Chương 264: Curse of Acknowledgement

Fe stood alone upon the barren surface of the Moon, his arms crossed behind his back as endless fields of pale dust stretched around him in absolute silence. Above him hung the endless abyss of space, vast and cold, while far in the distance Earth glowed like a fragile blue lantern suspended in darkness. Before him, the crimson rift pulsed violently. It resembled a wound carved directly into reality itself, its edges twitching and distorting while scarlet energy bled endlessly into the vacuum around it.

Every pulse sent ripples through space, bending light unnaturally and causing the lunar surface beneath Fe's feet to tremble faintly. Though blindfolded, Fe stared directly at the rift. Or rather, he felt it. The Titan approaching from the other side radiated gravitational waves so immense they distorted the Moon's own natural pull. The closer it came, the more the surrounding landscape shifted beneath its influence.

Massive stones floated upward before collapsing again moments later, unable to decide whether gravity still obeyed the laws of this universe. Fe tilted his head slightly. Curiosity lingered within his expression, though skepticism accompanied it.

"Interesting…" he murmured softly. The Titan had not yet fully emerged, but Fe could already estimate its structure through the distortions it emitted. Roughly four hundred meters tall. Humanoid in shape but much more dense then anything he ever sensed. Its body composition appeared irregular, jagged and uneven, almost as though an entire mountain range had been forced into the shape of a living creature. Stone, compressed beyond natural limits, layered endlessly atop itself through countless evolutions.

Fe slowly reached toward the knot behind his blindfold.

"You know," he began calmly, speaking toward the creature even before it appeared, "it has been nearly ten years since I was forced to cover my eyes." His fingers loosened the cloth carefully.

"For ten years, I haven't been allowed to truly look at the world… or at the people I care about." The knot unraveled. His expression softened faintly.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't hate it." The blindfold slid slowly into his hand.

"But sacrifices are necessary." His voice lowered as he continoud.

"Because this acknowledgment of mine…" he said quietly, "… is far closer to a curse than a blessing." Then he opened his eyes. Brilliant violet light erupted into the darkness of space. His eyes glowed with an almost divine radiance, luminous purple irises shimmering like collapsing stars within the void itself. The moment they were revealed, the Moon reacted instantly. The rocks surrounding him collapsed inward violently.

Entire sections of lunar stone compressed under their own weight as gravity around Fe multiplied uncontrollably. Craters deepened. Dust imploded. Even space itself appeared warped around his gaze. At that same moment, the Titan stepped through the rift. Its colossal foot slammed onto the lunar surface with catastrophic force, sending fractures racing across the Moon for hundreds of kilometers.

The limb resembled that of an elephant, thick and circular, though composed entirely of hardened gray stone layered like ancient armor. Slowly, more of the creature emerged. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A towering humanoid shape formed from mountains of compressed rock pulled itself into reality. Its hollow eyes resembled empty caverns carved into a skull-like face while enormous stone plates shifted constantly across its body like living tectonic layers.

Fe stared upward at it calmly. Then he smiled.

"Tell me something, Titan," he asked gently. The creature fully emerged from the rift at last, towering over him like a moving continent.

"Do you know why this power of mine is considered a curse?" The Titan did not answer. Its hollow eyes narrowed. Suddenly, a meteor ripped through space and slammed directly into Fe. The impact detonated across the Moon. A massive crater erupted outward as lunar rock vaporized instantly beneath the collision. Shockwaves rippled across the surface while clouds of silver dust exploded into the vacuum. The Titan watched silently. Then slowly turned its gaze toward Earth. It began floating forward.

"Not so fast." The voice emerged from within the dust cloud. A massive gravitational wave exploded outward instantly. The Titan's colossal body was dragged violently downward as though an invisible hand had seized it. The lunar surface beneath it shattered further while the creature crashed onto one knee under overwhelming pressure. The dust surrounding Fe collapsed instantly back to the ground. He stood unharmed at the crater's center.

"I'll ask again," Fe said softly, his glowing eyes fixed upon the restrained giant.

