Finally, for the first time, I heard his voice.
"It's none of your business. And this isn't the food the king said I should have, is it?"
Hearing his voice for the first time made me feel even more sympathy toward him. He was still just a kid.
"Just eat the food before the other guards come back, damn brat," the man whispered.
"You know, if I wasn't your uncle, I wouldn't have been helping you all this while," he added with a tired smile.
"I never asked for your help, Uncle," Atom replied, his face still as cold and expressionless as ever.
His uncle stretched his right arm into the air, as if reaching for something far beyond. His eyes seemed distant, haunted.
"You know, after watching your parents being executed in front of me, I made a promise—to protect you. Even if it costs my life, I'll do whatever it takes to free you."
Atom looked down. His voice came quiet but steady.
"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll be alright."
"I know you're not, damnit!" his uncle snapped, frustration cracking his voice. "Do you know how it feels—watching my brother's son being treated like a weapon? And after war, being discarded like trash? Do you know what that feels like?"
There was silence between them, heavy and sharp.
Then the uncle added, "Don't forget—we'll be escaping by dawn tomorrow."
"Where will we go?"
"I don't know. Anywhere. As long as it's far from this cursed realm."
I watched them argue until Atom's uncle finally stood, brushing the dust from his armor.
"I'm leaving now, Atom. Be ready."
After he left, Atom fell asleep almost instantly.
My body began to dissipate, dissolving into nothingness—and then I reappeared again, this time outside the castle, deep within the city streets.
A crowd had gathered. Two people—a man and a woman—were kneeling on a raised platform. Two guards stood beside them, each holding an axe, blades gleaming under the torchlight.
The crowd chanted in unison, loud and bloodthirsty:
"KILL THEM! KILL THEM! EXECUTE THEM!"
Again and again, their voices roared like a storm until the king raised his hand. Silence fell.
In one swift motion, he lowered it.
The axes fell. Their heads rolled. The crowd cheered.
I vanished again, reappearing inside Atom's cell just moments later.
In that moment, as if struck by some invisible force, Atom jolted awake with a scream:
"Mom… Dad, don't die!"
I thought to myself, Was I in his dream just now?
Atom sat upright, tears gushing from his eyes like a waterfall.
"Mom… Dad… where are you?"
He began sobbing.
"Mom… why did you leave… Dad, please bring Mommy back…"
He kept crying, wiping his tears with shaking hands.
Suddenly, a guard stormed in.
"Shut up, damn brat! People in the castle are sleeping. Or do you want me to come in there and beat your ass?"
Atom immediately silenced himself, covering his mouth with his hands. But the tears wouldn't stop.
I watched him cry for nearly an hour. And then something changed.
He wiped his face. His gaze shifted. Something inside him dimmed. The innocence that remained flickered—and died.
He began smiling. Slowly. Then, he started laughing. Low at first. Then louder.
And then I heard it:
"THEY WERE WEAK."
At first, I couldn't process what he'd just said. Then, I heard it again.
"THEY WERE WEAK… THAT'S WHY THEY DIED."
His voice had hardened. Twisted. And then he spoke again:
"I get it now.
All this time, I thought strength was something you earned… something you worked for. I thought if I endured long enough, if I kept pushing forward, eventually, I would find justice. That my suffering would mean something.
But I get it now.
Justice doesn't exist. The strong make the rules, and the weak exist to be broken. No matter how much I fought, how much I bled, the world never changed."
I watched him as he uttered those words. It made me wonder—what could this boy possibly have done?
Slowly, his eyes dulled. He collapsed back to the ground, asleep once more.
I sat beside him as he slept, the air around us cold and suffocating.
Hours passed until his uncle returned.
"Atom, wake up. Wake up, Atom—it's time. I've stolen the cell keys."
He unlocked the bars, rushed to Atom, and took his hand.
"Let's go."
They ran.
"GET THEM! THEY'RE ESCAPING!"
I followed them as they sprinted through the palace halls, fighting guards along the way. They burst through the main gates, their breath ragged, eyes wild.
A loud trumpet blared.
Then came the use of sound magic:
"ATOM AND A PALACE GUARD ARE ESCAPING. APPREHEND THEM BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!"
They tore through the city, pushing past civilians, slicing through dream knights as they charged forward.
And finally, they reached the edge of the Upper Realm—standing at the precipice, ready to jump.