Floating Islands: SSS Gacha System - Chapter 373

Chapter 373: Chapter 373 – Inhale the Sky
Atlas felt an unbearable pull. So strong it felt as if his very soul was being ripped out of his body. Then, suddenly, a blinding light pierced through his vision. He gasped sharply, struggling for breath as his body convulsed, and slowly began to reorient himself to his surroundings.

Panting heavily, he looked around and saw Dullorak sitting cross-legged, floating slightly above the ground. Elyndra was there too, her face filled with worry, and beside her stood Edrik and Kurogasa, both watching closely.

They had managed to pull him back into the real world.

Dullorak’s aged face softened with a small, almost amused smile. “How was the experience, my lord?” he asked calmly.

“The demon…” he rasped, still trying to catch his breath. “The demon tried to rip my soul apart.”

“Yes, but don’t worry,” Dullorak replied calmly. “I was watching everything that happened. You were never in real danger. You’ll be fine.”

Atlas exhaled shakily. “Would I have truly died if you hadn’t pulled me out just now?”

“Yes and no,” Dullorak replied. “Part of your soul would have been drained, but you wouldn’t have died completely. At least not right away. You’d have been trapped in a cycle of suffering. Each time losing more of yourself. Until you finally ceased to exist.”

Atlas sat there, still trying to steady his breathing. What he had just gone through was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

He had faced countless life-or-death moments before. During brutal training sessions, and even on the battlefield against enemies far stronger than himself. But this was something else entirely.

For the first time, he had felt completely powerless. All he could do was endure as the demon tore into him, unable to fight back.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he clenched his jaw.

“I couldn’t do anything in there,” he said, his voice tight with frustration. “I couldn’t even summon my spear. What am I supposed to do if everything I have is locked away from me?”

Dullorak nodded slowly before speaking. “This will take time, my lord. As I mentioned before, you’ll need to do this consistently, every single day. The concept is a little different this time…”

He continued with a long and detailed explanation, though Atlas tried to simplify it in his mind. In truth, he knew he would only truly understand it through direct practice.

What he was trying to absorb wasn’t just ordinary elemental particles like he usually did. This wasn’t simple mana that could be shaped at will.

What he aimed to conquer and absorb was a core filled with countless remnants. Fragments of souls and energies from beings who had once lived and possessed their own freedom.

To make matters even more complicated, every soul he needed to subdue carried its own distinct will and personality.

Dullorak continued, “You must master yourself. Your core, your entire soul, and then overpower their souls, their will, and their essence. Only then can you claim control over them and fully absorb the core. This process will grant you an upgrade beyond anything you can imagine, my lord. The potential here is truly immense.”

“Understood,” Atlas said firmly.

All he needed to do was keep trying, again and again, without stopping. And that was the one thing he was exceptionally good at.

Once Atlas set his mind on achieving something, he would pursue it relentlessly until he succeeded.

He was, in every sense of the word, a machine.

**

If Atlas were to be honest, among the four basic elements… He still wondered which one left the deepest impression on him.

Was it Fire?

After all, his brutal training had begun on a volcanic island, where he spent every day surrounded by molten lava, forcing his body to endure destruction and rebuild itself over and over again. That was the first time he truly understood what it meant to be broken down to nothing.

But as fate would have it, when he began developing his elemental affinity, the element he unlocked with the highest resonance wasn’t Fire. It was Water.

Not long after that, he awakened Lightning.

He had already pushed his mastery of Earth so far that he even unlocked its advanced form. Magnetic Earth.

But what about Air and Fire? Those two basic elements were still lagging behind for him.

Because of that, Atlas decided to adjust his daily routines in the coming days: first, continuing his attempt to conquer the Heart of the Void; second, providing mana for the new egg; and third… Well, this!

Atlas shot through the air, plummeting from an incredible height, his body slicing through the sky as he free-fell toward the floating island below.

A grin spread across his face as the fierce wind roared against him, tugging at his clothes and hair.

Below, thousands of soldiers had already leapt ahead of him toward the floating island, while Atlas used the dive merely as another form of training.

It was almost nostalgic. He had been in a situation just like this when he was chosen to become a Lord.

Back then, he had been falling freely through the air. Straight toward the depths of a bottomless ravine, toward certain death.

If the system had been even a fraction of a second slower, he might have been named a Lord at the exact moment his body shattered upon impact.

But look at him now, diving headfirst through open skies without a trace of fear.

The truth was, he had become completely at ease with the heights that once terrified him.

Atlas looked around, watching the fierce currents of air rush past him, wrapping around his body and slamming against him with incredible force.

He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. In that moment, he could feel an almost perfect stillness. A rare peace that came only with solitude.

Did he miss those days before he became a Lord? The days when he was cast out, unwanted by anyone?

Yeah, maybe he did. The truth was, Atlas had always been a lone fighter. He had learned to rely only on himself, to keep moving forward no matter what. Even now, despite his rank and power, that part of him hadn’t changed.

Sure, he could easily order his subordinates to handle everything for him. Each of his elites possessed incredible abilities of their own. If he wanted to, Atlas could sit back and let them run the entire island without lifting a finger.

But that wasn’t who he was.

Here he was again, pushing himself harder, forcing his limits, refusing to settle. Always striving to break through barriers that everyone else thought were impossible.

When something seemed out of reach, Atlas only pushed himself even harder to conquer it.

He clenched his teeth, feeling the air roar against his skin as he continued his high-speed descent.

He would master the Air Element. This one! This element would be his next conquest.

He grinned to himself, determination burning bright in his eyes.

He felt his entire body wrapped in the fierce currents of the rushing wind. He didn’t care about anything else. He refused to use any other element to reach the ground.

He would command the air itself to carry him!

In that very moment, Atlas felt a massive surge of Air elemental particles enveloping him. The force pulsed through his body like a living storm.

He clenched his fists tightly, eyes snapping open just as he looked down.

The vast stretch of land was rushing up to meet him.

Only moments away now!

[You have successfully triggered a new skill…]