Cain stood in the ruins of the battlefield, his breath slow and heavy, his Titan Core still pulsing from the aftermath of breaking the third chain. His mind was reeling from what he had just seen—his own past, his own destruction, the choices he had made that led to his self-imposed exile.
But that was no longer the biggest problem.
The world was breaking.
Above him, the sky burned, swirling with golden flames that did not belong to him. The air was thick, almost suffocating, pressing against his skin with an intensity that made even his Titan Core stagger. The very fabric of reality trembled, like something vast and unimaginable was forcing its way through.
Cain took a slow step forward, his eyes locked on the rift forming above—a spiraling tear in the sky, glowing with the same golden light that had once bound him. It wasn't just a crack in the heavens.
It was an opening.
And something was coming through.
Cain's instincts screamed, his body tensing as the pressure intensified. Whatever was descending from that rift was not mortal, not human, not even Titan. It was old—so old that even his newly returned memories struggled to grasp what it was.
His golden flames burned brighter in response, crackling around his body, but even as they surged, he felt something wrong.
His fire was not the strongest force here anymore.
A deep, thunderous pulse echoed through the world.
Cain barely had time to react before the ground shook violently, cracks splitting through the ruins beneath him. The air grew heavy, and suddenly, he wasn't alone.
A figure emerged from the rift.
Cain's breath caught.
It was massive, towering over him like a god made of golden fire and shadow, its form shifting between solid and ethereal. It had no distinct features—only a vast, burning presence, a shape barely contained by the limits of reality.
But the worst part wasn't its size or its power.
It was its eyes.
Golden. Familiar.
A reflection of his own.
Cain's Titan Core pulsed violently, a sickening realization settling in his gut.
This thing wasn't just some cosmic entity.
It was tied to him.
His fire flickered, wavering for the first time. He clenched his fists, pushing down the weight pressing against his mind. "What… are you?"
The figure descended slowly, its presence distorting the space around it. When it spoke, the voice did not belong to one being—it belonged to many.
"You should not have broken the chains."
Cain stiffened. His mind raced. "You were sealed away," he muttered. "Like I was."
The figure's form shifted, its golden fire pulsing, as if it were amused.
"We were sealed away because of you."
Cain's blood ran cold.
The sky above fractured further, golden energy cascading down like molten light. The very air hummed with power, too dense, too overwhelming.
Cain gritted his teeth, golden flames flaring around him as his Titan Core fought to keep up. "I don't remember you."
The entity laughed.
Not with cruelty.
But with understanding.
"No," it said. "But I remember you."
Cain lunged.
His golden fire exploded outward, his body moving on pure instinct, Titan Core roaring as he struck toward the figure with everything he had. His fist collided with the air between them—
And the impact ripped the world apart.
The ground beneath him shattered, golden shockwaves radiating outward in every direction. The sheer force of his strike sent hurricanes of flame surging across the battlefield, the ruins crumbling beneath the weight of the unleashed power.
But the entity did not move.
Cain snapped back, skidding across the ruined terrain, golden embers crackling in the air around him. His Titan Core ached, energy still pulsing from the attack.
The entity simply watched.
"You do not understand yet."
Cain gritted his teeth, his mind reeling. That attack had been real. He had put everything into that strike, every ounce of his returned power, every fragment of the strength he had spent a lifetime regaining.
And it had done nothing.
Cain exhaled sharply, forcing his stance to stay firm. "Then explain it to me."
The entity's golden gaze burned.
"You and I are one."
Cain froze.
"When you locked away your power, you did not simply seal yourself."
The figure lifted its hand, golden flames coiling around its fingers like living chains.
"You sealed us. The remnants of what you once were."
Cain's Titan Core flared violently, reacting not with recognition—but denial.
"You thought you were stopping yourself from losing control," the entity continued, "but in truth, you only buried the consequences."
Cain's hands trembled. His golden fire flickered.
He could feel it now.
Deep in his core.
A connection he had failed to notice before.
The chains had not just been binding him.
They had been binding this thing as well.
Cain exhaled sharply, stepping back. "Then why are you here now?"
The entity's fire pulsed.
"Because you set me free."
Cain's chest tightened.
He had thought breaking the chains would lead to his full awakening, to reclaiming his true self, his lost strength. But now, staring at the entity before him, he realized—
He hadn't just freed himself.
He had freed something else.
And it had been waiting for this moment far longer than he had.
The entity stepped forward.
The world trembled.
Cain's Titan Core screamed in warning.
"Now we see if you are strong enough to face what you once were."
The sky collapsed inward.
The ground gave way beneath him.
Cain had no time to react before everything shattered around him.