IV. Lose Not Your Humanity
4-1
One the day that the Grove fell,
He accepted his defeat and demise,
As if embracing truth and heresy.
“Believe in Titans, and you'll have a happy death.
Deny the Titans, and you'll have a fulfilling death.”
Yet as the lightened soul bids farewell to its heavy shell,
A Titan made an untimely call.
“Do not be startled, child of humanity. You have a final query in this world.”[1]
“You finally came —”
He does not seem shocked, and lets the Coreflame take over his shell.
“Be more punctual next time, if you will.”
4-2
Upon his first meeting with the Titan,
The blasphemer is already on his best behavior.
And towards the suggestion to reforge his body,
He paid no mind.
“I have so kindly offered you the best body…
So why do you insist upon your mortal imperfection?”[2]
The scholar replies in candor:
“Only by retaining the various flaws —
Can my humanity be preserved in rigor.”
4-3
His form remains in the mortal realm,
While his spirit walks the River of Souls' shores.
Between life and death, he fatigues.
Dwelling in the child of humankind's thoughts and senses,
The Titan cannot bear to remain a mere spectator.
“Why not ask me your questions, child of humanity?
I am rich in wisdom and shall speak with no ambiguity.”
As though an unspoken pact,
The scholar asked the god about all things,
Feigning a humble quest for knowledge.
“Do you treat me just as a way to answer questions, a mere machine?”[3]
— The Titan got what they asked for.
“You should thank me,
For good questions are rarer than good answers.”
4-4
Compared to the joy of a new life,
The scholarly breakthrough, carried home alongside death,
Filled the scholar's heart with more fervor.
He returned to the scourged Grove many times,
And the black tide followed.
Despite his defeats…
He never sought help or permission.
But at every desperate moment,
The Titan would eventually take over one-half of his body.
The union of man and god,
A flawed and clumsy choreography.
It happened but once—a perfect harmony,
One man, one god, speaking in one breath.
“Stop stepping forward at the same time as me.”[4]
4-5
The Titan once revealed the secrets of “Mixing Life.”
A boon seemingly a blessing,
But full of malice.
“What a tempting bait,
But that's not my desired chalice.”
Divine power is within is reach,
But the scholar is not moved by that essence.
This long and abnormal temptation,
Is also a trial of elevation —
For the sage can achieve all things,
But “short-cuts” alone he abhors with silence.