Several years later ,
The execution was set for high noon.
In the heart of Leviathan, the iron-walled capital of the Titan Federation, thousands gathered at Titan''s End, the greatest execution square in the world. The city streets, usually filled with merchants and travelers, stood still. For the first time in years, there were no deals, no haggling, no market songs—only silence and anticipation.
The scent of metal and burning incense lingered in the air. High above, banners of the Federation, deep crimson with golden chains, fluttered against the wind. Soldiers in silver-plated armor lined the streets, their polished spears catching the afternoon sun. Watchers stood on rooftops, crossbows ready. Even the pickpockets and beggars—those who usually lurked in the shadows—stood among the crowd, eager to witness history.
Because today, a Titan was about to die.
And not just any Titan.
A Titan-General of the old war. A monster to the Federation. A legend of the titan army.
His name was Elijah the titan of Earth.
Kneeling atop the execution platform, Elijah was bound in anti-titians Chains, glimmering with an eerie, purple light—chains designed to suppress even the most fearsome of beings. His once-proud figure, broad and towering, bore the scars of countless battles. His dark hair, streaked with silver, was matted with dried blood.
Yet, even on his knees, his presence was monstrous.
His golden eyes scanned the sea of people below. Not with fear. Not with regret.
But with something far more unsettling.
A smile.
The kind of smile that sent a chill down the spine. The kind of smile that belonged to a man who knew something no one else did.
Beside him, standing tall in black military robes, was Commander Leonard, the executioner for today''s event. His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, his eyes locked onto Elijah with open disdain.
"That look on your face…" Leonard growled, his deep voice carrying over the crowd. "Do you think you''ve won something?"
Elijah let out a low chuckle. It was almost amused.
"I was just thinking…" he murmured, his voice rich and rumbling. "How foolish your Federation is."
Helgar''s fingers twitched. "Foolish?"
Elijah''s golden eyes gleamed.
"The moment my head falls… the real war begins."
The words sent a ripple through the crowd. Uneasy murmurs. Doubt. Suspicion.
Leonard ignored it. He turned toward the grand obsidian balcony above, where the Federation''s High Chancellor and his council sat, draped in regal robes, their expressions unreadable.
With a deep, commanding voice, Leonard declared:
"By decree of the Titan Federation—Elijah the titan of Earth , enemy of mankind, is sentenced to death!"
A deafening roar erupted from the crowd.
Some cheered, raising their fists. Others jeered, cursing the Titans to the depths of the Abyss.
And through it all—Elijah''s smile never faded.
Leonard raised his sword. The steel gleamed under the sun.
A clean, decisive swing—no hesitation.
This was it.
The moment the world changed.
---
A few streets away, in a dark alley beyond the execution square, a group of chained children huddled together.
They were thin, bruised, and covered in filth. Prisoners. Property of the Federation.
Among them, sitting dead silent, was a boy no older than eighteen. His dark hair was messy, his body battered. A dull, iron collar sat tight around his neck.
His name was Zoren.
And today, he was supposed to die.
The guards had told them this morning.
"After the execution, it''s your turn."
The others had cried. Had begged.
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Zoren hadn''t.
Not once.
But inside?
He was burning.
Not with fear. Not with sadness.
With something else. Something deeper.
A pulse in his chest.
Faint, but growing.
A whisper in his mind, clawing to be heard.
As if something ancient was trying to wake up.
---
Back at Titan''s End, Leonard took a deep breath.
He brought his sword down—
—And the world shattered.
BOOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion rocked the execution square.
The platform erupted in flames, sending smoke and debris into the sky. The ground trembled as shockwaves ripped through the crowd, knocking people off their feet.
Screams. Panic. Chaos.
The banners of the Federation burned, their golden chains turning to ash.
And when the dust cleared—
Elijah was gone.
Leonard coughed through the smoke, his ears ringing. His vision blurred, then refocused.
The execution platform lay in ruins. Soldiers shouted, scrambling through the rubble.
His chest tightened. His hands curled into fists.
"FIND HIM!" Leonard roared.
---
The explosion rattled the city.
In that moment, the guards watching over Zoren and the other prisoners turned their heads.
That was their mistake.
Zoren moved.
With a sudden, almost inhuman speed, he yanked his chains forward—slamming the nearest guard off balance.
Before the man could react, Zoren twisted—
CRACK!
His forehead smashed into the guard''s nose. Blood splattered.
The man collapsed.
The other orphans stared at him, eyes wide.
Zoren didn''t hesitate. He snatched a dagger from the fallen guard''s belt, spun it, and jammed it into the chain-lock on his wrists. Sparks flew. The metal groaned—
SNAP!
He was free.
One of the older boys gasped. "H-How did you—"
"No time." Zoren cut the others'' chains. "Run. Now."
The guards were already coming.
Zoren turned.
"Follow me if you want to live."
Then he ran, with his two close friends.
---
As smoke covered Titan''s End, a figure limped through the flames.
Elijah. In his human form
His chains were broken. His body was weak.
But his smile remained.
He wasn''t alone.
From the shadows, a hooded figure emerged. Their presence was… strange.
Vaelin wiped the blood from his lips.
"It''s finally begun."
His black eyes turned toward the city—toward the boy running for his life.
A boy with something ancient in his blood.
A boy who would change everything.
"is that him." Elijah murmured.
Then, as the fires raged, the Titan vanished into the smoke together with the mysterious being.
---
The execution failed.
A Titan vanished.
A boy escaped.
And deep within Zoren''s chest—
His Core pulsed.
The world just didn''t know it yet.
While zoren and his friends where running
Zoren thinks back to the time he was free before being here.
---
The fire had long since died.
