I was about ready to feel relief at having an at least temporary ally until she unexpectedly tossed me her staff, the armament around which instantly vanished upon touching my hand. 

She looked into my eyes expectantly. 

Taking a deep breath, I looked back at her with only a sigh, raising my eyebrows as if to say, “Really?”.

She nodded in response.

We stood in silence, only looking at each other for the next ten seconds. 

It was about then that the outline of her window vanished, immediately after which she burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna leave you to fight that thing alone. Supposedly, there could’ve been Gods spying on us as long as that message thing was open? I don’t really understand it myself, but that’s irrelevant for now”

The titan continued to stand still, eyeing us in a suspicious manner as if it were still contemplating whether or not to attack.

“I’m sure you could tell, but I’m not the greatest martial nor weapons fighter. My role in battles is as a ‘support mage’ back in the Snow Guild. You’ll see what I mean soon. Now, do you know how to operate a magetech spearstaff?”

I stared at her with a baffled expression. She had mentioned this ‘Snow Guild’ twice now, which I could only assume was some faction meant to be of significance. But magetech? I was previously able to garner that her staff was special in some way, yet even the mere concept of combining mana with technology was baffling. I began wondering how advanced the outside world was compared to Hankawa before brushing the thought aside.

I felt a brief zap of energy pass through the air. I began looking around to see if anything was amiss, yet our surroundings appeared completely normal. Yukiko didn’t seem to have noticed anything as she continued to observe me, waiting for an answer to her earlier question. It was nothing more than a gut feeling after that zap, but I could tell something was definitely wrong.

Without warning, the titan began roaring out, aggressively striking at the earth and trees around it. It desperately grabbed at its own core, trying to rip it out of its own body. It was in tremendous pain. The red of its corrupted energy was stained even darker as rocky growths spread across its body from the core. Something or someone seemed to be trying to hijack its mind and alter its strength even further.

“Kill them”

A chilling voice rang through the air- No, it’d be more accurate that the voice penetrated directly into our minds. 

Unlike the undetected zap from before, Yukiko was definitely able to hear the voice.

“What the hell was that..?”

The titan’s pained cries died out as its body went limp, nearly falling forward before stabilizing itself on all fours and charging towards us like a rabid animal.

“Stand back”

I held out my arm to block her advances and stepped forward.

“Wait! I haven’t even taught you how to use it yet!”

“There's no need for that”

I had already seen how she used it before to fight me. Normally, such a brief observation wouldn’t be enough for me to learn anything, especially regarding armed combat. However, there was ‘something else’ that turned my gut feeling into pure confidence.

I turned to face a message window that had appeared beside me a few moments prior.

[ The Tainted Bloodlust, War God Ares has chosen you as their Prelude.

1. Should you choose to accept, you will be granted a < Blessing > ability and two < Conditional > abilities.

2. As a Prelude, you may grow to channel and spread the legacy of your backing god

3. Your backing god may use your physical body to descend to the mortal realm ]

I already innately understood the meaning of the first point. The ‘Blessing’ ability was likely one similar to ‘Blessing of Aeolus’, meaning it would give me a temporary enhanced state before going on cooldown. Meanwhile, the ‘Conditional’ abilities were likely similar to my other two that only activated while in a specific blessing state. Given the tales I had read of Ares’ feats, I could easily predict the types of abilities that’d be granted.

While the second point was more of an obvious addition to the implications of the first point, it was the third that concerned me the most. I had read multiple accounts of instances in which gods descended to human bodies, taking over their mind and forcing them to do their bidding until their bodies melted from divine energy. However, I had no qualms with accepting these terms due to another message that accompanied the first.

[ Your < Title > prevents gods from descending to your body ]

During Yukiko’s introduction, I had tried asking the system to display my title, but I was only met with an error stating I didn’t yet have the authority to view that information. Regardless of this immunity, I had still been hoping to avoid making such a commitment.

“I accept”

My words were addressed both to the message and my unknown aggressor’s challenge to kill me. 

