CHAPTER 17 — Titan Fight (Part 1)

  The Titan moved first.

  Its colossal arm tore through the void like a falling skyscraper, dragging a wake of distorted gravity behind it. The air bent. The platforms cracked. Debris spiraled inward as if the Titan’s swing was pulling the world with it.

  Aiden dropped his weight—hard.

  Gravity surged downward through his legs, anchoring him to the floating slab beneath him. The platform groaned, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface, but it held.

  The Titan’s arm smashed into the slab.

  The impact obliterated half the platform, sending chunks of stone spinning into the void. Aiden held his ground by inches, the gravitational pull threatening to rip him off the edge.

  He exhaled shakily.

  “That… was too close.”

  The Titan turned its head toward him, violet energy swirling in its eyes. It stepped forward, each movement bending the air and dragging debris into its orbit. The gravitational field around it pulsed like a heartbeat.

  Aiden sprinted—lighter—leaping to another platform just as the Titan’s foot crushed the one he’d been standing on. The slab shattered into dust, sucked into the Titan’s orbit like water down a drain.

  Aiden landed hard, rolling to absorb the impact.

  The Titan roared.

  A gravitational shockwave blasted outward.

  Aiden reacted instantly.

  He dropped his weight—anchored—then unleashed a Pressure burst behind him, using the recoil to push himself sideways. The shockwave tore through the platform, ripping it apart, but Aiden shot clear of the blast, landing on a drifting chunk of concrete.

  He gasped for breath.

  “Okay… Pressure for movement. Gravity for survival.”

  The Titan raised both arms.

  Aiden’s instincts screamed.

  He sprinted forward—lighter—dodging chunks of debris that spiraled toward the Titan’s core. The gravitational pull intensified, dragging him toward the monster like a planet being pulled into a collapsing star.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  He dropped his weight again—heavier—fighting the pull.

  The Titan slammed both fists downward.

  Aiden dove off the platform just as it shattered beneath him. He fell through the void, weightless for a heartbeat, then shifted lighter—guiding his fall toward another drifting slab.

  He hit the platform hard, rolling to his feet.

  The Titan was already turning toward him.

  Aiden raised his hand.

  Heat flared beneath his skin.

  He focused it—sharpened it—pushed it outward.

  A burst of scorching air shot from his palm, striking the Titan’s chest. The molten lines across its torso glowed brighter, softening the stone around them.

  Aiden’s eyes widened.

  “It works.”

  The Titan roared, staggering slightly as the heated stone cracked under its own weight. Aiden sprinted forward, dodging falling debris, and leapt onto a smaller platform drifting near the Titan’s leg.

  He swung the rebar—Gravity?boosted—slamming it into the softened stone.

  The Titan’s armor cracked.

  Aiden grinned despite himself.

  “Heat to soften. Gravity to break.”

  The Titan reacted instantly.

  It swung its arm sideways.

  Aiden barely had time to drop his weight before the gravitational force ripped the platform out from under him. He anchored himself to a chunk of debris, clinging to it as the Titan’s pull dragged everything toward its core.

  He unleashed a Pressure burst downward, launching himself upward and away from the collapsing debris field.

  He landed on another platform, panting.

  The Titan turned toward him again.

  It wasn’t slowing down.

  It wasn’t weakening.

  It wasn’t confused.

  It was adapting.

  Aiden swallowed hard.

  “Of course you are.”

  The Titan raised its arm again—this time slower, more deliberate. The gravitational pull intensified, dragging Aiden toward the monster even from across the void.

  He dropped his weight—heavier—fighting the pull.

  The platform cracked beneath him.

  He pushed harder.

  The cracks deepened.

  The Titan’s pull grew stronger.

  Aiden’s legs trembled.

  He couldn’t hold this forever.

  He needed to move.

  He needed to strike.

  He needed to survive.

  He unleashed a Pressure burst behind him, launching himself sideways. The Titan’s gravitational pull yanked him off course, but he shifted lighter—adjusting mid?air—and landed on a drifting slab.

  The Titan’s arm smashed into the void where he’d been.

  Aiden steadied himself.

  He raised his hand again.

  Heat flared.

  He fired another burst at the Titan’s chest, softening the stone. The Titan roared, staggering slightly. Aiden sprinted forward—lighter—leaping across platforms until he reached the Titan’s leg again.

  He swung the rebar—Gravity?boosted—slamming it into the softened stone.

  Crack.

  The Titan roared in pain.

  Aiden grinned.

  “Got you.”

  The Titan reacted instantly.

  It slammed its foot down.

  The shockwave obliterated the platform beneath Aiden.

  He fell.

  He dropped his weight—heavier—trying to anchor himself to something, anything, but there was nothing beneath him. The void swallowed him whole.

  He unleashed a desperate Pressure burst downward, slowing his fall just enough to land on a drifting slab far below.

  He hit hard.

  Pain shot through his ribs.

  He gasped, clutching his side.

  The Titan loomed above him, gravitational energy swirling around its core like a storm.

  Aiden forced himself upright.

  He wasn’t done.

  Not yet.

  He tightened his grip on the rebar.

  “Round two,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”