Nothing is Impossible

Atlas approached the Shacked Atlas, and he wearily looked down at Atlas, chains glowing ominously. The Shackled Atlas fell down, landing on the ground. He dragged himself over to Atlas, chains still connected to the ceiling but allowing him to go to the mirror and speak to Atlas.

I am what happens when you become too powerful without carefully covering your tracks. I am the most pure version of you, and I accepted all aspects of my being becoming so powerful even the system took note. I completed multiple candidacies, and managed to gain 4 sub paths, and gained numerous other effects that should, by all understandings, be impossible. I didn't care and gained more and more powers each supporting my growth and allowing me to become far stronger than my tier should allow. When a god came to kill me, I was a mere tier 16, a tier that was recognized as just beginning to gain true power in the realms. I fought off the god, and won, another impossible feat that brought me all the way to tier 17 and gave me numerous titles and abilities. Then the system itself stepped in. And I was powerless to fight back. It imprisoned me for the rest of my days, which at my tier, is very long indeed. I am not like the previous two, I wish to help you, but do not want you to follow my path. All I have to say to you is this; When you meet Taslan, don't reject his offer, be humble and let him help shape your path.

Atlas felt as though pressure grew around him, and he knew what to say. "I will follow in your footsteps, but I will be careful and will accept Taslan's offer, and allow myself to gain power, but not stray into the realm where the very system will want my imprisonment."

Shackled Atlas sighed in pure, unadulterated relief as his prison broke, he gazed at Atlas with joyful eyes. Thank you for freeing me. Just remember, it is not the power that ended up being my downfall, but my inability to hide it from others. I was prideful, and wanted others to praise me. Don't follow in my footsteps. For even glimpsing my power, the system will watch you more carefully. It can't view your status, not completely. Don't reveal what you don't have to. You contain the power to warp the boundaries of impossibility. Use it.

He faded into mist and once more filled into Atlas. The vision was short this time.

Atlas sagged, gazing at the room before him. It was to be his eternal prison. The man next to him smiled, but his features fuzzed, preventing whoever looked at this vision from seeing him. The man used pure magic, and chains erupted from the floor and ceiling, dragging Atlas to the middle of the room, where he would wait. For eternity.

Atlas didn't know when he awoke from this vision, but he found himself staring listlessly at the ceiling, thoughts racing through his brain. This latest talk with a version of his future had been… enlightening. He mentally took everything he had just learned, and placed ever so carefully in a mental box, putting it into his brain for future consideration.

Atlas opened his notifications.

You have absorbed a significant piece of your future potential by not rejecting or accepting it fully, but by your future self fully gifting his power to you, but because you can hold so little of it he has chosen to turn it into a Legacy. You have gained a legacy from your future self and are now the successor to unimaginable power.

Legacy of Atlas Channing (Skill Sage, Avatar of Death, Void Dragon, Titan of Steel, Cleanser of Corruption and Godslayer)

Benefits gained: You gain a link for Skill Sage, Avatar of Death and Void Dragon. You can now adjust what percentage of power your skills use. (Ex: Use 50% power of skill, use 100% of skill is max and 1% is minimum.)

Detriments gained: None, you are the perfect successor for this power.

Gain more benefits at: Tier 5, Tier 10, Tier 13, Tier 15 and Tier 17.

Message from Predecessor: Use the benefit of controlling your skills to make you seem weaker than you are to people. It won't trick the system, but if less people question your power, the less likely the system is to notice you. You don't need it too much right now, but you will soon.

Atlas was confused. How could he get a legacy from himself?

Title Gained! Successor of Self (Transcendent)

Successor of Self: You have gained a Legacy from yourself and have defied the system in doing so. Gain double benefits from Legacy. Title can not be Upgraded. The System knows you exist.

Title Gained! Perfect Successor (Legendary)

Perfect Successor: You are the perfect successor for your Predecessor's legacy, and so you gain no detriments from their Legacy and the Predecessor can talk to you through your legacy, but only when you have your Legacy open in front of you.

Atlas just smiled to himself. There was his answer. Though gaining two titles at once was a first, even for him. He was worried about the line about the System knowing he existed though.

He waited for a second, staring at the broken glass. He didn't want to leave instantly, as with the others. The others had made a bad decision- or so it looked to him- and it had shaped who they were. This version had been what he envisioned himself as, right up until he was forced into imprisonment because of the system. He felt like he had freed a person close to him, and it felt gratifying.

He bowed his head to the shattered glass, hoping to convey his respect to Shackled Atlas, before moving to the next mirror.

God Atlas floated closer to the mirror, the abyss only growing stronger behind him. He faced Atlas, face devoid of all possible emotion.

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I am the most likely future version of you. I embraced Skill Sage and Avatar of Death, but because of the nature of both these skills, my emotions waned, and I eventually killed them off altogether. Because of this I no longer have emotions but I stand at the peak of the world at tier 20. I am a powerful person even among gods, and I take down a mystic realm- a version of a dungeon- almost every month, which is very difficult to do. If you accept my power, the road forward will be much smoother, and you won't feel any emotions. You will find that being cold and calculating is wonderful, freeing even.

