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Upon reaching the top of the Vault of Knowledge, Atlas was greeted by a room devoid of the serene atmosphere of the rest of the kingdom. The vast nebula of the night sky and calming presence of the spirit mantas were abandoned, making way for dark shadows and streaks of red light that came from what they had immediately named The Door when they saw it.
It reached to what must have been the very top of the room, casting those red lights and blowing in ashes and blackened rocks. The wind coming through The Door could only best be described as eerie, devoid of any real character. Which, in Atlas' opinion, was worse than if the wind had carried the most horrifying screams imaginable. At least then, they thought, there would've been an indication that something lay beyond it. And then there was the thunder. Oh stars, the thunder! The silent winds and red glow almost seemed to split in half as thunder and lightning called from beyond The Door, a warning to any who would actually brave The Storm.
Upon taking all this in Atlas had, understandably, taken the small gateway next to The Door that led back Home. They weren't ready for this! Surely their elders would understand. Besides, there were so many secrets they had surely missed while going through the other realms. Other children like them, who had arrived in this world and explored before them, spoke of secrets seemingly around every corner of the kingdoms. Tales of adventures both amazing and terrifying were told. Their Elders would probably want them to go down these paths first before their final adventure, they were sure. Atlas told themselves they would ask the other children if any of them had gone through The Door themselves, if any of those that dared had even made it back. They would also collect more light to upgrade their cape. The journey beyond The Door had to be perilous, so they had to be ready.
As the young moth returned Home, and then went back through the kingdoms, they had asked their fellow children about The Door and The Storm. Conversations had turned quiet when they'd ask this, which Atlas found rather confusing. Some were terrified of The Door too, and were too sacred to even try. Others had burst into tears, muttering senseless words and mourning losses that Atlas couldn't understand. Most had simply told them that they could only know if they went through themselves. But they simply weren't ready, Atlas would respond! They hadn't collected all the lights, befriended all the spirits, experienced all the secrets the realms had to offer! The older children would look at them with mirth in their eyes and nod, as if they knew something Atlas didn't.
Atlas went about their new life, joining new friends in exploring all the kingdoms daily to collect candles that were used for pretty much everything. Buying spells, playing with friends, and talking with the spirits about their memories. And yet as they'd went on, passing by each of the spirits and occasionally the Elders in their temples, they would all glance at Atlas' cape. As if to admonish them for something they could only guess was their postponed journey into The Storm. The other children would do the same, but at least they could say something out loud. Most of them would chuckle, mutter "oh moths" before continuing as normal. Atlas didn't see anything wrong with their cape, they only had 6 wedges to their name! Granted, they were still wearing the same cape they had when they started. Maybe that was the problem? The young moth then went to the spirits with capes and asked if they could trade, to which they would ask for something called an Ascended Candle. Atlas didn't have any, they didn't even know where to get some. They'd then ask their closer friends if they had any Ascended Candles to spare, to which they'd either laugh or be offended. Apparently it was incredibly hard to get, and could only be collected in The Storm.
It was this that lead them here, standing in front of The Door again. This was the one that was in Home, so they weren't as scared as at the summit of the Vault. Other children went about their business behind them, playing together or picking a kingdom to travel to before stepping through the portal.
As Atlas approached the door, they were greeted with the instinctive feeling that they were, technically, more than ready to enter into The Storm. The winds seemed to pick up slightly as the child approached, to which Atlas stood there for a moment.
Atlas braced themselves. Their elders were no doubt already waiting for them to finish their mission. Atlas resolved themselves that they would walk through, and they would come back successful in what the Elders had entrusted them with. They could do this.
And then they took a step forward.
The Storm was so much stronger than the stray winds blowing through the door would have you believe, Atlas realized. It chilled them to their core, and when they first walked through they clutched the light they carried inside them just a little bit tighter.
The rocks tumbling down would overwhelm them every time they started, and they made quick work to pass them if only to lessen the harsh noises they heard between the rocks, the winds, and the dark dragons. Atlas had thought Wasteland was the home of these creatures, but apparently not. Here they flew in packs, monitoring their grounds for any children of light who dared walk through them. Here, the surroundings were actively harmful instead of just neutral to the children passing through. Atlas had run into a few fellow children, also on the ascent through The Storm. One of these was a close friend, thankfully, who had taken Atlas' hand and deftly maneuvered them through the rockslides and the dragons.
When they had reached the tunnel at the top, Atlas had bounded towards all the winged light that just sat here. Bunched together, as if to reward those who came this far. A few of the kids who were here with them had just stopped after collecting all the light, understandably teleporting back to the safety of Home and of their friends. Atlas' older friend, whom they had called Cinnabar, also seemed content with this. Cinnabar had honked their best wishes for Atlas' mission through The Storm, before they too returned to the light of Home.
