Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1375 Praying

The Demigods showed scant concern over which leader guided the flock. They preferred to remain neutral, observing as the beasts rammed heads until they perished.

Regrettably, Kaelen dwelled right within that enclosure.

"Mother, I must depart. This is the chance I've awaited."

Perched high on the battlements of Gossamer Reach, Sophia remained at her son's side, hearing the gale scream against the rocks. Ever since the Dark Butterfly clan captured this fortress, Kaelen had formed a routine of lingering here, gazing toward the distant skyline.

Sophia recognized that expression well. It belonged to someone whose grand aspirations overflowed the confines of his birthplace.

The issue boiled down to this: Kaelen hadn't ascended to Arch Lord status yet.

From the moment they claimed the Reach, Sophia had served as the force restraining him. It wasn't due to any absence of desire for growth in her—or their kind. As a Broodmother, the urge to seize additional lands and assets ran deep in her very essence. She craved it more than anybody.

Yet dread acted as a mighty chain.

Arch Lords infested the Chaos Continent, with the unreachable Demigods towering even higher. Sophia dreaded that releasing Kaelen's reins would mean her son never came back. Thus, she quelled her own urges and stifled his, compelling them both to stay hidden.

Yet the more she restrained him, the fiercer his resistance grew.

Now, she sensed his determination humming in the atmosphere, akin to an approaching tempest.

"The Silver-Eyed Clan has devoured the remnants of Emeric's domain," Kaelen stated, pivoting to confront her. His gaze blazed with resolve mingled with entreaty. "They've pinned him in his den. Escape is no longer an option for him."

His fingers tightened on the stone barrier, turning his knuckles pale. "Mother, I need to witness it. Emeric's end must come from my strike."

His tone rang like forged metal.

At that instant, Sophia grasped the truth. Arch Lord Emeric represented more than a foe; he embodied a thorn lodged in Kaelen's thoughts. Kaelen sought not merely triumph; he required extracting that thorn personally.

Sophia had overlooked it earlier, viewing existence through her own lens. She lingered at the pinnacle of Legend rank. To her, an Arch Lord posed an innate hunter—best evaded, not pursued. When Emeric loomed as a danger, she adapted by enduring, concealing herself in Phoenix Butterfly Ridge while hoping for endurance.

Kaelen differed entirely. He bore the lineage of the Stoneheart Titan. Notions of inferiority found no place in his makeup. Youthful and ignited with passion, he harbored the bold hubris that let a warrior challenge a deity with his weapon.

Slaying Emeric had fueled his purpose since he comprehended the peril. Now, armed with strength, no barrier—not even his mother—could halt him.

Without ending Emeric, peace would forever elude him.

"Forgive me," Sophia murmured, her words laden with remorse.

Kaelen's eyes widened in astonishment.

"My fears have kept you chained," she confessed. "The Dark Butterfly race... we remain few in number. Unable to bolster your dreams, I burdened you solely with our endurance."

"Mother, no need." Kaelen's stance eased. "This path is mine to take. Under my guidance, our people will ascend. That's my vow."

Noting the regret etched on her features, Kaelen experienced a surge of futility. All his efforts aimed to spare her further concealment. That encompassed eliminating the Arch Lord whose menace had driven her into seclusion for so long.

"I vow to you, I'll return," Kaelen assured softly, his voice turning tender. "I've grown powerful enough. I can safeguard myself."

Sophia examined him intently for what seemed an eternity. At last, she breathed out, shedding the strain she'd borne for years.

"Depart," she urged. "I'll remain here, anticipating your homecoming."

Her hand clasped his arm. "Simply return to me. Nothing more I seek."

A radiant grin lit Kaelen's visage.

...

After three days, Kaelen commanded a team of supreme butterfly-assassins—experts in concealment and disguise—beyond the portals of Gossamer Reach, vanishing into the untamed lands.

Solitary on the elevated barrier, Sophia fixed her gaze on the point of his disappearance.

In her grasp, she held a petite figurine. It portrayed a being with four heads and eight limbs—the Stoneheart Titan.

"Orion... I implore you," she breathed, her tone quivering. "Guard Kaelen. Ensure all proceeds without hitch. Please, guide our son back unharmed."

"Orion, I beg..."

She echoed the plea repeatedly, squeezing the effigy until her digits blanched. Religion had never defined her, but devotion claimed her now.

Kaelen had sculpted this likeness himself, drawing from the lineage echoes in his veins. In reality, when Kaelen fully shifted, he mirrored his father closely. For ages, Sophia had beheld the carving and envisioned her offspring.

Today, however, it evoked the Giant King.

She beseeched the heritage, yearning for the Titan's might to defend her offspring against the world's harshness.

Titanion Realm, Stoneheart City

Seated upon his seat of power, Orion seemed lost in slumber.

Fatigue eluded him. He processed. For a Demigod, "rest" typically meant a meditative phase where they transformed the wild, turbulent essence of Faith into pure Divine Power. It resembled immersing the mind in an endless sea of static and refining it into might.

Abruptly, Orion's eyes flew wide.

He extended his arm, fingers closing on nothingness. From the unseen sea of devotion, he drew forth one precise thread.

The force gathered in his hand, shaping a misty, see-through vision. Though indistinct, Orion identified the form without delay.

"Sophia?"

He scowled while observing the illusion of the woman beseeching atop the walls.

"Why does she beseech for Kaelen?"

Confusion gripped Orion. Kaelen stood as his immediate heir through blood. Should the youth face lethal peril, Orion's lineage would alert him. He'd detect the bond rupture or weaken, enabling descent through the vein to act.

Yet his instincts confirmed Kaelen thrived without issue. His vitality flared vividly and constant.

Still, Sophia invoked with the fervor of a parent convinced her child marched toward doom.

"This feels amiss," Orion grumbled.

He shut his eyes once more, yet this round, he avoided the devotion sea. Instead, he directed his awareness piercing into the lineage tie, extending through the emptiness to locate his heir.