Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Sizzle—crackle!

Thunder rumbled, lightning crackled.

Orion had left the makeshift camp three days ago. Even traveling in lightning form, he had already come a long way. It was rare for him to get a chance to venture down here, so aside from helping his sister Clymene and the others settle in, he also wanted to thoroughly explore this underworld.

But after three days of rushing around, he still hadn't finished mapping out this entire underworld. Evidently, the place was huge.

Dropping to the ground, Orion summoned his Abyssal Dragon to haul him onward. As it emerged, the dragon let loose a roar, clearly energized by the dense aura of death all around.

"Xalathar, go on ahead and scout."

With that order, Orion half-closed his eyes to recuperate what remained of his nearly-spent transcendent power. From what he could sense, there were no Legendary-level beings in the immediate area—meaning Clymene should be safe enough.

Still, the sheer number of underground creatures living here had exceeded his expectations. Most of them were remarkably good at blending in, sometimes staying motionless for ages to avoid being noticed.

If Orion truly wanted to claim this territory, leaving only Clymene and a handful of elders to hold it wouldn't be enough. Fortunately, he'd brought tens of thousands of little spiders, giving him at least a foothold.

Occupying such a massive area would take time—he'd need to wait for more Cave Spiders to transform into Death Spiders first.

Half a day later, the Abyssal Dragon was attacked as it traversed a rocky stretch of terrain.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The underground creatures that attacked moved across the ground the way snakes slither through undergrowth. More than a dozen python-sized monsters lunged from behind the rocks, wrapping themselves around the dragon's hind legs, neck, and tail.

Roar!

With a furious bellow, the Abyssal Dragon unleashed its Alpha-level aura, hoping to scare them off. Oddly, the hulking monsters showed zero reaction to that pressure.

Orion opened his drowsy eyes. Noticing one of the freakish creatures slinking around his own legs, he grabbed it by the neck. It looked snake-like but much thicker.

Hiss!

Its head bloomed open like a flower, revealing a maw lined with rows of jagged teeth. The sight reminded Orion of certain dark creatures he'd encountered elsewhere.

Splurt!

A foul slime sprayed from the monster's open mouth. With just a slight surge of transcendent power, Orion reduced the thing to a pile of char in a flash.

Meanwhile, the Abyssal Dragon growled and ripped apart the monsters latched onto it, clawing and biting without mercy.

After about ten minutes, all the weird snake-like beasts were dead, their bodies torn into multiple pieces. Orion hopped off the dragon's back, checking for injuries. No major wounds, but a few small ones—mostly from that corrosive slime.

"Better head back and recuperate."

He patted the Abyssal Dragon. A ray of crimson light flashed, and the creature vanished back into Orion's heart.

These monsters weren't a good match for its brute-force approach. Forcing the dragon to continue fighting them would just lead to more injuries, and it wasn't all that effective anyway.

Drawing his trident, Orion kept moving. Something felt off in this region—he could sense these same vicious, disgusting monsters lurking all around.

Boom!

As he walked, Orion casually swung the trident. Any monster that tried mobbing him was instantly taken out with a single strike—many burst into Flame of WillIgnite, burned to ashes on the spot. While that fire repelled them for a moment, they rushed back in once the flames died down.

It was bizarre that these creatures ignored not only Alpha-level aura but even Orion's Legendary-level suppression. That alone provoked his curiosity.

He focused, pinpointing the strongest presence in this stony labyrinth and forged deeper in. The area was filled with towering slabs of rock, like an ominous stone maze.

A few hours passed before Orion stopped in his tracks, staring ahead with a grim expression.

There, on a small patch of flat ground, coiled a much larger version of those monsters. It looked like a giant worm about 150 feet long, covered in dense scales, with the same petal-like maw at its head.

Despite Orion cutting down countless snake-worm monsters along the way, this Alpha-level worm hadn't tried to attack. Only when he came upon that clearing did the beast finally lift its head and roar in his direction.

Up close, Orion could see the thing had no eyes—truly none at all—though it must have had some way to sense enemies.

Hiss… hiss… hiss…

The bigger worm let out a piercing series of hisses laced with faint sonic ripples. Orion observed it for a bit, then noticed it start slithering his way. He made no attempt to hold back—thunder crackled around him as he charged with the trident.

Boom!

The creature's head exploded, but it didn't die right away. Its snake-like body coiled, trying to trap Orion in a suffocating bind.

With a snort of contempt, Orion swung the trident, slicing the Alpha-level worm into several segments. Planting his foot on one section, he sensed something, then moved to another chunk to cut it open. From there, he fished out a black crystal core.

Only after the core had been removed did the worm's body go rigid, then finally die.

Strangely, even after their leader expired, the nearby horde of Hero-level monsters didn't flinch. They just kept mindlessly attacking Orion.

Fighting them off as he went, Orion inched toward where that Alpha-level worm had been curled up. The moment he stepped onto that spot, the remaining worms froze and slipped away into the darkness, no longer attacking.

Pulling back his trident, Orion gazed around in surprise.

"Is there something weird about the ground I'm standing on?"

