Y'Shaarj

If there was one thing in nature that living creatures feared most, the answer was probably thunder. Natural thunderstorms were terrifyingly powerful; no creature could withstand a single strike.

Now, accompanied by the furious shouts of two Keepers who wielded the power of storms, the long-silent dark clouds finally bared their fangs. Massive bolts of lightning, each as thick as a barrel, came crashing down upon the ground.

"Damn it, High Keeper! Prepare the magical barrier! It looks like we can't quite control where they land!" Thorim and Hodir suddenly shouted in unison.

"You really know how to make trouble for me!" Hearing their warning and watching the lightning begin to rain down without pause, Ra shouted in every direction:

"Everyone, gather together!"

"Loken! Mimiron! Spread out and raise magical shields! Protect our army!"

"Freya, think of something! Use your plants!"

"Pantheon above! This is completely insane!"

The Keepers desperately used every ability at their disposal to withstand the lightning they had brought forth. The Titan-Forged sheltering beneath their various defenses were fortunate. Compared to those elite N'raqi troops, they at least had cover and did not have to face the storm of lightning head-on.

As the primary targets of this thunderstorm, the N'raqi perfectly demonstrated what it meant to take a massive hit with their faces. They had nowhere to hide in this destructive storm. They could only flee desperately across the battlefield or attempt to attack the barriers raised by the Keepers. Naturally, all of it was futile. All they received were the cold, mocking gazes of the Titan-Forged behind those barriers.

At last, the thunderstorm subsided. The entire battlefield fell silent, blackened scorch marks left everywhere by the lightning strikes.

A gigantic vine, its surface completely charred black, unfurled. Tyr was the first to emerge from within and survey the surroundings.

After inspecting the battlefield and casually smashing a still-twitching N'raqi to death with his hammer, Tyr shouted all around him:

"Pantheon above, we did it! Those damned things were struck by lightning so badly I can barely recognize them!"

"We won!"

The Titan-Forged emerged one after another from the enormous barrier field. Looking at the battlefield, now utterly unfamiliar, they could not help feeling a lingering chill of fear.

As he carefully studied the battlefield, Keeper Loken patted Thorim on the shoulder uneasily and said to him:

"Hey, brother, that lightning you summoned was truly frightening. Listen, I don't want to get hit by something like that."

"Oh, of course not, brother. Lightning is my blade, and my blade will never be turned against my own brother. I promise." Thorim spoke with an equally solemn expression.

Odyn, standing nearby, heard their exchange and said sternly, "Loken, do not doubt your brother. We are all creations of the Titans. We could never slaughter one another, so your concern is an insult to the Titans. Watch your words!"

"My mistake, Prime Designate. I will reflect upon my error. Glory to the Pantheon!"

"Yes, all glory to the Pantheon!"

"Enough, my brothers. Do not dwell on these minor accidents. I was the one who told Thorim and Hodir to create that lightning, so do not blame them." High Keeper Ra put an end to the pointless argument. "So I bear responsibility as well. I did not know that lightning in this world would grow so much more powerful so quickly."

"But what comes next is the most important part." Ra looked toward the distant towering mountain, his voice somewhat grave. "Y'Shaarj. The first Old God we will face, and also the strongest. This is our greatest challenge."

"The wisdom of the Titans guides us, and the courage of the Titans makes us steadfast!" Tyr, endowed with valor and courage, was the first to let out an inspiring battle cry.

"Yes. Our mission is to destroy these things. No difficulty can stop us!" Prime Designate Odyn was equally brimming with confidence.

"The storm will tear him to pieces!" Thorim and Hodir declared together.

"Life can no longer tolerate this corruption. We must destroy him." Even gentle Freya's face was now filled with killing intent.

"That's right. The wisdom granted to us by the Titans is not something these chaotic Old Gods can comprehend. They will fall before our wisdom!" Mimiron said.

"My magic is just as deadly. They are no match for us!" Loken was equally confident.

"Excellent." Ra looked at his self-assured brothers, swept out a hand, and declared, "Then let us depart and crush these disgusting creatures in their own lair!"

"Wow, these little ones look awfully confident. What do you think, Norgannon?" Vanidak was currently reclining in a strange chair he had made himself, sprawled inside it in an equally strange posture as he asked Norgannon, who had come to watch.

"Yes, they are very confident. They have just won a perfect victory, and that gives them reason for confidence." Norgannon carefully watched the image before him, as though something had occurred to him. He added, "But Loken was acting a little strangely earlier. Titan-Forged should not have thoughts of doubting their companions. That is highly abnormal."

"Oh? Is that so? Then why do you all keep doubting me?" Vanidak fixed Norgannon with a sharp stare.

