ROUND OF 2
Kenuran VS Moyosore
Ashira vs Sonya
Moyo had seen the duel line up for the next round the moment he had exited the training ring with Ashira, he collected the authority shard given to him by master Skatha, the bright blue item glowing softly. The master had shown them what true power was, tearing into them as she tapped into a bit of her master ranked strength while using her edicts to pummel them. Moyo had pushed with all of his strength, pitting his will and authority against her edict and coming up short repeatedly. Ashira had fared better, finally becoming sufficiently malleable to the satisfaction of master Skatha who finally let them go.
His Ashe had been once again been put through the crucible, feeling her edicts pummel his Ashe time and time again till the very utterance of a command became empty, his Ashe needing time to recuperate, but at the end of the training, he got the shard from master Skatha. Ashira had been a bit reluctant to use the one she was given,
“It is tradition to use the shard of the ruler of your house. That way you embody his principles a bit” she explained as she stared at the shard in her hand,
“Using a shard of another house is like an unsaid breach of trust, makes you feel like a traitor”
Moyo stared on as she spoke to herself, waiting for her decision. She gripped the shard hard as she broke it,
“However my father and his retinue are still a far way from here, and the tournament won’t wait for no one” she finished, the authority seeping into her as she grunted,
Moyo crushed his also, feeling the pure authority seeping into his body, he felt his Ashe echo along with that of the rulers’. This was the part master Skatha had warned them about, the point where the rulers’ authority dominated his authority therefore crushing his and losing his sense of identity and path. Moyo gritted his teeth as he bent the authority of the ruler to his, crushing it with his mental strength even as it buckled defiantly against his might, raging at the fact that a mere diamond would think himself strong enough to do so.
This was however a simple sliver of the ruler’s authority, nothing so tangible as to push them to master, simply to unlock their edicts for a short while. With pure determination and a snarl, the authority of the ruler broke, shattering into pieces that were readily absorbed by the Ashe of the titan. His HUD flashed,
Notice: diamond has absorbed authority of ruler Altair tinged with the aspect of a thousand blade, this has temporarily unlocked: edicts
* DA PA DA: the edict to counter attacks by sending them back to the initiator with double its strength and with the power of reality. This ability drains every drop of aether and Ashe to unleash. Drainage reduces to half the amount at master and nonexistent at ruler.
Moyo suddenly got a newfound respect for master Killian, he also wondered how he had managed to teach Raina the skill with which she had almost ended his run in the tournament. Master Skatha had applauded them, right before she sent them on their way to prepare for their next round. They had spent an entire week in the training ring, the equivalent of an entire day in reality, and by the time they stepped into the stasis chamber, the next round was coming up, the spectators gathered and the rulers ready.
Ashira stopped him as he prepared to step into his stasis pod, a few days ago they had numbered seven, now it was simply two of them left. He paused and turned to her, Ashira searching for something in his eyes,
“No matter what happens, this tournament isn’t the end of existence” she said,
“You don’t think I can beat him” he replied,
She shook her head,
“I don’t doubt your strength Moyo, I simply do not trust the dragons to play fair, we know they are hiding something, what that is, I have no idea” she explained,
He simply kept quiet, his mouth clamped shut,
“you’re angry” she said, her eyebrows going up in realization,
He turned away,
“I’m not” he muttered,
“You are, you think I’m looking down on you” she pressed,
“Now you’re just pushing words in my mouth” he replied,
