Episode : A Trail of Ruin
Lian, Ivella, and Kairen pressed on, moving through the treacherous terrain of the Gloomfang Mountains. A cold wind coiled around them, and a deep tension settled into the profound silence of the peaks.
"The source of the river we seek must be near," Lian said, his voice a low murmur. "But I am certain there is something more to this place, something tied to the legends."
Ivella's gaze was sharp as she scanned their surroundings. This was more than just a quest for a river's source. Her heart grew heavier with each step, for she was searching for traces of the expedition that had carried her family into these very mountains.
"Look, there's something ahead," Kairen said, pointing.
As they drew closer, the faint shapes resolved into the tattered remains of a camp—old, weathered tents and the wreckage of equipment. Ivella froze, then approached with slow, deliberate steps. It was there she found it: a necklace, lying half-buried in the dirt. Her brother's.
"This… was my brother's." Her voice was a choked whisper. In her hand, the necklace felt like the final, severed thread of hope. For a long moment, she could not speak. The hope she had clung to for so long had just shattered.
Lian approached her carefully. "Ivella, are you alright?"
She closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "They were lost here… or they died in these mountains," she said, her voice trembling. "I can't turn back now. I will not let their sacrifice be in vain."
Kairen placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We will find the reason your family came here. And we will finish what they could not."
Ivella fought back her tears, her expression hardening into a mask of resolve as she started forward once more. "You're right. This time, we have to solve this. We will restore the river, and we will put an end to all of this."
They ventured deeper into the mountain range. A darker energy began to press in on them, and the very air around them started to thrum with an unstable power.
"This is strange… It feels like we're being watched," Lian said, his guard raised.
Kairen inclined his head slightly. "Something is certainly amiss. There is a power here that we do not know."
At that moment, the ground began to tremble. A deep rumbling sound echoed through the peaks, and a section of the mountain started to collapse. As rocks tumbled down, a colossal shape was slowly revealed.
Lian narrowed his eyes. "Something is moving!"
What had at first looked like a mass of rock began to stir, transforming into a giant figure. It appeared to be a part of the mountain itself. The creature, seeming to be one with the earth, slowly rose, raising a massive hand.
"That's… not a living creature. The rocks are moving," Kairen said, his voice laced with shock.
Ivella stared at the figure in horror. "That's… the being from the legends… Aranuch!"
Aranuch was the size of a mountain, its skin a hard, rough amalgam of rock and iron. As it moved, an energy of earth and metal flowed from it, and its eyes were filled with darkness.
Ivella's voice trembled. "So this is what they faced… My brother and the others, they must have fought this monster…" She lowered her head. "We must complete what they could not."
Aranuch slowly began to draw the surrounding rocks and stones toward itself. At its gesture, golem soldiers were formed. The very power to command the earth was in its hands.
"Get ready!" Lian shouted, drawing his greatsword. "It seems this thing wants to test us!"
With a single gesture, Aranuch sent its golem soldiers charging forward. Their powerful fists struck the ground, creating fissures, and the earth began to split and shake.
Lian moved swiftly, blocking the first of Aranuch's attacks. His greatsword met its fist, but its hard skin was as powerful as solid rock.
"Incredible strength… but we can win this," Lian gritted out.
Kairen gathered the energy of lightning and fire and threw a punch at Aranuch's side. "Fist of the Blazing Lion!" The lightning struck, but Aranuch countered, unleashing a powerful shockwave.
Ivella clutched the necklace, her expression resolute. "We will not stop here! We will not fail this time." She threw her javelin, imbued with the power of lightning, at Aranuch's leg. The weapon struck true, and a powerful electric shock momentarily halted the great being.
Lian seized the opening and charged. His twin blades moved like lightning, striking at Aranuch's weak points, and its massive body staggered.
"This thing won't go down easily…" Lian shouted. They could sense that the corrupted Aranuch's intellect and will were chaotic and unstable. It was attacking blindly, its judgment all but gone under the influence of the corruption.
As the battle raged on, Ivella's conviction that this monster was connected to her family's disappearance grew stronger. Her eyes shone with a fierce light. "We will finish what they started. We have to end this fight."
Lian gave a brief nod of understanding. "You're right. Let's end this fight in their stead!"
**
Episode : The Titan's Power
The battle raged on, seemingly without end. Aranuch and its army of golems surged forward relentlessly, and Lian, Ivella, and Kairen were growing exhausted. The rock-like golems tormented them with their massive size and overwhelming strength, and all three were reaching their limits.
"If we keep fighting like this, we'll all be finished…" Lian gasped, his sword growing heavier, his arms starting to ache. "At this rate, we'll be the ones to fall first."
Kairen gathered the power of lightning in his fists and struck a golem, but their hard bodies would not break easily. "There's no end to them…!" he cried out in pain.
