No... no, I canât!
Caelan snapped his eyes open. The haze and despair in his gaze vanished in an instant, replaced by iron resolve.
He had fought his way to this point with unimaginable effortâten straight years of relentless sword practice, day after day without pause. How could he just give up now?
There had to be another way. Thinkânow!
At this moment, Caelan felt as though he had been glued to a spiderâs web. He couldnât even swing his arms.
But even so, he didnât surrender. His mind spun at full speed, searching desperately for a way to break free.
Wait!
If there was something on him connected to the Dark Titan...
Aside from [Shattered Memories], there was also [Sacred Armor]!
Even though [Sacred Armor] was still damaged, nothing said it couldnât be equipped. At worst, it simply wouldnât be able to unleash its full power.
And more importantlyâthis was the only item he currently possessed that was on the same tier as the Dark Titan.
Fine. When youâre out of options, you treat a dead horse like itâs alive.
With that thought, Caelan made his choice in an instant and equipped [Sacred Armor].
The next moment, a layer of holy radiance enveloped his entire body.
The surrounding blood mist collided with that sacred glowâand, astonishingly, the two forces showed signs of blending rather than repelling, as if they were beginning to merge.
It worked!
A surge of excitement rose in Caelanâs chest. And at that exact moment, the Dark Titanâwho had been at the center of the blood-mist vortexâsuddenly froze, as if his body had jammed in place.
Caelan blinked, then noticed something strange about him.
The Dark Titanâs eyes had clearly been replaced with mechanical constructs, yet now, within those sockets, an unprecedented holy light flickered.
His gaze locked onto [Sacred Armor] with terrifying intensity.
He recognized it.
In the next instant, a faint trace of sacred radiance began to seep out from the Dark Titanâs body as well.
But the holy light on him was extremely dimâso weak that the moment it appeared, it was already swallowed and smothered by the surrounding blood mist.
And then, a voice suddenly surfaced inside Caelanâs mind.
"Quickâkill me!"
"Donât hesitate. This is your only chance!"
But Caelanâs mind power had already been completely drained. Even if he wanted to use another skill, he simply didnât have the strength to do it.
What now?
Was he really going to lose here?
A fierce unwillingness surged through Caelan. And thenâhe felt it.
A power like a rising tide was rapidly gathering within him!
In that moment, every cell in his body seemed to ignite, squeezing out the last remaining trace of strength.
A glimmer of realization flashed across Caelanâs eyes.
Ever since he awakened his class, there had been one skill he had never usedânot even once.
Now, at last, it had a stage.
[Last Strike].
Caelan didnât hesitate. He seized the opening and raised his longsword high once more.
Against an enemy like the Dark Titan, [Thousandblade Rend] could deal a truly considerable amount of damage!
In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of sword-lights flooded the sky again.
Countless blade marks formedâand the moment each mark landed, it detonated instantly.
At the same time [Thousandblade Rend] took effect, Caelan triggered [Flashstep], vanishing and reappearing directly above the Dark Titanâs head.
[Infinite Lightblade]!
The [Infinite Lightblade], layered with armor-piercing attributes, erupted with dazzling brilliance. Like a falling star of pure radiance, it slammed down onto the Dark Titanâs crown!
In an instant, the entire battlefield was drowned in blinding light!
"BOOOOMâ!"
A chain of violent explosions roared without end, so powerful they even triggered a sizable quake across the battlefield.
On the other side, Alyssa barely managed to evade the shockwaves in time.
Just the aftermath of this clash was already overwhelming her. She could hardly cope with it.
She didnât even dare to imagine what would happen if she were standing at the center of the battlefieldâwhether she could withstand even a single strike.
Meanwhile, the Dark Titan let out a pained, agonized howl.
Yet for some reasonâmaybe it was just an illusionâCaelan saw something he had never seen on the Dark Titanâs face before.
Calm.
And relief.
In the next moment, the Dark Titanâs enormous body began to collapse and break apart.
The blood mist surged over him in an instant, but it seemed to lose control as wellâits structure unraveling, spiraling toward disintegration.
Just as Caelan thought everything was finally coming to an endâ
A dull-colored orb of light suddenly floated up from above the Dark Titanâs skull.
Caelan was extremely familiar with that orb. When he had obtained [Shattered Memories], it had been exactly like this.
The next instant, the memory-light cluster drifted down and stopped in front of Caelan.
[Detected "Dark Titan" memories. Extract immediately?]
Caelan didnât hesitate. He chose "Yes" at once.
In the next moment, the world before his eyes turned hazy and unreal...
When Caelanâs focus returned, he realized he was standing in a world that looked like the apocalypse.
Blood mist filled everythingâseeping into every gap, every breath, pressing down with an oppressive force that was nearly unbearable.
The air was mixed with a sharp, nauseating stench of blood. On the cracked earth, streams of blood-water continued to bubble up and overflow.
If hell truly existed, then it would probably look exactly like this.
All around Caelan lay countless corpsesâcreatures of unknown races piled carelessly across the ground. As far as his eyes could see, it was nothing but severed limbs and mangled remains.
When Caelan spotted large numbers of human bodies among them, his pupils trembled.
And then, his perspective shifted.
His view abruptly changed into third person.
Beside him, the Dark Titanâs towering figure was fighting with everything he hadâprotecting the last surviving humans.
"Chief Volibel... itâs over. Everything is over. We still lost in the end!"
"My wife, my children, my parents... they all died on this battlefield!"
"Are we humans going to be wiped out too, just like all those other races?"
As the survivors sank into despair, the Dark Titanâs resolute voice rang out in their ears.
It was a voice Caelan knew all too wellâbecause he had heard it only moments ago.
"As long as I still live, I will not let humanity walk into extinction."
"As survivors, I hope you can live onâbravely."
"Humanity will not perish. Hope will endure!"
In the next instant, the blood mist seemed to go mad, surging like an ocean wave as it swept toward the Dark Titan and the remaining humans!
The last thing Caelan saw was a sky-consuming tide of blood mistâso endless that everything around him turned crimson.
He didnât know how much time passed.
But finally, the scene before his eyes changed.
The overwhelming blood mist from before had vanished without a trace.
In its place was a thriving land filled with vitality.
Within a primitive tribe, the Dark Titan wore a coat stitched from animal pelts, leading the humans on a hunt.
Caelan recognized their faces. He had just seen themâthey were the survivors from that ruined battlefield.
But judging by their appearance, they seemed much older now. And among them were new, young livesâchildren who hadnât existed before.
So this... is reincarnation?
A thoughtful expression appeared on Caelanâs face.
At the same time, he realized something even more surprising:
Aside from the Dark Titanâwho still retained his level and attributesâevery other human had lost their identity as awakeners.
They had become ordinary people.
This life went on for decadesâperhaps even a century.
From Caelanâs perspective, time accelerated. Everything sped up.
Until one day...
The Dark Titan had grown so old that he could no longer move his body.
At the moment when the Dark Titan was about to fallâ
A massive continent in the sky began to descend slowly toward the world.
At the same time, every surviving human heard a familiar yet unfamiliar electronic voice in their ears.
"Game world invasion detected. All players, prepare yourselves..."