The nexus point 001 formerly known as Dire, was a point as old as time itself. Of course, all nexus points bared similar numbers, the true sequence known only to the brigade who erected them, it stood as a source of aether to the galaxy it resided in. The peculiar thing about nexus point dire was the fact that it was an almost abandoned galaxy, their sun going supernova and the former ruler evacuating all the billions of souls that called the galaxy home, they had moved on to another of the infinite galaxies that filled the archailect.

Thus, nexus point dire had become a desolate galaxy filled with nothing but echoes of the past, that was, until the brigade decided to turn it into a prison galaxy, filled with the worst of the worst offenders even the brigade had to take into custody themselves. Leaving a single member of the organization which would later become known as the fringe walkers, a ruler close to attaining the realm of an ancient, it was to be an almost forgotten part of the archailect with contact with the greater archailect coming in the form of relief items such as food and other amenities the immortal prisoners might require once in a while to stave off the mind-numbing effect of eternity.

The ruler, a being or specie that looked like a cross between a mantis and a frog, their species forgotten and being the sole survivor had not expected the cult to attack, and definitely not led by Rohan himself. The battle had been short but brutal, the main forces of the cult led by Rohan and the five brothers of the undying hand, his five subordinates whose strengths were rivaled only by the greatest of lords had laid decimation to the galaxy named dire after its nexus point. The prisoners in shackles were given two options, either join the cult or risk destruction.

A good number of them decided to join the cult, going with the thought process of any form of existence was better than death, the rest sided with the ruler, for they may be the worst of the worst criminals of the archailect, but even they knew a foolish path when they saw one. The battle had been one sided, the ruler holding down long enough as he battled the five brothers simultaneously, a testament to his strength as a ruler with a path born of mana that laid plague like damage to his foes.

That had all changed when Rohan stepped in himself, utterly and viciously eliminating the ruler from existence and his budding throne wiped also from existence, thereby ensuring the ruler wouldn’t be making a dramatic comeback anytime soon in the eons to come, for the throne was a physical manifestation of an aspect and as such a path to reincarnation. The prisoners who had sided with the ruler had quickly seen their numbers cut down, with no way to contact the greater archailect, they had gone to their deaths swinging, but not all of them though.

It had been a futile gesture, for Rohan cared not if they lived or died, he only cared about how their essences and blood might fuel his plans. Runes were carved into the very crust of the nexus point planet dire, a spire raised from the sacrifice of the prisoners offered to the ravaging powers. Then an injured Rohan had offered the tiny bit of essence from the supreme being Alastor he had managed to take before the intervention of Zane true blade to the ravaging powers themselves.

It had been greedily accepted and a dark scale from some reptilian creature given in return, the key to a true spire. And thus, the cult of the undying hand finally had their foothold on the archailect, transforming the nexus point planet dire into a beacon of the abyss, cut off from the greater archailect for a while as the barriers between order and chaos would take a few months to settle. It gave him time to prepare for the galaxy spanning invasion that would be coming when those months were used up, for the supreme beings would favor no taint on their precious archailect.

With the main planet of dire itself turned to the ravaging powers of the abyss, pathways into the abyss had opened up, numerous tainted and blighted creatures had poured into the planet itself, slowly terraforming it into a blighted capital of the abyss. The prisoners left alive could only watch in terror as they were sacrificed to the ravaging powers of the abyss in order to bring the other planets surrounding dire into alignment.

Yet such an undertaking would take months to complete, for Rohan couldn’t possibly go attacking another spire without putting himself and his budding foothold planet of dire at risk, for once he crossed the barrier willingly, the protective lining of the barrier would be shattered and the forces of the brigade he could already see amassing on the other side would pour in. Slowly he would build his power here, one planet already absorbed with four more on their way.

Rohan undying hand smiled, wincing at the thought of four months of respite to prepare with four planets to consume. Meaning the barrier would probably fall just as soon as the fourth planet was finally consecrated to the ravaging powers of the abyss. Sitting atop a mountain whose top had been shaved away during the invasion, Rohan would watch as the thousands of slaves that were still left alive being tortured but not killed by the blighted creatures of the abyss.