Ivella threw her javelin with all her might, but the golem's massive body withstood her attack. She, too, could no longer deny her own limits. "We can't win by fighting like this…"
In the midst of the battle, Ivella was struck by a powerful blow from a golem and thrown to the ground. She tried to get up, but her body was too exhausted to move. "Ivella!" Lian shouted, but he had no opening to approach.
In that moment, the massive foot of Aranuch slowly rose above her. It was coming down to crush the fallen Ivella. "Kairen!" Lian cried out, but it was too late.
Lian's heart began to pound wildly. "No!" He could think of nothing but saving her. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. He threw himself toward Ivella with all his might.
He lunged under Aranuch's massive foot, his body straining to stop it from crushing her. And the great foot came down upon them.
An immense pressure bore down on Lian's body. He felt as if he were being crushed, his consciousness beginning to fade. But in that moment, something deep within him awakened.
He remembered his father's voice. "The power of the Titans slumbers within you. It is a power I obtained, but it has now been passed on to you." The memory of the moment his father, after defeating the Titans, had passed that great power on to him, flashed through his mind.
"Father's power…" Lian's eyes opened. He could feel the Titan's energy awakening within him. The powerful force inherited from his father's victory was now flowing into him. He accepted it as his own.
The energy of the earth began to swirl around Lian's body. An immense power flowed into his arms and legs, and he felt a great strength as he absorbed the Titan's power. His father's legacy had now awakened through him.
"I have to save Ivella!" Lian braced himself under Aranuch's massive foot with both hands. The Titan's power in his arms helped him to bear the incredible weight, and he began to push the foot back.
Lian exerted a colossal strength, lifting Aranuch's foot completely. The great being's balance began to waver, and its massive body slowly started to topple backward. The earth rumbled, and Aranuch fell to the ground with a sound like thunder.
As it fell, the surrounding golems simultaneously ceased their movements. Aranuch lay still, a moment of quiet falling over the battlefield.
Lian, with his weary body, helped the fallen Ivella to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Ivella gasped for breath. "You saved me… How could you do that, Lian?"
Just then, Aranuch's voice echoed quietly. "The power of the Titans… so you are the one who has inherited that power…" Its voice was no longer chaotic, but had changed to a calm tone.
"I was once a guardian who protected this land. But the corruption of an ancient god distorted my mind. Thanks to you felling me, I have been able to regain my senses for a time."
Lian remained on guard. "Is it over now?"
Aranuch slowly nodded. "The corruption of the ancient god had dominated my mind, but your power has temporarily freed me. However, the remnants of the ancient god still remain here. If you do not stop them, a greater catastrophe will befall you."
After the battle, Lian's party was left in deep contemplation of Aranuch's warning. They now knew that the corrupted power of an ancient god still existed here, and that it was distorting the flow of the river.
Lian was still confused by the Titan's power he had inherited from his father, but he realized that this power would play a greater role on his journey ahead.
Ivella, with her weary body, rose to her feet. "We must go deeper. If we do not eliminate the ancient god's power here, none of these problems will be over."
Lian listened to her and made his decision. "You're right. Now we must go deeper and stop this ancient power."
**
Episode : The Slumbering Aranuch
After their narrow victory against Aranuch and learning from its momentary awakening how the ancient god's corruption had distorted its very essence, Lian and his party were about to learn an even greater secret. Aranuch was not a singular being.
"What you have seen… was but one of me," Aranuch rumbled low. "My race, the Aranuch, are many, and they slumber."
Lian froze at those words. "Are you saying the slumbering Aranuch race is blocking the river…?"
Aranuch gave a weary nod. "We are. We were the creations of the ancient Titans, guardians bound to the earth. But the influence of an ancient god corrupted us. Corrupted, we lost our original purpose, and instead of protecting the earth, we began to block the river and distort the flow of nature."
Ivella stared at Aranuch, her eyes wide. "So, while they sleep, they are blocking the flow of the water?"
"As creations of the ancient Titans, we were tasked with guarding the earth and its waters, but we fell into slumber due to the corruption of an ancient god," said the Aranuch, who now called himself Bachtar. "Our bodies blocking the river is a result of that corruption. To restore the water, you must awaken us, so that we may move from the land."
Lian listened to Bachtar and inclined his head slightly. "We must awaken you to restore the river. And in that process, we must suppress the ancient god's corruption once more."
Kairen asked, "But what if, when they awaken, the corruption dominates them again? It could bring an even greater disaster."
Bachtar was silent for a moment. "Just as you have freed me from the corruption, you can save them as well. But there is not much time. If the river is blocked for much longer, the land itself will begin to rot."
Lian's voice was firm with resolve. "Alright. We will awaken them and open the river. We will find a way to restore the water while suppressing the corruption."
The party, along with Bachtar, headed to the place where the other slumbering Aranuch were. It was a land of tangled rock and earth, where the river seemed to be dammed. The massive bodies of the Aranuch were blocking the water's path, appearing as if they were a part of nature, yet their forms were one with the earth, holding back the river.
