Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

"I have so many enemies," Arthas remarked with a touch of dry arrogance, sheathing his sword as he began to retract his divine power. "One more or less makes no difference."

At that exact moment, in the Gnasher Race's Nest, a pillar of teleportation magic flared to life. The target wasn't a person or a beast, but a swirling pool of liquid darkness.

From his vantage point on the ridge, Orion didn't hesitate. He swung his scythe, launching an attack at the teleportation formation. But someone was faster. A blade of pure light descended from the heavens, shattering the formation and cutting off the escape.

Arthas's form appeared in mid-air, intercepting the pool of black liquid.

"Bro, is this the black gold?" Orion asked, teleporting to his side.

"It is," Arthas confirmed. "This is why I came. But this cache they had stored up... it's not enough for my needs."

Arthas was of a different race than Orion. As a skeletal being, the durability of his own bones was paramount. Now that he had ascended to demigod, strengthening his own frame was the most direct path to increasing his power. While he was a master of many arts, his skeletal frame was the foundation of his strength.

"Not enough?"

Arthas nodded. He needed the black gold not only to temper his own bones but also to refine his white bone-forged sword. Ascending it to the level of a relic would consume a vast amount.

"So, what's our next move? Do we need to dig in and defend this place for the long haul?"

Hearing this, Arthas glanced at him. "You have somewhere else to be?"

Orion didn't hesitate. "You know I do. I need to launch a blitz on the Black Tower in the Silverwood Realm. I was planning on using this Deathly Soul-Reaper avatar to help. If we're fortifying this position, I can't spare it."

Arthas considered this for a moment. Then, his demigod phantom split in two. The larger portion flowed into the body of the Deathly Soul-Reaper, reinforcing it.

"Go," Arthas said. "We don't need to defend this place. And we don't need to mine the black gold."

His words left Orion completely baffled. But you just said there wasn't enough.

As if reading his mind, Arthas reached out a hand. From the battlefield far below, the corpse of an Alpha-level Gnasher beast flew into his grasp. A flicker of bone-white fire engulfed it, and in seconds, the beast was incinerated into nothing.

Well, not quite nothing. In Arthas's palm lay a single grain of black gold, smaller than a sesame seed.

"If we render down every last member of the Gnasher Race," Arthas stated calmly, "it should be just about enough."

Orion fell silent, looking down at the Gnasher beasts still fighting desperately in the valley below. He offered them a silent, grim eulogy.

"I told you," Arthas continued. "Once we took the Godforsaken Land, the black gold would be mine, but the territory would be yours. Have you decided what to do with it?"

This time, it was Orion's turn to be silent. The Godforsaken Land was vast and produced a priceless resource. If he were to occupy and manage it properly, his own power would grow immensely.

"The undead armies can't stay here," Arthas said, pre-empting his thoughts. "Some have to be sent back to guard the Emerald Dream Realm, and the rest need to return to reinforce my other fronts."

"Besides," Arthas added, glancing at Orion with a knowing look, "once you've extracted all the black gold, this land will be completely barren. The world itself will begin to collapse."

Arthas saw right through Orion's little scheme. He knew Orion wasn't just thinking of mining the gold, but of using a Source Siphon Array afterward to extract the world's core, trying to have his cake and eat it too.

"If you want this territory, you'll have to occupy it and defend it with overwhelming force," Arthas laid out the options. "Do so, and you'll not only gain a rare resource, but you'll likely advance to arch lord-peak within two or three years. However, it will be extremely dangerous. We conquered this world; its coordinates are now exposed. The defeated demigod will likely regroup and launch a counter-invasion."

He was giving Orion the unvarnished truth. It was both advice and a warning.

"So, my recommendation is this: once I've rendered the black gold, we use the Source Siphon Array to destroy this place outright. At the very least, you'll get a sizable World Fragment out of it."

The moment Arthas said "World Fragment," the decision was made.

"We'll go with your plan, bro," Orion said firmly. "Destroy the Godforsaken Land."

Arthas nodded, giving him a long, silent look. He knew exactly what Orion wanted the World Fragment for: to save a single woman. And in truth, if Orion had insisted on keeping the territory, Arthas would have done everything in his power to help him hold it, at least until he reached arch lord-peak. That had been his intention all along.

Was it a decision based on sentiment? Perhaps. If Orion hadn't yet reached the rank of arch lord, Arthas would have thought so. But Orion was a powerful arch lord now. The fact that he could still hold true to his heart, choosing the World Fragment over the immense temptation of power and resources, earned him Arthas's quiet respect.

Arthas's philosophy was simple. Before a Survivor was truly powerful, they had to shed all attachments and focus solely on their own growth. But once they had grown strong, they had to reclaim the things they'd cast aside, to find their true selves again and not lose their way.

"Alright," Arthas said. "Once I've finished the rendering, I'll help you extract the World Fragment."

"Thanks, bro."

Arthas said nothing more, turning and speeding toward the undead tower. Since Orion's avatar was heading to the Silverwood Realm, the task of extracting the world's core would fall to him.

To resurrect Violet, Orion needed three things: the Spring of Life, a World Fragment, and an Abyssal Springhead. He had the Spring of Life, and the World Fragment was now within reach.

As for the final piece, the Abyssal Springhead, he already had a plan.

Once the Deathly Soul-Reaper helped his other avatar destroy the Black Tower and stabilize the situation in the Forest of Nature, he would dispatch it to the Abyss. Previously, he had intended to wait until he reached the demigod level himself before daring such a journey. But after fusing the two Silver-Eyed irises to his Deathy Soul-Reaper and seeing its performance in real combat, he felt he finally had the power to make the attempt.

As it was now, as long as he didn't run into a demigod's true body, his Deathly Soul-Reaper could escape from anything—even a demigod phantom.