5.4) Weep, and You Weep Alone

When Atlas opened his eyes, he blankly stared up at the sky. It seemed that the gray sky was slowly turning blue. It should have been the start of another beautiful day.

He moved his finger and noticed that it no longer hurt immensely to move. He was still immensely exhausted, but it seemed that his body's functions were returning to normal.

when he pushed himself off his back with his arms, however, he felt a sharp pain on his right shoulder. It was a different kind of pain he had felt from holding the weight of the world–it was a kind of human pain. It was like something was functionally wrong with his shoulders.

It seemed that he was mortal. Just like Victor had claimed, he had been stripped of his powers.

And when he blinked, an old man wearing a white scarf and a brown trench coat appeared in front of him without sound, as if he had simply popped into existence. Atlas stared up at the old man in silence, not being able to process what had just happened. It was as if his brain had skipped through time.

Atlas looked the mysterious figure up and down. The old man had his hands deep in his pockets, as if not afraid of tripping and falling forward. He wore a calm smile on his face, as if there was nothing left in the world that could surprise him.

The old man spoke. “We meet again,” he said softly yet in a way that seemed to be making light of the situation.

“... What?” Atlas asked, genuinely confused.

“The last time we met, you were collapsed in an alleyway. I thought nothing of it, at the time. But this is the second time I've found you after following a trail of intense energy. You must be the source,” he said.

“... Who are you?” Atlas asked.

“Rutger Kindred. A Leviathan,” the man said. “It's quite a pleasure to become acquainted with you.”

Then, Rutger looked around the street, weakened his smile, then walked over to the female Leviathan, who was simply standing in the middle of the street with her sword on the floor.

“It's a rare sight to see you unarmed, Abigail,” Rutger remarked. “What happened?”

She shook her head. “I… I’m not certain if it's a good idea to tell you.”

“The last time I checked, you told me that you were going on a vacation with that Victor fellow. And yet, here you are, in the middle of an unfamiliar street, surrounded by craters and shattered car windows, with your precious sword on the concrete and your eyes unable to look at me.”

“I… well…”

“Abigail, you will have to give me a reasonable explanation for the property damage. Be honest.”

She exhaled, as if her mind was being forced back into reality. “Would you believe me if I told you that Victor just ran off with the one shot we had at saving the world?”

“Go on,” Rutger said flatly.

As Atlas listened to the two Leviathans’ conversation, he could hear someone coming out of the apartment. He turned around to see Mary approaching him with many questions.

“Atlas? What’s going on? Are you okay? What happened? And why are there two of them now?”

“We fought,” he said flatly. “Victor Truman used the dagger. Took my power. Then I’m pretty sure he left.”

Mary sighed. “You seem pretty calm about this. Aren’t you worried? ”

Atlas thought for a brief moment, then shook his head. “I’m more disappointed than worried. The man betrayed the entire world and the one person who seemed to care for him. I have to admit that it makes me a bit angry.”

But he shrugged it off. “This doesn’t change our plans in the long run, though. It just means that he’s out there somewhere with infinite power doing whatever he wants to. From what I’m hearing, it doesn’t look like it’ll affect us here. So I’m not terribly panicked about this outcome.”

Then he remembered his only concern. “What about Julian? Is he awake?”

She shook her head. “He’s a heavy sleeper, and he’s deep asleep snoring. Probably spent all night trying to beat the game.”

“I see. I’m glad,” he said with less emotion than usual. “I don’t want him to get into this mess.”

Then, Atlas turned his attention back into the Leviathans’ conversation. Rutger was speaking.

“... Most of the Leviathans were suspicious of him, Abigail. We made bets on how long he’d go before he did something catastrophic again,” he said. “But I suppose none of us were expecting him to do anything now, as the world is ending. Heh. Guess we all lost.”

Rutger took out a pack of mint gum, tore out a piece, and unwrapped the foil.

Abigail raised an eyebrow. “Where’s your lighter?”

“I quit,” he said as he dropped the gum into his mouth.

“What? Why now?”

“The wife always told me to save my health,” he said with a chuckle. “I figured she’d have a good laugh if I quit now.”

“... What morbid humor,” she muttered.

“So?” Rutger asked while chewing slowly. “What are you going to do now?”

“What?”

“I said, what are you going to do now? Are you headed back to Oneiros? Will you spend your remaining days with Alice Truman? Perhaps neither?”

“I…”

Abigail looked down to her feet. “I want to stay here and wait.”

“... What?” Rutger said, uncharacteristically confused. Then, his eyebrows raised as if he understood the implications. “Abigail, you’re not saying you’re counting on him to return, are you?”

“He can’t just leave like that. He can’t… He doesn’t have the heart to do something so selfish. I can’t believe it. He’s probably debating whether or not he should go through with it, even now.”

He sighed. “You’ve already been burned multiple times because you trusted him. I don’t understand why you keep giving him your trust–even after he practically declared to you that he would abandon humanity and become god. He doesn’t care.”

“He cared enough to send the rest of his money to his sister,” she mumbled. “And he…”

Rutger interrupted. “I don’t want to say this, but this is delusional. You’re better off spending time doing other things.”

Abigail couldn’t reply, and Rutger sighed, clearly disappointed in her yet still attempting to sympathize with her.

“... Fine, Abigail. I can at least tell you this: I won’t tell anyone what really happened here. I’ll write it off as an incident. The property damage won’t be an issue. And as for Victor… I’ll let you handle him if he ever comes back. Which–I should add–I seriously doubt."

"Thank you," she mumbled. "I owe you one."

"You don't. This is just my last act as a Leviathan," he said casually.

"... What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm retiring. I'm going traveling with my wife and kids. Not much left for me to do with my powers." He chuckled.

Abigail seemed somehow even more distressed than before. "You... You can't, Rutger. You're our leader...!"

Rutger looked up the sky with a soft grin. "In life, I have devoted myself to world, often leaving my family without a father. I think my loved ones deserve a little reward at the end of the world for being so patient with me."

As Abigail’s head slumped forward, he walked forward and pat her on the shoulders.

"Hang in there, Abigail. Call me if you need anything. And..."

Rutger slammed his fist over his heart. "Until we return to one."

He turned to Atlas and Mary. He gave them a two-finger salute, and disappeared without sound or warning.

“That was… Rutger Kindred,” Mary said with equal amounts of fascination and shock. “The First Leviathan...”

But Atlas sighed, clearly not as impressed as Mary was. He was starting to get tired of Leviathans and their crazy gimmicks. Not wanting to spend any more time outside, he began walking back into the apartment.

“W-wait, Atlas?” Mary said, quickly pacing after him as he walked up the front steps of the apartment. “That’s it? You’re just going back in?”

“You heard the lady,” he said. “She’s going to stay out here and wait for him to return. It doesn’t exactly concern us, does it?”

She whispered in his ear, glancing behind them. “This is unnaturally cold of you.”

He sighed. “She was my enemy a couple of minutes ago. And I’m no longer all powerful,” he said. “I’m not going to lend a hand to someone I can’t trust.”

“But… she’s going to be out here, all alone,” Mary whispered. “I told you before: she’s not a bad person. She’s one of the good guys.”

“Yet she’s foolish enough to wait for the man who betrayed the world. She’ll realize on her own that there’s no point in her waiting. I’m sure. Then she’ll be free to go do whatever she wants with the rest of her life.”

Atlas looked up at the sky, which had now turned blue. “What a terrible waste of a good morning,” he said bitterly.

Atlas walked back into the apartment with Mary reluctantly following suit, leaving Abigail alone on the street.