Max activated Shadow Slave, knowing he would need everything.
[Shadow Slave – Activated]
[-200 MP]
[MP: 850/1,050]
The two demonic entities erupted from the darkness, immediately attacking the Titan. Their claws scraped against its stone-metal hide, leaving shallow scratches but dealing minimal damage.
-87 HP! (Slave #1)
-94 HP! (Slave #2)
-89 HP! (Slave #1)
The Titan's health bar barely moved. 44,730/45,000 HP
Night manifested fully, its Shadowforged Blade striking at the Titan's leg joints, looking for weak points.
-234 HP!
-267 HP!
Still barely a dent.
"Max, we will help!" Thomas said, pulling out his woodworking axe.
"NO! Take your family and run back to the ruins, find a way out! Climb the walls if you have to!"
"We can't climb with Liam—he's too young!"
"Then HIDE! Get behind cover and wait for it to pass!"
But the Titan had already fixed its glowing red eyes on the family. For whatever reason—maybe the artifacts they'd collected triggered some protective instinct, maybe they'd wandered into its territory—it had marked them as prey.
It lunged forward with terrifying speed, ignoring Max and his summons entirely.
"LIAM! ELENA! RUN!" Thomas pushed them toward a cluster of boulders nearby.
Max Shadow Stepped directly into the Titan's path, Voidreaver raised. "OVER HERE! FIGHT ME!"
He struck with everything he had, aiming for its face. The legendary blade bit deep into the Titan's eye socket.
CRITICAL HIT!
-2,847 HP!
The Titan roared in pain and fury, finally turning its attention to Max. Its massive hand swept toward him like a battering ram.
Max tried to Shadow Step away, but the cooldown wasn't finished. The attack connected.
-430 HP!
[MaxThorne: 16/680 HP]
Even with the game's dulling mechanic, the pain was enough to make Max groan in pain. He was launched backward, slamming into the canyon wall.
His vision blurred, his health bar critical, but he saw that Thomas and Elena had made it to the boulders with Liam. They were hidden, at least for the moment.
Max forced himself to stand, drinking a health potion with shaking hands.
[Health Potion consumed]
[+200 HP]
[MaxThorne: 216/680 HP]
Not enough. Not nearly enough.
Night and the shadow slaves continued their assault, but the Titan's attention was split now. It would strike at Max, then turn toward where the family was hiding, as if deciding which threat to eliminate first.
"Keep it focused on me!" Max shouted at his summons through their bond. Draw its attention! Don't let it reach them!
Night responded immediately, abandoning defense entirely to strike at the Titan's damaged eye. The shadow slaves clawed at its legs with manic intensity.
The Titan roared again and swept its arm in a wide arc. One of the shadow slaves was caught by the attack and crushed against the canyon wall.
[Shadow Slave #1: DESTROYED]
[DETONATION: 300 AOE DAMAGE]
The explosion staggered the Titan, but only barely. 41,453/45,000 HP
Max was running out of options. The recent level-up had given him a massive mana pool, something he was proud of just hours ago. But fighting monsters here and there and keeping Night manifested for almost the entire day had been constantly eating away at his reserves.
That's why he'd been urging Thomas to return to camp. But Thomas was obsessed, his eyes clouded by the visions of fortune and workshops. And seeing Elena smile, watching Liam's excitement as they explored together, Max... let it go.
He'd been a fool.
His health was critical. Night was taking massive damage with each passing second.
And then he saw Liam peek out from behind the boulders, his small face pale with terror, looking for his father.
"BROTHER!" the boy's voice cracked with fear.
"Liam, stay hidden!" Thomas hissed, but it was too late.
The Titan's head snapped toward the sound, its red eyes locking onto the small figure.
And it charged.
"NO!" Thomas burst from cover, running to put himself between his son and the monster.
Elena screamed—a sound of pure terror and desperation.
Max Shadow Stepped, the cooldown finally ready, appearing directly in front of Thomas. "GET BEHIND ME!"
He raised Voidreaver, activated Abyssal Edge—his last desperate gambit.
[ABYSSAL EDGE – ACTIVATED]
[The next 3 attacks ignore all armor and deal pure damage.]
The Titan's fist came down like a meteor.
Max struck upward with Voidreaver, the blade piercing through the descending hand. Void energy erupted, dealing massive damage.
-4,247 HP! (Pure damage—critical hit)
The Titan's fist was deflected, just barely, thrown off course by the impact. Instead of crushing Max and Thomas together, it slammed into the ground beside them.
But the shockwave was devastating.
[SHOCKWAVE]
-290 HP! (Max) dead
-210 HP! (Thomas)
Max's avatar died instantly, his vision going dark.
But Thomas—Thomas was still alive. Barely. He had been knocked back by the shockwave, his health critical but not zero.
[Thomas Clearwater: 20/350 HP]
From the darkness of death, waiting to respawn, Max could still see through Night's perspective. He watched helplessly as events unfolded.
The Titan turned toward where Thomas had fallen. Night was trying to intervene, but the shadow warrior was nearly destroyed, its health at 87/980. The remaining shadow slave was attacking frantically, but its damage was meaningless.
Thomas struggled to his feet, blood running down his face from a wound on his forehead. His axe was gone, lost in the impact. He was defenseless.
And behind him, Liam stood frozen in terror, unable to move or run.
Elena was screaming, trying to reach them, but she was too far away.
The Titan raised its fist for the killing blow.
Thomas looked back at his son and their eyes met.
He smiled. A sad, gentle smile that conveyed more emotions than words could.
He didn't run. Didn't try to save himself. He stood his ground, placing himself between the monster and his child one final time.
The Titan's fist came down.
Thomas closed his eyes.
bam
The impact was brutal. Thomas's body was driven into the ground with crushing force. His health bar didn't just deplete—it shattered, the UI element literally breaking apart like glass.
[Thomas Clearwater: DEAD]
[Permanent Death—NPC Status]
His body crumpled, broken, lifeless. And in the moment of impact, there was a sound—not the crunch of stone or of flesh, but something else. Something that sounded almost like a sigh, like air leaving lungs for the last time.
The Titan, satisfied that the threat was eliminated, straightened. It looked around once more, decided the area was secure, and began walking away.
It left behind devastation.
[RESPAWN IN: 15 seconds]
Max counted every second, his real-world hands clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
The moment he respawned at base camp, he didn't even check his equipment durability or death penalties. He just ran.
Summoned Night the instant the cooldown allowed. Shadow stepped repeatedly to cover distance faster, burning through his MP recklessly.
He reached the canyon in four minutes—four minutes that felt like hours.
The Titan was gone.
And there, in the center of the killing ground, Max found them.