Chapter 77: The Shadow’s Wings

The shining air was warm and soft as the two people were locked on each other without giving an inch.

Lightning cracked around Rain’s body like a bowstring drawn, and Orson watched her aura. With the system prompt, he realized he was not a match for her—but still, he was not backing down.

Rain looked at him, her eyes cold and unforgiving, lost to all emotions as lightning cracked around them. Orson watched, ready to move before anything happened.

A warm breeze blew through the island as it touched their skin, and her blue-black hair looked soft.

Orson reached inward to the system as he thought of the new blade in his hand, about to summon it. And as he did, something weird happened.

No sword appeared in his hands. Instead, his black eye that looked at Rain turned black as Orson’s body moved.

Nothing. The small moving Rain did not think and reacted as lightning flashed through where Orson was standing in an echo of a second before the light hit.

Orson’s eyes, which had turned as black as inky water, looked at her. Voices like a choir of wraiths started talking in his mind. Orson was not sure what was happening as all the voices choir into one sinister word:

Bat.

Before Orson could react, his shadow grew longer as two bat-like wings appeared from his back as the lightning hit. The wings moved, sending Orson up as the lightning crashed to where he had been.

Rain moved back, keeping a distance. This fight had been long coming for a while now. And this time, she was going to have her revenge.

Orson was shocked—relieved he was not hurt from the blast—but he was in the air. I mean, flying was not something new to him, but still. He looked down at the shadow which showed wings behind him. He tried to look back.

What was this?

Not surprised to be a weapon, he thought as he did. The dark wings melted as it entered Orson before Orson fell to the ground.

Aww, bastard sword. This was not what I was promised.

He thought as he tried to get up, but Rain was already in front of him again. But this time, the wings did not manifest as Rain punched Orson—but the hit did not come.

Barnabas was already in front of Orson, stopping the punch. He looked at Rain.

"Look, I know we are trapped here, but still—he is not even an Awakened. Do you really think he will survive?"

Rain moved back, shocked. But she could feel his energy. Wait—she looked at him again as she activated her Lightning Gaze to look at Orson. And saw the core of a Qi Gathering stage expert.

Although people called it a core, it was not just surging spiritual energy. You have to condense it into gas to enter the Foundation Realm.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorry, sir. I didn’t know War God would dare to enter a breach as a non-Awakened."

"War God?" Barnabas looked at her. "What do you mean by War God?"

Orson looked at them, his mind racing for a way to escape. "Well... you may not know this, but I know this guy. And I don’t know why, but anywhere he goes, war and ruin follows. So I call him Child of War. Or War God."

Barnabas looked at her. "Wait, you know him but you did not know he was not an Awakened?"

Rain smiled as she looked at Orson with a cold eye. "Well, let’s just say the last time I saw him was just that—the last time."

She turned toward the Saint. "But Saint, there is something I need your help with."

Rain looked sweet as she looked at the Saint with bright, harmless eyes. But Orson knew that look all too well. The bastard was plotting his downfall.

"Well, I heard something I am trying to understand, Saint Barnabas. The scavengers have been rumored to be normal humans who enter breaches."

Saint Barnabas nodded. "And also, we are after the weapon at the top, so it is not a surprise if a scavenger was found in the breach."

Orson looked at her. Wait—was she doing what I think she was doing?

Rain smiled and pointed. "The last time I saw him, he was a scavenger."

Rain smiled and pointed to Orson.

Orson pointed to himself. "Me? No, no, no, no. I am no scavenger."

But Rain shot back, "Oh, but do you want us to believe a human entered to his own death on his own? Really?"

Orson shot back, "Well, I am still not a scavenger, okay? I came to—"

Orson looked around before thinking and shot out, "I came to find someone."

Rain looked at him, her face showing skeptical hint. "Really? Who could you have been looking for to force you to enter a breach?"

Orson smiled. "Well, you. Who else? Even risking my life to be here, and you are pushing me back. Like I mean nothing."

Orson touched his chest, playing the same game as Rain. But Saint Barnabas just sighed.

"Look, I don’t really care what you are for now. I just need help with this breach. If we ever want to get out of here alive, you two can help and not just fight."

Rain just sighed. "Fine."

Orson nodded and looked back at her.

Saint Barnabas just sighed. "Try to get along, okay? Please."

With that, the Saint walked away and looked up. He was still having that strange feeling that something was not right so he looked up jumped toward the sky to find out what.

---

The moment the expanding dome transformed the ocean depths into breathable air, all hell broke loose.

Contractors with weaker class tethers collapsed, screaming as the sheer, cosmic vastness of the Titan’s presence shattered their minds. Just looking at the primordial beast was enough to ignite the transformation—their flesh cooking into molten stone, light-fire wings erupting from their backs as they turned on their own allies, tearing through the crowd in a chaotic frenzy of teeth and fire.

Above the madness, the Burning Man hovered silently.

Only an Indigo-Class calamity possessed the terrifying ability to warp lesser beings into miniature manifestations of itself simply through its glare. Steven had planned this meticulously; he had gone to extreme lengths to ensure the Breach Lord of this realm was an Indigo-Class entity. The rewards for slaying a monster of this tier were unimaginable—they wouldn’t just receive standard system drops; they might secure multiple Trial Keys to unlock higher domain paths.

Standing inside his protected array, Steven watched the transformation sweep across the islands, a dark, triumphant smile spreading across his face.

Yet high above, the chained Titan remained motionless. The immense fire core in its chest pulsed slowly, radiating waves of oppressive pressure as its two miniature-sun eyes burned against the dark abyss.

It paid no attention to the slaughter below. Instead, the Titan turned its blinding gaze toward the central temple—staring down at the glowing stone structure with a strange, hollow focus, as if a long-buried memory from its forgotten mortal life was trying to surface through the fire.