The darkness swallowed Elias whole. There was no sound, no light, only an all-encompassing void that pressed in from every side. He tried to move, to call out, but his voice was lost, absorbed by the deep nothingness. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing like a drum in the silence. The weight of the valley, the weight of the titans' eyes upon him, seemed to stretch into infinity.
But then, a flicker—barely noticeable, like the first breath of dawn after a long night. A light, dim and fragile, sparked from within the darkness. Elias instinctively moved toward it, every fiber of his being urging him forward. The light grew brighter, sharper, until it became a blinding brilliance that tore through the abyss around him.
And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.
Elias stood still, his hands trembling, his body slick with sweat. The air felt thick, electric, like the calm before a storm. He could feel the pressure building, a sense of impending change closing in on him.
The whispering voices returned, but now they were different. No longer a thousand dissonant murmurs, they were focused, converging into a single, unified cry that rattled his bones.
You are not worthy.
The words slammed into him like a physical blow. His knees buckled, and for a moment, he was certain he would fall into the abyss. The weight of the voices, the titans' judgment, was unbearable. His chest tightened, his breath coming in sharp gasps. How could he—how could anyone—survive this trial? How could he prove himself worthy in the face of such overwhelming force?
Then, the ground shifted beneath him. The darkness parted, and through the opening, a figure emerged. The air crackled with energy as the figure stepped into the fading light. Elias couldn't make out its features at first—only a shape, tall and imposing, silhouetted against the blackness.
But as it approached, the figure's presence became clearer. It was a titan, unmistakable, its form both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Its eyes glowed with a molten intensity, burning like twin suns.
And then the figure spoke.
"Do you truly believe you can stand among us?" its voice thundered, vibrating through the very air around Elias. "Do you think your trials were enough? That your strength, your will, is sufficient to transcend the mortal realm?"
Elias's mouth went dry, his throat closing in on itself. He wanted to speak, to argue, to prove himself—but the words wouldn't come. The titan's gaze pinned him to the spot, its presence suffocating. The weight of eons pressed down upon him, and for the first time, Elias felt the full depth of what it meant to challenge the gods.
"I… I am ready," he finally managed to say, though his voice cracked under the weight of his own uncertainty.
The titan stepped closer, its shadow looming over Elias. The earth trembled beneath its steps. "Ready?" The titan's voice was a low growl, full of disdain. "You are nothing but a man. A speck in the grand tapestry of time. Your strength means little here."
A cold sweat dripped down Elias's spine. The valley's pressure was unbearable now. The weight of the titans' judgment seemed to crush him, his thoughts turning to the past, to the trials he had endured to get here.
But the titan was relentless. "You want to be a titan?" it sneered. "Prove it. Survive what is to come."
Before Elias could react, the ground beneath him cracked wide open, splitting down the center like a gaping maw. In the blink of an eye, the abyss yawned open, and he felt himself falling—falling faster than he could comprehend.
He reached out in desperation, but there was nothing to grab, nothing to hold onto. The darkness pulled him deeper, faster. His heart raced, a frantic rhythm that matched the rising roar of the winds around him. His body was weightless, yet his very being felt as though it were being crushed under the immense pressure.
Then, a voice cut through the chaos, louder than all the others.
You are not ready.
Elias's vision blurred as he fell deeper, the light above disappearing entirely. And then, just as he thought he would be swallowed by the dark, a sudden force stopped his descent.
The cold grasped at him—icy fingers closing around his body, pulling him in all directions. His breath hitched, his chest tightened, and the pain was unbearable.
And then, in the swirling void, a blinding flash of light exploded before his eyes.
Everything went black.
---
When Elias opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the valley.
The world around him was different—warped, distorted. The sky above was a sickly red, and the ground was a shifting mass of shadows. Towering figures loomed on all sides, their faces hidden in the dark mist that curled around them. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the feeling of something ancient and malevolent hung in the atmosphere.
Elias's heart pounded in his chest. The titans… they had brought him here. But where was he? And what was this place?
A deep voice echoed in his mind, not from the air but from within, a voice that sent chills down his spine.
Welcome, Elias.
The words rang out, and everything—everything—faltered.
And in that moment, Elias understood.
He had stepped into the very heart of the titans' domain, a place where even gods feared to tread.
And then the ground beneath him began to tremble once more.
The titans were coming.