Kai blinked at her, his trembling hands slowly relaxing as he absorbed her words. For a moment, hope flickered in his dark eyes—a fragile, tentative thing—but it was enough to make him sit up straighter. He glanced around at the group surrounding him, their expressions ranging from cautious concern from Lin Wuye to mild curiosity Meyu and finally landed on Atlas again.
Atlas, who had been leaning casually against a nearby tree trunk while brushing soot off his sleeves, tilted his head slightly. His golden eyes gleamed with an intensity that made Kai instinctively flinch. The merchant wasn't smiling now; instead, his gaze was sharp, calculating, like he was dissecting every twitch of Kai's body language.
"You know" Atlas began, his tone deceptively light but laced with an edge that demanded attention
"This place isn't exactly easy to stumble upon. Not yet, anyway." He gestured vaguely toward the dense forest surrounding them.
"So, I've got to ask—what brought you here? Or should I say…" His lips curled into a faint smirk. "…who were you running from ?"
Kai froze, his breath hitching audibly. The brief spark of hope dimmed, replaced by a shadow of fear. His fingers dug into the bark of the tree behind him, knuckles whitening as if clinging to it for support. His wide eyes darted between Atlas and the others, searching for some sign of judgment or hostility—but all he found was quiet anticipation.
Layla opened her mouth to intervene, perhaps sensing the tension rising in the air, but Atlas raised a hand to silence her without even looking away from Kai.
"Let him answer" he said simply, his voice firm yet oddly gentle. It wasn't a command—it was more like an invitation, one that left no room for evasion.
For several heartbeats, Kai said nothing. His lower lip quivered, and his breathing grew shallow, as though the weight of everything he'd endured was pressing down on him all at once.
Finally, he swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper when he spoke.
"I… I was running from slavers" he admitted, his words tumbling out in a rush as if saying them quickly would make them hurt less.
"They—they killed my family. My parents, my little sister… everyone. I managed to escape, but they chased me for days." His voice cracked, and he squeezed his eyes shut, tears spilling down his cheeks.
"I thought I lost them in the forest, but then I saw movement, and I panicked. I didn't mean to… I just wanted them to stop…"
His voice trailed off, his shoulders shaking as sobs wracked his small frame. The raw pain in his confession hung heavy in the air, palpable and suffocating.
Atlas didn't move, his expression unreadable as he processed the boy's words. After a moment, he pushed off himself off the ground, walked towards him and crouched down in front of Kai, bringing himself to eye level with the distraught child.
When he spoke, his tone was softer, almost unnervingly calm.
"Hey" he said, snapping his fingers lightly to draw Kai's attention back to him. "Look at me."
Kai hesitated before reluctantly meeting Atlas's gaze. What he saw there surprised him—not pity, not judgment, but something akin to understanding. Something that told him Atlas had walked a similar path once upon a time.
"You're safe now" Atlas said firmly, his voice carrying a weight that brooked no argument. "Whatever happened out there, whoever those bastards were—they're not here. And they're not going to find you. Got it?"
Kai nodded shakily, though doubt still lingered in his tear-filled eyes.
"But listen carefully" Atlas continued, his tone shifting ever so slightly, becoming sharper, more deliberate.
"Running only gets you so far. If you want to survive—if you want to protect yourself and the people you care about—you need to learn how to fight back. That power of yours?" He gestured vaguely toward the crater in the distance.
"It's dangerous, sure. But it's also your greatest weapon. And we're going to teach you how to use it."
Kai stared at him, his trembling gradually subsiding as Atlas's words sank in. For the first time since waking up in this strange place, he felt a glimmer of something other than fear: determination.
"Okay..." Kai whispered, his voice steadier now. "I'll try."
Atlas grinned, his usual devil-may-care smirk back in full force. "Good. Because trust me, kid—you're gonna need it."
