Titan King: Ascension of the Giant Chapter 1575 The Cursed Chalice

The fanatical fervor Vaelian displayed was uncannily like Orion's subordinate, Dirtclaw. It was the clear, undeniable mark of a religious extremist.

Just by looking at Vaelian, Orion could vividly picture his own utter ruin should he succumb to the corruption of The Chapter of the Profane.

"Giant King, it is now yours!"

Noticing Orion's complete silence, Vaelian wrenched himself free from his fanatical trance. He thrust The Chapter of the Profane forward, the dark-gold page hovering in the air before Lilith.

For just a fleeting moment, Orion managed to catch it. The instant Vaelian snapped back to awareness, a quick flash of raw terror and disgust flickered across his mismatched eyes.

In essence, The Chapter of the Profane was a perilous gift, a cursed chalice.

A heavy silence descended, stretching into a suffocating stillness. From the moment Vaelian presented the page, his gaze was fixed on Lilith. However, the phantom will dwelling within her remained utterly inert.

This silent contest of wills endured for an extended period, continuing until the sky outside turned dark and the magical lamps within the castle finally flickered to life.

"Since a treasure has been delivered directly to my doorstep, it would be impolite to refuse."

With those words, a towering, imposing figure materialized next to Lilith, snatching the suspended Chapter of the Profane out of the air.

At that precise instant, the overwhelming, mighty aura of the Giant King erupted outwards, sweeping across the City of Stoneheart and engulfing the entire southern region of the Titan Continent.

"The Giant King!"

"For My Lord!"

"For our homeland! For the Stoneheart Horde!"

The most fervent response to the Giant King's aura did not come from Vaelian, but from the bloodline warriors locked in battle and shedding blood upon the city walls. A colossal wave of roaring war cries ascended into the sky above the city, completely overwhelming the deafening shrieks of the swarm and escalating the brutal conflict to a frenzy.

"A remarkably wise decision, Giant King!" As Orion began to examine and envelop The Chapter of the Profane with his divine power, an expression of profound and deeply satisfied delight bloomed on Vaelian's grotesque features.

"Oh... I almost forgot. Merely possessing The Chapter of the Profane is not enough," Vaelian tilted his head. "The Giant King does not originate from our Profane Lands. The Divine Art requires a catalyst to establish itself."

Gazing at Vaelian's wide, beaming smile, Orion felt a sudden, intense impulse to strike him down. Deliberately withholding a crucial element of the plan was the most significant obstacle to any potential alliance.

As Vaelian spoke, a dark-gold fruit, roughly the size of a drake's egg and covered in jagged, twisting runes, materialized in his hand. Surprisingly, upon first glance, the fruit emanated a potent, almost familiar sense of kinship to Orion.

"This is a Fel Fruit. It functions as the physical vessel for the Divine Art inscribed upon The Chapter of the Profane. It is the ultimate key to integrating oneself with the world's cosmic laws."

"My apologies, Giant King, but I cannot present this to you at this moment," Vaelian smiled. "The next time we encounter each other, I promise to offer it to you with both hands." With a flick of his wrist, the Fel Fruit vanished into thin air.

Orion remained utterly silent. He advanced, closing the distance until he loomed directly above Vaelian, his gaze fixed upon that strange, repulsive face.

"If my understanding is correct, I was not your initial selection," Orion stated with icy coldness. "Prior to me, someone else presumably accepted your peculiar arrangement and acquired a page from The Chapter of the Profane. They likely even received a Fel Fruit, didn't they?"

Orion met Vaelian's eyes. The cloaked figure's gaze remained unaffected, showing complete indifference to Orion's deduction. If there was any discernible change, it was a new glint of genuine admiration in Vaelian's eyes—admiration for Orion's sharp, strategic intellect.

"No, no, no, Giant King. Your perception of us is fundamentally flawed," Vaelian chuckled. "While you were indeed not our primary candidate, rest assured, our first choice was merely meant to serve as your stepping stone."

Orion stayed quiet, though a subtle hint of uncertainty crossed his eyes. Vaelian, perfectly discerning the look, immediately elaborated.

