Lyerin watched from the sidelines, his expression calm, almost detached.


    He moved with effortless precision, evading any trilobite that came too close.


    One lunged at him, its ws shing through the air, but Lyerin sidestepped with a casual grace.


    Another tried to catch him from behind, but he ducked, his movements fluid and almost mocking.


    The trilobites seemed to sense that he was untouchable, and they turned their fury on the giants instead.


    Lucas''s mind raced. Questions flooded his thoughts, but there was no time to think, no time to ask.


    He focused on staying alive, on avoiding the ws and mandibles that sought to tear him apart.


    Around him, the titans fought with relentless ferocity.


    One giant grabbed a trilobite by its tail, swinging it like a weapon.


    It smashed into another trilobite, and both creatures crumpled to the ground.


    The titan roared, its voice a deep, resonant sound that seemed to shake the very walls.


    Another titan waded into a group of trilobites, its massive hands swinging like hammers.


    Shells cracked and limbs flew as it tore through the creatures with brutal efficiency.


    One trilobite managed to climb onto the titan''s back, its ws digging into the flesh beneath the armor.


    The giant soldier roared in pain, reaching back to grab the creature. It ripped the trilobite free and crushed it in its grip, ichor dripping from its fingers.


    The battle raged on.


    Trilobites swarmed from every direction, their numbers seemingly endless.


    The titans fought with every ounce of strength they had, but the enemy was relentless.


    A giant soldier fell, the massive form came crashing to the ground.


    Trilobites swarmed over it, tearing into its flesh.


    Another titan came to its aid, smashing through the attackers with a fury that bordered on desperation.


    Lucas found himself back-to-back with one of the giants. He nced up, his breathing in ragged gasps.


    "Who are they?" he shouted, barely able to hear his own voice over the roar of battle.


    Lyerin''s voice cut through the chaos, calm and steady. "They are yourrades," he said. "Reborn with twice the speed, size, power, and strength. Their second life."


    Lucas''s heart pounded. He had seen death im these men and women.


    Now they stood before him as titans, wielding a power beyond imagination. But even with their strength, the battle was far from won.


    The trilobites pressed in, their ws shing, their mandibles snapping.


    A titan staggered, its knee buckling as a trilobite struck a vulnerable joint.


    It fell, and the creatures swarmed over it. Lucas watched in horror, unable to look away.


    The giant struggled, but the weight of the enemy was too great. It roared onest time before falling silent.


    "No!" Lucas shouted, lunging forward. But he was toote.


    Another trilobite was upon him, its ws descending.


    He braced himself, but a massive hand snatched the creature away.


    The titan soldier hurled it into the darkness, then turned to Lucas, nodding once before rejoining the fray.


    The ground shook as another trilobite fell.


    The titans fought with everything they had, their movements growing slower, their breathsbored. Blood and ichor stained the cavern floor.


    The trilobites'' numbers seemed endless, their fury unmatched. And yet, the giants stood their ground, refusing to give in.


    As thest of the trilobites fell, Lucas found himself surrounded by the towering figures of his rebornrades.


    They were battered, bloodied, but unbroken.


    For a moment, there was silence—a heavy, suffocating silence that pressed down on them all.


    Then, from the shadows, came a familiar sound—the clicking and hissing of more trilobites. Dozens of them emerged, their eyes gleaming with malevolent light.


    They closed in, circling like vultures.


    Lyerin stepped forward, his gaze cold. "It seems," he said, "the fight is not yet over."


    The tension in the air was palpable, a suffocating weight that pressed down on every soldier as the trilobites closed in.


    The clicking and hissing of the creatures reverberated off the cavern walls, a sinister cacophony that seemed to mock the fragile hope the soldiers had clung to moments ago.


    Their breath came in ragged gasps, and despite their new forms—their massive size, their raw power—fear gnawed at the edges of their minds.


    "We''re surrounded!" one of the titans bellowed, his voice echoing.


    He swung his colossal arm, sending a trilobite flying, but two more immediately took its ce, scuttling over the broken bodies of their fallen kin. "There''s too many of them!"


    Another soldier, her form towering yet trembling, nced frantically around.


    "Where do they keeping from?" she yelled, smashing a trilobite with a thunderous stomp.


    The creature''s shell cracked beneath her foot, but even as it died, its brethren pressed forward with relentless determination.


    "They''re endless!" another soldier cried out, his voice tinged with despair. He swung his massive fist, splintering a trilobite in half.