She sighed, grabbed his head and stared at him,
“I watched you literally go from iron to diamond in so short a time, only rulers have broken such a record” she started,
“I’ve watched you fight tooth and nail above your current rank, break barriers despite insurmountable odds, come back from the brink of death, go toe to toe with a diamond as a gold and stand here, one of the top four diamond swordsmen in the entire archailect, millions upon millions are chanting your name”
“So I know better than anyone else what you’re capable of titan, and if all things were fair, I’d have no issues with you going to battle against the Dracons, knowing what sort of mind scarring brutality awaits Kenuran” she completed,
“But?” he asked,
“But the Dracons didn’t get to where they are by playing noble and right, all I’m saying is whatever happens down there, realize you’re better than this constricting tournament” she replied,
He nodded, stepping into his pod as Ashira watched it close, putting one hand on the glass, he smiled and closed his eyes, opening them in the waiting room. He placed dominion on the wall and sat on the ground, the chants of the crowd echoing around him. Smiling as he felt the apparition appear close to him,
“You shouldn’t really be here master” he said, cracking his eyes to see master Ajax smiling at him,
“You expect me not to come see my only disciple before his big fight?” Ajax snorted,
“The rulers allowed both sides to say a few words before the duels begin, not sure what the red jaw would be saying to that disappointment of a child she named Kenuran though” he said shrugging,
“Are you here to tell me how the Dracons would inevitably cheat?” Moyo asked,
Ajax shook his head,
“That is inevitable as you’ve rightly said, I’m here to ask if you’re ready” Ajax asked,
“You taught me well, you raised me as a sturdy blade against my enemy, for me not to be ready would be an insult to you” Moyo replied,
Ajax stared at him for a moment,
‘I suppose I owe you an apology” Ajax said, Moyo raising an eyebrow,
“Back when I was commissioned to train you, I had my own agendas” Ajax started,
“Still do to be honest, but you’re your own man now, I see that now, not some pawn to the whims of those stronger than you, that my foolish disciple is the greatest honor you have bestowed upon me” Ajax said,
“Agendas?’ Moyo asked,
“Might have wanted to use you against the Dracons” Ajax coughed, Moyo shaking his head,
“And originally, I wanted you to fly the banner of the reaping katana, wanted you to fly it right in the face of the damned scorching claw and his broods who took everything from me” Ajax said,
“About that” Moyo started as Ajax raised a hand up,
“In time, I’ll explain the story of the legend that is Ajax death blade, but for now, you need to focus on Kenuran” Ajax cut in,
Moyo nodded, standing up with a gesture from Ajax,
“Who are you?” Ajax asked,
“Moyosore titan blade, wielder of dominion and Oro, guardian of earth, and lord of clan titan blade” Moyo replied immediately,
He had no doubt in his head who he was any longer, he was the titan blade on the path of the crushing blade, his mandate and path were as straight forward as his goal. Ajax nodded,
“Then my work is complete, wreak him out there Moyo, no quarter is to be given, send a message to them not to fuck with us” Ajax completed,
Moyo heard his name been chanted,
“I guess that’s my cue” he said softly,
Ajax hugged him, Moyo’s eyes wide at the gesture from his master,
“you’ve made me proud Moyo, never forget that” Ajax said as he disappeared,
Moyo took a deep breath as he shuddered, locking the emotions deep within him. He deserved it, every piece of good message he heard, every ounce of support he garnered and every smile sent his way, he deserved it all. Picking up dominion, he gripped it hard and walked out into the chants and roars of the name titan. He looked around, banners of house thousand blades flew, ascenders stamped their feet and roared in unison. He raised his blade high as the roar doubled, gripping dominion hard, he realized he carried all their hopes, the underdog who fought his way to the top four.