[ You have become a Prelude to one backing god! ]

[ You have obtained the Blessing of Ares! ]

[ You have obtained Weapons Mastery (Lv. 0) and Pain Nullification (Lv. 0)! ]

I spun the staff in my hands with a flourish, sending a spark of mana into the air from the tip.

[ Blessing of Ares has been consumed. Duration remaining: 1:00 ]

I felt strength consolidating throughout my body.

[ The criteria for Weapons Mastery (Lv. 0) and Pain Nullification (Lv. 0) have been met. You are temporarily able to use Weapons Mastery (Lv. 0) and Pain Nullification (Lv. 0)! ]

Scenes of blood-soaked battlefields flashed through my mind. I understood how to use this weapon.

I outstretched my arm and traced my index and middle fingers along the rod of the staff, releasing a chord-like pang of mana from the instrument of battle.

As soon as my fingers passed over the compartment, mana rushed forth and enveloped the tip of the staff in a shining, ebbing spearhead.

From behind me, I heard Yukiko muttering to herself, “...He figured it out..? This guy must be a combat genius… then again, he did defeat that beast the first time-”

With a shout, I charged down the oncoming beast as it used all four limbs to leap into the air.

Boom! The spearstaff collided with its arms midair, showering me in sparks of mana as I leveraged the staff’s length and durability to swing it over my head.

[ An incomplete analysis of the target has been completed ]

< “Tainted Titan-type” | Rank 6.5 Threat | Unstable | Frenzied | Highly Durable | ??? >

So that’s how much stronger it’s gotten. Its speed was without a doubt multiple times faster than any ordinary titan, now moving and striking much more like a deranged wolf.

Our attacks collided over and over, its arms seemingly sustaining no damage from each exchange. 

[ Duration Remaining: 0:45 ]

By now, Yukiko, with overlapped outstretched palms, had closed her eyes and stood in deep concentration. A flurry of mana was gathering in her hands. 

The titan seemed to be ever so slightly growing faster throughout our clashes. 

Meanwhile, I could feel my fatigue and weariness from prolonged mana usage growing as bruises and cuts continued to accumulate on my body. However, the burden of these was greatly reduced due to ‘Pain Nullification’. Nevertheless, the sustained damage was gradually taking effect.

The titan could sense it had the upper hand. 

[ Duration Remaining: 0:30 ]

Each clash between the spearstaff’s armament and the titan’s hardened body released a burst of energy that by now were kicking up dust clouds capable of obscuring my vision.

I glimpsed a flash of red before a large arm struck me from my side, sending me hurtling into one of the ruin’s structures. The pain from the debris falling onto me wasn’t able to be completely blocked by my ability.

The titan was hurriedly racing towards me as I used the spearstaff to aid myself up. I still had about 20 seconds left. Damn it. I had been hoping to finish the job with purely the abilities granted by Ares, but it seemed doing so would now be impossible. A barely eased pain seized my chest as I called back a familiar power.

[ You have activated Mana Manipulation (Lv. 1) and Weaving (Lv. 1)! ]

As if molding molten steel, I shaped and sharpened the armament on the spearstaff into a refined blade while the threads from weaving encircled my right arm. There was a sudden burst of mana in the distance as I emerged from the rubble and clearing smoke.

Yukiko’s aura had largely grown, encircling a large area with a gentle white tint.

The titan was now moving considerably slower than before, a dampening energy surrounding each of its movements. 

She nodded towards me with a confident gleam in her eyes. 

I smiled back before rushing back into combat, my threads of mana sharing the burden of every blow and strengthening the potency of each strike. I quickly found that it wasn’t only the titan’s speed that was suppressed, but its overall durability as well. Every strike was pushing it backwards and shaking its balance, some even being able to shallowly cut into its body. 

[ Time Remaining: 0:10 ]

It was still moving too quickly for me to create a proper opening towards its core. I still needed to create a larger gap in our overall strengths. 

The titan also began showing signs of such desperation, its frenzied movements beginning to break through Yukiko’s suppression.