    The impact sent shards of chitin flying, but it did nothing to slow the tide. He turned, his face pale beneath the blood and grime. "What do we do?!"


    "Fall back!" a voice shouted—a vain order lost amid the chaos.


    "Fall back where?!" someone else screamed in response, eyes wild. "There''s nowhere to go!"


    The ground beneath them trembled as the trilobites closed in, their segmented bodies writhing like a living tide.


    Every strike, every swing, was met with a surge of ws and mandibles.


    The titans were strong, but the creatures were relentless, each one willing to tear them apart piece by piece.


    "Hold the line!" a veteran titan roared, nting his massive feet as he swung his arm like a battering ram.


    The motion sent several trilobites crashing into the walls, their bodies shattering like porcin. But the victory was fleeting. More came, crawling over their fallenrades.


    He gritted his teeth, sweat mixing with blood on his face. "We have to hold!"


    "How?!" came a desperate voice from behind. "They''re pushing us back!"


    A titan stumbled as three trilobitestched onto him, their ws biting deep into his flesh.


    He roared in pain, reaching up to tear them away, but they clung tighter, their mandibles slicing through muscle and bone.


    Another titan stepped in, ripping the creatures free and tossing them aside, but the fallen soldier copsed, his breathing in shallow gasps.


    "Don''t give in!" the rescuer shouted, his voice shaking. He turned to the others, eyes wide. "We can''t fall here!"


    "But we''re losing ground!" another titan cried, swinging his massive arms in a wide arc to keep the trilobites at bay.


    The effort cost him—his movements were growing sluggish, his strength ebbing. "We can''t keep this up!"


    Lucas, standing at the center of the chaos, felt his heart pounding like a drum.


    He dodged a w, barely escaping with his life as a trilobite lunged at him.


    The cavern was a storm of violence, a whirlwind of death.


    Despite their newfound size and power, they were being overwhelmed. And he could see it in the eyes of hisrades—the fear, the realization that their strength might not be enough.


    "What do we do?" someone pleaded, his voice cracking. He crushed a trilobite beneath his heel, but his hands were trembling. "What do we do?!"


    "Lyerin!" a titan shouted, his voice rising above the fray. "What do we do?! You have to do something!"


    Lyerin stood apart from the battle, his movements calm and precise as he evaded the trilobites that asionally lunged at him.


    He moved with an almost casual grace, as though the chaos around him were of no consequence. But now, he turned his gaze on the soldiers—his expression unreadable, his eyes cold.


    "Lyerin!" another soldier screamed, desperation in his voice. "Tell us what to do!"


    A trilobite lunged at the speaker, its ws slicing through the air.


    He caught the creature with one massive hand, crushing it effortlessly, but the strain was evident.


    Blood dripped from wounds that should have healed. His breaths came in ragged gasps. "We can''t… hold them back forever!"


    "We need a n!" another soldier shouted, barely dodging a trilobite''s attack.


    He mmed his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent several creatures sprawling. But the effort drained him. "Lyerin, do something!"


    Lyerin tilted his head, watching the scene with a detached calm that bordered on eerie.


    He stepped back, letting another trilobite pass him harmlessly by. "You''re stronger now," he said, his voice calm and measured. "Use that strength."


    "We are using it!" a soldier spat, his face contorted with rage and exhaustion. "But they just keeping!"


    "Then fight smarter," Lyerin replied, sidestepping another attack. His movements were effortless, a contrast to the titans''bored swings. "They''re mindless creatures. Use that."


    "That''s easy for you to say!" another titan roared, his body trembling with the effort of keeping the trilobites at bay. "You''re not the one being torn apart!"


    A chorus of agreement rose from the soldiers.


    Their fear was raw, their desperation palpable.


    They had been granted a second life—a second chance—but now that chance felt like a curse.


    The trilobites pressed in, their numbers seemingly endless. And with every passing moment, the titans'' resolve began to waver.


    Lyerin''s expression darkened. "If you fall now," he said, his voice cold, "you will never rise again. Fight."


    "But how?!" a soldier cried, tears mingling with sweat on his face. "How do we fight this?!"


    Lyerin''s gaze swept over them, assessing, calcting. He seemed to consider their plight for a long moment, then nodded to himself. "I have an idea," he said.


    The words hung in the air, a fragile hope amid the chaos.


    For a moment, the soldiers hesitated, their breaths caught.


    They turned to him, waiting, desperate for a n—any n—that might save them.