Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1422 Prison of the Deep

"Leonidas's performance was simply dreadful."

Amusement laced the Witch's voice. "Did he truly believe that hiding his soul aura and lowering his voice by an octave could deceive me? Faces might alter, but your speaking rhythm stays the same. Habits from long ago cling stubbornly."

Heh heh heh…

Her chuckles rang out freely, full of ridicule. From the instant she clashed with the Atlantis troops for the third occasion, she had spotted Leonidas right away.

"Regrettably, I must depart without further games," she murmured, her shape starting to fade. "Replacing this avatar costs a fortune, after all."

Kraken hadn't even stirred when she disappeared completely.

Paranoia defined the Witch. As soon as the air turned tense, she had set up her getaway path.

"Things have shifted. Details later."

Orion felt no shock that Kraken couldn't capture her. Suppression weighed on the Witch, true, but she proved elusive. He dispatched Kraken solely because the Dead Sea's rules ensured a full-powered Kraken would triumph mathematically—provided she didn't flee.

Orion extended his hand, touching Kraken's forehead with a finger. Into the mermaid's mental realm, he sent his Demigod soul projection.

Once the shift finished, a booming roar erupted from Orion's Abyssal Dreadfin body. He tore apart a teleportation scroll, twisting space around himself.

"Return to Atlantis now!"

Issuing that last directive, Orion faded from the Silverwood Realm.

Kraken blinked in confusion. The command lingered in his mind, yet it took a full minute for his thoughts to restart.

What occurred there?

Why had both Leonidas and Orion fled?

Confusion swirled, but faith in his blood brothers remained unshakable. He ordered the Atlantean troops to pull back and sped away through the water, fleeing the fight.

Soon after Kraken left, a huge ghostly image of a God appeared over the sea's top.

Blinding sacred glow poured from it, serving as a signal to summon back the souls of the Cult of Four and their remaining Paladins.

Yet the Dead Sea guarded its domain fiercely.

The dark waters heaved, forming a wave that ignored natural laws. It slammed against the ethereal God, breaking the image into specks of radiance and halting the Cult's soul retrieval ceremony.

The Cult of Four's invading army now stood stranded.

No longer mere liquid, the ocean formed a realm of its own. By releasing the Dead Sea, the Cetus Giants extended their lands and altered physical rules inside. Outsiders fell to their purge, yet this act locked the Giants within as well.

Foreign elements face rejection from the Dead Sea.

Sea Folk venturing from the depths face death.

Such rules governed this Divine Kingdom.

Fourth-Stage Demigods built Divine Kingdoms, bolstered by Divine Callings and unbreakable edicts. Merging with the Moon Sea turned the Dead Sea into what amounted to a Fourth-Stage power staking claim over the whole ocean as its private domain.

Destruction of the sacred image brought an odd, unnatural stillness to the sea's surface.

Under the surface, though, amid the oppressive blackness, battle continued fiercely. Vast stores sustained the Cult of Four. Suppression held them back, but they aimed to drain the Cetus Giants before yielding. Fueled by their species' united resolve, the Giants pressed on until no outsider's blood remained unspilled.

Emerald Dream Realm, Leonidas's Palace.

Orion's Abyssal Dreadfin avatar appeared to discover Leonidas and Kraken—actually Kraken's backup avatar—already relaxing on the balcony with beverages.

"Hulk, suppression skipped you. What made you bolt?"

A wine-filled goblet sailed from Leonidas's hand. Orion snatched it smoothly, reducing his enormous body to human scale before flopping onto a lounge chair.

"Skip the questions. The Divine Kingdom added a rule: 'Exit the sea, face death,'" Orion muttered, swigging deeply from the wine. "One aquatic avatar is all I possess. No way I'd let it bind permanently to Atlantis."

In that brief gap before the rule hardened across the area, Orion had slipped away. Delay would have trapped his Dreadfin shape.

"Does it truly qualify as a Divine Kingdom?" Leonidas inquired, twirling his wine. Doubt colored his tone—not toward Orion, but the idea itself. Fourth Stage eluded Leonidas still. His World Dragon form held a small realm, yet he hadn't shaped it into a proper Kingdom. Its workings puzzled him.

"Hold on," Kraken interrupted, eyes growing large. "Orion... does that mean my primary form stays locked in Current's Bend forever?"

Sudden understanding struck. Horror and incredulity filled his gaze as he glanced between Orion and Leonidas.

"Calm down, Squid," Leonidas chuckled, smacking his knee. "Merely your tentacle avatar. Think of it as replaceable. Death comes, it goes."

"Family binds us all. Sacrifice for the group, right? Hahaha!"

Laughter boomed from Leonidas. Orion gave a casual shrug, showing no regret. Precisely the strategy: embed the soul projection in Kraken's chief body for oversight, securing the prized Dreadfin elsewhere.

"Orion, that's sneaky!" Kraken pretended anger, but clear relief showed over his true essence's safety in the Dream Realm.

"Come on? No longer eyeing Current's Bend?" Orion joked.

"Er... sure, I want it," Kraken stuttered. Amassing supplies for Demigod ascension made surrendering a spot like Current's Bend unthinkable.

"Orion," Kraken continued, voice turning grave. "Can we truly keep control?"

Orion finished his wine and reclined, basking in the Dream Realm's gentle sun.

"My soul projection within you ensures we keep the land, barring any of the three Cetus Demigods advancing to Second Stage," Orion replied idly, lids shut. "Naturally, a cost applies. Fifty percent of Atlantis's Faith Energy harvest sustains my projection."

A broad, fawning smile spread across Kraken's features.

"Agreed! Orion, allow me to refill that. Try this fresh grilled fish!"

Kraken hurried to pour more into Orion's cup.

Essentially, their withdrawal handed over control. Leonidas and Orion handed Atlantis to Kraken on a platter. Remote oversight proved impossible, leaving Faith Energy shares to Kraken's honor.

As Kraken's guide, Leonidas claimed nothing. Orion's demand for half to uphold defenses mirrored a share of profits.

"Very well," Leonidas yawned, stretching until his joints cracked like bursts of flame. "Rest and relaxation calls. I'll seek a cozy cavern and slumber through several decades."

In a World Dragon's form, Leonidas's "rest" signaled deep hibernation.

"Brother, rest might evade you," Orion warned.

From his spatial ring, he drew two crystal spheres and lobbed them to Leonidas and Kraken.

"Eldoria's world. Foothold secured by me already."

Orion straightened, eyes sparkling. "Intel reveals a vast ocean awaiting as well."

"Details spare you, but ample waters exist for us three to divide fairly."

Honestly, the ocean stood as the sole slice Orion offered presently, though a generous slice it was.