CHAPTER 40 — Titan Fight (Part 1)
The Guild perimeter was a wall of steel and panic.
Aiden crouched behind a ridge overlooking the staging zone, watching dozens of armored hunters scramble into formation. Floodlights cut through the early morning haze. Drones buzzed overhead. Stabilizers hummed as technicians deployed them in a frantic rush.
The Rift was growing unstable.
And the Titan fragment inside was almost ready.
Aiden exhaled slowly.
He couldn’t walk through the front line.
He couldn’t let scanners sweep him.
He couldn’t risk being seen.
So he didn’t.
He slipped along the far edge of the perimeter, Sound Force wrapped tight around him. Every footstep muted. Every vibration softened. Hunters shouted orders only a few meters away, but none of them turned toward him.
Aiden moved like a shadow.
He reached a supply truck parked near the barrier. Two Guild hunters were unloading crates, arguing about stabilizer placement. Aiden slid beneath the truck, using Gravity to lighten his body so the metal didn’t creak.
The hunters walked past him.
Aiden rolled out the other side, sprinted low, and dove behind a stack of crates. A stabilizer tower loomed ahead, its energy field flickering. The barrier around the Rift pulsed violently, creating momentary distortions.
Openings.
Aiden waited for the next pulse.
The barrier flickered—
He moved.
Sound muted the rush of air around him. Gravity softened his steps. He slipped through the distortion just as the barrier snapped back into place.
No alarms.
No shouts.
No scanners.
He was inside.
The world changed instantly.
Pressure slammed into him like a tidal wave. His ears rang. His lungs seized. The ground vibrated beneath his feet, each pulse threatening to crush him.
He staggered, dropping to one knee.
*Not again. Not like last time.*
He forced his breathing steady, pushing back with Willpower Lv. 3. The crushing weight eased—barely—but enough for him to stand.
The Rift interior stretched out like a warped canyon of red and black energy. Floating shards of compressed Force drifted through the air like debris caught in a storm.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Then he heard them.
Skittering.
Grinding.
Vibrating.
Pressure Forceborn.
Five of them.
They emerged from the haze—creatures shaped like jagged stone and compressed air, their bodies flickering with unstable resonance.
Aiden tightened his grip on the baton.
The first creature lunged.
Aiden sidestepped, using Gravity to lighten his movement. He thrust his palm forward.
Pressure blast.
The concussive force struck the creature’s head, shattering it into vibrating dust.
A notification flickered:
[STRENGTH FORCE — Level Up]
[Strength — 7 → 8]
Aiden blinked.
The kill had pushed his body harder than expected. His muscles felt denser, more responsive.
Another creature charged.
Aiden ducked under its swipe and slammed the baton into its torso. The alloy hummed, absorbing and redirecting the creature’s unstable energy. The Forceborn exploded into shards.
Another notification:
[AGILITY FORCE — Level Up]
[Agility — 5 → 6]
His movements sharpened instantly.
But more were coming.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Aiden backed up, gathering Pressure in both hands. The Force condensed faster than before—sharper, denser, more responsive. He thrust both palms outward.
A twin shockwave erupted, blasting through the swarm. Creatures shattered, their bodies dissolving into vibrating dust.
Another notification:
[ENDURANCE FORCE — Level Up]
[Endurance — 6 → 7]
His lungs expanded, the crushing Rift pressure becoming slightly more bearable.
But the swarm wasn’t done.
Pressure elites emerged—larger, denser, their steps shaking the ground.
Aiden braced himself.
The first elite charged, its body vibrating violently. Aiden rolled aside, using Gravity to accelerate, then slammed the baton into its leg. The creature staggered, and Aiden followed with a Pressure spear that pierced its core.
It collapsed in a burst of red dust.
Another notification:
[VITALITY FORCE — Level Up]
[Vitality — 6 → 7]
Warmth surged through him, stabilizing his body under the Rift’s crushing weight.
Another elite attacked from behind.
Aiden spun, using Sound to sense the vibration before it struck. He ducked under its swipe and fired a concussive blast upward, launching the creature into the air. He leapt after it, Gravity boosting his jump, and drove the baton into its chest.
The creature exploded midair.
Another notification:
[PERCEPTION FORCE — Level Up]
[Perception — 2 → 3]
The Rift’s vibrations sharpened instantly—every movement, every pulse, every shift in the Titan’s formation became clearer.
Aiden landed hard, rolling to absorb the impact.
His lungs burned.
His arms ached.
Sweat dripped down his face.
But he wasn’t done.
The Rift trembled.
The Titan fragment roared.
Aiden looked up.
The giant was nearly formed now—towering, monstrous, its body made of compressed pressure waves that rippled like liquid stone. Its eyes glowed with violent resonance, and each breath it took warped the air around it.
Aiden gathered Pressure in his palms.
The Force surged—sharper, more focused, more destructive.
A notification appeared:
[PRESSURE FORCE — Level Up]
[Pressure — 4 → 5]
Aiden exhaled.
Pressure Lv. 5 wasn’t just stronger.
It was precise.
He stepped forward.
The Titan turned its head toward him.
It saw him.
Its eyes—two swirling cores of compressed force—locked onto him with a recognition that made Aiden’s skin crawl. The air warped around the creature, bending under the sheer density of its presence. Every instinct in Aiden’s body screamed to run.
But he didn’t.
He tightened his grip on the baton.
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
The Rift pulsed like a beating heart.
The Titan’s roar shook the entire chamber.
Aiden stood alone in the storm.
No Guild hunters.
No stabilizers.
No backup.
Just him.
A single anomaly facing a creature born from the collapse of reality itself.
He felt the weight of the moment settle on him—not fear, not panic, but something sharper. Something steadier. Something earned.
Resolve.
This wasn’t just another fight.
This wasn’t just another monster.
This was the line between catastrophe and survival.
Aiden lowered his stance, Pressure swirling around him like a coiled blade.
“Fine,” he whispered, voice steady despite the chaos.
“If the world keeps throwing Titans at me…”
He raised his hand, Pressure condensing into a spear of vibrating force.
“…then I’ll keep breaking them.”
The Titan lunged.
Aiden surged forward to meet it.
And the Rift exploded into war.