[ Trait, Adaptability (Lv. 2) is blossoming towards a new understanding! ]

What? Surprisingly, I began feeling a strong affinity towards mana that wasn’t my own. Rather, I seemed to be attuning to Yukiko’s mana blanketing the battlefield. 

[ Your attribute has temporarily shifted to Snow ]

For a brief moment, I glimpsed the shadow of a figure wielding an unknown technique of blinding speed against a horde of aggressors. I didn’t need to know what that technique was, because for a split second, I was able to comprehend it.

The titan’s arms were preparing to crush me from both sides. If I was too slow, I’d be blocked from the titan’s core and my empowered state would expire. If I continued at my current speed, I’d be crushed to death. The only choice was to move faster.

A foreign technique flooded my body as my aura changed to pure white.

Yukiko began shouting in surprise.

“Wait, no, that technique- Thats-!”

My surroundings seemed to vanish for an instant before returning to my field of vision. I had accelerated beyond the titan’s attack and now was just within range of its core. Channeling all my strength into my right arm, I swung the spearstaff towards the core.

[ Blessing of Ares has been exhausted. Time until recharge: 48:00:00 ]

Excruciating pain consumed every muscle in my body.

[ Your condition is extremely severe! All abilities have been forcibly deactivated! ]

I felt my consciousness fade as I blacked out. The mana-sustained speartip had vanished just a centimeter away from its core. I had been too reliant on the blessings of the gods and could no longer wield the spearstaff.

I snapped back to my senses at what I believed to be just moments later. I can't give up now.

The titans eye was staring me down, just ahead of my face.

If I could just strike at it one more time.

As feeling slowly crept back into my body, I felt a searing pain melt into my right shoulder. Looking down, I noticed that the titan was holding my body up off the ground using one of its tendrils, which was deeply impaled into my shoulder. My hand was still desperately clinging to the spearstaff. 

I could hear Yukiko screaming something at me off in the distance, but her words sounded blurry and distant. I glimpsed her hurriedly running towards me in the corner of my eye.

“No, you fool, stay back!”, was what I wanted to say, but only a hoarse cough came out of my mouth.

Each movement of my body caused the tendril to dig even deeper into my flesh. 

The pain was agonizing and my body was trembling, so why hadn’t I given up yet? Why wouldn’t I let go of the rod and fade away? Just what was my motive here?

I saw what looked like a shadowy figure of myself rise from the titan’s back and smirk at me with a provocative glare. Was it a hallucination? Was my motive to kill that guy? To reach vengeance for deaths of those I couldn’t shed a tear for? Just what was I trying to protect, to prove?

My muscles gradually began to relax. Yes, I would let go of everything tying me to this world.

I strained my eyes to look towards Yukiko one last time, her face filled with genuine compassion, pleading for me to move. It was surprising what kind of bond you could forge fighting alongside someone for just a minute.

I closed my eyes. What are you even fighting for? It was a question that seemed to come from both myself and that guy.

I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings, my pain, everything. 

“What I’m fighting for is none of your business”

I felt color and sound return to the world.

“-Kaito, run, hit it, just do something! I’ll create an-”

[ Warning! The action you are attempting is- ]

A fiery warmth was just within my grasp, pulsing with a burning desire to fight.

[ Aether Awareness (Lv. 0) is rapidly developing! ]

[ Aether Awareness (Lv. 0) has turned into Aether Manipulation (Lv. 1)! ]

[ You have forcefully activated  Aether Manipulation (Lv. 1)! ]

My right arm became engulfed in a bright rising pyre of azure flames.

“Spiritburner, heed my call”

The tendril, burned by the flames of my aether, rapidly pulled itself back into the titan’s body. The shadow disappeared just as quickly. Threatened and enraged, the titan unleashed a deafening roar.

My muscles felt like they were being melted on the spot, yet I had never felt such control and depth within my movements.

As my body fell from the air, I took one final look at the titan before me.

And with the force of a striking tempest, I threw the burning spear with a final swing.

The bright embers vanished as my mind and sight fell into an embracing darkness. Or rather, someone’s arms had caught me.