Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

Chapter 1444: Mint and Fish

"Don’t look at me like that. You’re making it weird," Leonidas sniffed, tilting his chin up in a display of practiced arrogance. "Purifying Faith Energy is just one of my many talents."

It was true. The energy they were gifting Orion was raw Faith they had refined but not yet absorbed.

They knew the score. Orion was the anchor. His projection needed to be stabilized immediately if they wanted to hold the Ever-Burning Volcano. More importantly, Orion’s terrifying combat performance had taken a massive weight off their shoulders.

They had repelled a Third-Stage Demigod. Once word of that got out, predators would think twice before sniffing around the Ashenheart Domain.

Divine Kingdom. The Firmament.

When the abyssal vortex dragged the Mirror of Theras into his realm, Orion’s true body was waiting.

He caught the object as it fell. It was a simple, circular lens, pitch-black and smooth, looking like a piece popped out of a giant pair of sunglasses.

Orion channeled his Divine Power into it. Nothing happened. It was inert.

"Is there some kind of activation lock I don’t know about?" he muttered, frowning. "Don’t tell me I’m sitting on a gold mine I can’t mine."

Magical seals were his blind spot. But if this really was a Demigod Artifact—or a piece of one—there was someone who would know.

Orion gripped the lens and vanished.

Valkorath Realm. Blade’s Edge Peak.

This was the navel of the continent, the highest point in the world. Usually, Caelus could be found here, honing his blade skills against the wind. But ever since the Champions Alliance began forming the Platinum Authority, the Commander had drafted him into administrative servitude.

Now, the peak was quiet.

When Orion arrived, the Commander—Thresh—was napping in his small tent.

Orion didn’t wake him. Instead, he gathered some dry wood and started a small fire. He pulled a couple of fresh fish he’d caught in the deep ocean from his storage and began to grill them.

As the scent of roasting meat and sea salt drifted through the thin air, Thresh woke up naturally. He crawled out of the tent, stretched, and sat down opposite Orion.

"You don’t learn the important stuff from those idiots, just their bad habits. Trying to bribe me with food now?" Thresh grumbled, though his eyes were locked on the fish. "Your technique is sloppy. You lack seasoning. How can you eat fish without mint?"

He snatched the half-cooked fish from Orion’s hand and took over. From his belt, he produced a pouch of spices, pinching out some dried mint flakes. He crushed them between his fingers, dusting the fish with the fine green powder.

The aroma instantly changed, becoming fresher, sharper.

"Everyone says you love fish," Orion said. "I need a favor. I can’t offer you power or riches, but I can at least offer you lunch."

"I’ll do the favor, but stop talking to me like I’m your grandfather," Thresh said, taking a bite. "Do I look old? Do I have a white beard like Edward?"

Thresh ate with terrifying efficiency. He slid the fish into the left side of his mouth, and a second later, a perfectly clean skeleton slid out the right. It was less like eating and more like industrial processing.

Seeing Thresh finish, Orion quickly shoved his own fish into his mouth, swallowing it whole without chewing.

"You’re just like Leonidas," Thresh sighed, shaking his head. "Swallowing it whole is an insult to the food. You have no culture."

Orion ignored the critique and pulled out the Mirror of Theras.

"In the Minor Hell, I seized this from an enemy. He called it the Mirror of Theras," Orion said, presenting the black lens. "The Deputy Commander said it generates a magnetic field. He thinks it might be a Demigod Artifact, or a piece of one belonging to a Demon King..."

Before Orion could finish, a drinking horn was shoved into his hand, and the mirror was snatched away.

"Theras," Thresh mused, turning the lens over in his fingers. "Ruler of the 199th layer of the Abyss. I met that old snake a few thousand years ago. He was already at the Demigod Artifact stage back then."

In Orion’s hands, the mirror had been a dead rock. In Thresh’s grip, it exploded with black light. A spherical magnetic field pulsed outward, distorting the air around the peak.

"This," Thresh said, tossing it up and catching it, "is a fragment. It’s about a hundred thousand miles away from being a true Demigod Artifact."

"But it can generate a partial field, which means it was deliberately and carefully separated from the main body. That old lizard Theras must value it highly."

Thresh tossed the mirror back to Orion and reclaimed his drinking horn.

"I wiped the spiritual imprint for you. You can control it now."

He took a swig of ale. "Theras is famous for his schemes. If you have this, he’s probably watching you."

Orion froze. The mirror, which had felt like a trophy a second ago, now felt like a live grenade.

"What? Scared?" Thresh smirked. "You’re a peak Sixth-Stage powerhouse. If old Theras shows up, just summon your Divine Body. You’ll scare him off."

It was a dry joke. Orion smiled weakly.

"Commander, please don’t mock the weak."

"Relax," Thresh said, leaning back. "As far as I know, Demon King Theras was beaten into a coma a few thousand years ago. He’s asleep. Use the mirror. It’s better than a standard Relic, anyway."

Orion let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. If Theras did wake up and come looking for his toy, Orion decided he would simply lure him to the Valkorath Realm and let Thresh deal with the headache.

"Commander, one more thing," Orion said, his expression turning serious.

Thresh gestured with his horn. Spit it out.

"In the Silverwood Realm, the Sea Folk summoned a Dead Sea. It’s a Divine Kingdom with its own set of rules. Is there any way for me to devour it?"

The idea had taken root in his mind ever since he fled the Silverwood Realm. If he could consume that Dead Sea, his own Divine Kingdom would expand exponentially, and the Champions Alliance could finally claim the ocean.

"If I went, I could devour it," Thresh said simply.

"But you?" He shook his head. "Probably not."

Orion’s shoulders slumped slightly.

"A Divine Kingdom is the core of a Fourth-Stage Demigod’s power. It has its own laws," Thresh explained, his tone shifting to a lecture. "In special cases, before a Demigod fades or dies, they will fuse their will into the kingdom itself. They do it to prepare for resurrection, or to protect their descendants."

"Regardless of the reason, a Divine Kingdom like that is the hardest thing in existence to destroy or consume."