He extended his hands, fingertips brushing the glass.

Join me, and reach the top.

Atlas considered it, glancing at God Atlas's hand for much longer than any of the other versions of him, bar Shackled Atlas, as he had never extended his hand.

The thought of Shackled Atlas steeled him though, and he looked defiantly at God Atlas. "I don't accept you or reject you, instead, I will surpass you. Because you killed your own emotions, you weren't able to progress emotionally, locking yourself from a whole world of development. I will reach your level without having to use such methods. I will embrace Skill Sage and Avatar of Death though, which is why I don't reject you."

A large crack appeared in the mirror but God Atlas stretched out another hand, and the crack stopped. He looked coldly at Atlas.

Mere words will not be able to stop me. If you will not accept my power, I will not allow you to absorb me. If you won't accept me, I won't accept you.

The room shook and the glass on the floor rattled. Atlas felt an intensity build inside of him and he stared at God Atlas.

"NO! YOU ARE ME, SO YOUR POWER IS MINE, WHETHER YOU ARE OKAY WITH IT OR NOT!" Atlas roared, glyphs bleeding into his voice, filling his words with power.

Atlas extended his hand, and he squeezed, using the power of his mind to attack God Atlas. God Atlas stumbled, arms faltering, but his expression never changed. It couldn't.

The mirror exploded, glass flying everywhere, but it bounced off Atlas harmlessly, not breaking his concentration as he applied more pressure to God Atlas forcing him to turn into mist and condense.

Their wills clashed, and a purple crown appeared above Atlas's head as he flared Crown of Sanity. God Atlas's eyes -now slightly misty- narrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly. He opened his mouth and sound bounced around the room, reverberating off the glass.

Atlas refused to back down, clamping down his will even more powerfully. He felt a notification appear and he opened it, sending it away without even glancing at it. Even though he didn't read it too much, he noticed what the new name of his skill was.. He flared Mantle of Sanity even further. Or whatever Mantle of Sanity had become.

God Atlas opened his mouth to speak, but Atlas took advantage of his brief lapse of focus and condensed God Atlas fully, pulling the misty orb towards him, forcing it into him.

The power filled him like a landslide, slamming into him so powerfully, he was literally thrown into the air and fell flat on his back.

He lay there as the vision struck.

Atlas flew up above the ground exiting the planet that was the Mystic Realm. He glanced down at the thriving life down far, far below. He raised his hand activating [Redacted] and reducing the planet and all its inhabitants to nothing more than empty space. He cared not for the numerous people on this planet, for they were all fake, merely creatures born from the system. He accepted the rewards and stepped through the portal that appeared right in front of him. He appeared in Godhome, in his floating islands. He brought up the rewards and skimmed through them, not pleased with the small amount that he had gained. He stood up and walked out of the room, heading for the Mystic Tower once more. Strength was everything, and he wanted more of it.

Atlas woke up laying in a pile of broken glass, pushing himself up. He opened his notifications eager to see what he had gained from his hardest encounter yet.

You have absorbed a piece of your future potential by not rejecting or accepting it, but by forcibly taking it from the strongest version of you, not taking no for an option and destroying the piece of you in the process. That does not mean that it has faded as a possible future, merely dimmed because of your such violent consummation. Multiple benefits gained.

Title Gained: God Slayer (Primordial)

ERROR!

God not killed, only the smallest piece of its true power resided inside of the fragment killed.

Rerouting Title…

Denier of Gods (Minor) (Transcendent): You have denied the whims of a God, fighting off a piece of that very god and winning, absorbing that piece completely. Because of this, you have gained a drop of divine blood. This blood contains the power of [Atlas Channing] and can only be used depending on how closely related your power is to the concept of [Atlas Channing].

ERROR!

Perfectly related to [Atlas Channing]'s power, gaining far more power than should be held in a tier 3 body. Power changed.

Title Gained! Blood of God Atlas (Unique)

Blood of God Atlas: You contain the blood of a God, however weak. Because of this, Gaining Pathways will be instant, and automatically pushed to Epic Rarity. Life Force pushed to Legendary. Your blood pulses with potential, and it will get stronger as you grow stronger.

Skill Gained! Divine Sight (Absorbs and Replaces Restful Perception)

Divine Sight (Rarity: Transcendent) (Rank: ZZZ): You can see what others cannot. Nothing within 1000 feet can trick your eyes, but it becomes more noticeable as you focus on certain spots and actively use Divine Sight. Your eyes naturally notice any weaknesses of your enemies, physical or otherwise. You can flare this Sight to petrify all that you can see for 5 seconds. You become magically blind for one hour after this.

Atlas noticed these benefits, but he merely accepted them. Too many things had happened in quick succession, he was still reeling from it all.

He etched these four meetings into his soul, as he knew he would need them as constant reminders of why he could not stray from his path. Every step must be filled with all of his conviction, and he could not falter, or all would be lost.

A doorway appeared on one of the walls that had held a mirror, and Atlas steadied his mind, going through it, eyes blazing with determination.