Kenuran marched out from the other side as the entire arena quietened, a think tension in the air, and if the dragon noticed, he gave no indication. Kenuran looked bigger, his body literally steaming,
“Whatever you did, I do hope it gives you unparalleled strength” Moyo said,
“You will learn your place titan, your hubris to house Dracon ends here” Kenuran replied, his sick grin on his face,
Moyo simply kept quiet and stood stoically,
“Ladies and gentlemen, ascenders one and all, welcome to one of the most anticipated duels of this entire tournament!” the announcer Iax said as he floated down from above,
Dressed in immaculate black tuxedo, more tints of black to his white hair and his dazzling smile on his face. Even with his words the crowd remained quiet, Iax glanced around,
“Wow, tough crowd” he said,
“Anyways, ascenders Moyo, Kenuran, are you ready?” he asked,
Moyo nodded, Kenuran growling the word ready, the announcer nodded and floated back to the air,
“Begin!” Iax ordered,
Two monstrous realms tore the arena asunder, the runes guarding the stage rang with a loud shrill, doing their bests to hold back the raw power the realms emitted. The realm of pure infinite fire that burned with aether and intent, roiling flames of pure power that burned the very aether out of the air around them, adding it to its stock as it burned brighter and brighter battled with the heavy and intimidating realm of the titan, the mountain of pure diamond glowing as the spherical barrier of pure titanic aura ate at the flames, shielding the realm that continually poured intent.
In these two realms stood the two ascenders, Kenuran in full draconic bloodline state, red scales covering his entire body that glowed, blade raised as he struggled to bring it down in a swing attack. At the other end stood the titan, covered in Ashe, only his eyes glowing beneath the pure power that poured out of him,
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“BURN”
“SHIELD”
Two commands bathed with authorities echoed around the arena, thunder clapping as the echoes of the commands blasted out. The sand below crystallized and shattered under the power of the command, the two authorities contesting with each other in a haze of raw roiling aether that rumbled through the very air, throwing up a thick cloud of dust that covered the entire fighting arena, shielding what was going on from the spectators. It didn’t last forever, for large booms of a battle going on blew the curtain of cloud away to reveal Moyo and Kenuran finally going blow for blow.
Moyo with a stoic look on his face as he met every attack of Kenuran with equal power. The rage of the dragon was evident on his face even as flames followed every attack, only to be brought down with the overwhelming Ashe and gravity that literally snuffed out the flames. They blitzed round the arena, tearing apart the structure, Moyo with his entire body blazing with pure power, mantle locked on him as he gave back whatever attack the dragon sent his way with immediate crushing ability, some Kenuran had to dodge.
The spectators were kept on their toes as they roared at the display of pure swordsmanship, the sword skills of the path of the crushing blade versus the scorching blade. Sparks from the blades of both ascenders literally started infernos that melted the sands below, ripping apart the fabric of reality next to them as it healed back rapidly. Kenuran disengaged with a snarl, using a kick laden with pure authority to push back the titan who blocked but nonetheless was pushed back, with a swing of his blade he uttered another command,
“RAZE”
Moyo countered, his Ashe rising to the forefront in an avalanche of pure power,
“SHIELD” he commanded again,
The wall of fire battered at his shield ineffectively before dispersing to reveal Kenuran coming down with his blade, using his full power to crush it. Moyo however had vanished, appearing behind Kenuran to drive his blade deep into his shoulder before activating his gravity ability to shatter the half of Kenuran. A roar of agony answered as the half that had been blown away healed in a blink, black claws hoping to pierce Moyo who had moved again, dominion whipping through the air towards the neck of the dragon.
Kenuran saw the move coming and clamped his teeth down on the blade, hoping to use his draconic jaws to crush the blade, to his utmost surprise he couldn’t and got a kick to the head, sending him crashing into the ruined landscape below. Spitting out clumps of sand and glass, Kenuran saw Moyo landed,
“I warned you Kenuran” Moyo spoke, his voice echoing like a giant around the arena,
“I promised you retribution when we met, I promised you pain and pure terror” he continued,
“And I will deliver on my promise, this is for Ulsa frozen blade, Lothar diamond blade and for those innocents you and your master killed at Agabod” Moyo finished,
Kenuran laughed, his shoulders shaking,
“you think all you’ve done from the beginning of this battle means anything?, I’ve merely been gauging your strength you imbecile. Now watch, observe as I methodically break you” Kenuran replied,
Moyo immediately went on guard as he felt the aura change, something about the flames put him on guard, for it burned with an intensity he couldn’t explain for a second, and when he did Kenuran was close to him, his claw driving straight for Moyo’s heart. Ferocity of Oshosi screamed as dominion blocked the attack, Moyo twisting his body to dodge the hit. It clipped him on the shoulder and burnt straight through his Ashe, eating it and lancing through his body straight through to his very core.