Realizing that he had stepped into a massive pit with that remark, Norgannon promptly used his ultimate technique, I can't hear you, and ignored Vanidak's resentful gaze without mentioning it again.

Turning back to the Keepers, once they led their army toward that mountain, the closer they drew to the mountain Y'Shaarj had become, the more waves of fear gradually welled up within them. The bravest Keepers had not noticed it yet, but the observant Loken suddenly realized that the eyes of the other Titan-Forged they led had become somewhat abnormal. From time to time, a trace of cowardice appeared in their gazes as they looked at the mountain. This was completely unlike the valiant Titan-Forged.

"Ra, something is wrong. The other Titan-Forged seem to be afraid of something!" Loken hurriedly warned High Keeper Ra.

"Yes, Loken, I noticed as well. But that is perfectly normal. Those enormous Old Gods are indeed powerful opponents. It is understandable for the Titan-Forged to feel some fear within their hearts," Ra replied.

"No, something is wrong. Under normal circumstances, Titan-Forged should not be capable of feeling fear. It never happened even when we fought the Elemental Lords!" Mimiron voiced his opinion as well.

"All right, brothers and sisters, but as I see it, none of that matters. What we need to do now is charge beneath that mountain and kill Y'Shaarj. That will solve the fear within our army, will it not?" After hearing Mimiron's opinion, Ra gave his command.

"Uh... that is... a good plan. Your will be done!"

"Oh? Ra is certainly full of confidence. But something is... heh heh." Vanidak, who had witnessed it all, did not take it to heart. Norgannon beside him, however, furrowed his brow even more deeply after seeing everything unfold.

Though the mountain looked close enough to exhaust a horse, after marching for some time, the Titan-Forged finally reached the foot of the mountain Y'Shaarj had become with their speed. Gazing at the mountain radiating the power of the Void, Ra's eyes turned grave.

Just as the many Titan-Forged were preparing to consider their next move, a fallen, corrupting voice suddenly rang out within their minds. Yet it was not Vanidak's familiar voice. The owner of this voice was Y'Shaarj.

"Ah~, it is you, invaders? You are the ones who came all this way, destroyed my palaces, and slaughtered my people. And now you stand before me. What do you want?"

Hearing the voice in his mind, Odyn roared at the mountain, "Demon! Put away your pathetic, filthy tricks! We have come to end you. Your corruption of this world ends here!"

"End me? Oh? That is truly the best joke I have ever heard. You weak little creature are quite amusing!" The fallen voice rang out again.

"A joke? When I sever your head, you will learn whether this joke is funny!" The powerful Keeper warrior Tyr gripped his warhammer tightly and prepared to charge.

"Oh? Is that so? Defeating a few of my servants has filled you with confidence? Do you not even know who gave you that confidence? Arrogant little things!" The corrupting voice abruptly turned vicious. Immediately afterward, black mist began to surge wildly from the bodies of the many Titan-Forged behind the Keepers. The black mist gathered above their heads, eventually forming goat-like heads. The Titan-Forged burdened with that strange fallen black mist wore terror in their eyes as they crouched upon the ground, trembling.

"Do you still have confidence now?" The voice was filled with mockery.

"You disgusting bastard! I will kill you!" Odyn's eyes blazed with nearly tangible fury as he seized his weapon and charged toward the mountain. Tyr behind him also let out an enraged battle cry and launched himself forward.

"No! Odyn! Tyr! Come back!" Ra discovered that before he had even seen Y'Shaarj's true form, his forces were already beginning to fall apart. He turned toward Loken, who had inherited magical power among the Keepers, and urgently asked:

"Loken, think of something! This is very wrong!"

Loken's gaze was darting everywhere. At Ra's words, his entire body jolted, and he hurriedly replied:

"Ah? Oh, think of something. I will, I'll think of something. With my magical power... I... do I really have a way? Can I really... find a way?"

As black mist gradually began to emerge from Loken's body as well, a wave of horror rose in Ra's heart, but he quickly suppressed it. Looking at the Titan-Forged army around him, already on the verge of collapse, and the Keepers thrown into all manner of trouble, Ra did not know how to respond for the moment.

The Keepers had finally fallen into crisis as they faced their first great challenge!

Vanidak stood before the image in the Astral Realm, watching the Keeper armies in the projection suddenly collapse. His expression was grave as he said to Norgannon, whose brow had long since knotted tightly:

"All right, brother. These little ones seem to be becoming... rather wrong now. I think I can see it."

Norgannon spoke as well. "The black mist on them, that power, is very wrong."

"Of course. Something shadow-like like that should not be surging from Titan-Forged, much less..."

"It resembles a goat."

"Seven-Eyed Black Goat? Fiend of a Thousand Heads?"

"Interesting!"