Nothing is Impossible

Atlas stepped through the door, and he found his world spin once more, the door must have been a portal. He found himself standing in the middle of a foggy hallway. He held a burning candle, and it was huge, almost scorching his hands, which were holding the candle by the bottom.

Endure as long as you can. The end is merely a concept. You will only fail.

Atlas ignored it, simply taking a step forward holding the candle in front of him. He was confident in himself, and he wouldn't let anything take him down after what he had just been through.

As he took a step, it was as if he had flipped a switch, and suddenly voices assaulted him, and figures appeared in the mist, some close enough to make out. The closest one was Lars, and further back he could see Zores.

You'll never succeed. The path never ends, you'll be walking forever, best to just give up now. Your failure is inevitable, it's impossible to succeed. The voices whispered to him, and Atlas's perfect confidence shattered like a window struck by a flying rock. The candle dimmed drastically, now looking more like a normal candle, barely alive and flickering dangerously.

Atlas didn't know what would happen if the flame went out, but he knew it wouldn't be good. He rejected the voices. Even if the path went on forever it wouldn't be long enough to prevent him from reaching the end. The flame grew brighter, not to the original size, but it was respectable at least.

He continued walking, voices assaulting him. He finally reached Lars, and he noticed that he carried a candle too.

Lars looked at Atlas, exhaustion clear on his face. "I've been walking for days, Atlas, the path never ends, just when I think it's finally over I stumble into someone from our group. I think we were all sent in at different times, and time is weird in here, who knows how long it's been outside of the dungeon?" his entire body slumped, and the flame flickers before going out.

Lars stared down at it, tiredness swallowing up his expression. "I had held it for so long… but as soon as I talk to you, it goes out, it's too bad, but it was fated to happen eventually, I bet the only finish line is years worth of walking away, it there even is an end to this fog covered abyss."

Atlas frowned. Lars was never this negative. Was it really as bad as he was making it out to be? Atlas's candle flickered and Atlas winced. He opened his mouth to talk to Lars, but then he noticed something peculiar. Lars… looked off, as though…

Divine Sight!

Atlas could suddenly see through Lars as though he was a ghost, barely even there. Atlas smiled in relief and his flame grew brighter and steadier. "You're nothing but an illusion."

Before Lars could say anything more, Atlas pushed past him, moving further down the path.

The voices grew louder and more intense.

Lars may have been an illusion, but his actions and words were truthful. There is no end, days of walking will take you nowhere but deeper into misery. What makes you think you can complete where others failed? What makes you better than they were?

Atlas flared Mantle of Sanity, blocking out their words. Their endless cacophony faded to discordant whispers that he could barely make out. He began to talk to drown out the words, motivating himself and responding to each question.

"An illusion is a trick of the mind, why would it be truthful? I have walked days before, I can do it again. I can complete what others have failed at because I won't quit. I will walk for years if that's what it takes to get out of here. My journey cannot be stopped, only slowed. I will not yield."

3rd Mental Barrier Broken! Remaining, 6/9

All personal Mental Barriers Broken, Break the Human Limit to unlock mindscape.

Atlas brushed away the message. It was a nice motivation, proof that he was on the right track, but it was only a step in the right direction, and it brought up more questions. Questions that he didn't have the time to focus on, he needed complete focus.

He continued to answer the whispered messages, refusing to let them batter down his will. With each step, with each word, his flame brightened just the smallest bit, until the flame was quite a bit larger and brighter than it had been when he entered this odd domain.

He eventually reached Zores, and he used Divine Sight, confirming what he already suspected. Another illusion.

Atlas walked past him, not even bothering to hear what the man had to say. He refused to let his flame die, and he knew that talking to Zores would only make his flame lessen, there was no need to talk to something that was fake when it had no benefit to him, especially if there was a detrimental effect that came with talking with Zores's illusion.

Atlas saw more figures in the distance. Jay, Nex, Dane, Lesli, the Bartender, himself, and many other figures, some from his life on earth, such as his mom.

That hit a little too close to home. His mom was dead, talking to her would only make him miss her more. He found himself longing to hear her voice, longing to see her wide smile and feel her embrace. But he couldn't, he knew he would falter, and he wouldn't- couldn't let that happen.

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So he activated Speed Form, running as fast as he could cradling the bright candle close to his chest. Every step was a mountain he climbed, pushing him closer to his goal, but making his heart wrench in anguish. He missed her so much.

He poured his emotions out to the void, his voice growing louder and louder as he cheered himself on, as she would have.

"I can do anything! Nothing this place has to throw at me can stop me from reaching my goal, I am named after Atlas, the god who held the sky, I can handle some weak illusions and fake voices. I will succeed, even if I have to crawl to the finish line." Atlas became a blur, feet eating up ground as he propelled himself further and further into the dark leaving a wake of agitated mist behind him.

The flame grew brighter and larger in his arms, but it didn't burn him, instead it felt… invigorating, as though the flame held all his positive emotions and was channeling them back into him. He continued to shout affirmations, running further and further. The voices tried to come back, stronger this time. But Atlas merely raised his voice, drowning out the lies and deceptions they tried to put into his head. Illusions tried to appear around and in front of him, but Atlas didn't give them a second glance, trucking on ahead, refusing to stop for any reason.

