The world outside Starhold Ruins felt too quiet.
No whispers of ancient beasts.
No masked assassins slipping through the shadows.
No runaway bursts of power crackling from the boy's skin.
Just wind.
Cool. Almost gentle.
It carried the scent of morning dew and pine from the distant forests—so calm it almost made the boy forget the chaos of the night before. Almost.
Aureon walked beside him, each massive step sending a deep vibration through the earth. Despite its size, the Titan moved with the precise grace of something alive, not built.
Sunlight climbed over the horizon, catching on Aureon's metal plates and painting them gold.
The boy shielded his eyes. "Won't people… notice a giant metal Titan walking next to me?"
Aureon's helm tilted toward him.
"I can reduce my form, if needed."
"You can—what?"
The Titan paused.
Its wings folded neatly against its back. Runes flickered. Light gathered beneath its armor. And then—
The Titan's body began collapsing inward.
Metal plates rearranged themselves, sliding over one another with elegant precision. The giant frame condensed, folding and reforming until the colossal being stood no taller than a warhorse—still powerful, still imposing, but far less earth-shaking.
Aureon's voice emerged unchanged.
"This size will be more suitable for travel."
The boy blinked at him. "…You could do that the whole time?"
"You did not ask."
The boy rubbed his temples. "Right. Of course."
They continued walking.
Birds fluttered overhead as the path led down from the ruined cliffs into a valley. The morning sun slowly warmed the boy's face. He felt… human again. Less like a glowing weapon waiting to explode.
Aureon walked silently beside him, scanning the treeline every few seconds.
The boy hesitated before finally asking, "What… exactly is Erindale going to do with me?"
Aureon's answer came with the weight of inevitability.
"They will fear you.
They will question you.
Many will seek to use you."
The boy exhaled shakily.
"But," Aureon continued, "they will also protect you—for as long as they understand your value exceeds your danger."
"Comforting," the boy muttered.
They walked in silence for a while. The path widened. Grass rustled around their ankles. Insects buzzed. The world felt too normal for everything he had seen.
Eventually, he asked the question that had been clawing at him since the ruins.
"What's… my name?"
Aureon stopped walking.
The boy turned to face him.
"In the ruins," the boy said quietly, "you called me Bearer. But that's not a name. I don't remember anything before waking up. Nothing. Not even who I was."
Aureon lowered its head slightly, metal reflecting the sunrise.
"You will remember in time."
The boy shook his head sharply.
"No. I won't. I feel… empty. Like someone scraped everything out of me. How do you know I'll remember?"
Aureon's runes dimmed.
"Because your Ember-Core pulses with memories. Sealed, but not lost."
The boy frowned. "So I used to be someone important?"
"Not important," Aureon said.
"Dangerous."
A cold shiver crept down the boy's spine.
Before he could ask more, the ground ahead rumbled.
He froze.
Aureon stepped forward, wings twitching in agitation.
"What is it?" the boy whispered.
The Titan lifted a hand, signaling silence.
The earth shook again.
Bushes trembled violently.
Then something burst from the undergrowth with a roar—
A massive boar-like beast, twice the size of a carriage, fur matted with obsidian chunks and glowing red veins running under its skin. Its eyes were molten orange, steam puffing from its nostrils.
A corrupted Aetherbeast.
Aureon growled—a deep metallic resonance that shook the valley.
"Back," the Titan commanded.
The boy stumbled behind him.
The beast dug its hooves into the earth and charged, the ground splitting beneath its weight. Aureon lowered its stance.
But right before they collided—
The boy felt it.
A pull.
Instinctive. Primal.
His Ember-Core ignited with a jolt of heat.
Flames crawled beneath his skin.
"No—no, not now—"
The power surged.
Aureon snapped its head toward him. "Control it!"
"I can't!"
The beast slammed into Aureon, horns scraping against metal. The Titan grabbed the boar's tusks, boots digging into the soil as the two colossal beings wrestled, earth cracking beneath them.
The boy's heart hammered.
His vision filled with blinding white fire.
The Ember-Core roared like a beast straining against its cage.
"Stop—stop, please—!"
Aureon shouted over the struggle, voice booming:
"Bearer—release it! The excess energy will kill you if you do not!"
The boy's breath caught.
Release it?
But if he did—
He didn't have time to think.
He thrust his hand forward, instinct guiding him again.
A torrent of blue-white fire exploded from his palm—
NOT at the beast
NOT at the forest
NOT at Aureon—
But straight into the sky.
FWOOM.
The blast tore through clouds, turning the morning into daylight.
Aureon seized the moment of distraction, lifting the stunned beast and hurling it into a boulder with thunderous force.
The corrupted creature didn't rise again.
Silence settled slowly, like falling dust.
The boy dropped to his knees, chest heaving, energy crackling around him before dimming.
Aureon approached him.
"You did well," the Titan said.
The boy glared weakly. "I almost blew myself apart."
"And yet you did not," Aureon answered. "The academy will teach you control."
The boy pressed a hand to his racing heart.
"So we're really going there?"
"Yes."
Aureon gestured ahead.
The path curved upward toward a distant rise—and beyond that, shimmering in the morning mist, towers of silver and white stone pierced the sky.
The capital of Erindale.
Sprawling. Majestic. Alive.
And somewhere beyond those walls—
A princess who would change the boy's fate forever.
Aureon's voice softened, almost solemn.
"Your journey begins the moment we pass through those gates."
The boy swallowed.
"Then let's go."
Together, they walked toward the city that would shape their destinies.