The Rise of the Titan

"Titan, you should show proper respect to the gods and address me as the Lady of the Dark," the tall drow elf said as she turned to face Muria, who still appeared as a young boy in a black robe.

"But it isn't wrong for me to call you a girl, is it?" Muria responded, maintaining his composure as he admired the beautiful sight before him. He thought to himself that she would look better if her skin was as fair as a typical elf's instead of the darker tone.

"Indeed, you Titans always lack sufficient respect for the gods." Despite her nudity, the Mysterious Girl radiated a divine aura that made it impossible for anyone to feel any disrespect. She looked at Muria with divine light flowing in her eyes. "Is this why you've provoked a group of gods?"

"Ahem, it's for the great cause of punishing evil and upholding justice. Offending some evil gods is unavoidable," Muria replied, coughing lightly and justifying himself with confidence.

"But that's not the reason you entered this land of sin. You shouldn't have come here."

"My dragons have wandered here. It is my duty and responsibility to find them personally."

"Can't you keep a lower profile? This place belongs to evil gods. Aren't you afraid other evil gods will notice you? You're not a legendary Titan yet!"

"I've been quite low-key," Muria replied defensively.

"Leave this continent as fast as you can. Now that I've found you, it won't be long before other gods, including my mother, find you too. When that happens, you'll be in great danger. With so many gods involved, they won't care about the Titan race."

"Thank you for the warning!" Muria bowed slightly to the goddess who had taken a significant risk to warn him. This place was a paradise for evil gods, with no room for any benevolent creature or deity, not even for the daughter of the Spider Queen Lolth.

"I hope you treat the drow elves on your island well. Guide those who have strayed onto the path of evil back to the path of good. If possible, avoid using slaughter as much as you can."

"I will," Muria promised, understanding that although the goddess had her own motives, her warning was genuine. Lawful beings always had reasons for their actions, unlike chaotic beings who acted without rhyme or reason.

"Run quickly!" The goddess's tall figure began to fade and shatter, turning into specks of light that drifted away. She hadn't used much power to form her avatar.

As soon as the goddess's projection disappeared, Balor demon Broken Horn followed Muria's trail and caught up.

"Take me through space immediately, without any stops, and return directly to the Cloud Island," Muria ordered. Eilistraee's warning had filled him with a profound sense of impending doom, like a mortal standing next to a collapsing mountain.

"Yes, sir." The Balor demon immediately returned to his true form, a towering eighty-meter figure of demonic power. His presence caused all nearby creatures to fall silent, lying flat in fear.

Muria jumped onto the Balor demon's head and watched as Broken Horn broke through space, entering the void between dimensions. His face turned grim. Originally, he had planned to punish evil and uphold justice along the way, gathering wealth and selecting usable living power sources.

"My senses were suppressed earlier." Even in the void, Muria's sense of danger grew, like a mountain about to crush him.

"When I saw the Wax Demon, I should have killed it immediately and fled. I shouldn't have engaged with those fishmen either." Muria's eyebrows furrowed as he realized his earlier misjudgments. "Someone, or rather some god, has been influencing my decisions. If it weren't for the Mysterious Girl's reminder, I might have continued like this until..."

"I may not revere gods, but I must respect them. These beings are not to be underestimated," Muria reflected.

"Roar!" At that moment, the Balor demon beneath Muria let out an enraged roar. A heavy, broad executioner's sword appeared in his hand and clashed with a silent, incoming scimitar.

"Clang!" The clash of legendary forces produced a deafening metallic sound. Visible shockwaves distorted the space around them. The Balor demon let out a furious roar as a crack swallowed them, dropping them back into the material plane.

"Unbelievable, a Titan of order consorting with a chaotic demon." A strange creature appeared before them as they fell back to the material world.

This being resembled a mermaid but had a pair of broad wings. Its originally handsome face was marred by a yellow beak and patches of black feathers, giving it an eerie appearance.

"What kind of creature are you? Why are you so ugly?" Muria asked, puzzled by the sight of the deformed mermaid with an air of arrogance.

Holding two scimitars and sporting black and blue wings, the creature's face twisted in anger at Muria's words. A bone-chilling killing intent surged from it, causing the forest below to tremble.

"I am Sylvan Lin, Wing of the Azure Feather," the winged mermaid declared, enunciating each word.

"With a title like that and wings, but also a fish tail, you must be a hybrid of a mermaid and some kind of bird creature." Muria stopped himself from saying anything more offensive, remembering his own identity.

But Sylvan Lin heard him clearly, "Titan scion, even now you remain arrogant. Do you think having a legendary Balor demon means I can't deal with you?"

"Just a mere fish!" Broken Horn brandished his flaming whip, lashing out at Sylvan Lin. "Dare to block my path."

"You think," Sylvan Lin said, slicing the flaming whip with his scimitars, "that I'm alone?"

As he spoke, the space around them rippled like water, revealing more figures...