"What exactly do you think removing my blindfold does?" The Titan roared through the vacuum. Then it erupted into movement. Its gigantic arm rose upward before crashing down with enough force to crack enormous sections of the Moon's surface. Entire canyons split apart beneath the strike. But when the Titan lifted its fist, Fe was gone. Only empty destruction remained.

"I'll tell you." The Titan froze hearing the voice once more. Fe hovered several hundred meters above it now, untouched.

"This curse removes every limiter placed upon my power." He raised one hand slowly. Gravity intensified again. The Titan's body slammed back into the lunar surface, forced downward under crushing pressure powerful enough to flatten mountains in a instant.

"Unfortunately," Fe continued with a faint chuckle, "it also means my abilities destroy nearly everything around me passively." His smile became slightly bitter.

"I can't live normally. I can't touch people safely. I can't even look at the world without risking destruction." He laughed quietly to himself.

"You could say…" His glowing eyes narrowed playfully.

"…I'm blinded by my own power." The Titan suddenly opened its mouth. A blinding white light ignited deep within its stone throat. Fe sighed deeply.

"A beam attack? Really?" The Titan fired. A colossal pillar of energy erupted forward, tearing through the vacuum and vaporizing everything in its path. The Moon itself split further from the force of the discharge. Fe merely raised his hand. The beam bent. No, it folded. Gravity warped the attack's trajectory entirely before redirecting it harmlessly into distant space. But the redirected force did not stop there. Far beyond them, a dying star detonated in silence.

Its released energy bent instantly under Fe's control. A supernova. The Titan's eyes widened. The redirected stellar explosion crashed directly into it. The lunar surface disappeared beneath blinding white light as entire sections of the Titan's stone armor evaporated instantly. Its massive body crumbled apart while molten fragments scattered across the Moon like burning rain. Fe smiled faintly.

"Did you enjoy the supernova I redirected toward you?" The Titan collapsed onto one knee. Yet despite the devastation, it still moved. Its hollow eyes rose once more toward Fe, now filled with pure madness. Then it roared. Feral instinct consumed whatever intelligence remained within it. Fe's expression softened.

"Oh, come now," he said gently.

"Let's settle this peacefully." The Titan charged. Its enormous fists hammered against Fe repeatedly, each strike carrying enough force to annihilate entire cities. Lunar rock continuously reformed around its arms as its own body tore itself apart from the strain of attacking him. Fe drifted backward effortlessly through space.

"I know you're suffering," he said quietly. The Titan opened its chest. Five massive white lights formed simultaneously before erupting outward in devastating beams. Fe narrowed his eyes. Gravity shifted once more. The attacks curved violently away from him, rejected entirely by the altered gravitational field surrounding his body. Some beams twisted back into the Moon itself while others vanished endlessly into deep space.

"Please," Fe continued softly, almost sympathetically, "just let me help you." He floated higher into space. Further away from Earth. The Titan pursued relentlessly.

"I can feel it," Fe whispered.

"The pain inside you." The creature's body shifted violently as mountains of stone rearranged themselves into sharper, more refined armor. What had once resembled a brute now resembled something closer to an ancient gladiator forged from living rock. Then, Fe saw it. For only a moment. His glowing purple eyes widened. Inside the Titan's core… there was a human, a girl she lay there unconscious. Suspended within the creature's body as though protected by it. Fe froze briefly. Then his expression darkened.

"So that's it…" The Titan roared again. Countless meteors formed around it before launching toward Fe like a celestial storm. Yet none reached him. Every stone collapsed into dust the moment it neared his gravitational field. Fe no longer smiled. His eyes had become cold and serious now.

"That human…" he said quietly, staring directly into the Titan's hollow gaze, "…hand her over." The Titan answered only with fury. Its body hardened further, transforming completely into armored stone while gravitational pressure erupted wildly around it. Fe sighed deeply.

"So you truly intend to fight until the end." He slowly raised both hands. The stars themselves seemed to tremble faintly around him.

"Very well," he said softly. Purple light flooded the darkness.

"Allow me…" The Moon cracked beneath the expanding gravity.

"…to free you from your misery."