Tower of Heaven

She looked nothing like the person he used to know, but he didn't have a doubt in his mind that it was her.

Her deep blue hair was uncommon in the underworld. And, more importantly, nobody would ever mistake dragon horns for anything else.

The person he saw in the enemy camp was indeed Artemia, but she wasn't in a situation like his.

She wasn't fighting for them.

Rather, she was chained to a pole in the middle of a tent that was quite far separated from the rest of the camp.

She looked miserable. She was much skinnier than she had ever been before, and her eyes had a cold look to them that made Horus shiver.

"Artemia, wake up!"

Her eyes were open, but he shouted at her to awaken as he rushed over and undid her chains.

"Can you recognize me?"

He waved his hand in front of her face. Slowly, her gaze became less hazy, but when she locked eyes with him, her expression didn't change much.

"Horus."

She spoke his name, but it felt like she was referring to a stranger.

"Yeah, it's me."

Horus sighed. He didn't know what happened to her, but he could imagine a number of terrible situations she could have encountered in the Underworld.

"For now, let's leave this place. We can talk later."

He pulled her up by her arm. She pushed his arm away and glared at him, but followed him regardless.

"We're leaving now?" She asked as they walked out of the tent.

The two sides at war were fighting inside of each other's camps, so the presence of the two of them was mostly ignored.

Horus had an artifact hiding his living aura, and Artemia…

Well, Horus didn't understand what was going on with her, but she also wasn't clearly giving off the aura of a living person.

As they blended in and moved through the battlefield, Artemia turned to look back at the main tent of the camp.

Right there resided the person who led the opposing force. They were opposed to Spirit Arm and all of its allies, making them nothing short of ultimate villains in this part of the Outer Wilds.

Artemia's eyes were severe when she looked at that tent. It was more than obvious that she had a personal grudge against the people within.

However…

"Whatever happened, now isn't the time. He's a Great Spirit. He won't die unless you can kill him at least five times."

"I can kill him five times."

"Sure, but not while all of this is happening. I'll take you back to the main base and we can make real plans. I don't know what you were planning to do or why you got caught, but you have to leave that in the past for now."

Horus urged her sincerely. After so many years, he'd finally met one of the two people he'd been searching for. He wasn't going to let her leave now before they had properly rendezvoused.

Atlas was still missing, but if the two of them were able to meet, then there was a chance of finding him too.

Regardless, all of it relied on Horus and Artemia reaching the Spirit Arm base without being impeded.

Horus thought the enemies in his way would be the ones who stopped him, but that was not the case at all.

Rather than them, the problem was Artemia herself.

Because Artemia was nothing like the person she was a few years ago.

She had an aura around her that made it hard for Horus to demand things from her. It was as if she'd kill anyone or anything that tested her patience.

She was like a wild beast who had chosen her prey.

She wouldn't leave the battlefield until she'd been able to sink her teeth into its neck at least once.

Undoubtedly, the time they'd spent alone in this realm of death had changed both Artemia and Horus in many ways.

***

[Boy, drop your guard. In this realm, no matter how much you attempt to defend yourself, you will never escape my grasp.]

The woman walked to the center of the room and sat down. A throne materialized under her as if it had been awaiting her presence.

[I assume you know who I am?]

He didn't, but he nodded anyway.

For some reason, her voice did feel familiar to him. He had heard it before, but that was impossible, wasn't it?

The only God he'd interacted with directly was Anubis. How could he have heard her voice?

Or…perhaps it wasn't her voice itself, but a familiarity that came from her words and presence?

Atlas' eyes suddenly widened.

"You are… We have met."

[To say we have met… Well, you aren't completely wrong. You are indeed someone I have been watching, and it seems to be for good reason.]

Her appearance was disconcerting. As she spoke, only half of her mouth moved. The half of her face that was skeletal and rotting did move, but it only produced some emotion. It couldn't respond to her motions.

Atlas was forced to focus on only one side of her body, but it was only a matter of convenience.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel averse to her half-corpse appearance. It worked for her, as if she was always meant to only look that way.
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Still, just who was she? She was clearly one of the Gods who had been following him, but…

[Your state is truly something.]

She looked him up and down, interrupting his thoughts.

[It is a miracle that you're able to stand properly. I wonder if it is…]

Her words cut off for a moment. A look of realization entered her eyes as she nodded.

[I see. It will be interesting to see how you respond when that thing inside you can no longer aid you.]

Her words weren't cryptic, but they definitely weren't words he wanted to hear.

"Why was I brought here?"

He asked only because he wanted to know. Realistically, this was exactly where he wanted to be.

[Hmm… You were originally brought here by the whims of a Goddess overstepping her bounds. However, now that you are here, perhaps you have been kept here by curiosity?]

The woman– No, Hel, the Goddess of Death, smiled.

[You are someone who has garnered plenty of interest from people that I am close to. When I noticed you entering my realm, of course I was going to bring you here.]

She wanted to observe Atlas and perhaps test him a little. She wanted to see if he was worthy of the attention he was receiving from people who usually never paid attention to mortals.

'They are seeing him as someone who will become vital to "that" plan.'

If Atlas was really the person they made him out to be…

Nevertheless, given the opportunity, she wanted to check.

Her plans were ruined by a certain Goddess, but that was irrelevant now.

With the man in question standing directly in front of her, Hel could see far more than any trial would ever tell her.

She could smell it from him.

[The aura of Death… You are familiar with it, I see.]

He had the aura of someone who had already died. His soul still reeked of the Underworld, but he was undoubtedly living.

His soul was a unique entity that even piqued the curiosity of a Goddess of Death who saw an innumerable number of souls every single day.

However, it still remained to be seen whether her interest was a blessing or a curse.