Shaking rose up through the earth when the Titanborn charged. Out of dark stone and glowing metal its huge body moved too fast to be real. A punch like a falling rock was already near before Kael could think. Then it slammed down.
Boom!
Up from below, the ground burst apart, hurling chunks into the air. Mid-spin, Kael turned just enough to miss the rolling force tearing outward - like water after a dam breaks.
A shadow stood there, not merely watching. From times long gone it came - when creatures ripped suns apart just to win arguments.
It had decided he should die.
Breathing hard, Kael dropped onto a cracked column. Time bent around him now - wild, untrained. That final fight had left him weak. Pushing further could rip muscle from bone.
Spinning around, the Titanborn's fiery channels burned more intense.
"You hesitate." Its voice was like rolling thunder. "The real Celestial Sovereign would not."
Out came Kael's breath, long and quiet. It watched - judging more than movement, measuring what he carried inside. Worth wasn't given. It was pulled from silence.
Fine.
Footsteps echoed as he stood tall, making sure it remembered his name.
A figure moved ahead, lifting one hand into the air.
"Kneel."
One breath, the world bent. Then silence.
A shadow halted, light stuttering - uncertainty rippling through it like a pulse. Silver fire lit Kael's gaze, silence thickening as though time itself leaned closer to watch.
But then resistance.
A shudder ran through the Titanborn as it tore loose, light blazing in jagged streaks beneath its skin. Not some fleeting human life here - this one outlasted deities, stood through battles, walked after cities crumbled.
"You are strong," the Titanborn rumbled, charging again. "But you are not yet HIM."
Fear kicked through Kael's veins. Without full control, a different path would have to do.
His attention tightened. Rather than halting time, he chose to speed himself up.
He moved.
Everything turned hazy. Though the Titanborn struck out, Kael had moved - already waiting at its back. Not seen. Beyond hearing.
Flying came the golden embers, blasted loose by a shockwave that burst at the strike. Through the air his blade moved, cutting into the molten form of the Titanborn.
The Titanborn staggered.
A whisper now, where before it had been loud.
"That power it truly is yours."
Foot planted, Kael sucked in air. Pain ran through him, yet the surge inside began to settle - then climb.
The ground trembled slightly as the Titanborn shifted backward. After a pause, its massive frame began lowering - knee meeting stone with deliberate weight.
"You are not yet whole, Sovereign but you are returning." The guardian's golden eyes flickered. "And so, the echoes awaken."
Fingers tightening, Kael felt it - the recognition flashing in the Titanborn's gaze. Not an imposter. Never that. Instead, the one erased by centuries, now standing here.
Yet if it had been just a repetition, what lingered beyond? Still unspoken. Waiting. Not gone.
A shiver ran through the broken stones. Not war caused it now.
Something distant showed up.
A tremor passed through Kael, quiet but sharp. Not loud - just there, like something old remembering how to move.
A different force stirred into motion.
It searched without stopping.