Above, the darkness was swirling and retracting into a tight ball, the shadows moving and writhing like serpents across the sky. I could see more and more of the forest revealing itself as natural light, the beautiful natural sunlight came raining down touching everything unblocked by the shadow above us.
“Woah…I had almost forgotten what the sun was like,” Trig said as he rushed to my side, twin light grenades in hand. We had not been expecting the darkness to retreat fully. “Can you see the core?”
My eyes narrowed as I searched the center of the mass of darkness above us. I could see nothing of the sort. My enhanced senses could not detect a core anywhere.
You have destroyed the core but not the beast, said a voice in my mind. It was irate, confused and somewhat unfocused. But I could sense anger welling within it. The damn thing…merged with me. Avery, I am beginning to reassert myself.
I turned around to see that the red-blue Masara was beginning to shift in color. It had broken free from the ice, but was not intent on attacking us, instead just wandering in circles. The red light faded slowly as the blue spread out across the Masara’s body, overtaking the form. It continued speaking in the familiar tone of the Overseer. Something is wrong. The Titan core has been destroyed, yet… the beast still lives. I do not understand.
I glanced at the sky once more to see that a silhouette was beginning to form. The shadows were becoming…solid? No, that couldn’t be…
“Is it just me or is that thing looking like it’s turning into something?” Trig asked, his question echoing my thoughts exactly.
Indeed, just as we feared, the dark shadows began to twist and solidify, turning from ethereal shade into black, rubbery skin that glistened in the sunlight. And as the shadows began to turn real, so did they begin to give form to a most immense creature, a true Titan in the sense of the word. Two long arms began to sprout, with sixteen jagged claws each the size of a human.
A diamond-shaped torso emerged, with four short, stubby legs connected at the bottom, each leg emerging and slamming into the ground, destroying trees and causing massive shockwaves through the earth. I could feel the very ground beneath me buckle up and down from the creature’s landing.
As the Shadow Titan took its new form, a pair of glinting eyes appeared, not from a head, but rather on the torso. No mouth was present, at least none that I could see.
“Man, this day just keeps getting better,” Trig grumbled as we both watched the transformation complete.
I understand now. The Nursery Keeper has been imbued with two cores. The first to give it dominance and the second to give it shape, the Overseer said. I should suppose you can handle this just fine.
“Oh yeah,” I said as the newly formed beast before us let out a hideous roar that shook all the leaves surrounding us. It towered at almost forty feet high but was still dwarfed by the trees themselves. A small silver lining, I suppose. “It’s definitely going to be a walk in the park.”
I raised my bow to shoot but was struck by a realization. The shadows were gone. Completely gone. The beast could no longer just grab anyone within the darkness. This was our chance to get the villagers out of here!
“Trig!” I shouted while readying four arrows. “Go back to the village and get everyone out, quick as you can.”
“Ma’am?”
“You’re out of good bombs anyway,” I said. “We can hedge our bets this way. Get the villagers to the mountains. Once they’re safe with Brimley, reload your explosives and come back. That’s an order.”
“You got it,” Trig said, turning and darting into the woods. He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Either that, or he truly trusted my judgment.
Another curious choice. By helping the villagers, you are reducing your power significantly, the Vessel said, its voice full of confusion and curiosity. The massive, clawed hand of the Shadow Titan came slamming down towards me, palm open wide, revealing where the mouth was located. A round jagged mouth, opening and closing with frenzied hunger was attached to its hand, opening wide as it came down to slam atop me.
Thankfully, I was at an advantage here, for the warmth of the sunlight mixed with my second wind boosted my stamina considerably, the effects of the hypothermia wearing off. I deftly dodged out of the way, leaping up into a nearby tree with ease. With a quick change to my Lurbia charm, switching back to my damage reduction ability, I took a deep breath. It was time to go toe-to-toe with a Titan. And, frankly, I might have the advantage here.
I fired four shots into the outstretched arm which seemed to have hit the ground a bit too hard, for it had gotten stuck in the dirt. Bright splattering of red blood burst out of the arm where each shot struck. The beast let out an angered moan as it tried to get its arm free of the earth it had buried itself in.
As it struggled, perhaps unfamiliar with how to work a corporeal form, I scanned the beast up and down, searching for the Titan’s core. As I focused, the entire world seemed to become black and white, save for a single red orb hidden in the right leg of the Shadow Titan. As soon as I spotted the red, pulsing ball, the color returned to the world. I had found the weak point of the beast and to
