Cain's breath came in slow, measured gulps as he stared at the glowing Titan Core resting at the base of the throne. It pulsed in perfect rhythm with his own, each beat like a silent whisper calling him forward.
His fingers twitched.
Everything inside him urged him to move. To reach out. To take what was waiting for him.
But he knew—the moment he touched that Core, something irreversible would happen.
The Forsaken stood motionless, their presence pressing against him like a tide that refused to break.
"You already know the truth," one of them murmured, the sound stretching and folding as if spoken by many voices at once. "You are not separate from us."
Cain gritted his teeth. He wasn't them. He had fought his entire life to survive, to resist, to stand on his own. The moment he let someone else dictate what he was, what he could become—he lost.
But then why—why did the Titan Core inside him respond?
"Take it," the Forsaken whispered. "Become whole."
Cain's golden flames flared violently, as if trying to drown out their influence. His hands curled into fists.
He should turn away. He should reject this.
But he didn't move.
Because deep down, a part of him wanted to know.
What would happen if he took it?
What would he become?
His chest tightened. No—he had to resist.
Cain forced himself to take a step back.
Instantly, the Forsaken reacted.
Their forms shuddered, twisting unnaturally, the space around them warping.
"You reject what is yours?"
The tallest of them glided forward, its faceless gaze bearing down on him. The shadows around it pulsed with something deep, something ancient.
"You deny what was gifted?"
Cain's fists clenched. "I was given nothing. I took what I needed to survive."
The Forsaken's body rippled, its form flickering.
"Then survive."
The ground beneath Cain vanished.
A force like nothing he had ever felt before crashed into him, sending him hurtling backward. He barely had time to twist midair before slamming into the stone floor, cracks webbing out beneath him.
Pain shot through his ribs. His Titan Core flared defensively, golden flames erupting around him.
But the Forsaken didn't stop.
They rushed him.
Cain barely dodged as the first one slashed toward his throat, its elongated fingers warping into jagged, blade-like extensions. He dropped low, sweeping a leg under it, but the Forsaken phased through the attack.
They weren't just fast.
They weren't bound by the same rules of reality.
Cain twisted, golden energy bursting from his hands as he lashed out. His strike connected, the raw force sending one of them hurtling back. It slammed into the far wall, but instead of breaking, its form unraveled into mist before reforming instantly.
Cain's stomach twisted.
They didn't take damage.
"You hesitate," the tallest one whispered. "Because you are still incomplete."
Cain gritted his teeth, pivoting just as another Forsaken appeared behind him. He barely managed to block, their elongated fingers scraping against the golden energy surrounding his arms. Sparks flew, the force of the impact numbing his bones.
They were testing him.
Not just trying to kill him—forcing him to break.
His Titan Core was burning faster than ever, struggling to keep up. He couldn't sustain this forever.
"You cannot win as you are," one of them murmured, circling him like a predator. "But you can be remade."
Cain refused to listen.
His body moved on instinct, his Titan-enhanced reflexes barely keeping him ahead of the Forsaken's relentless attacks.
But they weren't slowing down.
And he was.
Cain cursed under his breath. His golden flames flickered, growing weaker. He was using too much energy, too fast.
They knew it.
"Take what is offered," the tallest one hissed, its featureless face impossibly close now. "Or be devoured by what hunts you."
Cain's pulse hammered. His eyes flicked to the glowing Titan Core at the throne's base.
It was still there. Still waiting.
His body was breaking down. His power wasn't enough.
The Forsaken had given him a choice—accept what he was, or die here.
Cain snarled.
"Then let's see if I'm strong enough to survive without you."
Golden energy erupted from him, brighter than before, consuming the entire chamber in an explosive pulse.
The Forsaken reeled back.
Cain didn't hesitate.
He ran.
His body screamed in protest, his Titan Core blazing hotter than it ever had before, fueling his movements beyond their limit. He wasn't thinking. Only moving.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew—he couldn't escape them forever.
But he didn't need forever.
He just needed one opening.
A crack in the Abyss.
A way out.
He sprinted toward the unknown, the whispers of the Forsaken fading behind him.
But just before he could escape, the tallest one spoke again.
"Run, little Titan. Run as far as you like."
"It does not change what you are."
Cain kept running.
But the words followed him.
And deep down, he knew.
The next time he faced them—
He might not have a choice.