"An Insect Queen like Moriphara possesses immense power, but she is also enshrouded in profound mystery. Is her true strength precisely as our intelligence indicates? Not necessarily." Vaelian's tone shifted to one of calculation. "Based on our current information, no one has ever actually witnessed the Insect Queen engage in combat herself. Consequently, a preliminary strike is absolutely essential!"

Orion understood the maneuver instantly. The supposed "first choice" to receive The Chapter of the Profane was merely a pawn, a guinea pig intended to trigger traps and gather crucial intel on Insect Queen Moriphara's true capabilities. The principle of knowing yourself and your enemy, a cornerstone of invincibility, was fully grasped by Vaelian and his faction.

"Giant King, I eagerly anticipate our next encounter!"

The cloaked Vaelian disappeared as swiftly and smoothly as he had appeared. Orion made no move to impede him; after all, the figure was but a phantom projection, hardly worth the effort to obliterate.

"Orion, what countermeasures should we implement?"

Lilith demonstrated remarkable astuteness. She had remained silent during Vaelian's presence but, now that the outsider was gone, avoided prying questions about Vaelian or The Chapter of the Profane. She recognized this cosmic game was far beyond her league. Instead, she immediately turned to practical matters, inquiring about the defensive preparations Orion deemed necessary.

Orion slowly shook his head, admitting he had no clear strategy either.

"Thank you for shouldering this burden," he said gently. Offering Lilith a brief word of solace, he dissolved back into a phantom will, retreating into the space between her brows.

...

Far to the west of the Titan Continent lies a profound, abyssal ocean. However, the churning, storm-ravaged waters were not teeming with native sea clans. Instead, a grotesque swarm of aquatic insectoids dominated the scene.

Aquatic abominations of every size imaginable infested every fathom of the sea, ruthlessly slaughtering the fleeing merfolk and sirens. It was a massacre of a single side, a systematic ethnic cleansing carried out by the deep-sea swarm.

Such a brutal, uncompromising purge typically followed an absolute defeat. And the one who had suffered this defeat was Kairon, the native Siren Demigod of the Titanion Realm.

Deep on the ocean floor, within a hidden, mystical palace.

Having been ambushed and overwhelmed by multiple insectoid Demigods, Kairon had completely depleted his accumulated faith energy and sustained grievous injuries. Had he not escaped with incredible speed, his demise on the battlefield would have been certain.

This was an absolute, suffocating dead end—a despair Kairon had never before experienced. Fortunately, just as he contemplated a spiteful, suicidal counterattack, a mysterious cloaked figure materialized within his palace, directly before his eyes.

"This is The Chapter of the Profane and a Fel Fruit. Together, they will serve as the vessel for your divine power laws, enabling you to seamlessly integrate into the cosmic fabric of this nascent world."

"Once you merge with the world's laws, you will gain the authority to resist the Insect Queen who is currently eroding them. It represents your sole opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of certain death."

"Should you succeed, you can usurp the Insect Queen, claim absolute dominion over this newborn world, and ascend to a level of power you've never dared to imagine."

The cloaked figure's words were not false. He understood better than anyone that when attempting to sway a cornered beast, absolute, stark honesty served as the most potent lure.

If Kairon could indeed vanquish Insect Queen Moriphara within the arena of cosmic laws, by leveraging The Chapter of the Profane, he could genuinely absorb Moriphara's divine laws and instantly seize control of half the world. At that juncture, whether he chose to advance or retreat, regardless of the faction he confronted, he would possess the absolute power to dictate his own destiny.

Kairon gazed intently at The Chapter of the Profane and the Fel Fruit hovering before the cloaked stranger. His eyes blazed with a desperate, unhinged fanaticism—the terrifying, unwavering obsession of a drowning man presented with a lifeline.

Consequently, when faced with an unknown stranger bearing unfamiliar artifacts, Kairon reacted entirely differently from Orion. He felt no trace of resistance or apprehension. While his inherent paranoia remained, it shattered like glass in the face of impending annihilation.