THE LAST HEIR OF THE VOID KINGDOM

CHAPTER 8

The Last Heir of the Void Kingdom

Chapter 8: The King's Titan

The royal crest blazed upon the chest of the World Titan.

Gold.

Silver.

Blue.

The ancient symbol of the Void Kingdom shone brighter than the stars above.

Arin stared in disbelief.

"Why does it have our crest?"

The dragon's eyes widened.

For the first time since meeting him, the ancient creature looked hopeful.

"Because it was never just a Titan."

The World Titan continued rising from beneath the earth.

Mountains crumbled from its shoulders.

Rivers of stone cascaded down its colossal body.

Its head finally emerged from the clouds.

The creature was so massive that simply looking at it made Arin feel insignificant.

A living continent.

A god sleeping beneath the world.

Far away, Lord Malakar's confident expression vanished.

"No..."

His crimson eyes widened.

The dragon turned toward him.

"Now you understand your mistake."

For centuries, Malakar had searched for forgotten weapons.

Forbidden magic.

Ancient monsters.

Yet there was one secret he had never uncovered.

The greatest secret of the Void Kingdom.

The World Titan had never been a prison.

It had been a guardian.

The giant slowly lowered its head.

Its eyes opened completely.

Unlike the Void Titan's crimson stare, these eyes glowed with gentle blue light.

They fixed upon Arin.

Waiting.

Watching.

Recognising.

Then a voice thundered across the world.

"ROYAL BLOOD DETECTED."

Every cloud in the sky scattered.

The oceans themselves seemed to answer.

Villagers hundreds of miles away heard the voice.

Kings in distant lands looked toward the horizon.

Even the Hollow King, somewhere deep within his prison, stirred.

"HEIR IDENTIFIED."

Arin felt the crown become unbearably hot.

The Astral Core pulsed.

A beam of silver light shot from the crown into the Titan's chest.

The crest glowed brighter.

"AWAITING COMMAND, MY KING."

Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Arin blinked.

"Me?"

The World Titan waited.

"YES."

Arin looked around helplessly.

"I've never commanded anybody before."

Ash sighed.

"This is really the person we're depending on?"

Lyra elbowed her.

"Not helping."

The Void Titan suddenly roared.

Its massive crystal fist smashed into the mountainside.

Entire cliffs exploded.

The attack was aimed directly at Castle Noctis.

At Arin.

The Kingdom's last heir.

The giant fist descended.

Faster.

Faster.

Faster.

Then stopped.

A colossal stone hand caught it.

The World Titan had moved.

The impact shattered valleys.

The shockwave flattened forests.

Both Titans stood facing each other.

One made of black crystal.

One forged from stone and starlight.

Ancient enemies.

Awakened at last.

Lord Malakar immediately realised what was happening.

And it terrified him.

"Kill the heir!" he ordered.

The three masked warriors launched themselves forward.

Dark energy exploded around them.

Ash met them halfway.

Lyra followed.

Steel and shadow collided.

The battlefield erupted into chaos.

Meanwhile, Arin couldn't tear his eyes away from the Titans.

The World Titan was stronger.

Far stronger.

Yet it wasn't attacking.

Only defending.

Only protecting.

The dragon noticed.

And understood.

"It cannot fight freely."

"What do you mean?"

"Its purpose is protection, not destruction."

The revelation struck Arin immediately.

The Titan wasn't a weapon.

It was a shield.

Which meant...

The Void Titan smashed another fist into its chest.

Cracks spread across the World Titan's armour.

Arin's heart dropped.

It could still be defeated.

Suddenly, another voice echoed inside Arin's mind.

A familiar voice.

A voice he had never truly heard before.

My son.

Arin froze.

His breath caught.

"No..."

The voice returned.

Warm.

Gentle.

Impossible.

Arin.

Tears filled his eyes.

It was his father.

The world vanished.

The battlefield disappeared.

Arin found himself standing in a field of silver grass beneath a sky filled with stars.

A man stood before him.

Tall.

Kind-eyed.

Wearing a royal cloak.

King Orion.

The last king of the Void Kingdom.

His father.

For sixteen years Arin had imagined this moment.

Yet now he didn't know what to say.

Neither did Orion.

For several seconds, they simply stared at each other.

Then Orion smiled.

"You're taller than I expected."

Arin laughed through tears.

"You've been dead for sixteen years."

"I know."

"That was a terrible joke."

"It was."

For the first time, both of them smiled.

But the smile soon faded.

Orion's expression became serious.

"Listen carefully."

The stars around them dimmed.

"The Hollow King is not your greatest enemy."

Arin frowned.

"What?"

"He never was."

The king pointed upward.

A constellation appeared.

Seven stars.

The Seven Guardians.

Then an eighth star emerged.

Hidden behind them.

Dark.

Silent.

Watching.

Arin felt a chill.

His father looked directly into his eyes.

"The greatest danger has been hidden from everyone."

"Who is it?"

Orion hesitated.

As though even saying the name was dangerous.

Then he finally whispered:

"The Eighth Guardian."

Suddenly everything shattered.

The vision vanished.

Arin was back on the battlefield.

The Titans were still fighting.

Ash and Lyra were holding the masked warriors back.

Malakar stood upon a cliff.

Smiling.

Looking directly at him.

As if he already knew what Arin had learned.

As if he had been waiting for it.

And then, far beyond the burning horizon, another presence awakened.

A new light appeared on the dragon's map.

Not one of the Seven Guardians.

An eighth.

A hidden point that had never been visible before.

The dragon's face became pale.

"No..."

Ash looked at the map and froze.

"That's impossible."

The new light was moving.

And unlike the others...

It was heading toward them.

Very fast.

To be continued...