about you.” 

“Oh, thank goodness.” Milo gave a sigh of relief. “When I go to rescue him in the Great Dragon Forest, it will be a little weird and awkward if Atlas doesn’t know who I am.” 

It seemed all three of them had given up on Atlas making it out of the forest by himself. The forest was as large as a kingdom and he didn’t have a GPS, let alone a map. Whether he knew it or not, there was no way he was leaving on his own. 

Avlios waved his right hand like it was a trivial manner. “When the time comes, we will have the two of you meet here in the Divine Realm, but for now, get adjusted to the memories of your current life. Your body will undergo some changes…” 

“I understand… Thank you for everything! And I will get stronger so that I can complete the mission for you two.” 

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest? Let Mama Sohtris give you a nuzzle before you leave. Take care of yourself! If you need anything, close your eyes when you are in a safe place and call out to us. We have lots of free time so we will answer your call when you need us.” 

Sohtris actually nuzzled Milo in her dragon form. She was quite happy that she and Avlios had some children of her own. She was quite protective of her family. 

Milo just patted Sohtris on her neck because he didn’t know if it was rude to hug a dragon. “Thank you, Sohtris and Avlios. I hope to see you two soon.” 

“Of course! Good luck and have fun, Milo. Sohtris and I will be here, watching over you and Atlas.” 

With that, Milo was blinded by a bright light. 

He didn’t know how long he was swimming through the sea of memories, but when he opened his eyes again, he saw his parents hovering over him. Their eyes were red from crying. 

His mother was holding a handkerchief, tears pouring out even more from her eyes. 

“Cyrus, honey!” his mother, Mirabelle Alnhart, cried out and then patted his face. “Thank goodness. Thank goodness you are awake!” 

His father, Everet Alnhart, held his right hand. “Son, it is a relief that you are finally awake.” 

From what he learned from his parents, he had been sick for a few days. When the doctor did a routine check on his eyes, they found one of his eyes had changed color. They thought maybe his simple cold turned out to be something more deadly. Sure enough, he developed a fever that just wouldn’t go down. 

“Cyrus, your eyes, they are gold and purple…” Everet told him and handed him a mirror. 

When Milo, now Cyrus, looked into the mirror, he saw his parents were telling the truth. His face looked the same as his previous life, but his hair was now blonde and he had a gold right eye and a purple left eye. 

His father looked like an older version of his previous self. He had brown hair and green eyes. In this world, eye color was dependent on the highest affinity of magic a person had. Magic attributes were random and could not be inherited. 

As for a person’s hair, it depended on their parents. Only the Gods could influence a person’s hair and eye color though. 

His mother had beautiful lavender and blue eyes. Her hair was shoulder length, and she braided a part of her hair, then clipped it with a flower clip at the back. 

When Cyrus was born, he had blond hair and purple eyes. They knew he had the blessings of the God of Light. They did everything they could to hide that from the Holy Kingdom because they would try to take him from them. 

Now, his eye color turned gold in his right eye…

“Ah…” Cyrus eyed a couple of servants. 

Everet saw Cyrus looking around and realized that they needed to talk in private, so he had all the servants left. When it was just Cyrus and his parents, he was finally a lot more comfortable talking. 

“Mom, Dad, as we know, I received the God of Light’s blessing from birth, but I was recently given the Dragon God’s blessing as well…” He didn’t talk like an 8-year-old, but this was quite normal for nobles in this world. “I think my body couldn’t handle the two blessings together, which is why I ended up getting sick and had a fever.” 

He didn’t mention having memories from his past life, or his meeting with the Gods. He didn’t know if he really trusted his current parents. At the same time, he didn’t want to worry or burden him. Also, with his past life memories… What happens if they don’t believe him? 

Plus, if anyone knew he met the Gods, they would probably try to capture him and tie him down to the church at the Holy Kingdom or the Hirean Empire’s main Temple.

“Blessed by the God of Light and the Dragon God?! In the same body?!” Everet almost shouted at the top of his lungs but he stopped himself. “This… is simply unheard of…”

He pinched his thigh a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming and then looked at his son. 

It was true. The God of Light had blond hair and purple eyes. His son was born with this hair and eye color so he already knew about the God of Light’s blessing. There were people in this world with blond hair, but it was almost unheard of for anyone to have a combination of blond hair and purple eyes. As for his gold eye, it was only written in the scriptures that the Dragon God had black hair and gold eyes. Gold eyes. Just like their son’s right eye. 

There hadn’t been a single person with gold eyes since the time of the founding of the Hirean Empire.

“This… the Temple and the Imperial family are going to turn our family upside just to get their hands on you… We already had to hide you from the Holy Kingdom, but now the Temple and Imperial family from our own Empire…” 

The Hirean Empire and the Holy Kingdom of Aecira had friendly relations with each other. Once the rumors of Cyrus’ blessings spread, the Holy Kingdom would try to demand Cyrus be handed over to the Church of the Light God, or try to kidnap him. 

His parents knew of this and did their best to hide him.

Luckily, the Alnhart family had another son. Cyrus had an older brother who was two years older than him named Sirius, and he was waiting in a nearby room. He had the same hair color as Everet, but his eye colors were red. He had the highest affinity with fire magic. He was also the named heir. He was intelligent and strong, making him a suitable heir. With him as the next Prime Minister candidate, it was up to Cyrus to take over the territory. 

To be the Prime Minister, he had to be the right hand of the Emperor. This also meant going to the Holy Kingdom for diplomatic reasons. With the state of the Holy Kingdom, they would do everything to keep Cyrus there, even taking away his freedoms. With him taking over the Alnhart territory instead, he would still have his freedoms and it would be a lot harder for the Holy Kingdom to get to him. 

“Father, that’s not all. I was given a prophecy. I have to go find someone. He’s… well, in the terms of the Gods, he’s my brother and friend. We both were given blessings from the God of Light and the Dragon God around the same time…” 

When Mirabelle heard her son technically had a brother given to him by the Gods, that meant this brother was also her son right? She was a little excited to have another child. After giving birth to Cyrus, her body became weak and she couldn’t have another child. They tried for years, but there were no results. She was a mother who loved children, so not being able to have another child was a huge blow to her. With the knowledge she had another child given to her by the Gods, she couldn’t help but get excited.

“Honey, if he is your brother, we are basically his parents. Now, tell me, where is our child, your little brother?” Mirabelle held her son’s hand that her husband let go of. 

Cyrus could see the twinkle in her eyes. He knew his mother was excited. She was a little too excited.

“Mom… Your other son, Atlas, is lost in the Great Dragon Forest. I have to get strong enough to rescue him.” 

Everet and Mirabelle froze. 

“The Great Dragon Forest?” It was Mirabelle who almost shouted this time. 

When she thought she could meet her new son, those dreams were burned to ashes! The Great Dragon Forest was a place that even the Imperial Knights didn’t dare to venture into.

“Mother, it’s a long story. I can’t say too much but the only thing I can say is that he was abandoned there. That’s why, I have to quickly find him.” 

Cyrus didn’t think it was his place to tell about Atlas’ life, so he wanted to leave it at that.

When Cyrus saw Atlas being chased by that Bear with a white star on its back, he felt helpless. Or at least, that was how he analyzed how he would feel if he had his emotions back. He wanted to save his newfound brother and friend, but he knew, even with his adult memories, he wasn’t strong enough. 

The longer Atlas stayed in the forest, the more Cyrus would worry for his safety…

“Father, Mother, I want to learn how to use magic and the sword as soon as I recover.”