Tower of Heaven

At the end of the day, Atlas was still the Heavenly Emperor. He felt those warm emotions here and there, but he was never one to truly act on them.

Being placed into the perspective of a God changed this. He couldn\'t be attached to individual Neurics unless he wanted to mourn thousands of deaths, but he was certainly attached to the race as a whole.

For this reason, he made them as intelligent as he could, and for this reason, he gave them a Hero.

The Neurics couldn\'t just siege the world above. Their curiosity was backed by logic, not fantasy. They understood that like their ancestors, they needed to properly prepare before waging war on an unknown enemy.

No matter how jealous Gwin was, she was the Saintess, so she had to stay with the people and lead them.

It was Yonnis\' job to lead the charge into the frontier. It was decided secretly amongst the highest authorities of the Igni Neuric Clans that he would make a trek to the surface world alone and map it out so that their race could eventually follow in his footsteps.

He would always have his roots here to return to. Though Yonnis didn\'t necessarily want to explore, he knew it was his responsibility as the Hero. Besides, it wasn\'t as if they were sending him unprepared.

The forges were endlessly active for the next ten years as a completely new technology was developed.

After five hundred years, the scene Gurrik created during his evolution was mirrored, and the Igni Neurics finally comprehended the concept of runic inscription.

Runic inscription was the primal and undeveloped form of formation arts. And, it was also the method to "enchant" artifacts and give them their ability to hold their own qi and special abilities.

Even the equipment of the Tower had runic inscriptions etched onto it. No matter how small and invisible they seemed, they were present on every artifact.

The complete guide to runic inscriptions created by the Igni Neurics allowed them to explore more than just the conventional forging techniques they knew.

In five years, they managed to create a teleportation array that could take them to different parts of the cavern system in seconds. Yet, the breakthrough was only a byproduct of their main research.

There wasn\'t much they could give Yonni. He had the Holy Relic and the unique sword crafted for him when he became the Hero, Rezigald. The Igni Neurics now were working on something representing their personal sentiments.

It was completed in ten years, but they only had enough materials to make one.

"Whenever you want to return, just put your qi into there. It\'ll only work about once or twice before it breaks, but that\'s fine. We\'ll have a new one ready for you when you return."

They presented the pebble-like artifact to him with wide smiles on their faces.

Yonni gripped it tightly, feeling a swell of emotion in his chest,n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Thank you. Truly."

The duty of the Hero was to protect. However, protecting wasn\'t reserved to passively reacting.

If he could go and establish a place for the Igni Neurics and their empire in the surface world, he could provide them a level of prosperity they\'d never experienced before.

And with prosperity, they\'d be set on a path to an even greater, more grand sort of peace.

Yonnis left on his journey once those ten years passed. There wasn\'t a single natural path to the surface from the subterranean world. It was almost as if the Heavens themselves forced the two sides to stay separate. Your journey continues with empire

The Neurics didn\'t make any paths to the surface either. It wasn\'t that they didn\'t want to, but they simply never had the thought as they were too busy conquering the subterranean world and managing their ever-growing population.

When Yonnis prepared to leave, though, he found himself drawn to a very specific hidden room in the cavern.

It was the memorial of Rok, the same cave where he was born.

And in that cave, beyond the final hole Rok had made all those years ago when he\'d found the silver tablet, there was a very subtle shining light.

It was not light being emitted by an object, but rather a light that cascaded down from a place unknown and shone as deep as this.

Yonni pushed past the wall and looked up. For the first time in history, a Neuric saw what the sky looked like.

And even as he stood at the bottom of the well, Yonnis felt overwhelmed by its splendor.

\'One step at a time.\'

One step at a time.

He placed his hands on the wall and raised his legs so his feet could find the divets in its surface.

One step at a time, he climbed higher and higher up the well, and when half an hour passed, he finally saw it for the first time.

A blue sky that spread out eternally, decorated by dancing puffs of white smoke that drifted aimlessly with no goals whatsoever. Sitting center seat in the cerulean spectacle was a bright ball of flame. Looking at it blinded Yonnis, but he could not stop himself. His body felt an undeniable pull from that entity.

However, Yonnis was eventually forced to lower his eyes.

In the distance, mountains topped with white peaks that meshed with the clouds, great forests of luscious trees with a canopy that reminded Yonnis of the caverns, and a large body of liquid water the likes of which he simply never thought were possible.

Green and blue. These two colors that contrasted each other yet melded so splendidly into a single picture of natural beauty.

Compared to the grey of the caverns, the grey that was only ever made beautiful by the minerals and metals hidden in its surface, it was almost impossible for Yonnis to adapt.

That day, he did not move from the well. He sat there on the grass nearby, unable to even fathom the feeling of it brushing against his knees as it swayed in the wind.

He sat there and simply stared at the scenery of the surface world.

In his mind, there was only one thought.

\'O Great Shinnim, thank you. Thank you so much.\'

For if it were not for the Shinnim\'s urging, he never would have taken this step. He never would have seen this scenery.

And now that he had, he truly was filled with anticipation.

\'One day, my brothers and sisters will see this sight as well.\'

He had come to the surface so that they could do so in peace and enjoy their happiness without worry.

Now more than ever, he was absolutely dedicated to that goal.