The Titan’s Essence

Team Two – Hugo, Stella, and Darius moved deeper into the facility, navigating through dimly lit corridors lined with containment units.

The air was thick with Arcana energy, an oppressive force pressing against their senses as they neared the PLF relic's storage chamber.

Hugo stopped in front of a massive vault door, sealed with Dominion-grade Arcana locks.

"This is it," he muttered.

Stella frowned. "Whatever's inside… it's radiating pure Arcana. I don't like it."

Darius smirked, gripping his Drill Fang. "Well, let's crack it open and see what's got you so freaked out."

Hugo placed a hand on the security panel, and before Ethan could even attempt to override it from afar

The door unlocked itself.

A low hum echoed through the chamber.

The seals unraveled, Arcana circuits pulsing like a heartbeat.

Then—the vault slowly opened.

Inside, suspended within a containment field of golden energy, was a glowing crystalline core.

It pulsed with shifting hues—red, blue, and abyssal black.

The very instant Hugo laid eyes on it—

Cosmos reacted.

A deep, resonating hum filled Hugo's mind, a voice that was not mocking or amused—

But grave.

"Hugo. Stella. Darius."

"Step back."

The weight in Cosmos's tone made both Stella and Darius immediately tense.

Stella's eyes narrowed. "Cosmos, what is that thing?"

The sword hummed again, but this time, there was a hint of something rare in its voice.

Reverence.

"That, is the essence of a Titan."

Silence.

Darius blinked. "Wait—Titan? As in the big guys who ruled the Perfect Life Forms?"

"Not just any Titan."

The containment core pulsed violently, and Hugo felt a surge of heat rise through his body.

"This essence belongs to one of the Three—the Titans of the Cosmic Cores."

The sword's voice grew heavier, as if speaking a name long forgotten.

"Heliothar, the Infernal Colossus—Titan of the Solar Knights."

"Selendros, the Lunar Sentinel—Titan of the Lunar Oracles."

"Nyxether, the Abyss Devourer—Titan of the Void Reapers."

Stella took a sharp breath. "One of them?"

The air around them trembled.

Then—

Cosmos acted on its own.

A burst of fire and solar energy erupted from the sword, and before Hugo could react—

"CORONA MODE!"

A surge of blazing heat engulfed him, his eyes flashing crimson, his clothing shifting to deep red, lined with golden flares.

The entire chamber shook from the sudden release of power.

The relic reacted violently, pulsating faster, as if calling out to Hugo.

And Hugo, now fully engulfed in Corona's energy, could feel it.

This wasn't just an ancient artifact.

This was a piece of the Titans themselves.

And something about it was still alive.

The pulsing relic radiated overwhelming energy, its hues of red, blue, and abyssal black flickering violently as if responding to Hugo's presence.

The moment Cosmos activated Corona Mode, Hugo didn't hesitate.

His body surged with heat, his eyes glowing crimson, his coat now a deep red, lined with golden streaks of flaring energy.

The oppressive force of the Titan's essence pressed against him—challenging him.

But Hugo didn't falter.

He moved.

"STRONG CORONA!"

In a blinding instant, Hugo shot forward, his movements faster than the eye could track.

His blade flared with Solar Arcana, leaving behind streaks of red-hot light as he launched a barrage of precise, rapid slashes.

One. Two. Five. Ten.

Each strike cut through the relic's containment field, shattering the golden barriers like fragile glass.

The air burned, the very walls of the chamber warping from the heat of Hugo's onslaught.

With a final explosive dash, Hugo drove Cosmos straight into the core—

A brilliant flare of red energy erupted—

And the Titan's essence was obliterated.

The containment chamber trembled, the very structure struggling to withstand the force of the explosion.

Shattered fragments of the relic dissolved into golden embers, fading into nothingness.

The oppressive energy that once filled the room was gone.

Corona Mode's glow dimmed, and Hugo took a step back, his breathing steady but controlled.

Darius blinked. "Holy—Boss, you just—"

Stella's eyes were wide. "You destroyed it in seconds."

Hugo exhaled, his red aura flickering before finally fading back to normal.

"It's done," he muttered. "Let's move."

But as they turned to leave—

The base-wide alarms blared.

The Dominion knew.

While Hugo, Stella, and Darius were dealing with the relic, Team One—Lena, Ethan, and Iris—were deep within the Dominion's data center.

The room was massive, lined with rows of towering servers, each one pulsing with blue Arcana circuits. The hum of data processing filled the air, and the occasional automated security drone floated overhead, scanning for intruders.

Ethan knelt in front of the main terminal, wires connected to his hacking device. His fingers flew across the interface, bypassing firewalls and countermeasures with practiced ease.

Lena stood nearby, Arc-Gun ready, keeping an eye on the surroundings.

Iris, of course, was leaning over Ethan's shoulder.

"Are we in yet~?" she asked, voice laced with amusement.

Ethan huffed, barely glancing at her. "If you'd stop talking for five seconds, I might be able to—"

Ping.

The screen flashed red.

ACCESS GRANTED.

A flood of classified Dominion data appeared before them.

Lena's smirk faded. "Okay… this is bad."

Iris leaned in closer. "Ooooh, let's see—"

Her usual playful tone disappeared the moment she saw the files.

The Evidence They Found

War Plans Against the Republic

The Dominion was secretly mobilizing armies and manufacturing Arcana-based weapons. Large-scale operations were set to begin within the next few months.

Project Titanfall – PLF Relic Weaponization

The Dominion had been experimenting on Perfect Life Form relics, attempting to recreate the Titans' power. The destroyed relic was only one of many.

A List of Targets

High-ranking Republic officials were marked for assassination. Civilian Arcana research centers were scheduled for raids and destruction. Even Requiem Prime itself was listed as a potential invasion site.

Lena's expression darkened. "They're not just preparing for war…"

Ethan nodded grimly. "They're getting ready to wipe out the Republic completely."

Iris, uncharacteristically serious, tapped the screen. "Look at this. Some of these experiments… they aren't just for weapons. They're trying to resurrect something."

Lena and Ethan exchanged a worried glance.

Ethan quickly downloaded everything onto an encrypted drive.

"Alright, we got what we need. Let's—"

ALARM TRIGGERED.

The screen flashed red again.

Iris sighed dramatically. "Of course something had to go wrong."

Lena reload her Arc-Gun. "Time to go."

Ethan pulled the drive from the console. "Agreed. We need to find the others—now."

With the alarms blaring, Team One rushed toward the exit.

They had the evidence.

Now they just had to survive long enough to use it.