Chapter 202: Only One Attempt Remains
Fortunately, the temple’s interior was vast.
Had the ceiling been any lower, Luke wouldn’t have been able to use this technique at all.
The Origin Titan tilted his shattered face, observing the strange arrangement with growing curiosity.
What kind of attack is he planning?
But in the very next instant. His curiosity turned into surprise.
He sensed something impossible.
Something that should never had appeared from a Luke at this level.
Luke’s entire body suddenly lit up.
Veins filled with brilliant cosmic energy spread beneath his skin, shining like rivers of stars. At the same time, tiny cracks appeared across his body, only to heal almost instantly before new ones formed again.
The violent cycle of destruction and regeneration continued without pause.
However, the Origin Titan barely paid attention to those injuries.
His focus was locked on Luke’s chest.
More precisely...
His heart.
It radiated an astonishing amount of cosmic energy.
The quantity alone surpassed what even a Peak Golden Knight should have been capable of producing.
But even more unbelievable was its quality.
The energy flowing through Luke’s body wasn’t ordinary Aether.
It was Cosmic Aether.
A power so pure that it continuously healed Luke’s body while simultaneously constructing something deep within him.
Another cosmic system...
The Origin Titan immediately understood what was happening.
And he was right.
"Finally." Luke exhaled painfully.
"...Done."
Even with his Titan physique dulling most of the pain, repeatedly tearing apart and reconstructing his own body was anything but pleasant.
Fortunately, his efforts had succeeded.
A second Cosmic System had formed within him.
Without wasting a second, Luke synchronized it with the first.
This time, however, he distributed its power throughout his body.
All ten moons flowed into his right arm, reinforcing it so it could withstand the unimaginable gravitational force he was about to unleash.
The hundred asteroids and comets strengthened both of his legs, preventing them from collapsing the instant he moved.
Finally...
The central planet settled within his chest, stabilizing his body and allowing him to function normally.
Without that support. He wouldn’t have been able to move even a single shoulder against the weight of gravity.
Luke slowly raised his right hand.
His galactic eyes locked onto the Origin Titan.
Then, in a calm voice. He uttered the name of his technique.
"Cosmic Lock."
The next instant, an even more terrifying gravitational force descended. Unlike before, all of it was compressed into a single point directly above the thousand-foot stone giant.
CRRRRK...
For the first time, the Origin Titan’s body groaned under the pressure. Thin cracks spread across several of his stone joints, causing Luke’s eyes to light up with hope.
’So there is a limit.’
This move could actually damage the Origin Titan’s body. Perhaps... it could even shatter it.
The Origin Titan, meanwhile, looked genuinely surprised.
Another technique.
Luke had displayed one unbelievable method after another. Then the giant remembered something. This wasn’t merely Luke’s talent. Three Firstborn Titans, each with billions of years of experience, resided within him. It was only natural that he had inherited extraordinary techniques from them.
Down below, Luke bent his knees before pouring the strength of all one hundred asteroids into his legs.
KABOOOOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath him as a deafening sonic boom echoed through the temple. Luke shot forward like a beam of light, instantly appearing before the Origin Titan’s crossed arms.
"Cosmic... PUNCH!"
The moment he roared, the compressed gravitational force collapsed into his right fist. An unimaginable weight surged through his arm, making his entire body feel as though it would collapse under its own power.
Bones creaked, muscles tore apart, and fresh cracks spread across his Titan body. If he hadn’t redirected the gravitational pressure throughout the surrounding kilometer of space, the force would have blown his body apart before the punch could even land.
Even then, he couldn’t control it perfectly. His body simply wasn’t strong enough yet, and his mastery over this terrifying gravity was still incomplete.
Then it happened.
Luke’s punch blurred as it shot forward. Cosmic energy wrapped tightly around his fist, leaving behind a dazzling trail of golden-purple starlight that stretched through the air.
The next instant...
It collided with the Origin Titan’s crossed arms.
THOOOOM!! KRRRAAAK!! BOOOOOM!!
The impact shook the entire temple.
The Origin Titan’s crossed arms exploded apart under the overwhelming force, countless stone fragments the size of boulders flying in every direction. A far more violent shockwave erupted from the collision, surging across the enormous chamber with enough force to crush an ordinary Half-Golden Knight.
Yet the ancient temple remained completely unaffected.
The walls didn’t crack. The ceiling didn’t tremble. Even the countless blue runes continued shining steadily, without the slightest flicker. It was as though the temple had only been built to withstand the true power of the Origin Titan—not Luke’s comparatively insignificant strength.
The shockwave quickly reached Nyx and Caelith.
Nyx didn’t even move. The violent force disappeared the moment it touched his body, swallowed effortlessly by the Void as though it had never existed.
Caelith’s reaction was equally unbelievable. The flames surrounding her suddenly blazed brighter, forcing the incoming shockwave to split apart before flowing harmlessly around her body, leaving her standing calmly between the two currents of destruction.
Myrkhal, however, did absolutely nothing.
The shockwave struck him head-on.
Yet instead of being blown away, only gentle ripples spread across his pure white body, like a pebble dropped into a tranquil lake. A moment later, the ripples disappeared, leaving him completely unharmed and unmoved.
All three Titans had effortlessly withstood a shockwave carrying Half-Golden Knight-level destructive power.
The most astonishing part was that none of them possessed their original bodies. Their temporary elemental forms were only comparable to an Early Bronze Knight, the same realm as Luke, and they weren’t receiving any enhancement from their true Titan physiques.
Nyx’s survival could be explained by his absolute mastery over the Void.
Caelith’s by her unparalleled control over celestial flames.
But Myrkhal...
No one knew.
Not even reality itself seemed capable of explaining what principle protected the Faceless Titan.
"Second attempt... failed." The Origin Titan’s deep voice echoed through the temple.
A cloud of stone dust slowly settled, revealing the result of Luke’s attack.
Both of the Origin Titan’s crossed arms had been completely shattered, and a massive crack extended across his stone chest.
But...
That was all.
Luke stood there in silence.
’Even an attack at the peak of the Mid-Golden Knight realm... one that briefly touched Late Golden Knight power... wasn’t enough to destroy his body?’
The realization left him speechless.
Throughout the trial, the Origin Titan had merely been using the physical template of the second strongest pure Titan species at the Peak Bronze realm.
He hadn’t attacked even once.
’If he actually fought back...’
Luke looked up at the thousand-foot giant.
’Wouldn’t an entire city be wiped off the map?’
A Titan of that size alone was a walking catastrophe. Even without techniques or authorities, every movement carried enough force to flatten a city.
’If the real Origin Titan had appeared here. I’m not even sure I could survive a single exchange.’
A trace of disappointment flashed across Luke’s face.
He possessed the powers of three Firstborn Titans, yet even that wasn’t enough to overcome the body of one of the highest Titan species.