Chapter 26 – The Titan Awakens
D'Karr's Fortress – Experiment Chamber
The air was thick with static, the metallic walls humming from the lingering energy discharge.
Rei's breath was ragged, his vision swimming as the cosmic power inside him flickered like an unstable star.
Seyra stood a few meters away, her spear still raised, eyes sharp and searching.
D'Karr, however, looked unshaken.
Instead, a slow, eerie grin spread across his face.
"You're remarkable," he murmured, his voice dripping with twisted admiration.
Then—
He tapped a control panel on his wrist.
THUD.
The chamber rumbled.
Something was moving.
Something big.
Gears whirred. Metal groaned.
A section of the chamber's far wall split open, revealing a hidden docking bay.
And from the shadows—
It stepped forward.
Towering over five meters tall, the Titan-Class Suppressor was a monstrous construct of reinforced alloy and energy-resistant plating.
Its glowing red optics locked onto Rei like a predator sizing up its prey.
Massive arms. Reinforced plating. Adaptive shielding.
A weapon built for one purpose.
To neutralize unstable energy sources.
To neutralize Rei.
D'Karr's voice rang out like a command from the gods:
"Let's see if you're strong enough to survive this."
And then—
The Titan attacked.
Rei barely had time to react.
The massive construct lunged, its arm smashing down like a meteor.
BOOM.
Rei dodged, but the impact sent him tumbling across the floor.
His body ached, his muscles screaming under the strain of containing the raw energy inside him.
I need to control it.I can't just let it burst out like before…
But the power within him wasn't listening.
It surged, flickered, warped.
His vision blurred as colors bled into one another.
The Titan's cannons charged, glowing with an ominous red light.
Then—
It fired.
A searing beam of energy tore across the chamber.
Rei barely managed to dodge, but the blast seared his arm, leaving behind a smoldering burn.
His body wasn't keeping up.
His power wasn't stable.
He was losing control.
Seyra moved before she could think.
Her spear flew from her hand, striking the Titan's shoulder.
CRACK.
The impact barely dented the plating, but it distracted the machine for a split second.
Long enough for her to reach Rei's side.
"You're a mess," she muttered, pulling him to his feet.
Rei winced.
"You noticed?"
The Titan turned its focus on them.
Its energy cannon charged again.
Seyra's grip tightened on her weapon.
"I'll cover you."
Rei gritted his teeth.
No.
He wouldn't just stand behind her.
He had to fight.
Even if he didn't fully understand his power yet—
Even if he wasn't sure he could control it.
He had to try.
From the unseen corner of the facility, the mysterious agent watched in silence.
His presence was like a shadow—undetectable, untouchable.
He had seen many awakenings before.
Some had flourished.
Some had burned out.
But Rei was different.
This wasn't just a normal Starborn awakening.
This was something older.
Something deeper.
Will he master it? Or will it consume him?
The agent folded his arms, waiting.
For now, he would let the battle play out.
Because sometimes, the greatest test wasn't about power—
It was about survival.
And this?
This was Rei's moment to prove he was worthy of his potential.