Moyo screamed in pure agony as he rolled away from Kenuran, glancing at his side where his Ashe sizzled without closing back, Kenuran smiled,
“Still want to make me pay titan blade?” Kenuran gloated,
Moyo snarled and blitzed forward, right into the realm of Kenuran that had reemerged, carving a path through the realm that tried oppressing him but to no avail. Kenuran brought his claw down on Moyo, the black gleaming biological weapon cleaving through the air with pure intent and power. Moyo deflected it with dominion, landing a heavy punch on Kenuran, caving his scales but screaming in pain at the burn marks that sizzled on his hand. Kenuran resettled his jaw with a grin, Moyo shifting back and blasting his aura, delving into the power of Kenuran before his eyes widened in shock,
“You sense it don’t you?” Kenuran gloated,
Moyo grew blind with rage, took one step that made the entire arena shiver and quake with power, Kenuran snarling and attacking immediately. Dominion came crashing down on Kenuran’s claws like a mountain, ripping and shredding through the claws like melted butter before touching the sandy ground and shattering the entire arena floors,
“Aspect!” Moyo growled,
He had no idea how, but Kenuran was tapping into the pure aspect of Azar himself, Kenuran grinned even as he lost both arms that grew back immediately with a wet noise
****************************************
Altair shifted, pure power from the aspect of the thousand blades boiling to the surface,
“You dare” he whispered, his words being carried through the tides of aether that glowed through the air,
His platform shook, as did the platform of Raye the empress of the Garudas as well as other platforms of those allied to their cause. Up above the air, reality cried in warning as Altair gathered his full power, the blazing form of the spiritual form of Raye took shape, a golden Garuda with the wings of a phoenix, its eyes gazing maliciously at the position of Azar and his rulers. Even the rulers supporting house Dracon could no less come to the defense of their fellow ruler, for they too witnessed the atrocity that was going on below.
The shielded platform of the scorching blade blazed with power, Azar’s spiritual form revealing its presence as a large red serpentine shape,
“I dare” the dragon replied with a laugh,
“It is not against the rules, merely cautioned. It is not my fault you were born the lesser species, unable to handle the taste of a supreme beings power” he gloated,
Aspects were a no go to those below ruler, not because of those above them not wanting them to use it, but because of the devastating effects it could have on their bodies and paths, an effect it seemed the dragons were immune to. Altair raged inwardly, blue eyes glowing as he raised a single finger, thousands of blades wielding the pure aspect of the thousand blades itself formed overhead.
Master Anala appeared in front of the platform of her ruler, blade drawn, Ajax doing likewise in front of the platform of Altair, Sonya at her mother’s side. Ajax had a deadly gleam in his eyes, Krial drawn as he stared in pure hatred,
“Even now you play dirty games” he whispered, the spiritual form of the death blade, a skeletal persona with a midnight blade appearing behind him in its full power,
“It is not my decision” Anala replied, her body now in pure flames as she gathered her full strength,
“The child of the red jaw to fall so low, a disgrace” Sonya said,
Anala froze up, eyes wide open in rage as she turned to Sonya,
“You think I wanted this?” she whispered,
The masters moved as one, blades drawn to release devastating damage on each other in an attack so great reality fractured and shattered like glass around them. Then a presence held them down, crushing their techniques and fizzling out their power with its deadly power, the masters froze, recognition on their faces,
“no one moves” the voice of Sigmar true blade said as he appeared, reality asserting itself back to reveal even the attacks of the rulers had fizzled out,
Not even Sigmar true blade could had accomplished that, it was the power of his patriarch, the harbinger himself who suddenly appeared between the platforms of the entire rulers present, silent and standing, floating in the air with a bit of his blade unsheathed. Just a small piece of his blade had been unsheathed from its ornately gold scabbard, but its power literally locked down any opposing power close to him.
