The ascent through the Second Layer of Hell was slow.
Not because the path was difficult. Atlas could have crossed the distance in moments if he wished. But the battlefield behind them had left every member of the group battered, bloodied, and silent in the way soldiers often became after surviving something that should have killed them.
The tunnels were quieter now.
The distant tremors of Atlas and Sekhmet's battle had faded into memory, leaving only the deep, ancient hum of the Second Layer's frozen mana veins.
Pegasus broke the silence first.
He laughed.
It started low, almost disbelieving, before growing louder as they walked across a wide stretch of cracked ice.
Atlas glanced at him.
Pegasus shook his head, still smiling.
"You really did it."
Atlas said nothing.
Pegasus pointed a finger at him as if accusing him of a crime.
"You tricked them all."
The bastard son of Zeus looked genuinely impressed.
"Heaven, Hell, the Ice Monarch, Sekhmet… everyone."
