The dagger pressed against Willy's throat wavered slightly. Kalina's eyes narrowed with suspicion as she processed his words.
"What do you mean you hope to atone for your sins'?" she demanded, her voice rough from screaming. "Explain yourself before I lose my patience entirely!"
Willy swallowed painfully against the pressure on his windpipe. The stumps of his legs continued to steam as flesh and bone gradually regenerated, but the process remained agonizingly slow in his weakened state.
"I was... supposed to die," he rasped, each word a struggle. "In my world, I was giving a speech, declaring war on an island nation. It was part of a plan... I was meant to be sacrificed."
Kalina's expression shifted from rage to confusion. "What nonsense is this?"
"The Attack Titan—a creature similar to what I became—crushed me and swallowed my body." Willy's eyes took on a distant look as he recalled his final moments in Marley. "That should have been the end. But instead, I woke up here, surrounded by robed figures... surrounded by you and the others."
The dagger remained at his throat, but Kalina's grip loosened fractionally. "The summoning ritual. We brought you here."
Willy nodded as much as her grasp would allow. "You summoned me, but I arrived with a power I was never meant to possess. The Titan power belonged to my sister, Lara. Not me. Never me."
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Kalina's face. "Then how did you get this power? Who transformed you into that monster?"
"I don't know," Willy admitted. "In my world, Titan transformation is triggered by self-injury with a specific intent. Here... it happened spontaneously."
His eyes met hers, genuine remorse evident in his gaze. "I am truly sorry for what happened. The pain, the confusion, the sudden environment... the Titan followed its instincts, defending itself from perceived threats. All Titans instinctively hunt or attack humans—it's their nature unless controlled by a conscious, prepared mind."
"And you expect me to believe—"
A pained whine interrupted her interrogation. They both turned to see Kalina's Cerberus limping toward them, its three heads held low with exhaustion. The beast had triumphed over the Grunts, but at significant cost. Deep gashes crisscrossed its midnight-black fur, exposing muscle and bone beneath. One of its eyes had been gouged out, and its leftmost head hung at an awkward angle, jaw clearly dislocated.
"My precious guardian," Kalina whispered, her voice suddenly soft with concern. She released Willy, apparently deciding he was too injured to flee, and rushed to the massive hound's side.
Her hands moved in practised gestures, four glowing green circles materialising before her. Each circle measured exactly 75 centimetres in diameter and pulsed with verdant energy as she channelled her mana.
Wood Magic—Quadruple Vine Suture!
From each circle emerged tiny, translucent tendrils that resembled plant roots. They reached toward the Cerberus's most severe wounds—the gouged eye socket, a deep tear in its central neck, a puncture wound through its right flank, and the dislocated jaw of its left head.
The tendrils wove themselves into the damaged tissue with surprising delicacy. As they worked, they glowed with an internal light, accelerating the natural healing process while holding torn flesh together. The roots gradually thickened and darkened, becoming indistinguishable from the hound's own tissue as they merged completely with its body.
Willy watched in fascination, momentarily forgetting his own dire situation. "What manner of power is that?" he asked, his curiosity overcoming his caution. "It's unlike any medical technique I've seen."
Kalina shot him a venomous glare over her shoulder. "Shut up!" she snapped. "You have no right to question anything after what you've done!"
She returned her attention to the Cerberus, stroking its central head gently as the vine sutures completed their work. The dislocated jaw realigned with an audible click, and new tissue formed in the empty eye socket, though the eye itself could not be regenerated.
As she worked, Kalina's gaze kept drifting to Willy's body. The stumps where his legs had been severed continued to emit steam as flesh, bone, and blood vessels reconstructed themselves. Her expression shifted from disgust to horror as she watched the inexorable process of regeneration.
"What are you?" she finally asked, backing away from him slightly despite his obvious immobility. "No human can regrow limbs. Are you some kind of Zerg variant we haven't encountered before? A new type of mimicking monster?"
Willy shook his head, wincing at the pain the movement caused. "I'm human," he assured her. "But I am also the Warhammer Titan now."
"Warhammer Titan?" Kalina repeated, the foreign term clumsy on her tongue. "What is that exactly?"
"A power from my world," Willy explained, his voice growing stronger as his body continued to heal. "There are nine Titan powers, each unique. The Warhammer specializes in creation—forming weapons and structures through hardening."
He gestured weakly toward the massive crystal tree looming above them. "That is a manifestation of the Warhammer's ability. In my world, this power passes from person to person upon death, and each holder lives only thirteen years after inheriting it."
Kalina's eyes widened. "Thirteen years?"
"Yes," Willy confirmed grimly. "The power is tremendous, but the cost is equally great. I have, at most, thirteen years before my lifespan is exhausted." He looked up at the crystal tree again, then back to her. "Thirteen years to atone for what I've done here. Thirteen years to help humanity in this world, if you'll allow it."
His sincerity seemed to catch Kalina off guard. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by distant screams from the northern quarter of the city. The Zerg invasion continued unabated, civilians and the few remaining mages falling before the relentless horde.
Her expression hardened once more. She whispered a command to the Cerberus, and the massive hound padded over to Willy, all three heads lowering to stare directly into his face. Though partially healed, the beast remained formidable, easily capable of ending Willy's life with a single bite.
"I cannot trust you," Kalina declared, moving to stand behind her summon. "You destroyed the Summoner Tower. You killed thousands of mages, including our Chief and most of the Elders. You are too dangerous to be left alive."
The central head of the Cerberus growled, hot breath washing over Willy's face as razor-sharp teeth hovered centimetres from his throat.
"You would execute a man who cannot defend himself?" Willy asked, his voice calm despite his precarious position. "A man who has offered to help?"
"You've demonstrated what happens when you 'help,'" Kalina spat, gesturing to the ruins around them.
Willy maintained eye contact with her, his gaze steady and challenging. "Tell me then, Summoner, how do you plan to defeat these monsters without me? Your tower is destroyed. Your fellow mages are dead or scattered. Your summons, while impressive, are clearly insufficient against the monstrous swarm."
The words struck a nerve. Kalina's face flushed with anger, and she opened her mouth to shout—but Willy continued before she could respond.
"I can fight them," he stated with quiet confidence. "The Warhammer Titan possesses strength and abilities beyond any single creature I've seen in this world so far. I can create weapons, barriers, and entire fortifications from nothing."
"You are absolutely confident, aren't you?" Kalina's voice dripped with sarcasm, but uncertainty flickered in her eyes. "What makes you think your power is enough?"
"I literally destroyed your Mage Tower, without any conscious control." Willy looked directly into her eyes, his expression grave. "I am the Warhammer Titan. I have the strength to fight these monsters, and I have every reason to help humanity survive."
He gestured to his slowly regenerating legs. "Once I've recovered, I can transform again—this time with control and purpose. I can create defences, provide time for evacuation, perhaps even push these creatures back to wherever they came from."
Kalina's Cerberus suddenly whined, all three heads turning toward the northern edge of the destroyed central district. A fresh wave of Grunts had appeared, their olive-green exoskeletons glistening in the late afternoon sun as they moved with methodical precision through the ruins.
"They're coming," Willy observed quietly. "So, tell me, Summoner—do you prefer to die with your pride intact, or live with my help?"
Kalina's face contorted with conflicting emotions: rage, fear, pragmatism, and desperation warring for dominance. The screams of dying civilians echoed through the ruined city, punctuated by the alien chittering of advancing Zergs.
"If you betray us," she finally said, her voice barely audible, "I will find a way to end you, regeneration or not."
Willy nodded solemnly. "I expect nothing less."