On the first floor, Xarion clashed with Longhorn, who had conjured a thick shell of frozen armor. The beast resembled an icy knight, his entire body encased in shimmering frost, with jagged horns protruding like twin lances.

  Xarion’s twin fire scimitars slashed through the air, carving into the ice, but each strike was met with rapid regeneration. The frost reformed instantly, resisting the flames.

  “Let’s see how you handle this,” Xarion growled, his aura flaring violently.

  White fire erupted around him, enveloping his blades and body. The heat distorted the air, melting everything in its radius.

  With a roar, Xarion leaped high into the air, spinning mid-flight to create a blazing whirlwind of white flame. The vortex tore through the floor, carving craters as it surged toward Longhorn.

  The fractured mind of the beast felt fear. The whirlwind’s heat overwhelmed his mana, melting his armor faster than it could regenerate. Longhorn screamed, his voice twisted and raw, like a creature being boiled alive. His icy horns glowed with frost as he opened his maw and unleashed a breath of pure ice, freezing everything in its path.

  White fire met blue frost.

  The two forces collided, shattering the main hall into a storm of debris and mana. Ice and fire battled for dominance, the clash echoing like thunder.

  Xarion narrowed his eyes. He’s holding his ground. Impossible. His power should be mid-Master level at best. Something is wrong with these monsters.

  Hearing the chaos erupting upstairs, Xarion knew he couldn’t afford to drag this out. Zara and Umbra needed him.

  Still spinning, he began casting spells to amplify his attack. “Fireball! Solar Flare!” As a descendant of dragons, Xarion didn’t need chants; his spells erupted instantly, though the mana drain was immense.

  Flaming projectiles burst from his vortex, pushing back the frost breath inch by inch.

  Feeling the heat intensify, Longhorn roared.

  “Maaaaaaaaaaa!”

  His body expanded, morphing into a more beastlike form. He grew to four meters tall, his horns elongating and gleaming with frost. His breath attack surged, overpowering Xarion’s flames and forcing him back.

  Before Xarion could counter, Longhorn dispersed ice mana around his body and charged like a comet of frozen fury.

  Xarion braced himself.

  The impact was brutal. Longhorn’s horns slammed into him, driving him through the castle walls and out into the open air. They burst through stone and wood, crashing into the light beyond.

  Xarion’s body began to freeze. Frostbite crept across his limbs, his mana slowing. The longer Longhorn charged, the stronger his ice mana flowed, freezing everything in its path.

  Caught in the force of the charge, Xarion gritted his teeth and began stabbing his scimitars into Longhorn’s skull. But the ice was too thick, unyielding even to his fire-forged blades.

  “Fine,” Xarion snarled. “You want to challenge a dragon? So be it!”

  He let go of restraint. Pride no longer mattered.

  Xarion raised his head to the sky and roared, a pure, draconic roar that echoed across the open yard like thunder from the heavens.

  Dragon Fear!

  An inherited ability of all draconic bloodlines.

  The fear slithered into the fractured mind of the beast, slowing Longhorn just enough for Xarion to act. He detonated a burst of fire around his legs, shattering the icy trap that held him.

  With a roar of his own, Xarion kicked Longhorn square in the forehead and exploded sideways, breaking free from the unstoppable charge.

  His breath came ragged. His body was tinted blue, frostbite creeping beneath his scales. Ice had long since infiltrated his veins.

  Each breath he exhaled was visible, misting in the cold air.

  But his pride burned hotter than ever.

  He would show this beast who the true monster was.

  ***

  Meanwhile, Zara and Umbra danced around the Lion, their attacks relentless. Darkfire and poison slashed at its lifeforce, but each strike was instantly negated by its abnormal regeneration.

  “Damn it, this isn’t going anywhere,” Zara grunted.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Umbra agreed, dashing around the stairwell. Her dark armor shimmered under the sunlight streaming through the shattered walls.

  The Lion roared, its mane glowing a bloody crimson as its body regenerated once again.

  Tired of being a punching bag, the beast went on the offensive.

  Blood from its countless healed wounds rose into the air, forming dozens of crimson marbles that hovered around it like orbiting bullets.

  “Umbra, into the shadows! This is going to be dangerous!” Zara shouted.

  Both melted into the shadows just as the Lion roared again. The blood marbles shot out like bullets, slicing through stone, wood, and air with terrifying precision.

  Zara and Umbra dodged the barrage, but the situation was escalating fast.

  “We need one big attack,” Zara shouted, shadow-stepping through the rain of blood. “Something he can’t regenerate from.”

  Umbra understood. She leaped into the ceiling beams, sending shadow clones to distract the Lion as she began preparing her strongest spell yet, Darkfire Nova.

  Zara joined in, summoning her own clones and activating her Wasp blade. A massive spectral wasp manifested behind her, merging into her back and forming two ethereal wings that shimmered with venomous energy.

  The clones swarmed the Lion, but he retaliated with a buckshot of blood bullets, erasing many instantly.

  Zara shadow-stepped behind him and stabbed her blade into his throat, her aura laced with paralyzing poison.

  Her mastery of poison was far beyond Kai’s; she could attune her aura to mimic any venom she had ever experienced. Achieving that level had been torturous, but it was worth it.