Orion surveyed the area, taking in every detail, yet nothing seemed out of the ordinary. If anything stood out, it would be the massive stone rising roughly 200 feet high in the center of the clearing—an odd sight indeed. But the rock surface was severely corroded, making it impossible to discern its original form or any particular features.

"This isn't right… there's definitely something fishy going on."

After circling the stone twice, Orion finally fixed his gaze on it. He thought for a while, then cautiously placed his palm on the rough surface.

In the next moment, lightning flashed—transcendent power surged forward from Orion's palm and enveloped the entire stone.

Crash!

Chunks of rocky debris went flying as the weathered, corroded surface began to crack and flake off. Orion slammed his right foot down onto the ground, triggering enough force to shake loose any remaining flaky layers from the stone, revealing what lay beneath.

"What the—?

Is this… a stone door?"
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Orion's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Afterward, he swept his trident around, clearing away the remaining rubble near the base of the stone. Underneath was not a simple foundation, but rather an altar.

"No way…"

Even Orion couldn't hold back his surprise.

Because what stood before him was actually a teleportation gate.

He could tell because Arthas had once given him notes on a teleportation formation—how to set one up, how certain sigils worked. The gate in front of him, by comparison, seemed a bit more primitive, though a lot better concealed.

Staring at it, Orion fell deep into thought.

"Could this underworld be tied to some hidden portal from another realm?"

His heart throbbed at the possibility. Arthas had mentioned that building a teleportation array from scratch required some top-tier backing—at the very least, an established Legendary-level figure in the faction. Sure, there were a few exceptional beings within Legendary-level, but they would definitely be the types who had the power to establish entire territories.

After all, a teleportation array was itself a special kind of construction. No territory meant no way to build one. Let alone the fact that this here was a cross-realm teleportation array.

Narrowing his eyes, Orion studied the dormant structure, sparks of caution flickering across his gaze.

He wasn't sure how much time passed. In a sudden flash of bloodlight, the Abyssal Dragon appeared before him. Orion rested his hand reassuringly on its massive head—leaning against his chest—then spoke quietly:

"Don't leave this place. Any intruders get taken out, no exceptions."

"Roar…"

The dragon's rumble carried overt murderous intent. Orion leapt onto its back and turned his mind toward the Survivor's Platform.

This time, he didn't bother scrolling through the market; he contacted Arthas directly:

"Bro, what would it mean if I found a cross-realm teleportation array underground that hasn't been activated in—let's say—at least a couple hundred years?"

No small talk. Orion cut straight to the point.

"A cross-realm teleportation array?

You sure?" Arthas's reply came fast, honed in on the crucial bit.

"I'm sure—it's really similar to the teleportation formation you showed me.

But it looks like it hasn't been fired up for centuries now.

I can also confirm that no sizable armies or mysterious races have shown up around here for at least that long,"

Orion elaborated, mixing in some of his observations and guesses. For a while though, there was no response.

Necro Realm, atop the Bone Throne.

Arthas, still perched as if carved from stone, lifted his right hand and stroked his bony jaw.

"A cross-realm teleportation array… interesting. Seems like Hulk's future may not be so clear after all."

If a cross-realm teleporter had popped up in Orion's territory, that spelled trouble eventually—trouble in the form of a powerful adversary. Arthas well knew that cross-realm teleportation was no joke. It devoured massive amounts of materials and magical energy.

Previously, Arthas had given Orion some notes and runes for a teleportation formation, but not the actual materials to build it. His plan was for Orion to gather them himself, and maybe Arthas could cover whatever Orion couldn't scrounge up. Also, Arthas didn't exactly have an unlimited stockpile, either.

As for Orion's claim that the portal hadn't been used for centuries, Arthas was skeptical. He basically ignored that. It made more sense that if anyone stood on the other side, they wouldn't want the portal discovered—and would leave some sort of security measures in place that killed any trespassers.

That was the standard approach. Whenever Arthas built a teleportation gate, he always created a death trap around it, barring outsiders from access.

"Hulk, try hitting the teleportation gate with your strongest attack. Let me know if it has any defenses or countermeasures."

After a while, Arthas finally sent Orion a reply—he wanted to test whether that portal really was centuries out of commission.

Underworld—standing before the dormant portal:

Orion read the message, his eyes narrowing in contemplation. He'd actually already tested the portal with his transcendent power when he discovered it.

"Bro, I didn't detect any kind of barrier or retaliation mechanism.

When I infused transcendent power, that's how I uncovered what it really was in the first place.

The gate showed no sign of runic glow or magical flow—it looks like all its energy is drained."

Orion texted back. Arthas went silent again.

Necro Realm, on the Bone Throne.

Arthas's focus was no longer on the teleporter itself; it was on Orion's offhand remark about using "transcendent power."

He froze, stared into space, whispered to himself, "It's only been a few years…

Has this guy already hit Legendary level?

He said he used transcendent power…

Alright, I need to confirm this."

Suddenly sitting more upright—like addressing a critical matter—Arthas sent Orion a short, direct question:

"You've ascended to Legendary level?"

It was a vital piece of info. If Orion had truly reached that stage, then the cross-realm portal might not be such a big deal—at least from Arthas's point of view. In fact, it might even be an opportunity.