Titan Rumble Ch 22: Respect Earned, The Price Of Strength

I stood there, hunched a little, looking up at the giants that surrounded me. They were all staring at me — mouths slightly open, eyes wide,

I stood there, hunched a little, looking up at the giants that surrounded me. They were all staring at me — mouths slightly open, eyes wide, even Yuna looked like she had just been slapped awake. Except... her shock was turning into something else. A grin. Great. That was either really good... or really bad for me.

I could barely catch my breath, every inhale felt like dragging knives through my chest. My body ached in ways I didn't even know it could. I felt like one of those old action figures my dad used to have, the ones missing limbs because some idiot kid bent them too far.

"There's not a lot of time," I muttered under my breath. I could already feel it—the ticking time bomb inside me. My body was going to crash, and soon.

It was lucky—very lucky—that they hadn't all rushed me at once. I was cocky, yeah, but even I wasn't delusional. Fighting that many Alphas at once? That was suicide. This little stunt alone had probably shaved a few years off my life.

I shook the dark thoughts off and looked up, raising my voice so it carried. "So... any objections with me teaching you?"

I glanced up toward Satsuki, who, to her credit, was already standing tall again, rubbing her jaw like she was going to remember that punch for the rest of her life. I know I would.

"I beat your strongest fighter, so... you must know I'm strong!" I said, trying to sound confident but secretly bracing myself for a giant foot to come stomping down on me in revenge.

For a second—a terrifying second—nobody said a word.

Then—BOOM—the ground shook as they all rushed me, smiles wide, faces lit up like excited kids seeing fireworks for the first time.

"Master Cain, you were amazing!!"

"So fast!!"

"How the hell did you hit that hard!?"

I stumbled back instinctively, almost tripping over my own feet, as their giant faces hovered over me like a mountain range made of teeth and excitement.

"Heh... th-thanks," I said, smiling weakly, raising my hands in surrender. "I'm glad you're all impressed... please don't eat me."

Before any more chaos could happen, Yuna stepped forward, arms crossed, voice booming in that commanding way she had. "Alright, enough."

Immediately, they all snapped to attention like soldiers getting called out by their general.

"Training starts early tomorrow morning," she said, her serious gaze sweeping across them all. "So get some rest. No excuses."

"Yes, sensei!" they all shouted together, and then, much to my surprise, they turned and bowed. To me too.

I gave a little awkward bow back, feeling like some tiny old man at a giant wedding.

One by one, they stomped out of the dojo, the ground trembling with every step.

When the last one was gone, I let out a huge breath of relief, my knees buckling.

"Thank god..." I whispered.

And then—

WHAM.

Pain. White-hot, searing pain shot through my body like a bolt of lightning. I dropped to the floor, yelling out as my muscles spasmed uncontrollably. Sweat poured down my face, my shirt sticking to me in an instant.

It felt like my body was eating itself alive. Like every tendon, every fiber of muscle was tearing apart and stitching itself back together at the same time.

New Existence. One of my greatest techniques... and the most brutal one to survive.

"Shit... shit...! WORTH IT—!" I croaked, laughing and grimacing at the same time as I curled into a ball on the dojo floor.

Somewhere nearby, I swore I could hear Yuna sighing in disappointment.

But I couldn't even turn my head to check. I was too busy trying not to pass out or die.

***

(Yuna)

The ground probably shook beneath me with each step as I walked toward him. The little idiot was curled up on the wooden floor, spasming and yelling like a dying cricket.

I crouched down, careful not to accidentally blow him across the room with just the force of my breath. Slowly, I extended a single nail—the edge thin and sharp enough to carve stone if I wanted—and scooped his tiny body up from the floor.

He clung weakly to my nail, still trembling, still spasming in what had to be absolute agony.

I brought him up closer to my face, frowning a little as I inspected him. He looked... rough. Pale. Sweaty. His limbs twitched uncontrollably like some broken puppet. And yet... there was still a stubborn fire in his tiny little eyes. Still that look that said, "I knew exactly what I signed up for."

"You realize whatever you just did to yourself," I said slowly, narrowing my eyes at him, "must come with a huge cost."

He let out a ragged laugh—or maybe it was a sob, I honestly couldn't tell at his size—and managed to gasp out a reply.

"It's called... New Existence..." he said between sharp breaths. His voice was weak but clear enough to reach me. "It... temporarily changes parts of me... back to Existence itself. Boosts my strength... my speed... to Alpha levels."

I blinked. Existence itself? I tilted my head, skeptical but curious.

"But..." Cain coughed, his whole body spasming again so hard I had to steady my nail just to keep him from falling off, "...it's only temporary. When the power wears off... existence tries to 'fix' itself... my muscles... my body... it tears apart and repairs itself... until everything's back to normal."

He gritted his teeth, another spasm wracking his small frame, but he didn't stop talking.

"I just have to... withstand the pain."

I stared at him for a long moment, watching him suffer in my palm-sized nail like a broken warrior refusing to die.

"I see," I said simply, shifting my hand slightly so he could lay against the curve of my nail, giving him a little support. "You really are an idiot."

He managed a small, pained smirk.

"This is the cost of power," he said quietly, voice rough but steady. "No shortcuts. No freebies."

I stared at him, this tiny, broken speck that somehow knocked Rika on her ass and made Satsuki back up like a rookie. My lips twitched, the barest hint of a smile.

"You know," I said dryly, "normal people would have just... trained harder."

He chuckled weakly, almost losing his balance as he did.

"Normal people are boring," he said.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back, cradling my nail with careful precision. Part of me wanted to scold him—No, Cain, nearly killing yourself is NOT part of normal training!—but another part of me... the part that respected strength, even stubborn reckless strength, just shook my head with a low sigh.

"You're insane," I muttered.

"Thanks," he rasped, as if I'd just given him the highest compliment in the world.

I sat there for a moment longer, just watching him. Tiny. Beaten. Smiling through the pain like a damn fool.

Maybe... just maybe... he really was the master we needed.