Two days later, I was running on fumes, stubbornness, and pure warrior spite.
If anyone asked how I managed to stay upright, I'd say discipline. If anyone asked honestly, I'd say sheer refusal to fall asleep and die. Meditating Qi for that long felt like balancing on the edge of a blade while someone kept nudging my elbow. Every time my focus slipped, my body threatened to shut down completely. My head drooped. My breath staggered. I bit the inside of my cheek more times than I could count just to stay conscious.
But when I finally opened my eyes. They were there. Seven figures stood behind us.
Human-sized. Still Titans, broad, molten-veined, radiating heat like walking furnaces, but no longer mountain-devouring nightmares. Their forms were rough, unfinished, like statues halfway released from stone. They stood silently, massive shoulders hunched, eyes glowing dimly, expressions blank.
Still couldn't speak. Still had the brain capacity of a very confused rock.