All that remained were ruins—blackened wood, shattered stone, the lingering scent of something burned beyond recognition. The village was gone.
In the center of it all, a baby cried.
A lone survivor.
A traveler passing through heard the sound, stepping over corpses, past the broken weapons that told of a battle long lost.
They found the child in the arms of a dead woman.
Her body shielded him, scorched, fingers still curled protectively around his tiny form. The heat had died, but her grip had not.
With careful hands, the traveler pried the baby free.
For a moment, he hesitated.
A child who had survived this? It was unnatural.
Then the baby opened his eyes—black, yet glowing faintly, a flicker of something unseen.
The traveler''s breath hitched.
He knew what this was.
A Core.
Not just any Core. A Titan Core.
And yet… there were no records of a Titan User in this village. No family history, no inheritance of power.
This child should not have a Core, without someone''s guardian
"…Tch." The traveler clicked his tongue. "You''re gonna have a rough life, kid."
And so, Zoren was taken to the orphanage.
A nameless child found in the ashes of war.
A child with a Core, a necklace that only has his name in it, Zoren Arthur.
The orphanage wasn''t cruel.
But it wasn''t kind either.
It was a place where forgotten children were fed just enough to survive. A place where those too weak disappeared without anyone asking where they went.
But unlike most orphanages in the slums, this one had love.
The caretakers, an old couple named Maren and Elise, treated the children as their own. Maren was a gruff, broad-shouldered man who never smiled, but his hands were warm, always fixing broken things. Elise was soft-spoken, her voice like the hum of a lullaby, her hands rough from years of work but gentle when wiping away tears.
Zoren learned fast—he wasn''t normal.
But Maren would ruffle his hair and say, "Who gives a damn about normal?"
Elise would hum, pressing food into his hands, whispering, "Eat, love. You''ll need your strength."
They saw him as a boy.
Not a monster.
And he wasn''t alone.
Linda and Talis and other children in the house.
Linda—sharp, cunning, and beautiful in a way that made people underestimate her. She could talk her way out of anything, steal a full meal, and make it look like an accident. A normal human in a world where strength ruled.
Talis—strong, reckless, the kind of idiot who laughed in the face of a beating.
He had no Core. At least, that''s what everyone believed.
But there were moments—brief, impossible moments—where his punches hit too hard, where he moved too fast, where his wounds healed too quickly.
Linda noticed. So did Zoren.
They never spoke of it.
But they knew.
And as the years passed, Linda became more than just a friend.
They never said it out loud.
But they didn''t have to.
By eighteen, the three were unstoppable.
Linda ran the orphanage like a queen, getting the best food, the best beds, the best deals with the city''s underworld.
Talis fought for coin, knocking out grown men in underground rings.
Zoren?
He didn''t fight.
He won.
His body moved on instinct, his mind sharper than steel. The shadows whispered when he walked, the air grew colder when he was angry.
No one knew why.
Not even him.
And for a time, it was enough.
until someone reported to the federation of about them because they used unusual energy and they were not know as titan users or hunters, then Federation came.
Since after the report they have been watching them
Not just the orphanage.
Them.
There were no records of Zoren or Talis possessing Titan Cores. But the way Zoren moved—the way his presence distorted the air around him—it was too unnatural to ignore.
Then they started going to underground fights.
Talis was always strong. But one night, he hit a man too hard.
A single punch.
Bones shattered.
The arena fell silent.
For a moment, Talis just stared at his own fist.
Then, he laughed it off.
But the Federation didn''t, they took action.
They came at midnight.
The orphanage doors shattered. White-armored soldiers squad stormed in, their presence suffocating.
Maren stood in front of the children, arms wide. "Get out." His voice was hoarse, desperate. Elise clutched a rusted knife, knowing it was useless.
Zoren woke to Linda''s voice.
"RUN!"
But there was nowhere to run.
Talis charged first, fists glowing for the first time in his life. A soldier raised his spear—Talis shattered it.
The air crackled.
Zoren had no time to be shocked.
Linda pulled a knife from her sleeve. She wasn''t a fighter, but she didn''t need to be. She aimed for the weak spots.
She almost made it.
Almost.
Then captain entered.
He moved faster than a shadow, silent, effortless.
Linda lunged—he stopped her with a single finger.
Talis swung—he was on the ground before he realized he had been hit.
Zoren didn''t move.
Not yet.
The captain ''s silver eyes locked onto him.
"…You."
A binding chain shot forward. Zoren twisted—too late. It wrapped around his neck, glowing with runes.
Pain.
Not in his body. In his Core.
His strength vanished. The shadows stilled.
Linda screamed, struggling.
Talis cursed, blood dripping from his lip.
The soldiers bound them, heavy chains clicking shut.
Maren fought.
Elise wept.
But the Federation didn''t care.
"This is a mistake," Linda spat, eyes blazing. "We''re just orphans—why take us?"
The Inquisitor smiled.
"Talis and Zoren were never registered." His voice was smooth, almost amused. "That means they are dangerous."
Linda''s breath hitched. "Then why take me?"
The Inquisitor''s gaze lingered on her.
"…Because of you, they refused to run."
Silence.
Linda''s lips trembled. Her fists clenched.
She had always been the smartest. She had always been their reason to stay.
"Your intelligence," the Inquisitor continued, "is wasted on this place."
The soldiers dragged them forward.
Maren roared, struggling. Elise fell to her knees.
Zoren memorized everything.
The faces of the men who took them.
The way Linda''s breath shuddered.
The way Talis glared through the blood in his eyes.
The orphanage grew smaller. The chains grew heavier.
For the first time in his life—
Zoren felt helpless.
But he swore—not for long.
---
To be continued