The first collision split the clearing apart — a shockwave that flung soldiers and rattled the forest floor.
Titan and Gallows broke apart, dust curling between them, a low hum in the heavy air.
A Potestas soldier ran to Gallows and dropped to one knee, offering a long weapon wrapped in crimson cloth.
Gallows accepted it with calm grace, unwrapping a narrow dueling blade. Its dark-silver length gleamed faintly; a crimson knot was carved near the hilt.
He traced the edge with a gloved finger, voice smooth and aristocratic.
“Titan… Potestas mined deeper than any before, near the planet’s heart. We found a metal we call Obdurate—harder than diamond, light as air. Too many of my swords have broken against you. I did not expect to test this one today.”
Titan said nothing, but the ground shifted as Ironhold stirred, air thickening with unseen weight.
Gallows inclined his head — a duelist acknowledging his opponent’s courtesy.
Then they moved.
Gallows advanced first, blade low, coat tails sweeping. Light bent around him in jagged ripples, his form stuttering and doubling.
Titan answered by dragging everything down; branches groaned, dirt cracked, Gallows’ boots sank an inch.
FWSSHH!
Titan struck a driving hook that pulled gravity with it. Gallows warped sideways at the last blink, yet the blow still grazed him, snapping his coat and forcing a half-step back.
He countered instantly, the Obdurate blade carving a clean line across Titan’s ribs. Blood welled dark.
Weight spiked — the earth dented as Titan caught Gallows’ arm and hurled him over his shoulder.
THRAAAM!
The impact cracked the ground.
Gallows rolled and rose, breathing sharp but posture regal, blade humming violet light. A mirage shimmered — three of him for an instant — before the real one slid back in.
He thrust for Titan’s chest.
VWWIP!
Titan caught the blade barehanded; Obdurate bit deep, slicing his palm, but he wrenched Gallows close and drove a knee into his side.
WHUDD!
The strike shook the air. Gallows gasped — the first sound of pain — then twisted free in a ripple of warped light before Titan could crush him.
Titan followed with patient, punishing rhythm: heavy steps that made the ground quake, each swing dragging with gravity’s pull.
Gallows slipped and countered with sharp cuts and precise thrusts.Each landed shallow, but they landed; Titan’s side and arm streaked red.
Still, the air felt heavier with every exchange.
Ayasha glanced over mid-fight, breath caught.
“I… I can’t tell who’s winning.”
Cael ducked a strike and looked up, sweat streaking his face.
“I can’t even follow them.”
Lior stayed silent, chest tight under the pull of Titan’s power. Every clash vibrated through the ground beneath him.
My strength feels like sparks against a storm.
Titan lunged again, locking Gallows’ sword arm.
GRRRRNNK!
Gravity surged — a crushing field meant to end it.
VWHMM!
Gallows tore space sideways and reappeared at Titan’s flank, blade slashing deep across his shoulder.
Titan hissed, then pivoted with perfect balance and drove him hard to the earth.
KRAAAMMM!
The impact cratered the ground, dust exploding outward in a rough wave.
Dust rolled as Gallows rose again, coat torn, monocle cracked, blood streaking his jaw.
His voice came calm but edged.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“We could do this forever, Titan.”
Titan lifted his head. His expression hardened; his voice carried a weight that would not bend.
“Forever? No. I’m finished with this.”
And then his eyes.
Not a flicker. Not a spark. A glow.
Steady. Blazing. Gold igniting into unwavering fire.
Lior’s breath caught. He’d seen Niches flicker — felt his own tear loose — but this wasn’t a Niche fighting to be heard.
This was a Niche arrived.
Dust at Titan’s feet erupted, spiraling upward like a brown-gray sandstorm threaded with molten gold. The ground cracked in hairline veins, each tremor dragging the air lower, heavier.
Without warning, a larger quake shook the ground, even throwing Gallows off balance.
KRRRRAUUMMM—HHHHRRRAAANNNKKKKKTTTT!!!
—NICHE AWAKENED: GRAVITY LOCK—
Titan’s Awakening drastically amplifies his gravitational control, extending his Ironhold into a full-radius field. Within ten feet, he can manipulate gravity’s intensity and direction with precision, immobilizing multiple targets or anchoring himself as an immovable force.
Ayasha dropped to a knee, gasping.
Cael followed, glasses slipping as the pressure forced him down.
Potestas soldiers collapsed outright, weapons clattering from numb hands.
Carter rasped in disbelief.
“Whoa…”
Rei’s voice slipped out softly, like a prayer.
“…An Awakening…”
The word itself hit like lead.
Gallows’ cracked monocle caught the glow. For the first time, his perfect composure fractured; his eyes widened, the faint smirk dying.
“…So it’s like that, is it?”
Titan stepped forward, each stride splintering the ground, the sandstorm of dirt wrapping tighter around him.
Gallows exhaled once, steadied his stance, and struck. Light warped, his Obdurate blade darting for Titan’s chest.
Titan didn’t move.
The edge hit.
KRRNNNK!
But it didn’t break skin.
SKREEEEE!
Metal screamed under the crushing field as a crack spidered from the blade’s tip toward the hilt. Violet distortions shattered and bled away like glass under pressure.
Titan’s Gravity pressed so brutally that Gallows’ arm trembled, his knee dipping before he caught himself.
His breath hitched — the first true crack in his calm.
“Absurd…”
Titan’s golden gaze didn’t waver. The air around him howled with pressure, every grain of dirt orbiting like a storm.
For a long beat, Gallows said nothing. His troops shifted, struggling to stay upright under the crushing weight.
At last, his voice carried low but clear.
“…Fall back.”
The order rippled out. Potestas soldiers withdrew into the trees, vanishing like smoke. Gallows lingered a heartbeat longer, one gloved hand wiping his cracked monocle clean, then turned and followed.
Titan stood in the quiet aftermath, aura still heavy but controlled. He looked back once, voice low but sure.
“Only for the moment. I could hold them here, maybe even defeat two. But the collateral damage would break us. It isn’t worth it. We move. Now. Fast.”
The team obeyed. Boots hammered the forest floor until the trees broke to a deep ravine spanned by an old wooden bridge. The planks groaned under their weight as Titan led them across, eyes scanning the dark.
At the far side, he dropped a small cylinder behind him. It struck the boards with a heavy thunk.
FWUMP — KRA-KOOM!
The bridge vanished in fire and splintered wood, crashing into the black below.
They paused only once to look back.
On the opposite edge stood Gallows — coat immaculate despite the fight, handkerchief polishing his cracked monocle. His voice carried cool and regal across the span.
“You never cease to amaze me… old friend.”
Beside him stood Trigger, frame rigid, gaze fixed on the fleeing group. Though healed, rage simmered beneath his calm.
“His luck can’t last forever. That golden boy… he dies by my hand. Whether HQ permits it or not. No gloves. No mercy.”
Titan did not answer. He only turned and pressed the team forward into the dark.
Lior stumbled with them, ribs burning, breath ragged. His fists clenched until nails bit his palms, but strength alone wouldn’t stop the hollow ache that gnawed at him.
I couldn’t touch Gallows. Even with both Niches, I was nothing against him… and Titan had to save me.
Ayasha reached out, but he brushed her off, voice sharp without meaning to.
She flinched.
He stopped, exhaled, and muttered, “…Sorry.”
She gave a small nod and followed Titan without a word.
They ran on, battered and silent, each of them carrying the weight of what they’d just seen.
Not just a fight, but…
Reality of where they stood,
and how far they had to go
End of Chapter 15
What Niche Activation would you want to have? Why?(Leave your why in the comment section.)