Ivella spoke. "The river can only flow if they awaken. But isn't it too dangerous to wake them all at once?"
After some thought, Lian made his decision. "We must awaken them one by one, while suppressing their corruption. To set the flow of the earth right again, we must awaken them and restore the river."
Bachtar supported his decision. "You possess the power of the Titans, so you will be able to bind them temporarily. I will persuade them."
Lian's party arrived at the place where the Aranuch race slumbered, deep in the unknown continent. The place looked like a giant cavern, and the Aranuch were sleeping peacefully, like giant boulders. The majority of them were here, having become a part of the earth in their slumber, their very existence the cause of the blocked river.
Lian looked around. "If they do not awaken, the river cannot flow again." Just as he said, the slumbering Aranuch were using massive stones to completely block the water's path. "It seems they were controlling the river with these stones. Their corruption is the reason it is blocked."
Ivella nodded. "We have to wake them. That's the only way to open the river again."
Just then, the Aranuch they had fought before, Bachtar, approached them. He was in a state of lucidity for the time being. "My brothers and I were originally the guardians of this land. But the corruption of an ancient god put us to sleep and distorted the flow of the earth."
Lian asked him, "If we awaken you, can you open the river?"
Bachtar looked at his slumbering brethren and nodded. "If you awaken us, we can make the river flow again. But the corruption of the ancient god still covers us, so you must be careful."
Lian used the power of the Titans to send energy to the slumbering Aranuch. His power stimulated their bodies, which were connected to the earth, and they slowly began to awaken. The Aranuch, who had been as still as boulders, began to move one by one, shaking the earth.
They raised their massive bodies, the ancient guardians awakening once more. But the dark traces of corruption still remained in their eyes.
"We can open the river. But we must be careful not to let our power be corrupted again," Bachtar warned.
Lian listened to him and made his decision. "We must open the river together. Let the water that flows here return to nature."
Lian's party and the awakened Aranuch found the massive stone that was blocking the river. It was like a giant dam, completely cutting off the water's flow. The river could not flow again unless this stone was broken.
Kairen looked at the stone. "We have to break this. But our strength alone is not enough. We need the help of the Aranuch."
Bachtar nodded and signaled to his brethren. "We can move this stone with our power. But we must finish this as quickly as possible, before the corruption of the ancient god overwhelms us again."
Lian and his companions began to crack the stone using the power of the Titans and the energy of lightning. Ivella imbued her javelin with lightning magic and dealt a powerful blow, while Kairen used the energy of flame to weaken the stone. But it was hard and would not break easily.
Just then, Bachtar and the other Aranuch began to move the stone with their giant hands. Through the power of the earth, they gathered all their strength to break the massive stone that was blocking the river.
With the strength of the Aranuch and the cooperation of Lian's party, the giant stone slowly began to crack. A massive fissure formed, and the stone that had dammed the river began to crumble. In that moment, the immense power of the water burst through the stone, gushing out with explosive force.
"Success! The river is flowing again!" Ivella shouted. A great torrent of water broke through the stone and flowed out onto the land. The River Rhenes was beginning to live again.
As the river returned, the balance of the earth also slowly began to be restored. The villages of the Rungard and the Brutegar began to receive water again.
"The river is open now," Bachtar said, looking down at his giant hands. "But our corruption is not yet resolved."
Lian knew he had to completely solve the Aranuch's corruption. If he did not put them back to sleep, the influence of the corrupted ancient god would continue to torment them. But before they could sleep again, they had to be freed from the corruption.
"I will find a way to free you from the corruption," Lian said resolutely. He drew on the power of the Titans more deeply and approached the Aranuch.
Bachtar looked at Lian and asked, "Can you truly save us from the corruption?"
Lian nodded. "The power my father used to defeat the Titans remains with me. I will use that power to free you from the corruption."
Lian used the Titan's power to send an energy that purified the corruption to the Aranuch. The energy slowly removed the corrupted power of the ancient god, beginning to free the Aranuch's minds. The dark energy in their eyes vanished, and their consciousness as guardians of the earth returned once more.
The Aranuch, freed from the corruption, became peaceful guardians again. As they opened the river and brought the land back to life, they expressed their deep gratitude to Lian.
"You have stopped our corruption, and we are now ready to sleep again," Bachtar said. "So that we may never be corrupted again, we will sleep peacefully here."
Lian accepted their decision and asked one last time, "Are you sure you'll be alright? You might never awaken again."
Bachtar nodded. "We were originally the guardians who protected the earth. Now that the river has returned, our mission is complete. If you will watch over us, we can enter an eternal slumber again."
Lian and his companions had succeeded in restoring the river and freeing the corrupted Aranuch. They were now ready to return to their sleep as a part of the earth once more. But Lian, to completely eliminate their corruption and to stop the greater threat of the ancient god, prepared to set out on his next journey.
"So that the Aranuch may sleep in peace, let us protect this land," Lian resolved, vowing once more to fulfill his role as a next-generation leader.