The flame continued to grow larger, and it was now the size of a beach ball, comically large compared to the candle itself. Atlas didn't falter, didn't break, continuing on into the horizon, which he couldn't even see.

Atlas ran for hours, not stopping for any reason, shouting loudly until his voice ran hoarse. When his voice died out, the whisperings came back, but Atlas just ignored them, mentally thinking up a comeback for each and every doubt.

The flame continued to grow.

Atlas fell into a state where he was in an out of body experience. He could feel his legs pumping, but he felt no strain, he could see the endless mist, but it was as though he was above the mist, not in it.

He was floating, and a warm feeling seemed to surround him every step of the way.

He felt a notification lurking at the edge of his consciousness, but he couldn't reach it, it was as though it was blocked by the mist.

The mist seemed to condense around him, trying to slow or even stop him from moving. The mist became physical, and suddenly, Atlas's movements felt like wading through mud. He didn't stop instead, he pressed onward, not letting the thick mist stop him from moving. He flared his emotions and felt the flame grow stronger. I will not be stopped.

He repeated this like a mantra, his steps steady and his strides long. As he was running, he noticed that where the mist met his flame, it weakened, returning to its normal nature and flowing past Atlas easily. Inspired, Atlas fed his emotions to the flame, his desire, his anger, his determination, his peace and all over his other raging emotions.

The flame exploded outwards, becoming larger than Atlas and covering him completely in an orb of fire. Atlas's motions were freed up, and he could suddenly run like normal once more, running so fast he created a boom of sound. He had done this before, but this time, he paid attention to it. Was that… was that him breaking the sound barrier? Was he really going that fast?

The fire around him grew even larger as he realized in awe just how fast he was going. He fed his emotions of awe to it, and it continued to grow, burning the mist away.

The flame now fully enveloped him and the air around him, a blazing or of light that clashed violently with the mist. It throbbed in tempo with his heartbeat, synchronized with his emotions and will.

The mist started pushing harder, pressing against the fire with the weight of a world's worth of doubt, but the flame would not flicker. It roared like only a raging fire could.

It roared with all of his conviction.

It roared with all of his hope.

It roared with the strength of a future he refused to abandon.

And then it happened.

The flame surged, changing, blinding white, shimmering gold, deep violet - a kaleidoscope of will given form- and Atlas screamed. Not in pain, or fear, or even anger, but in rejection.

He rejected the limits.

He rejected the possibility of failure.

He rejected the very world that claimed escape was impossible.

The flame burst, exploding into a pillar that seared through the mist, piercing the sky and ripping a hole in the world, cracking reality like fragile glass. A jagged slash appeared in the front of him, and Atlas leapt through without hesitation, completing the trial meant to be impossible.

He felt the trial of will itself take notice of him, and it seemed… panicked. As though it didn't know what to do with him.

The rip in the world seemed to shift slightly as he was in it and he found himself standing in a large white room. There was nothing of note but endless white stone everywhere. He found his notifications worked and he checked them.

Skill Gained! Inner Flame (S)

Inner Flame has gained ERROR levels!

Tiering and Ranking up multiple times…

Inner Flame (S) -> Flame of Resolve (SS)

Flame of Resolve (SS) -> Willfire (SSS)

Willfire (SSS) -> Soulfire (Z)

Soulfire (Z) -> Burning Bastion (ZZ)

Burning Bastion (ZZ) -> Soulfire Core (ZZZ)

Soulfire Core (ZZZ) -> Incandescent Core (Y)

WORLDSHAKING LUCKY BONUS!

Can't rank up… Tiering up…

Incandescent Core (Y) -> Everflame Core (Y)

Everflame Core (Rarity: Ascendent) (Rank: Y): You have turned the weak and guttering candle within you to a powerful and eternal flame that can exert itself on the world around you. Makes all Will-based Skills and Spells work twice as well. Your mind cannot be attacked without an extreme effort of will. You gain 10 points in Intelligence and Wisdom for each level you gain, and 100 for every tier up. Once per day, you can take control of the area within 100 feet of you, shaping it with your will and controlling everything that happens for 30 seconds. This effect can be stopped if someone manages to overpowers your will on the area in a similar way.

Title Upgraded! Glimpse of Transcendence -> Ascender.

Ascender: You have managed to forcibly tier up a skill before it was easy to, allowing you to break into the elite ranks of the Ascenders. Your Transcendent Skills are now 2 times stronger and longer lasting and your Ascendent skills are twice as strong (Not including upgrade effect. The upgrade effect is: level up = gain stat/or other benefit.)

As Atlas was processing all this new information, a shadowy figure began to appear in front of him, eyes burning with hatred. It was him, dressed in a black suit and with claws instead of hands and a tail writhing behind him. His eyes shined a deep black, with white pupils.

Atlas summoned his scythe. "Here we go again." He muttered. At least he would get to test out his new skills and titles.