He had given a mandate, the prisoners were to be saved for the consecration of the other planets and not to be killed, their essences needed for the ritual consecrations. The blighted creatures, at least those of sentience from category four and above knew well enough to follow his orders, lest he casted them back into the abyss, for there was little patience from the pseudo lord of the undying hand himself.

All around dire, the abyss flowed smoothly, cutting off any form of aether and machinations of the archailect, not even the supreme beings could scry and peek into the planet any longer, and in time, this entire galaxy. Pathways opening up behind him drew his attention to the beings he had invited, folding one hand of his into his robe, he winced at the slight pain that was slowly healing up, the burn marks from the explosion of the titan blade.

Moyosore titan blade,

A name he was sure would ring across the archailect in time, and a foe he felt whose power echoed through the abyss in pure revulsion. Whatever that child was whose ascendance was at an astronomical rate, the abyss wanted him dead and dead now. The boy had a power that was an anathema to the abyss itself and its ravaging powers, he had no doubt that his decision not to immediately end his existence the moment he had him under his grips would come back to bite him. Turning to see the five figures arraigned close to each other, appearing from pathways that closed up behind them, he smiled,

“Brothers, remove your hoods, you are safe on this planet, for not even their precious supreme beings can gaze upon us here” he said,

One by one hoods were removed and Rohan gazed into the faces of his five brothers and generals,

Jager Azartes, path of the abyssal shade,

Eldon crystal eye, path of the abyssal shard warrior,

Zeph Ash rain, path of the abyssal Ash flood,

Mortas crane lance, path of the abyssal blight legion,

Gail clay claw, path of the abyssal blight claw.

Five ascenders who only a few days prior were members of the archailect, lying in wait for the rise of their master and lord Rohan, now finally cutting ties with the archailect completely.

Jager Azartes had been the patriarch of the great Azartes clan, rising through the ranks as a vassal of the great Ironash house, his ruthless quest for power had brought him in contact with Rohan during his sojourn through the archailect, realizing the truth of the archailect and the great game the supreme beings and primordials played at the expense of lives in the archailect. He swore fealty there and then, consecrating his path into that of the abyssal shade and a few days ago, totally decimated his entire clan after revealing his ties to Rohan and they in turn rejecting his orders to swear allegiance also.

Eldon crystal eye, his most loyal and staunch brother, also serving as his protector had until a few days back served as a brothel owner on Agabod, a nexus point while secretly serving as his eyes on the world Rohan had previously marked for taking.

His entire clan of crystal warriors had been a part of the order of the reaping katana, then came the war and they were brutally hunted down until the supreme beings had called off their dogs, but by then it was too late, Eldon was the last of his kind. He swore fealty to Rohan and his cult, working as a sleeper agent while consecrating his core and path to the abyss, now he walked the path of the abyssal shard warrior.

Zeph Ash rain, former master of the house Ironash and former patriarch of the branch clan Ash wrath had been exiled from house Ironash, a disgrace they tried to veil from the prying eyes of the archailect. He had led his clan on a path of venerating the abyss till members of the clan had rebelled and informed the house itself. He had laid low, hiding from the assassins the house had sent after him till he had been discovered by Rohan, he too had sworn fealty to Rohan, his path consecrated into that of the abyssal Ash flood.

Mortas crane lance had been an ascender who without the backing of any notable house, clan, sect or group had clawed his way to master through any means possible. Dabbling in all forms of diabolical means, he had eventually gone through the path of a necromancer, creating a kingdom for himself as he served the needs of the rulers and organizations who had need of his specific niche. He had bitten more than he could chew when he had orchestrated the takeover of a planet at the behest of the ruler of the crimson rose, the same house whose ruler had been sanctioned for trying to colonize a new planet on a new world.

The irony was not lost to Rohan that the same world had been the world of the titan blade, again all things were leading back to the titan blade and it irked him. Rohan had saved Mortas in that dire moment when his world was being besieged by a general of the brigade, with nowhere left to run to, Mortas had more than willingly accepted the offer of Rohan, swearing fealty and also consecrating his path into that of the abyssal blight legion from an ordinary necromancer.

