Cain's breath came in short, ragged bursts as he forced himself forward, his steps slow and deliberate. The golden glow ahead pulsed in a steady rhythm, like a heartbeat buried deep within the ruins. It was warm, unlike the cold, unnatural lights of the abyss. Something about it felt ancient, something that had been waiting long before he had ever fallen into this cursed place.
The silence weighed on him. No howling creatures, no shifting mist—only the soft hum of whatever lay ahead. His fingers curled into fists, the remnants of Titan energy still buzzing through his veins. His body ached, his limbs screaming in protest after the battle above, but the power within him had not fully receded. The Titan Core recognized this place.
His boots scraped against the stone as he descended further into the ruins. The architecture here was different—massive structures shaped from dark, smooth rock, their surfaces unmarred by time. Unlike the fractured ruins above, these remained intact, untouched by whatever calamity had destroyed the rest of the abyss. Tall pillars stretched toward the unseen ceiling, engraved with glyphs that pulsed faintly as he passed them.
He wasn't alone.
The thought was not one of fear, but certainty. He could feel it, the way the energy in the air shifted around him, the way the very ground seemed to breathe beneath his steps. The ruins were awake.
He reached the source of the golden light.
At the center of the chamber stood an altar, carved from a single massive slab of black stone, its edges smooth despite the dust of centuries. Floating just above it was a core of golden energy, swirling lazily in place, radiating slow, deliberate pulses of warmth. Its glow cast long shadows against the ancient walls, its presence undeniable.
Cain stepped forward, drawn toward it as if by instinct. The Titan Core in his chest throbbed in response, mirroring the pulse of the golden energy ahead. A connection.
His fingers hovered just over the core, the heat buzzing against his skin like static. The second he made contact, the world around him shattered.
His vision fractured, and suddenly, he was somewhere else.
No ruins. No abyss. No mist.
Only light.
And then, slowly, the world formed around him.
He stood atop an impossibly vast structure, its surface smooth and gleaming like polished stone. The air was thick with heat, the sky above burning with molten gold. Towering figures moved in the distance—Titans, their bodies wreathed in power, their very steps shaking the land beneath them.
Cain could feel them—their presence, their thoughts, their very existence thrumming through the air. These were no mindless beasts. They were gods, entities beyond human comprehension. And yet, there was something familiar in the way they stood, in the way they carried themselves. Warriors. Kings. Protectors.
A deep voice echoed through the sky.
"They were betrayed."
Cain turned sharply.
A figure stood before him, half-shrouded in the light, its form colossal, yet… broken. Cracks ran through its body, golden energy leaking from its wounds. A Titan, but one that had fallen, its strength flickering like a dying flame.
The Titan's eyes burned as they settled upon him.
"You are the last echo."
Cain's pulse quickened. He wanted to speak, to demand answers, but the sheer weight of the being's presence stole the air from his lungs.
"You carry our remnants, but you do not yet understand what you are."
The sky above rippled, as if something vast had shifted beyond reality itself. A shadow loomed in the heavens, unseen but felt, an all-consuming force pressing against the world like a silent executioner.
"The chains have not yet broken. But they will."
Cain staggered back as the vision collapsed, the world around him snapping back into place with a violent lurch. He gasped, his body trembling as he stumbled away from the golden core, his mind still reeling.
The altar remained unchanged, the golden light still pulsing faintly, waiting.
But something inside him had changed.
He clenched his fists, feeling the energy settling within him, no longer just a power to be used, but a truth that had taken root. The Titans had not simply fallen.
They had been erased.
And he carried the last fragment of what they had been.
A sound echoed through the chamber—a distant tremor, a shift in the ruins above. The battle had not ended.
Cain turned toward the passage he had entered from, exhaling slowly. His path was clearer now. He didn't fully understand what he was yet, what the Titan Core within him truly was, but he knew one thing with certainty.
The world above feared this power.
And if he was going to survive, he would have to embrace it.