Now Atlas stood at the end of the tunnel alone. Taking one step forward, the young moth was suddenly overwhelmed. As if the room itself was warning them of the dangers beyond. They just knew that if they continued on, they wouldn't be able to teleport back Home anymore. They would have to finish what they would start by taking the next step. Newly energized by all the winged light, Atlas bravely walked through the pass.
... And was greeted by a blinding red light. The winds and rocks raged here as if the rockslides before were just the early drizzle before the skies broke loose. Just at the edge of the horizon, Atlas saw a great pillar of red light from which The Storm seemed to come from. The young moth took this in before looking down, and feeling shock wash through them all over again.
The frozen statues of dozens of children stood here, ashen and featureless, no doubt after The Storm had removed them of all life. The statues lay behind and in between the rocks, as if rushing to what little cover there was before their lights had gone dark. Atlas instantly knew they were related to these statues. They knew that they held the spirits of children like them. Had they also come here to fulfill the mission of the elders? Was this what the older children were crying about, when mention of The Storm was brought up elsewhere?
Atlas suddenly knew their objective, whispered to them as if by the faint spirits trapped beneath these husks of stone. "Return the light of the fallen". Suddenly it all made sense to them. The winged light, hiding in every corner of the kingdoms in the form of children like them. The importance or protecting one's fire inside them, and collecting as much winged light as possible. It was all to save the children trapped here, a place where the guiding hands of the elders could not reach.
Empowered by this information, Atlas walked down the steps of the tunnel's exit and into The Storm.
They were Falling.
They had no clue for how long, or what for, but they were Falling. The empty Void surrounded them, was inside them, was them. They no longer knew anything else. Fragments of emotions and memory would come, before floating away like the ashes of a fallen child.
Regret. They could have saved even more children, if only they had--
Would they ever see their friends again? Would their friends know what happened to them? Would they sacrifice themselves to The Storm too, in an attempt to save them?
Who even were they? They knew nothing else besides The Void and the fall. It was their world.
Pain. Was this what their Elders had intended for them? For every child they had brought into the world that long ago, those same Elders had destroyed?
Hurt.
Loss.
Emptiness.
... Peace. They felt at peace. At the same time, they felt themselves stop Falling. There was no feeling upon impact, nor any sound. They felt only the coldness of whatever surface they lay on, and heard the faint hum of the storm winds blowing just beyond.
They got up, and then they saw Light. The brightest thing they had ever known in their time in The Void. It took the form of a child, and of rays coming from the "surface" they were standing on, before rising up and breaking through The Void. And so they walked, limping, towards the child of light they saw before themselves.
And then there they were, standing before this child who lay huddled on the black "surface". They offered their hand, to which the child had taken and had pulled themselves up.
They offered a hug, to which the child of light accepted.
... Where were they? Atlas had woken up inside The Void, to which they looked around in confusion. It was only a moment ago they they were walking through The Storm, limping ever forward as their vision went dark. Desperate to save at least one more child.
Then they saw the rays of light rising in front of them. And again, they were filled with the sense that beyond that light lay home. So Atlas ran towards it, only hoping their Elders would accept them for saving only such a small amount of their fellow children.
Atlas was flying. They had their cape back. They were flying! And oh, they felt only peace. Only joy. Only the glory of the Light and it's blessings. Only the care of the Elders, and their loving intent beyond their misguided actions. And they went up, and up, and up, and up. The Storm surrounded them as they flew through the clouds, but now it was made of only Light. Of life, and it's purest expression. Mantas, jellyfish, and the great Whale flew alongside them. Laying waste to the ruins of an old people who took their greed to far, and flying up, beyond the clouds. Here the stars greeted the creatures of light with only love, and Atlas eagerly flapped their wings to reach it first.
Here they flew, alongside the spirits they had met from the other kingdoms. Alongside their fellow children, who were holding hands in groups and sharing the blessing of returning to the Light. And through it all, Atlas continued to rush towards the center, eager to finally be away from The Storm and The Void.
A lot happened when Atlas had reached the center of the light, which they now knew was called Orbit. The children they had saved gave them thanks before returning to the Light, leaving behind them the Ascended Candles that Atlas had come for in the first place. They had promptly used them with the spirits gathered near them, unlocking new friendships and spells. After that, Atlas had walked towards the door of Light that lay beyond the spirits, who had given them winged light in exchange for their Ascended Candles.
When they stepped through, they were reborn as they were before. As if the elders had thanked them, and wished them well before they would return once more to the land of the kingdoms.
Upon returning Home, Atlas felt a new appreciation for everything around them. They kept with the tradition of not telling new children what lay beyond the door, while sharing in the experiences of those who had already been reborn.
They would brave The Storm again, they knew. They would walk through the kingdoms again, finding the light of children long lost only to return it to their bodies and bring back to the Light. This was the full mission the elders set them upon, they knew now.
To save each other.