Titan King: Ascension of the Giant-Chapter 799: The greatest secret

Worlds, like two straight lines, sometimes cross. And at their intersection, something new is born.

"The other side of this tunnel," a voice said, "is the Emerald Dream Realm."

Orion stood clad in his Lightning Cloak, his feet shod in the Boots of the War-Tyrant. This was his avatar, the Giant King, pulled across the cosmos to the two-realm battlefield. He stared, wide-eyed, at the shimmering portal before them—the greatest secret of the Titanion Realm.

"Inconceivable," the avatar murmured. "That a tunnel could form between two worlds." He turned to his two companions, the true bodies of the Archlords who guarded this passage. One was Seadragon King Neptor. The other was the human Saint, Noel. "Does this mean our worlds will one day merge?"

"Perhaps," said Saint Noel, a man with the white hair and weathered face of a great ancient. "But it is unlikely. The tunnel is neither strong nor stable. If they wished it, the great ones could destroy it." To one who has lived so long, such knowledge was commonplace, no great secret among the Archlord tier.

"Then why don’t they?" Orion asked, playing the fool. He already suspected the answer, but he needed it confirmed.

"Why would they?" Seadragon King Neptor chimed in with a sly chuckle. His own avatar had met Orion before. "You are familiar with the dark beast tides, are you not?"

Orion nodded. To the weak, the tides were a catastrophe. To the strong, they were a feast, a harvest of resources.

"It is only by the pull of this world tunnel that we can open so many passages for the tides to flow through," Neptor explained. "Without the tunnel, there would be no great harvest."

Orion knew this was only the surface reason. The deeper truth was that the demigods of the Titanion Realm coveted the Emerald Dream Realm. This tunnel was their invasion route, and the fact that it could be destroyed was their escape plan.

Conversely, the demigods of the Emerald Dream Realm, their own world dying from corruption, saw the tunnel as their only path to a new home. They would never destroy their only road to salvation, even if it was guarded by wolves.

"Your Graces," Orion said, "surely this is not the only world tunnel?" He had not seen the white dragon Frostsire here, which led him to believe there must be others.

Both Archlords nodded.

"There are three," Neptor confirmed. As a lord of the Sea Race, the true masters of this world, he was privy to such knowledge. "Each is guarded by one of our world’s three demigods—one human, two sea race—and between two and five Archlords."

The Titanion Realm was stronger than Orion had ever imagined.

"To fight your way from the north to the south, to raise the Stoneheart Horde into a great power, and now to ascend to the rank of Archlord..." Saint Noel said, his eyes appraising Orion with a quiet intensity. "You are a young man of boundless promise." He was trying to get a measure of this newcomer, to build a bridge with praise.

"Your Grace is too kind," Orion replied with a polite smile. "I have had my share of luck." It was not false modesty. Without the white dragon’s intervention, the Horde would never have made it to the south.

"Luck?" Neptor laughed. "In the eyes of beings such as us, there is no such thing as luck. To reach the rank of Archlord is to be a creature of exceptional talent, profound vision, and indomitable will." He included all three of them in his praise.

They looked at one another, their smiles placid, a perfect picture of harmonious accord.

Is this an act? Orion wondered. He could not be sure. He knew that Archlords, having transcended the mortal coil, generally did not seek petty conflict with their peers.

But he was different. His rise had come at the expense of the human, dwarf, and blood elf lands. And he had personally slain Neptor’s seventh son. He returned their smiles, but his heart remained guarded. It was impossible to know what a man was truly thinking.

Titanion Realm, Stoneheart City.

After returning from the Colosseum and entrusting Elara and Pallas to Lilith’s care, Orion’s true body sat upon his throne, his mind sinking into the public channel of the Champions Alliance.

Kraken: Commanders, I want to go home. The Emerald Dream Realm is not at all friendly to me.

Leonidas: What, no bounty to be had in the seas off Alexander’s continent either?

Alexander: He invaded the deep sea and was promptly chased by two Archlord-level Sea Folk. If I hadn’t pulled him ashore when I did, all you’d have left of your student would be his tentacles.

Leonidas: Spirits above! Squiddy, don’t cry!

Kraken: This is humiliating. If I just had a partner, they wouldn’t have been able to run me down like that!

Isabella: To be chased by two Archlords is a kind of happiness in itself. I don’t even qualify for that kind of attention.

Orion read through the chat log, a wave of sympathy for his friend Kraken washing over him, followed by a quiet chuckle at Isabella’s wry comment.

Hulk: Big bosses, I have discovered a secret of the Titanion Realm and the Emerald Dream Realm.

Orion posted his message. The response was not the immediate questioning he expected, but a wave of congratulations and good-natured mockery.

Leonidas: Well, well, look who it is! Our newly-ascended Archlord has graced us with his presence! A round of applause, everyone!

Edward: Welcome.

Alexander: Welcome.

Kraken: Welcome!

Isabella: Welcome!

It was as if they had all been waiting. The entire Champions Alliance was online.

