Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Summer in the Black Forest was lively—full of noise and excitement. It was both the season of mating and the season of the hunt.

Orion woke from his slumber to the sounds of Rolan grunting and huffing outside his tent. He'd been back in Blackstone City for nearly a month now, and ever since his return, the city seemed to have been injected with new life—changing day by day.

"What was it Arch Elder mentioned last night, about wanting to activate something?"

Orion was still a bit groggy. Reaching over to the animal skins beside him, he noticed Lilith and Lysinthia were gone.

"Where'd they run off to so early?" he mumbled, yawning as he tried to stand up.

All of a sudden, a chill flickered across his forehead, and a spark of lightning burst from right between his eyebrows.

Orion froze in surprise—then chaos broke out.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A massive bolt of lightning shot up from Blackstone City itself, illuminating the entire Black Forest. Over on a ridge in the west, Thunderhawk Rayden was sprawled out on a stone slab, sunbathing in the nude—no feathers, no shame—when he sprang up as though terrified.

"Enemy… enemy… run for it!"

Rayden looked skyward, eyes brimming with dread and despair. He remembered all too well that exact kind of lightning that once scorched his feathers off, nearly ending his life.

Rumble… Rumble…

But just as quickly as it came, the lightning soared off at high speed. It tore open the clouds and raced through the northern reaches of the Black Forest. Everywhere it passed, beasts cowered and trembled, bowing to the ground.

At the forest's northern edge, the lightning swerved, jumping toward Poison Dragon Swamp. Inside that swamp, serpents thrashed in the water, moose bounded through thick mud, and rats peeked nervously from the undergrowth. It all flashed before Orion's eyes like a series of rapid-cut scenes.

Rumble… The lightning pressed on eastward, and Orion got a glimpse of the centaurs Slagor had spoken of. They were a strange clan: the males had human torsos and horse bodies, while the females looked fully human from head to toe.

Shocked by the sudden storm on an otherwise clear day, the tribe's wise-folk peered skyward, sensing something amiss.

The lightning changed direction yet again, barreling toward the south. Orion saw even more tribes there—refugees from Thunderwood Forest, all converging on Half-Moon Lake. The place had become a temporary haven for anyone trying to escape chaos.

A streak of lightning tore the sky, bouncing steadily back toward the Black Forest. Orion sensed an odd clarity: everywhere the lightning traveled was part of his territory now.

Continuing its wild path, the lightning passed over the southern border of the Black Forest, then the eastern edge by the desert, before finally arcing back and returning to Blackstone City.

When Orion landed atop Blackstone City's walls, cloaked in arcs of lightning and radiating a godlike presence, a full day and night had passed since he'd first become one with the lightning.

"It's our lord!" someone cried. "He's got the power—he's truly the lord of the Black Forest!"

Orion made no attempt to hide his Legendary-level energy or the crackling aura of his lightning-based transcendent power.

The first to react wasn't Lilith or Delilah or even Onyx or Rendall—it was Dirtclaw from the cannon fodder troops. He raised his whip overhead and gazed up at Orion, eyes filled with awe and excitement.

"It's the revered master! WAAAGH, WAAAGH!"

"All hail our lord, the glory of the Horde!"

"Giant King!"

"Giant King!"

"…"

Spurred on by Dirtclaw's cries, everyone else started chanting, "Giant King!"

Standing tall, Orion looked every inch a titan.

"From this day on," his voice boomed with thunder's crackle, "the Black Forest shall no longer submit to the Four Domains. I am Orion Stoneheart—I am the Giant King and the lord of black forest!"

His declaration, echoing on the crack of thunder, carried a majestic and electrifying hiss that swept through Blackstone City. The city erupted with cheers like an explosion of joy.

On the southern wall, Rendall dropped to his knees and bowed low. The giants followed suit, performing the highest gesture of respect among their people—an official homage, welcoming their new king.

At the entrance of one stone hall, Delilah beamed as she watched Orion stand clad in lightning.

"He's our king," she murmured, "my king."

Elsewhere, at the mouth of an underground fissure, the Spider Queen Lorelia, Rockwell, and Onyx also looked on.

"He's Lorelia's master," Lorelia said happily, "my mighty giant lord!"

To show her excitement, she raised her bow and cheered, even launching into a strange little dance with her eight spindly legs—a bizarre sight, but she didn't care.

"How about that?" Onyx said with a chuckle. "Wasn't it the smartest move we ever made to follow him?"

He lifted his stone axe in a warrior's salute to Orion in the distance.

"Prophet, your decision was wise, and your foresight runs deep. Compared to Orion, Rockwell is dust indeed."

Rockwell, too, raised his stone axe, mimicking Onyx's salute.

"Ha, well," Onyx said, "you becoming our obsidian golems' second Alpha-level fighter—surpassing your father—is already quite the accomplishment."

Rockwell beamed with pride at the compliment.
Experience tales at empire

From the western ridge of Moonshadow Valley came a series of eagle shrieks. Thunderhawk Rayden, overwhelmed with excitement, wanted desperately to soar around Orion in the sky but couldn't yet fly. So the bald bird just kept squawking, hoping Orion would know he was celebrating, too.

Orion surveyed Blackstone City, looking at each face fixed upon him. After a while, he transformed into a streak of lightning again and returned to his tent. The Legendary-level pressure engulfing the city dissipated simultaneously.

Waiting at the tent's entrance were Lilith and Lysinthia, standing side by side. Orion looked at Lysinthia with surprise—while he'd been out, living lightning for the last day and night, she had advanced to Alpha level.

"What about Twilight Viper? Did it succeed too?" Orion asked.

"Master," Lysinthia replied, "Twilight Viper is still asleep. I'm not sure yet if the transformation worked."

Orion nodded. Wrapping an arm around Lilith and an arm around Lysinthia, he led them into his tent. He was in a fantastic mood—tonight, he planned to celebrate this historic milestone by making love all night long.