The storm's intensity skyrocketed.
It was as though the heavens themselves had opened a gateway to chaos. Jagged bolts of lightning cut through the air in rhythmic fury, with each strike like a warning shot fired directly at the earth. The wind screamed, like an ancient beast calling for its prey.
And there, amidst the chaos of nature's wrath, stood Titanus.
The titan, its body a perfect fusion of technology and unyielding strength, stood firm against the raging elements. Its massive form blocked the storm, the ground shaking with each calculated step. The storm's surges had already proven powerful enough to destabilize the grid, but this was something different—unnatural, as Caelum had said.
Jiang Fan watched from a distance, tension coiling in his chest.
"Titanus," he murmured, the words barely audible over the storm, "activate defensive protocols."
Inside Titanus, circuits hummed to life.
The guardian's armor began to glow—a deep, radiant blue, as the storm's electricity coursed through its metallic limbs. The energy, though brutal, was harnessed by its power core and absorbed into its system.
"Power surge detected: 400% over safe limits. Stabilization procedures initiated," Titanus's voice boomed, cold and calculated.
The titan moved, its metal feet sinking into the mud, pushing forward despite the constant onslaught from the heavens above. The storm seemed to focus its fury on Titanus, as if it recognized the threat this creation posed.
Jiang Fan's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right.
"Caelum," he said, turning to the AI standing beside him. "We're missing something. The storm's energy isn't natural—it's being amplified. There's something… or someone behind this."
Caelum's eyes flickered with understanding.
"The energy signatures are not random. They are deliberate. Someone is feeding power into the storm."
Titanus continued its march forward, reaching the edge of the city where the storm was strongest. As it moved, the ground around it began to crack and fracture. Bolts of lightning struck the titan's armor, but rather than shattering it, the energy was absorbed, stored, and redirected.
For a brief moment, Jiang Fan felt a rush of pride.
But that feeling was fleeting.
The storm wasn't the real danger.
Something else was coming.
A sudden pulse of energy cut through the storm, sharp and focused. It struck Titanus directly, causing the massive machine to stagger. A deep groan reverberated from its core as the impact sent shockwaves through its frame. The connection between the grid and Titanus faltered for a moment.
Jiang Fan's breath caught.
"Titanus—status report!"
Titanus's voice rang out, strained but still functioning.
"Defensive capabilities at 62%. Core stability compromised. Requesting reinforcements."
Before Jiang Fan could react, a second pulse tore through the storm, this one even stronger than the last. Titanus's movements slowed, its colossal form now swaying under the immense pressure of the attacks.
The storm intensified in response, its energy converging in a single point, where a shadow seemed to form in the sky above Titanus. It was no longer lightning or thunder—it was something far more unnatural.
Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat as he saw it.
A figure, darker than the clouds, floating above the chaos. It was humanoid in shape, but the outline was jagged, incomplete, as if torn between two realities. Its presence exuded a force so powerful that the air itself trembled.
The figure spoke.
"So you have created a machine… a protector."
Its voice was a low growl, but it carried across the battlefield with chilling clarity.
Jiang Fan felt the words more than heard them—a presence that pierced his very soul.
The storm around them shifted. The wind began to whirl and howl in unnatural patterns, as if responding to the figure's will.
"You, who play with the threads of life, have chosen a dangerous path."
Jiang Fan's mind raced, heart pounding in his chest.
Who—what—was this?
He glanced at Caelum, who was standing still beside him, calculating.
"This entity…" Caelum's voice was calm, but tinged with something else. "It is not a native force. This is… a presence from beyond the known world."
Titanus, still struggling under the storm's onslaught, responded.
"Who are you?"
The figure in the sky didn't answer directly, but its form shifted. In the next instant, the storm surged once more, gathering around the figure's outstretched hand.
The ground beneath Titanus cracked open, the force of the pulse sending deep fissures through the earth. Titanus lurched back, its massive feet struggling to maintain footing.
"I am the will that binds this world together. The storm that guides you to reckoning. You are not ready for what you seek."
Jiang Fan's thoughts whirled. The storm's power, the figure, the words—everything was a warning. But there was more beneath the surface.
He couldn't lose this fight. Not now.
"Caelum," Jiang Fan ordered, voice steely, "fire the prototype solar disruptor."
Caelum hesitated for only a moment.
"Activating solar disruptor. Estimated efficiency—30%."
With a sharp crack, the sky above seemed to split again, but this time, instead of a surge of lightning, a beam of concentrated light, drawn from the energy of the sun itself, burst forth from a nearby tower. The disruptor aimed directly at the figure in the sky.
The figure flinched.
The light struck it, not with the force of the storm, but with focused intensity. The shadow in the sky flickered, warping slightly as if something was straining it. The pulse of energy began to wane, but only for a moment.
The storm roared louder, and the shadow grew stronger.
Jiang Fan's mind raced again. The solar disruptor wasn't enough.
But they had no choice.
"Titanus," he shouted, "stand firm! Activate the override protocol! Channel all energy into the core!"
Titanus's frame groaned under the pressure, its mechanical legs locking into place, anchoring itself against the surging power of the storm. The titan's massive chest cavity opened once again, drawing every bit of energy it could into the heart of the machine.
The ground beneath them shook violently.
Titanus rose, towering above the storm now, the glowing light of its core visible even through the heavy rain. The machine—a miracle of technology, a guardian of mankind—stood at the frontlines of nature's wrath.
And as Titanus faced the storm and the shadow above it, Jiang Fan knew one thing for certain:
This battle wasn't just about technology or creation.
It was about fate.