Atlas sat on the captain's seat located in the cockpit, staring at the stars that surrounded them.
His body was adorned in layers and layers of white. Countless bandages were wrapped around his many wounds, but that did little to stop the pain radiating all around his body.
He had been tossed around by the destroyer, earning many injuries thanks to its foul mood.
The atmosphere here in the cockpit was rather somber, after all, most of earth's population was either dead or not too far from it.
Those of them in this ship were the only ones that had managed to escape.
Atlas let out a sigh, watching as a shooting star brighten up the void in the distance.
Thankfully, the massacre involved only humans on earth. Long ago a sizable amount of the population had moved to a new planet, one that was two light years away from earth.
Unlike earth, this planet, Delta0791, was untouched by the Ai calamity and had since become a safe haven for those who managed to flee in time.
The only way to get to this planet was on a worm-scaler, ships designed to ride through wormholes and move at a speed that almost matched that of light.
"Atlas, we have left the earth's orbit. Shall we proceed with the deep dive sequence?" One of the pilots asked, his hand hovering over a glowing green button.
Atlas sighed, he had never left earth before but he had heard that deep dives were a rather painful experience.
"Sure, start the sequence."
The pilot nodded and tapped the button, while Atlas got to his feet and left the room.
'I've got to pee…'
He hurried over to the bathroom that was located in the more isolated part of the cabin, hurriedly greeting anyone he came across.
Many of them had looks of concern on their faces as they watched their saviour limp away but the smile he forced himself to muster was more than enough to put them at ease.
When Atlas got to the bathroom, he was faced with a rather annoying problem.
"How do I pee in this?"
The nurse either did not know how men's bodies worked or simply didn't care because his dragon was completely concealed underneath the wall of white.
"Damn it."
After fumbling with the bandage for sometime, Atlas finally found some levels of success.
As he began to relieve himself, a robotic voice chimed over the speakers.
[Deep Dive Mode Initiated. Coordinates… Delta0791]
[To Avoid Injury, All Passengers Are To Please Remain Seated]
[Countdown Has Been Initiated.]
[15…14…13]
Paying no mind to the warning of the ship's computer, Atlas continued peeing, all while wondering how much water he drank to be able to pee for so long.
'My goodness… why does this feel so good?!'
Suddenly, the lights in the restroom flickered off leaving him in a quiet darkness. Just as the darkness descended upon him, the door creaked open and someone walked into the toilet.
"Hey, it's occupi—"
He didn't get to finish those words because a cold object pierced his back, slipping through his rib cage and digging deep into his heart.
'W-what the hell?'
Blood dripped down his lips as he collapsed forward and then the lights came back on, revealing Atlas alone on the toilet floor, covered in blood.
As his thoughts began to drift and his mind grew hazy, Atlas had only one thought in his mind.
'In a freaking toilet? Really? God damn it!"
Atlas only bore the rank feudal lord as a mere title. In truth, his family had long lost its place in the world, so he was often called the lord of nothing.
He had fought through hordes of Ai during the rebellion and led the people on this ship up till this point.
Was he really going to die like this?
[5..3...]
Atlas heard a faint voice.
'What is that counting?'
[2...]
'Oh, at least they'll make it to safety]
[...1]
[Hyper Dive initiated]
The ship suddenly began to vibrate intensely before slowly being immersed in a bright bluish glow, but Atlas did not see this.
The darkness had already taken him.
***
'Where am I?'
It was the most popular words that dead people spoke in fiction, and how Atlas knew why.
There was nothing there…
All around for as far as the eyes could see was a plain white canvas that messed with Atlas' perception of space and time.
There were no distractions, sound, no wind… it was simply nothingness.
"Did I die?"
"Do you really need to ask that?"
Atlas suddenly spun around to meet the source of the voice only to stumble back and fall.
He had taken a good look around when he first arrived, how then did he not notice this colossal wave of darkness?!
Standing just a few feet away from him was a swirling mass of black. It was formless and moved atop itself as though it was a mass of liquid shadows.
Worse of all, Atlas could feel its gaze on him, staring intently.
"W-what are you?"
The shadow let out a guttural laugh, but slowly the laughter began to change, simultaneously, the shadow was shrinking as well. Until all that was left was a humanoid mass of darkness.
The voice had also morphed as well to that of a young woman.
Atlas stood dumbfounded as the shadow transformed into what was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Her skin was spotless and without a single blemish. Like a waterfall, her white hair cascaded down her back, curling like the clouds as it fell and her smile was nothing short of divine.
But that was not all… her figure was on another level on its own. Her breasts were ample, her waist thin and her hips profound. Atlas tried to stop his mind from running ahead of him, but it was already far too late.
His face felt on fire, the redness spreading from his face, right up to his ears.
But Atlas steeled his expression and mentally cautioned himself before speaking.
"Who are you? And what is this place?"