7.1) Wake Up, Atlas

“Atlas…”

Atlas could hear Mary call his name as he slept, but he was tired and wanted to sleep longer. He was taking advantage of one of the positives of being mortal: being able to fall into deep slumber and being transported into a fantasy. In his dream, he was simply floating in a blank space of endless white. Alone, perhaps, but at peace. There were no more moral dilemmas he had to consider, no more doubt and hesitance…

“Atlas, wake up,” she called out from behind his back.

… No more stress. No more guilt. No more fear of loss. In that blank space, he was able to relax in peace. Yes, he loved Mary, Julian, Abigail, and the world beyond; but once he had given them his everything, he wanted to rest for good. Because despite all of his ideals, he himself had lived long enough. Unlike Julian and Mary, he didn’t have many things he wanted for himself. He was content. There was no ideal left to be chased for his individual happiness.

He believed that one day, his wish would surely come true. That one day, he would no longer have to wake himself back up in the name of love…

Mary shook him by his shoulders. “Atlas. You need to wake up.”

… But it seemed that today was not that day.

Atlas twitched his hands, trying to awaken from his illusionary elysium. He groaned, slowly opening his eyes into the darkness. It was still early, perhaps around six in the morning. He was not supposed to be awake by now.

“Yes… Mary?” he mumbled.

“Atlas. It's Victor Truman. He's back."

There was silence. Atlas thought he had misheard her.

“What?”

Atlas slowly rotated his body to see a nervous look on her face.

“Victor Truman is back. He's in the streets talking to Abigail right now.”

Another silence passed. Atlas let out another groan as he pushed himself off the mattress in the middle of their dark living room.

Indeed. Today was not that day.

***

Atlas followed Mary down the stairs of the apartment and walked ahead of her once she opened the entrance doors for him. As he stepped down the front steps alongside her, he saw that Abigail and Victor were sitting side by side on the opposite side of the street under the morning gray.

The first thing Atlas noticed was the subtle tension on Abigail’s face. She was looking down at the ground with her thumb resting on her lips as if she was in deep thought about something concerning. Meanwhile, Victor seemed to be immensely exhausted and barely keeping his eyes open.

Atlas looked down at Victor. “Well?”

Victor didn’t speak. Atlas groaned.

Abigail responded instead. “It’s best to leave him be. He’s already said his share.”

“Did he, now? What did he say?”

She clasped her hands. “It doesn’t matter what we do. The world will end.”

Atlas frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that even if we give the power of infinity to someone who would willingly fight against the collapse of the universe, the weight will crush that person. It would crush me. Even you, Atlas.”

“But I held on for thirty-two years. It’s the power of infinity. I’m sure someone can pull it off with enough willpower.”

As Abigail tried to explain, Victor mumbled under his breath. “The god wants the world gone.”

Atlas frowned. “God? The god?”

Abigail sighed. “According to him, there’s an external force out there trying to destroy this world. When you were last holding up the sky, you were battling the universe itself. But this time, there is an otherworldly entity that is slowly crushing the universe from the outside.”

Mary cut in. “That’s insane. It sounds made up.”

Abigail rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It does, but he wouldn’t come all the way back here just to screw with us.”

Atlas shook his head. “I don’t trust him one bit.”

Abigail sighed, then held up the dagger that had been previously used to strip Atlas of his power. The dagger was glowing.

“... Look, Atlas. He already gave us back the power of infinity. That’s why he’s sitting down. He’s exhausted after having it ripped out of him.”

Atlas frowned. “But why would he give it back to us if there's no way to save the world?”

Abigail took a deep breath. “Because he wants me to take it and escape our universe.”

“What?”

Then, Victor mumbled once more, seemingly fighting through the exhaustion to try and say what he wanted to tell her.

“Please. Take it… That’s the only reason I came back… I need to save you…”

Abigail softly whispered. “Victor…”

She looked at the dagger in her hand, holding it firmly, but soon relaxed her grip and left it weakly hanging by her hand.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t do what you want me to. I’m grateful for your concern, I really am. But I can’t.”

“But… why?” Victor said weakly.

“I’m not worried about the end, Victor. I accept my own mortality. And I have promises I still have to keep while alive; fulfilling those promises means more to me than life itself.”

Abigail got up, walked closer to Atlas, then pointed the handle of the dagger towards him.

“... What are you doing?” Atlas asked.

“Of all the people here, you deserve it most. No one would be angry if you chose to leave on your own. No one. So I’ll leave this dagger with you.”

Atlas looked down at the dagger in continued confusion, reluctantly taking the dagger from her hand. The power of infinity had been returned to him, but it no longer held the power to protect the world. It was simply the power to save one’s self.

Abigail nodded without waiting for Atlas’s verbal agreement, then walked back to Victor. “Let’s go. You and I need to talk.”

Abigail grabbed Victor by his wrists, forcing his weak body off the sidewalk, and walked him back into the apartment building with her hand firmly holding onto his.

Atlas stared at the dagger, then looked back at Mary, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold. She was looking at him with her arms crossed, her fingers nervously tapping her bicep in a rhythm.

“Um, well... What are you going to do?” she asked. “I’m, um, I’m fine if you just used it and left, you know.”

A silence passed, as if she was trying to justify something to herself. Atlas waited.

She eventually gathered her thoughts and spoke slowly. “Abigail is right. There would be no judgment from any of us. You’ve done far beyond what a single human could be asked to do. This could be your path to eternal salvation. So…”

She tried to smile. “I’d be happy if you got the peace you deserve.”

Atlas stared at the dagger, tightening his grip around it. But eventually, he relaxed his hands just like Abigail had done. He slowly lowered the dagger down to his side.

“Atlas?”

“Mary. Listen carefully...”

Atlas bent his knees and stooped forward, leveling his eyes with her own.

“... I’ll keep this safe in my hand for now, but I am leaving the choice to you. You can choose to save yourself, or you can ask your brother if he wants to be saved.”

“What?”

“Since Abigail doesn’t want to abandon her humanity, it’ll come down to you two. If you want to survive the collapse of the universe, use the dagger. Sever yourself from your humanity and escape. If you don’t want to, then ask Julian.”

“But what about you…?”

Atlas shook his head, choosing not to give a proper answer to her question. Then, he walked after Victor and Abigail, leaving Mary baffled in the middle of the empty street.