Kai blinked, still trembling slightly but managing a small nod. The courtyard fell into a tense silence as everyone processed the situation—Kai's explosive entrance, his tragic past, and, of course, the fact that Atlas was already scheming something.
In the corner, Layla folded her arms, voice low as she leaned toward her parents and Meyu.
"I can't tell if Atlas actually cares about this boy or if he just sees him as a portable demolition squad."
Meyu gave an unimpressed snort. "It's Atlas. Probably both."
Yuxe Wuye, ever the sharp observer, tapped her chin thoughtfully. "He wouldn't have brought the boy here unless there was something worth investing in. But knowing him, he's already figuring out how to 'strategically deploy' those explosions."
Lin Wuye groaned, rubbing his temples. "That man views everything like a chessboard. People, resources, emotions—it's all just pieces to be moved at his leisure."
Meyu scoffed. "Yeah, but sometimes he moves those pieces to stop them from getting destroyed."
Layla frowned, her skepticism unwavering. "Is that 'helping'? Or just controlling?"
Meyu sighed, crossing her arms. "With Atlas? It's both. He doesn't know how to separate the two. He probably does care about the kid—he'll make sure Kai learns how to survive, maybe even help him find a purpose. But let's be honest, he's also thinking, 'How do I turn this human firecracker into an asset?'"
Yuxe Wuye chuckled softly. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
The four of them exchanged a knowing look. Despite all of Atlas' chaos, despite the way he pulled strings and manipulated situations to his advantage, one truth remained—he left an impact, whether people liked it or not.
Layla turned back toward Atlas, watching as he crouched beside Kai, making exaggerated hand gestures while explaining something. The kid's eyes widened, clearly enraptured by whatever nonsense Atlas was spewing.
For a brief moment, Layla considered the possibility that—beneath all the theatrics and scheming—Atlas actually saw potential in Kai. Not just as a weapon, but as a person.
"…Probably cares" she muttered under her breath, echoing Meyu's words. Then, with a wry smirk, she added "But also…"
"Also what?" Yuxe Wuye prompted.
Layla tilted her head, watching as Atlas animatedly pantomimed an explosion with his hands. "Also sees him as an opportunity. Explosions aren't just destructive, they're attention-grabbing. And if anyone knows how to turn chaos into leverage, it's him."
Meyu chuckled. "You're not wrong. But give him some credit—if he truly didn't care, he wouldn't bother sticking around to teach the kid control. He'd just exploit the situation and move on."
Bao groaned. "Why does it feel like this is the start of yet another headache?"
As they spoke, Atlas finally stood up, dusting off his coat with dramatic flair.
"Alright, team! Let's get our new recruit settled in. Someone grab food, someone get bandages, and someone—preferably Bao—explain to Kai why blowing things up indoors is generally frowned upon."
Bao rolled his eyes. "Why me?"
"Because you can at least pretend to be a responsible adult" Atlas said.
Bao snorted. "Bold of you to assume I care."
Kai still looked overwhelmed, his eyes darting between the group as if trying to decide whether this was a safe place or just another disaster waiting to happen.
But then, slowly, he nodded—small, hesitant, but real.
Layla pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling deeply as she watched Atlas work his usual brand of chaotic magic.
She had led armies. Outmaneuvered warlords. Sat at the negotiation table with men who would rather see her dead than listen to her. And yet, in the short few months she had known Atlas Ryland, had managed to give her more headaches than all her years as a ruler combined.
A child who could turn mountains into rubble with a panic attack had just dropped into their laps, and Atlas' first instinct was: Great, let's weaponize him.
Meilin Wuye, the new leader of Silver Lotus, might have been the name the world knew her by, but Layla—the woman who had once sat upon a throne in the Eternal Crescent—was the one standing here, barely restraining herself from strangling Atlas.
Layla closed her eyes for a brief moment.
Gods above, grant me patience. Or failing that, smite him where he stands.
She had survived emperors, assassins, and war. But dealing with Atlas Ryland?
That might actually kill her.