  The Wasp blade pierced deep, and the poison spread rapidly. Blood splattered across the stairs.

  “Can’t negate paralysis so easily, huh?” Zara smirked, dashing backward.

  Umbra’s clones cast shadow whips, binding the Lion in place as Umbra completed her spell.

  A massive two-meter-wide Darkfire Nova orb hovered above her, colliding with the ceiling and disintegrating chunks of it.

  Umbra flared her wings and launched the orb toward the Lion.

  Darkness, fire, and lightning swirled within the Nova as it descended.

  Seconds later, it struck.

  A deafening explosion engulfed the stairwell and the entire first floor, already ruined from Xarion’s earlier battle.

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  Zara and Umbra retreated, waiting for the smoke and mana to clear.

  As the dust settled, all that remained was a massive puddle of blood where the stairs used to be.

  “We won!” Zara cheered. “That was insane. He wasn’t that strong, but damn, he was sturdy. I’ve never seen a Bloodmane Lion that unkillable.”

  Umbra frowned. “I think you spoke too soon, poison girl.”

  The puddle began to bubble like boiling water. Blood scattered across the room surged toward it, converging into a single, massive entity.

  A blood-red core floated from the center, and the blood surrounding it formed a new body.

  A massive Lion-like beast emerged, twice the size, with two heads and three tails. Its entire body was crimson, its mane made of flowing, living blood.

  It roared, a blood-curdling scream that shook the walls.

  Zara spat on the floor. “Fucking shit. We need to go all out now.”

  Umbra nodded. “Let’s pull him outside. I can’t fly freely in here.”

  Zara agreed, and the two dashed through the hole left by the explosion.

  The Lion, lost in madness, lunged after them.

  ***

  While Umbra channeled her Darkfire Nova, Nerva and Rhino had exchanged dozens of blows, neither able to break through the other's defenses.

  “What did he do to you, James, my old friend?” Nerva growled, parrying Rhino’s relentless strikes.

  Rhino’s punches, hooks, and uppercuts tore through the air like rockets. Nerva blocked each one with precision, but his hands were beginning to go numb. His aura strengthened his body and weapons, yet he still refrained from using lethal force.

  As he defended, his mind raced, searching for a way to reach James.

  “James! What would Theodor do if he saw you like this?” Nerva shouted, driving his elbow into Rhino’s gut. Metal aura clashed against metal flesh, sparks flying.

  At the mention of his brother’s name, James hesitated, lowering his guard just long enough for Nerva to land a clean strike.

  Seeing Rhino pause, Nerva stopped attacking and tried to reach the man buried beneath the beast.

  “James… that was your name. You, me, and Theodor, we grew up together. Do you remember?” Nerva whispered, tears streaking down his aura-covered face.

  Rhino stared at Nerva, searching his mind for a memory, any memory, but found nothing.

  Just as he began to claw through the fog of madness, Darkfire Nova erupted beneath them. The explosion startled him, snapping his concentration. Madness surged back, and he threw a vicious hook, smashing Nerva into the floor, which cracked like a spiderweb.

  Behind them, Lucius screamed as Mamba’s slick tail lashed him through the hall. Through the pain, he saw Nerva lying motionless.

  “Master! Fight! He’s not Lord James anymore! Please don’t die here, master. Please!”

  Hearing Lucius’s cries, Nerva twitched. His aura exploded with full force as he rose, completely uninjured.

  “Forgive me, Lucius, for making you worry. Help Eira, I can handle this now,” he said, eyes stern and resolute.

  He lunged at Rhino, the sharp ends of his shields gleaming. A double punch burst through Rhino’s arms and struck his chest, launching him like a boulder through a row of walls that collapsed under the tremendous force.

  Nerva dashed after him, following into a vast upper-level hall. Rhino knelt, trying to rise, his chest visibly dented.

  “Aaarghhh!” he roared, spitting a mouthful of green blood.

  “What they did to you, my poor friend… I’ll avenge you, even if it’s the last thing I do!” Nerva shouted, leaping into the air and landing a superman punch to Rhino’s head, smashing him into the floor. Green blood splattered everywhere.

  “Forgive me,” Nerva whispered. “I’ll make this as painless as I can.”

  He focused his metal aura on the sharp points of his shields and prepared to strike the final blow.

  But just as he was about to end James’s suffering, the floor trembled. Rhino screamed, his mana bursting out like high-pressure steam, forcing Nerva back.

  Nerva steadied himself by slamming his hands into the floor.

  Rhino rose, his eyes now pure silver, devoid of reason. His wounds closed, though the dents remained. His body doubled in size, a sharp metallic horn sprouting from his head. Green veins pulsed across his metal skin.

  Nerva’s expression darkened. He braced himself as Rhino charged.

  “Twin Aegis!” he roared, merging his shields into one. A massive shield materialized behind him, amplifying his defenses. His body became an immovable fortress, and Rhino an unstoppable force.

  Their clash shattered windows and floors. The entire castle trembled.

  Rhino pushed forward, his horn slicing through the air. Nerva held his ground, but his body was beginning to give in. His defenses faltered.

