"Follow me," Jack said, turning toward the throne room's exit. "The mine entrance isn't far from here."

The procession that left Seryth's castle was tense and heavily armed. Jack led the way, his crimson-black armor gleaming in the evening light.

Kyren walked beside him, silent as always. Behind them came Seryth with her two elite guards, and then Vok'thar, Nyx'ira, and the four Thal'Gorin warriors.

Two opposing forces, walking together under an uneasy truce, all following a Soul Warden who promised to show them proof of a conspiracy that had cost thousands of lives.

They walked through the valley in silence. The tension was thick enough to cut, every demon aware of potential enemies at their backs.

But no one drew weapons.

Jack led them to the river's edge, to a section of cliff face that looked like solid stone. He stopped and turned to face the assembled demons.

"The entrance is hidden," Jack explained. "An illusion barrier. Pho didn't want anyone stumbling across his operation by accident."

He reached out with one hand and pressed against what appeared to be solid rock. His hand passed through as if the stone were water, ripples spreading outward from the point of contact.

Vok'thar's shadows coiled tighter. "An illusion of this quality... that requires significant magical skill."

"Pho had resources," Jack said simply. He stepped through the barrier, disappearing from sight for a moment before his helmeted head poked back through. "Come on."

One by one, they passed through the illusionary wall. The sensation was disorienting, like walking through a waterfall of nothingness.

On the other side was a tunnel, roughly carved but reinforced with wooden supports. Aethrium crystals grew along the walls, providing enough blue light to see by.

"This way," Jack said, beginning to descend.

The tunnel wound downward at a steep angle. The air grew warmer as they descended, and the Aethrium crystals became larger and more numerous. Their blue light pulsed with an almost hypnotic rhythm.

Seryth's light had dimmed to something more manageable, but Jack could see the tension in her wings, the way her hand never strayed far from her weapon. She was trusting him, but not blindly.

Vok'thar walked with his shadows spread wide, ready to defend or attack at a moment's notice. His dark eyes swept the tunnel constantly, looking for traps, for ambushes, for anything that might threaten him in enemy territory.

They walked in silence for what felt like hours but was probably closer to forty minutes.

The tunnel twisted and turned, always descending, always growing warmer. The Aethrium crystals here were massive, some as thick as Jack's torso, and their light had taken on an almost white intensity.

Finally, the tunnel opened into the vast cavern.

The demons behind Jack stopped as one, their eyes widening as they took in the impossible space before them.

The cavern stretched far beyond what the Aethrium light could fully illuminate, disappearing into darkness above and to the sides.

But what held their attention was the massive form lying fifty meters below.

The titan.

"Gods above," Seryth whispered, her voice barely audible. Her light flared brighter unconsciously, as if trying to illuminate more of the enormous body. "It's real. It's actually real."

Vok'thar had gone completely still, his shadows frozen in place like a statue carved from darkness.

When he finally spoke, terror could be heard in his voice. "A titan. An actual titan."

Nyx'ira had pressed herself against the tunnel wall, her void-like eyes fixed on the massive form below. "I thought they were myths. Stories we told to frighten children."

Jack walked to the edge of the ledge, looking down at the gray-skinned giant covered in blue crystalline growths.

From this angle, he could see the wound on its l

shoulder.

"What are they?" Jack asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral. "The titans. You seem to know about them."

Seryth moved to stand beside him, her luminescent eyes fixed on the titan below. When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of ancient knowledge.

"The titans were the first beings to ever be created in this world," she said quietly. "Before gods, before demons, before mortals. They were the primordial forces given form. Earth, sky, sea, time itself, all of it embodied in beings of incomprehensible power."

Vok'thar joined them at the edge, his dark eyes never leaving the titan. "They ruled this world once. Shaped it according to their will. Mountains rose where they walked. Oceans formed where they slept. The very seasons bent to their commands."

"But they were defeated," Nyx'ira added from her position against the wall. "Overthrown by the younger gods in a war that nearly destroyed creation itself. The Titanomachy. The battle that reshaped the world."

"What happened to them?" Jack asked. "After the war?"

