Chapter 31 – The Titan Within

Cain's world shattered.

The moment the Titan broke its chains, everything collapsed inward. The abyss roared around him, folding and twisting like a dying thing, dragging him into the explosion of golden light.

His mind fractured.

His body burned.

His Titan Core—**the source of everything that had kept him alive, the force that had driven him forward—**wasn't just reacting anymore.

It was awakening.

Cain wasn't falling.

He was being dragged in.

Somewhere Else

The abyss vanished.

Cain gasped sharply, stumbling as his feet hit solid ground. The air here was different—too sharp, too alive. His pulse pounded in his ears as he took in his surroundings.

A massive golden wasteland stretched endlessly before him, filled with ruins of ancient structures, some half-buried in the glowing sand, others still standing like shattered monuments to something lost.

The sky above was wrong.

Not black like the abyss. Not blue like the world above.

Just gold.

As if the entire atmosphere was made of Titan fire.

Cain's breath was ragged. "Where… am I?"

A deep rumble answered.

Cain turned sharply—and froze.

Because standing in front of him, staring directly at him, was the Titan from the abyss.

No chains. No bindings.

Just free.

And it wasn't just watching him.

It was waiting.

Cain clenched his fists, golden energy crackling around his fingers instinctively. "What the hell are you?"

The Titan tilted its head.

Then—it moved.

Not like a lumbering beast. Not slow.

It stepped forward, its massive form moving with precision, grace, control. The weight of its presence pressed down on Cain's chest, but it wasn't crushing like the First Forsaken's.

It was familiar.

"You already know what I am."

Cain's blood ran cold.

Because the Titan didn't just speak.

It spoke with his voice.

Cain staggered back. "No. That's not—"

"Not possible?" The Titan's burning golden eyes locked onto his. "Not real?"

Cain's pulse roared. His Titan Core flared violently, his body reacting on its own, but it wasn't attacking.

It was resonating.

Because this wasn't a separate entity.

It wasn't something else.

It was him.

Or rather—a part of him.

Cain's breathing was sharp, uneven. "No. No, that's not—"

"You were not meant to survive," the Titan said calmly, as if speaking an undeniable truth. "You were not meant to wake up."

Cain ground his teeth. "Yeah, well, I don't care what was 'meant' to happen."

The Titan took another step forward.

"And yet, here you are."

Cain's golden flames surged, his entire body tensing, his instincts screaming at him to run, fight, do something—

But the Titan didn't attack.

It simply lifted a massive hand and placed it over its chest.

Cain's Titan Core reacted instantly.

His entire body locked up.

Because the Titan had a Core too.

And it was identical to his.

Cain's breath caught in his throat.

"You have only known a fraction of what you are," the Titan murmured.

The golden wasteland shook, the air vibrating with unseen energy.

Cain's hands trembled. He had fought **monsters, Warbringers, Enforcers, the Forsaken—**but this was different.

This wasn't a fight.

This was a reckoning.

"What will you do, Cain?" The Titan's golden eyes burned into him. "Run from yourself again?"

Cain's body seized up.

Because the Titan wasn't talking about this moment.

It was talking about everything.

Cain had spent his whole life surviving. Surviving the slums, surviving the Forsaken Trials, surviving the Abyss.

But he had never once stopped to ask why he kept surviving.

And now, he had no choice.

Because the truth was staring him in the face.

And it had his own eyes.

Cain exhaled slowly, his flames steadying. He met the Titan's gaze head-on.

"I don't run," he muttered. "Not anymore."

The Titan's lips curled into a smirk.

"Then let us begin."

Reality Cracks

The moment the Titan spoke, the golden wasteland shattered.

Cain's body jerked violently, his vision spinning, the world around him collapsing into light.

His Titan Core roared in response, pulling him into something deeper, heavier.

And then—

Cain's eyes snapped open.

The abyss was gone.

He was standing on solid ground.

Not the wasteland.

Not the ruins.

Somewhere else entirely.

The air was thick, electric, filled with something ancient.

Cain exhaled sharply, trying to regain his bearings—

And then he realized he wasn't alone.

A figure stood a few paces ahead of him.

Not the Titan.

Not the First Forsaken.

Someone else.

Someone waiting.

Cain's breath caught.

Because even though he had never seen this person before, he knew them.

Deep down, he knew.

And when they turned to face him, their golden eyes burning with the same fire as his, Cain finally understood.

He wasn't the only one left.

He wasn't the only Titan who had survived.

And now—

They had found him.