  Rhino pressed harder, and just as Nerva could no longer hold, he sidestepped, letting Rhino charge uncontrollably through the castle.

  Nerva rushed after him, ready to finish what he started.

  ***

  Lucius rushed to assist Eira, who was locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat with Mamba. Each of Eira’s punches froze parts of Mamba’s body, but the beast didn’t care; she struck back viciously, spitting poison as she fought.

  If not for Lucius’s light barrier, Eira would’ve been in serious danger.

  “Lucius, are you okay?” Eira shouted mid-fight.

  “Yes! That monster is insane. It took the full force of my attack and still managed to counter without caring about its own body!” Lucius was stunned.

  He had never seen anyone fight like this.

  “Her mind is broken,” Eira replied between punches. “She’ll fight until she dies, no matter what happens to her. Florian made her this way for a reason.”

  Lucius looked at Mamba with a flicker of pity, but he shoved the thought aside and charged in, his mace glowing with radiant light. He struck Mamba from the side, light mana crashing into her scales and burning her insides.

  Mamba retaliated with her tail, but this time Lucius was ready. He blocked with his shining shield, light mana clashing against darkness.

  Lucius had never fought a creature of pure darkness before, and now he understood why Templars were feared across the realm.

  Mamba hissed and spat a poisonous mist, coating her body in a dark, gelatinous substance secreted from beneath her scales. Eira punched again, but her mana slid off and corroded, dissolving part of the tile where it landed.

  “What is that!?” Lucius shouted.

  Eira didn’t answer. Instead, she leaped back and unleashed her breath attack. A stream of icy wind clashed with the dark mist, pushing through and striking Mamba directly.

  The breath ate away at Mamba’s membrane, but she didn’t flinch. She dashed forward, punching wildly, each strike conjuring ethereal mana snakes that flew toward Eira and Lucius.

  The snakes pierced through Lucius’s light barrier, their spectral jaws snapping at the two.

  Eira conjured ice spikes and skewered her snake, while Lucius crushed his with a light-infused mace.

  “Lucius, support me now!” Eira shouted, sending waves of ice spikes toward Mamba, who screamed in madness and spat beams of pure corrosive energy.

  Lucius jumped in front of Eira, shielding her as she prepared a stronger attack.

  He deflected the beams and retaliated, focusing his mana into the lion emblem on his shield. With each deflection, waves of light mana burst forth, slicing through Mamba’s membrane like knives.

  He smiled. It works!

  But before he could celebrate, Mamba lunged, her arms coated in dark mana. She punched through his barrier with two brutal strikes.

  “What?!” Lucius gasped. “Eira, we’re out of time!”

  Eira locked eyes with Mamba and said nothing. Above her, a massive drill of pure, concentrated ice began to spin.

  With a simple wave of her hand, the ice drill tore through Mamba’s defenses.

  Mamba screamed, her body twisting and transforming to avoid the mortal blow. She glowed with dark energy, growing to the size of a house and morphing into a colossal dark serpent with two horns on her head.

  “All be damned, we’re done for!” Lucius cried.

  Eira frowned. “Sigh… I didn’t want to use this. Lucius, don’t be scared, okay? I’m still in control,” she shouted as her body began to transform.

  She grew into a slightly larger icy white serpent, two wings of true ice floating behind her body.

  She coiled around Mamba, and the two titanic beasts crashed through the third floor, smashing through the roof and erupting into the open air, locked in a deadly spiral of combat atop the castle.

  Lucius stood below, speechless.?

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  by Nathan Howard

  Between the many wars waged by humanity against themselves. They have been kept united, by a greater threat that threatens the foundations and civilizations they have since built since when man first sparked fire.

  Monstrous Creatures of undisclosed origins, named "Kaijus" Have arrived ever since the early end of a world war. Bringing with them in an all-consuming conflict between Man and Nature. To fight the Kaijus, mankind have come to adopt their own giant monsters of steel and iron as their main weapons of war called "Titans".

  Now both sides have slowly evolved as generations and years comes to pass...Time will tell to what extent Man and Monsters are willing to go, to be at the top of the food chain.

  Japan, is only one of the many fronts of this ongoing battle, and the struggle for supremacy between man and Kaiju grows fiercer with each passing year...

  What can be expected?: HEAVY character focus, and tons of world building. A Kaiju/Monster V Mecha fiction, mixed in with plenty of action combined with war-and-military elements.

  What is this story is about?: A theme of Man vs Nature and how both sides can evolve to counter the other.

  Anything else of Note?: The world of Titan Engine, is meant to be expansive which means I intend to include representation of other countries within the series and how the world came "together" in response to the monsters of the setting. Evolution of Man and Monsters, primarily uses Japan as its main focus. It is also a passion project of mine, and thus would most likely be VERY VERY SLOW BURN. but regardless I want to see how far I can get with my own work and writing and see how far I can improve! : D

  This was heavily inspired by several pieces of fiction and literature that I adored; Kaiju no 8, Parasyte, Attack on Titan, Pacific Rim, and Godzilla. All played a part in how the world and story was designed. As I always loved a good old concept of Giant Robots and Giant Monsters.