The authority and aspect of Zane came from the supreme being himself, the pure intent of Alastor and brokered no opposition,
“this duel will go on” the voice of Zane echoed even though his lips never moved,
The thousand blades simmered in quiet anger,
“The dragon is right, it is not against the rules, the match will go on” the harbinger completed before vanishing again,
The rulers and masters were released, Altair sealing his platform shut with himself and Ajax inside, the roaring laughter of Azar echoing outside.
*************************
Moyo had expected the duel to be called off when he revealed the cheating of Kenuran, instead the announcer had called the match on, much to the glee of the dragon and the rage of the crowd alike. He had quickly accepted the fact that the archailect had done as it willed again, there was no right or wrong, only power, so he decided to fight on, to give his best even as he felt his wrath of Oya trying desperately to heal him against the scorching power of Azar.
Kenuran showed no damages as told by master Skatha, he showed no debilitating injury and Moyo accepted that as well, the dragon was different. He felt his body burning, but still he pushed on, the smile on Kenuran’s face turning to a frown and then a snarl,
“Just fall!” the dragon shouted, releasing a belch of fire that covered the entire arena,
Moyo smiled as he danced in the fire, his Ashe burning even as he pumped more out of his body,
Fun, he was having fun,
Even as he burnt, his skin beginning to smolder, he danced through the flames, the movements of the path of the crushing blade resounding in him as he took every swing of his blade, chopping off arms and parts of Kenuran that grew back immediately. The titan laughed, he laughed and swung,
************************
Anshara,
Alastor the being of blade gazed down from his realm of infinite edges, where every point was an edge, made of pure intent,
Anshara, another diamond was tapping into it, a trickle but still, this…titan that nudged at something deep within him tapped into it. He stretched his mind to his harbinger, uttering a single word even as the diamond who was close to death continued on, body wreathed in flames. His harbinger moved immediately, hearkening to the words of his supreme being, and Alastor heard the giggle of his sister Lotes echo into his domain with amusement and wondered what he had overlooked in the infinite possibilities he had stared into.
He found it and paused, unable to understand what he was seeing in surprise and waiting to see if the reality Lotes had deigned to show him would play out.
********************
The titan was nothing more than strips of bones and flesh, but still Kenuran watched him press on, batting aside his attacks even though Kenuran poured the living scorch fire over the titan, still he pushed forwards, he pushed on in a never-ending deluge of attacks that raged around him, with anger and bitterness Kenuran threw himself into the battle with anger and fear,
He couldn’t fail Azar, he couldn’t fail the scorching claw, failure was heresy to the ruler,
He finally saw the titan stumble even as he lost one shoulder to the blade of the titan, he would grow it back. The limb didn’t grow back, the arm shriveling up as he saw the aether and essence seep into the titan, healing him slowly,
“No, NO!” Kenuran raged in pure anger,
That couldn’t be possible, the aspect of Azar would prevent the skills of the titan that allowed him to siphon the power of his enemies from activating, but here he was staring at the titan healing rapidly. Kenuran had seen enough, next round be damned, he would use it, he delved deep and took more from the aspect of Azar buried deep within him and prepared to use it when time stopped.
********************************
Moyo was tired, for the first time in forever he could utter those words without shame, even as he deflected and attacked, following the sweet rhythm of Anshara that guided his footsteps. He knew his body, the indomitable will fused with the might and tenacity of the titan would soon crumble, but he could care less, not when he was having this much fun. A block, a feint and a cut later, he could hear his heart beat. He had cut off one shoulder of Kenuran and chuckled as it refused to heal, his mind racing through hundreds of thoughts as the same time as he delved deeper into the bliss of Anshara.