"Most were killed," Seryth said, her light dimming slightly. "Their bodies scattered across creation, their power absorbed by the victorious gods. But some..." She gestured at the titan below. "Some were too powerful to truly destroy. They were imprisoned instead."

"Tartarus Spire," Vok'thar said, understanding dawning in his voice. "The tower itself. It wasn't built as a trial for mortals or demons. It was built as a prison."

"The deepest floors," Seryth continued. "Floor one hundred and below. That's where the surviving titans are held. Bound by divine magic, trapped in eternal stasis. They can't die, but they can't live either. They simply... exist."

Jack's eyes fixed on the wound on the titan's shoulder. "So how did one end up here? This is floor twenty-four. That's nowhere near floor one hundred."

The silence that followed was heavy with implications no one wanted to voice.

Finally, Vok'thar spoke. "Someone brought it here. Someone with the power to move a titan from the deepest reaches of the tower to a floor where demons dwell." His shadows coiled tighter. "But why? What purpose could…"

"The Aethrium," Nyx'ira interrupted, her voice carrying a sudden understanding. "The titan's energy feeds the crystal growth. Whoever brought it here knew that. They wanted to farm Aethrium from a dying god."

"Pho," Seryth said, her voice cold with fury. "Pho found this titan, or helped bring it here, and built his entire operation around harvesting crystals from its dying body."

Jack remained silent, letting them piece it together. His yellow eyes, visible through his helmet's T-shaped opening, watched each demon carefully.

Vok'thar turned away from the edge, his dark eyes burning with rage.

"When I find Pho, I will tear him apart piece by piece. Four years. Four years of war, all so he could mine a dying titan in peace." His shadows erupted outward. "Thousands of my warriors died. Thousands of Aurion died. All for his greed."

"We'll find him together," Seryth said, her light blazing brighter. "Both our clans united against the one who manipulated us. Pho will answer for what he's done."

"And when we do," Vok'thar continued, his voice carrying absolute certainty, "we'll make him suffer for every life lost in this pointless war."

Jack stepped closer to Vok'thar, his armored boots quiet against the stone. "You have my word," Jack said, his voice steady and confident. "I will kill Pho. And when I do, your people will live in peace. Both your clans will finally know rest."

He placed one hand on Vok'thar's back, the gesture seeming supportive, almost friendly. The War Chief didn't pull away, too focused on his rage toward Pho to register the touch.

"Together," Jack continued, his hand still resting on Vok'thar's armored back, "we'll end this. No more manipulation. No more meaningless death. Just peace."

Vok'thar turned his head to look at Jack, ready to agree, ready to thank the Soul Warden for revealing the truth that would finally unite the warring clans.

That's when he saw Jack's eyes.

Through the T-shaped opening of the helmet, Jack's eyes burned red. Not yellow. Not the calm color they'd been throughout the meeting. Red. The color of blood and violence.

Vok'thar's expression shifted from gratitude to confusion to horror in the span of a heartbeat.

"What…"

Jack's hand moved faster than thought.

His clawed gauntlets plunged into Vok'thar's chest with devastating force, punching through armor and demonic flesh like it was paper.

The War Chief's words cut off in a wet gasp as Jack's hands closed around something vital inside his torso.

The hearts.

Vok'thar's dark eyes went wide with shock and pain. His mouth opened but no words came out, only a choked sound of disbelief. His shadows erupted wildly, lashing out in every direction, but it was too late.

Jack ripped his hearts out.

The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the cavern. Dark blood sprayed across Jack's crimson-black armor as he tore both hearts from Vok'thar's chest in one brutal motion.

The organs pulsed weakly in his clawed hands, still trying to beat despite being separated from their owner.

For a moment, Vok'thar just stood there, his hands raised toward the massive holes in his chest. His shadows began to dissipate, the magical energy that sustained them fading as their source died.

Jack planted one boot against Vok'thar's chest.

The War Chief of the Thal'Gorin flew backward, his body tumbling through the air.

He fell from the ledge, plummeting fifty meters toward the cavern floor below, toward the titan that lay dying in the darkness.

His body hit the stone with a sound like thunder.

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