Hulk: It was a stroke of luck. I hope you will all continue to guide me.

Leonidas: You’re an Archlord now! We can hardly bear the weight of you calling us ’big bosses’!

Alexander: +1.

Leonidas’s teasing was relentless. When there was no great war to occupy him, he was monumentally bored. His only pastimes were sleeping and scouring the Survivor’s Platform for deals.

Hulk: My friend, you jest. You know full well what I’m capable of. The very trident in my hand is a gift from you and Alexander.

Alexander and Leonidas didn’t reply, but their friend Kraken was quick to jump in.

Kraken: Hulk, you’ve become a great lord now. Have you abandoned me? Here I am, all alone, getting chased across the sea... sob... my life is over!

Orion had never seen this side of Kraken before. The envy, the self-pity, the hint of genuine sourness... he could feel it even across the void between worlds.

Hulk: Squiddy, my friend, be calm. Never abandoned, never forsaken. We shall be as two swords in one sheath! A mighty tempest of arms and tentacles! When I am done here, I will join you in the deep, and we shall thrash our enemies together!

The public channel fell silent. Orion and Kraken had thoroughly grossed everyone out.

Isabella: Hulk... are you truly open to... all alliances?

After a long pause, Isabella’s confused and suspicious message finally appeared, leaving Orion at a loss for how to explain himself.

Hulk: Isabella, can you not see we are merely jesting? Our brotherhood is pure!

Leonidas: The youths are so playful these days. I truly cannot imagine the scene... a giant, perched atop a massive octopus...

Hulk: Leonidas, my friend, I am officially informing you that you have now become my lifelong enemy.

Kraken: But Boss, my heart has always belonged to you!

With Leonidas and Kraken stirring the pot, Orion found himself sinking into a hole from which he could not climb out. Thankfully, the Deputy Commander intervened.

Edward: Enough. Let us speak of serious matters.

The channel went quiet, everyone waiting for Orion to continue.

Hulk: The Titanion Realm and the Emerald Dream Realm are connected by three world tunnels. My avatar is currently guarding the entrance to one of them. I am told that demigods can destroy these tunnels, and that the tunnels themselves can be used to facilitate the opening of spatial passages.

Orion shared his new intelligence, hoping to gain more insight from Edward.

Edward: So, world tunnels. That explains why the Emerald Dream Realm is so intent on invading. Three tunnels mean the intersection between your worlds is not yet deep; it is not enough to cause a natural fusion. By invading, they can accelerate that process. It may be the only lifeline for their corrupted world.

The information Orion provided had clarified much for the Deputy Commander. The demigods of both realms were staring at each other through these tunnels, each coveting what the other had.

Kraken: Deputy Commander, what is a world tunnel?

It was a new concept for Orion as well.

Edward: Are you familiar with the concept of a wormhole? That is one form a world tunnel might take. It could be a tunnel, a bridge, or even a door. Two different worlds possess different dimensions of time and space. To connect them is an immense undertaking. Not even a god can do so easily.

The explanation was abstract, and it was clear the others were still confused. Leonidas, as always, voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

Leonidas: Sir, what’s the difference between a world tunnel and a spatial passage?

Edward: They are not on the same level of existence. A world tunnel is a natural product of two worlds intersecting. Its ultimate purpose is to merge those two worlds. A spatial passage, however, is an artificial opening, created to allow the inhabitants of two worlds to cross over. A healthy world has a protective consciousness; under normal circumstances, a spatial passage could never form. Compared to a world tunnel, a passage is fragile. An average Legendary-tier powerhouse can destroy one.

The explanation was a revelation. Orion now understood the distinction, and it connected many things for him.

Hulk: Deputy Commander, the fungal creatures... did they invade the Valkorath Realm through a world tunnel?

To this question, Edward offered only silence. Sometimes, silence was its own answer. Orion understood the unspoken rule and did not press the matter further. After setting a time to meet with Kraken, he signed off the public channel.

Moments later, a private message from Edward appeared.

"You have successfully ascended to the rank of Archlord. It is time you understood some of the deeper responsibilities of the Champions Alliance. Memorize these two names: Ogu the Two-Faced Clown, and Barbara the Hex-Witch. They are traitors to the Alliance. If you encounter them, you are to either eliminate them on sight, or immediately notify myself, Alexander, or Leonidas."

Orion’s eyes narrowed. It was the most shocking piece of information he had received since joining the Alliance. Traitors? It seemed impossible.

"Deputy Commander," he typed back, "what is the strength of these two traitors?" Orion was no fool. He would not charge into battle without proper intelligence.

"They are both at the peak of the Archlord rank."

Orion drew in a sharp breath. They were on the same level as Alexander and Leonidas.

"Sir," he wrote, a wry bitterness coloring his words, "you have a very high opinion of my abilities."

"That is why your primary duty is to notify us. Eliminating traitors is our burden to bear, and we do not shirk our duties."

It was a heavy task, but with a grim sense of resignation, Orion accepted it.

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