The aspect of the titan,
The vibration took him from head to toe, his bony frame rapidly healing up even as he felt his body burning from the inside. He knew he was on a timer now and only the pure power that blazed through him kept him sane, the aspect of the titan, a pure undefeatable force of the archailect and he just tapped into it through Anshara. He could hear the countdown now as his body began to crumble under the power of the aspect, his body forged through aether struggling to keep up even as his skills began to overheat from the terrible use he put them through.
There was no longer a stage, only a maelstrom of debris as the two battled through it. He felt the end coming, the crescendo of attacks and he took one final step of the titan, appearing close to Kenuran and jumping straight to the final attack of the titan, blade razed as he gathered every single Ashe, aether, intent, gravity into one single attack.
Moyo felt his path shatter, he wasn’t sure how he knew, but he felt it, the inevitable doom of an ascender, his entire struggles going to waste in that one single delicate moment, but he didn’t care, he would press on and persevere, he would win this battle and consider his debt paid in full.
Time stopped,
The titan blade, glanced around at the frozen reality. Kenuran with a mask of terror and fear etched all over his face lay on the ground, prepared to use his final and most devastating attack. He saw a figure step through the frozen reality like stone through a ripple of water, a tall man with a straw hat and an ornately carved sword sheath. Pure intent sang around him, turning everything around him to sharp edges,
“Did you do this?” Moyo asked defiantly,
Whoever this man was had the power of rulers, and if he wanted Moyo dead, he would be,
“They call me the true blade” the man replied, his voice sharp and soft like a newly forged blade,
“Zane true blade, the harbinger” Moyo said with realization,
The true blade stared at him with soft brown eyes,
“That attack won’t land you know; your body is broken and your path too far gone and being dissolved as we speak to make the hit.” Zane said,
Moyo felt his heart slow, so he did feel it right, his path had been shattered. He gripped his blade tighter,
“I don’t believe that, I don’t believe I would go down broken, I will keep fighting till the end, the katana and titan always advances, I will advance” he grounded out even as tears began leaking from his face,
“There is a way out, a way forward so to say” Zane continued unperturbed,
Moyo glanced at him,
“Be my disciple, be the disciple of the harbinger and I could give you a new path”
Moyo stared hard at the harbinger,
“no” he simply said,
“My path is mine and mine to walk alone, I will end this dragon and I will protect my home, I will protect everyone” he growled,
Something sparked within him and he saw Zane’s eyes widen with startled shock,
“With shield and katana I would hold, I am the mountain and the blade, the protector and the avenger, for every hit I take I repay threefold, I am the titan blade” he finished,
The feeling became an inferno that engulfed him, his Ashe sizzled to life on his body,
“Interesting, I look forward to your exploit, titan blade” Zane said,
“You may not win this battle, but this is one fight in a war, till we meet again, titan blade” Zane finished,
Moyo watched the harbinger step back out of the frozen realm and gripped his blade tighter, taking a deep breath, this last attack would define him. His HUD was sealed to him, but he knew drastic changes had happened to both his body and path, but he would deal with that later. As time continued and he felt his body break, he shouted the last authority he had been saving, even as the scorching flames of Kenuran threatened to overwhelm him,
“DA PA DA!”
*******************************
Kenuran had thought this was the end, laying on the ground with his body refusing to heal, he gathered the last of the ruler’s aspect and prepared to use it, to burn himself out when the titan shouted a bizarre command that froze him, terror on his face and his organ below leaking urine on him in a shame so devastating he would carry it to the grave. Except the attack didn’t hit and the titan broke down into motes of light even as he shouted the command, causing reality to bend and twist in a most terrific way before settling due to the user fizzling out.
Kenuran sat there, staring in disbelief,
“I won” he croaked,
“Ladies and gentlemen, in a surprising twist of events, the winner of this round is Kenuran red jaw!” Iax true blade shouted to the quiet crowd as he stood in the now demolished fighting arena,
The titan blade had lost.