The explosion of blue light consumed everything.
Mason felt himself thrown backward across the stone floor as a wave of energy erupted from the crystal prison. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs and sent his flashlight spinning into the darkness.
For several seconds, he couldn't hear anything.
A high-pitched ringing filled his ears.
The chamber blurred.
Dust and glowing particles swirled through the air like tiny stars.
Somewhere nearby, Tyler groaned.
"Mason..."
The voice sounded distant.
Muffled.
As though coming from underwater.
Mason pushed himself onto his elbows and immediately wished he hadn't.
The chamber looked completely different.
The symbols covering the walls now blazed with brilliant blue light. Ancient markings stretched across the stone like rivers of energy, illuminating details that had remained hidden for centuries.
The murals surrounding the room seemed almost alive.
Figures depicted in the carvings glowed softly.
Massive cities rose from the stone walls.
Flying machines crossed ancient skies.
Armored warriors battled creatures made of darkness.
The entire chamber radiated power.
And at the center of it all stood the shattered remains of the crystal prison.
Mason's heart nearly stopped.
The prison was empty.
The man was gone.
Tyler scrambled to his feet nearby.
His face had gone pale.
"Tell me he's still in there."
Mason swallowed hard.
"He isn't."
The silence that followed felt enormous.
Both teenagers slowly turned toward the center of the chamber.
Broken crystal fragments covered the floor.
Some still pulsed with fading blue energy.
Others had already gone dark.
Yet there was no sign of the prisoner.
No sign of Atlas.
A low rumble echoed through the cavern.
Both boys froze.
The sound hadn't come from the walls.
It hadn't come from the mountain.
It had come from behind them.
Very slowly, Mason turned.
The figure stood near the entrance of the chamber.
Watching.
Neither teenager moved.
Neither breathed.
Atlas appeared even larger outside the crystal.
His armor shimmered beneath the glowing light.
Blue and gold symbols flowed across its surface like liquid energy.
A dark cape hung behind him.
His black hair fell loosely around his shoulders.
But it was his eyes that captured Mason's attention.
Bright blue.
Not glowing.
Burning.
Filled with confusion.
Pain.
And something else.
Loss.
The expression on Atlas's face looked like someone waking from a nightmare only to discover reality was worse.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Atlas took a step forward.
The entire chamber seemed to tremble.
Tyler immediately backed away.
"Nope."
Another step.
The ancient hero glanced around the room.
His eyes moved across the walls.
The glowing symbols.
The broken prison.
The dust covering everything.
Slowly, realization appeared on his face.
A thousand years.
The understanding seemed to strike him all at once.
A thousand years had passed.
The world he knew was gone.
The people he loved were gone.
Everything was gone.
Mason watched the emotion wash across the man's face.
The pain looked genuine.
Real.
It wasn't the expression of a monster.
It was the expression of someone who had lost everything.
Then Atlas looked directly at him.
The pressure was immediate.
Not physical.
Mental.
Like standing before something far larger than yourself.
Something ancient.
Powerful.
The hero studied him for several moments.
Then he spoke.
His voice echoed through the chamber.
Deep.
Strong.
Yet strangely calm.
"What year is it?"
The question caught both teenagers completely off guard.
Tyler blinked.
"What?"
Atlas repeated himself.
"What year is it?"
Mason swallowed.
"Two thousand twenty-six."
The hero froze.
The answer visibly affected him.
His eyes closed.
A long breath escaped his lips.
When he opened them again, something had changed.
The reality had finally settled in.
Over a thousand years had passed.
The civilization he protected no longer existed.
Everything had been erased by time.
The silence stretched.
Then Atlas asked another question.
"Who rules the world?"
Tyler looked confused.
"The president?"
Atlas frowned.
"The what?"
Mason and Tyler exchanged a glance.
This conversation was becoming increasingly difficult.
The ancient hero looked genuinely bewildered.
As though half the words they spoke made no sense.
Which, considering his situation, wasn't surprising.
A thousand years was a very long time.
Then the ground shook.
A violent tremor rippled through the chamber.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Several stone pillars cracked.
Atlas immediately looked upward.
His expression sharpened.
"What have you done?"
Mason blinked.
"What?"
"The prison."
Atlas pointed toward the shattered crystal.
"It wasn't only holding me."
The chamber shook again.
Harder this time.
A loud cracking sound echoed from somewhere deep beneath the mountain.
The hero's face darkened.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in his eyes.
That terrified Mason.
If Atlas was scared, then something was very wrong.
"What do you mean?" Mason asked.
The ancient hero didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared toward the darkness beyond the chamber.
Listening.
Watching.
Almost as though he sensed something neither teenager could detect.
Then he whispered a single name.
"No."
The word barely escaped his lips.
Yet the dread behind it was unmistakable.
Atlas took another step.
Blue energy suddenly erupted around him.
The air itself seemed to vibrate.
The symbols across his armor ignited.
For a brief moment, the chamber became brighter than daylight.
Mason shielded his eyes.
When he looked back, Atlas was staring toward a massive stone door hidden behind the chamber.
A door neither teenager had noticed before.
Ancient runes covered its surface.
Most were broken.
Cracked.
Destroyed.
The seal protecting it had failed.
And something was trying to get out.
A deep sound echoed from behind the door.
Not a growl.
Not a roar.
A laugh.
Cold.
Ancient.
Wrong.
The noise rolled through the chamber and seemed to crawl beneath Mason's skin.
Tyler stepped backward.
"What was that?"
Atlas didn't look away from the door.
His jaw tightened.
The blue energy surrounding him intensified.
Then he spoke four words that would change everything.
"The Void King lives."
The chamber fell silent.
Even the mountain seemed to stop moving.
Mason stared.
"The Void King?"
Atlas finally turned toward them.
The sorrow had vanished from his face.
The confusion was gone.
Only determination remained.
"The enemy I sacrificed everything to stop."
Another tremor shook the chamber.
Cracks raced across the giant stone door.
Dark energy seeped through the gaps.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Frost formed along the walls.
The air itself seemed to die.
Atlas clenched his fists.
"The prison wasn't built for me."
Mason's stomach tightened.
"What?"
The ancient hero looked directly at him.
"The prison was built to keep him contained."
The realization hit like a hammer.
The legends were wrong.
All of them.
Atlas hadn't been imprisoned because he was a monster.
He had imprisoned himself.
To stop something far worse.
Then the giant stone door exploded.
Darkness poured into the chamber like a living storm.
And somewhere within the shadows, two glowing crimson eyes opened.