The light was dim, and the atmosphere felt strangely calm, interrupted only by the constant hum of the airplane's engines. There were no sudden movements or raised voices, just that mechanical murmur marking the passage of time as we moved through the clouds.
We had left Canada when the sun was beginning to set, in the middle of the afternoon. Now, several hours later, the sky was still dark, but it wasn't full night. Through the window, a blue strip was still visible on the horizon, a remnant of light that refused to fade.
Eleonor was reviewing reports that kept arriving on her tablet without pause. Sophie sat in front of one of the side screens, absorbed in the information displayed before her. I watched the reflection of the bracelet in the glass, trying to organize thoughts that always seemed to arrive too late.
There were too many things I didn't know.Too many truths that had never been told to me.
I broke the silence.
I asked if they could tell me what the Atlas Division was, because I had never known of its existence.
Sophie looked up and met my gaze. There was no surprise in her expression, only a measured calm.
She said it was normal that I didn't know about them, that their existence was known only to the highest-ranking members of each family. She paused briefly before continuing and added that I was also forgetting that, three years ago, I had left the family. That was the main reason I had never heard anything about it.
I felt the weight of her words more than I expected.They didn't sound like a scolding.
Eleonor glanced up for a moment and commented that, since I hadn't completed my training, there were many things I didn't know. She didn't say it harshly, just as an undeniable reality.
Sophie continued.
The Atlas Division was formed at the end of the great human war of the last century, when the world was on the edge of madness and information moved without control. It wasn't the result of careful planning, but rather a matter of chance, like most things that have changed the world.
During the war, a group from the Nazi advance forces, while conducting raids in search of spies, found a facility belonging to the Orleans family. It was a small place, with minimal security and incomplete documents. It could be considered worthless compared to the scale of what those families usually handled.
The Nazis didn't fully understand what they had found, but they did know it wasn't something ordinary.
There were only notes, Sophie explained. Vague references to the Five Families, incomplete annotations about relics, symbols without context. Nothing that represented an immediate threat.
In those records, they also found vague specifications for highly advanced weapons, combat ships far superior to what they already possessed, and several artifacts containing recordings that explained how to build all of it. They even spoke of a new technology that went far beyond their understanding.
The design and use of magical weapons, I said.
Sophie replied that I was correct and even joked that I deserved a perfect score.
Eleonor intervened without lifting her eyes from the tablet and added that they didn't limit themselves to observing. They committed almost all their resources to it.
Sophie nodded and explained that they redirected personnel, materials, and time. They built hidden laboratories and small factories dedicated exclusively to replicating what they didn't fully understand. For a time, they came dangerously close to succeeding.
Too close.
In the middle of the war, Sophie continued, the ÓBroin family intervened. They located those laboratories and factories and dismantled them one by one before the damage became irreversible.
It wasn't a massacre.It was a precise operation.
Eleonor added that they detained everyone involved. Those who understood their mistake and refused to continue were recruited. Those who refused to cooperate were neutralized.
That was how Atlas was formed.
People who knew too much.People who had seen things they were never meant to see.
Sophie explained that Atlas does not answer to any country, nor to governments or flags. Its mission was always clear: to watch over the world, contain threats, and ensure that no one ever attempted to replicate that power again.
For decades, it worked.
The world kept moving forward, convinced that everything was normal.
I took a deep breath before asking the question that had been forming in my mind for a long time.
Then I asked what we knew about those who attacked us in Canada.
Eleonor set the tablet aside and crossed her hands. She said they could be certain it had been deliberately planned.
I asked if she had any more concrete idea.
She said yes and added that they were not trying to kill me.
Sophie intervened, mentioning the eagle symbol. She explained that the emblem belonged to a faction the ÓBroin family had neutralized about eighty years ago and that, officially, it had been completely dismantled.
I repeated the word officially under my breath.
Sophie confirmed that someone was using that symbol to hide and divert attention, and that whoever was behind it knew their history very well.
I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
I asked if that meant those trying to free the Kartnod could be members of one of the Five Families.
At that moment, Sophie displayed an image on the screen and continued explaining that Atlas was still active, with a clear structure and a complex command system.
She said its current leader answered to no family in particular and maintained a strictly neutral stance.
Eleonor added that he was highly competent and that Atlas remained stable under his leadership because he prioritized balance above any personal interest.
There were no further comments.None were necessary.
At that moment, a voice came through the intercom announcing that we were entering Alaskan airspace and would be landing in a few minutes to refuel.
The plane began its smooth descent. Through the window, isolated lights and low structures covered in frost came into view. It wasn't a city, just a discreet base, invisible to the outside world.
The landing gear touched the ground.
I took a deep breath.
My body still ached slightly, but my mind was clear.For the first time since everything began, I felt a little relaxed.
Far away from there, someone was watching as old symbols began to reappear where they should not exist.
And the storm was only just beginning.