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Gail clay claw, howling wolf of the clan Wolftide had been the blunt force weapon of house Wolftide whenever they invaded a territory, a clan of pure wolf monsters that used mana as well as intent, he had been the former patriarch of the clan clay claw. His constant battles with the forces of the abyss had opened his eyes to the power the abyss could bestow upon his clan and he had accepted, transmorphing his clan members into deadly abyssal wolves he unleashed upon the abyss itself.

It had been deadly effective, entire worlds had been recovered and soon enough, an entire system in a galaxy. However, the effects of the abyssal transformation had been deadly and horrifying, his clan members becoming nothing more than slavering beasts that hungered for nothing more than the next battle they could indulge themselves in. the house had found out to their horror soon enough and like all great houses decided to wipe out any trace of taint from their line lest they suffer disgrace and shame.

It had been a purge, one the house had secretly called the brigade into, Gail had barely survived the purge of his clan world and clan clay claw wiped from the records of house Wolftide completely, for such a taint couldn’t be afforded to linger in the records of a great house. He had made his way through pathways into blighted worlds on the fringes of the archailect, there he met Rohan who had happened to be aware of his sojourn and had sworn fealty to the avatar of chaos himself and his path consecrated into that of the abyssal blight claw.

Together these five had made up the five brotherhoods of the cult of the undying hand, each serving as the leader of one arm of the cult. Now gathered here on a world they could finally call their own, they would each in time with the exception of Eldon be given control over a world, one of the four worlds that now ringed the main world of dire. A large rectangular table had been carved in waiting for them, midnight black with the carved faces of screaming souls fused into it. It was too much for his taste, but he took it in stride.

The table had eleven chairs around it, five for the five hands of the brotherhood and five for the remaining guests he awaited. While the cult acted as the main opposition to the brigade, there was another significant force of the abyss, one the ancient and primordial rulers of the archailect battled predominantly on the frontlines. Eldon shard warrior glanced around,

“It seems our esteemed guests are yet to make an appearance” he rumbled,

Made in the form of a crystal humanoid shape that was once luminous, his total consecration to the abyss had dyed it midnight black making him look oddly enough like he was made of constellations of blue stars that glittered on his lean golem form. Rohan nodded,

“Indeed, they do like to take their time, make a statement, but please, sit everyone, I believe our esteemed guests would soon arrive” Rohan replied,

Like clockwork, five pathways opened and five beings stepped out. Chalk white skin, bleeding eyes that dripped a black liquid and black inky eyes, these beings drew the attention of everyone, Rohan rolling his eyes in mocking amusement. They were the five beings that commanded the blights of the abyss, they shared control on the infinite monstrosities of the ravaging powers, for they were the representation of the ravaging powers.

These were the five lord primes of the abyss, a station above the ordinary abyssal entities who had crawled their way through eons to reach the vaunted position of an abyssal lord,

Araman the destroyer,

Lesuth the defiler,

Vusal the conqueror,

Remhu the afflicter,

Molrik the mutator,

These five beings lorded over the entire abyss and its infinite myriad of denizens that called the roiling sea of oblivion home. Each held a domain or sphere of influence, immortal in the truest words and each were here now to help solidify the claim of the abyss, each brough through ritualistic sacrifice and each would contribute to the raising of pseudo spires across the planets that now technically belonged to the abyss.

Araman the first, lord destroyer of the abyss was the first to speak, chalk white skin and hair, his voice echoed like the wails of tortured souls,

“Finally, at long last you show the true strength of an avatar of chaos” he said,

Rohan smiled, a most oily smile at the lord of the abyss,

“It was simply time as you can see, much work remains” he replied,

“And still, you require our aid when you are capable of so much more, perhaps being the avatar of the abyss has blinded you to your own strengths?” another voice spoke, Lesuth the lord defiler,

Rohan shook his head even as he saw the brothers freeze, rage on their gazes,

“Far from it lord defiler, I simply intend to ensure a work done is done right” Rohan replied again,

The remaining lords kept their silence as they glided to their seats opposite the brothers, Rohan sitting on the lone chair at the head of the table, eyes flicking between the two sides,

“I must first congratulate us on the accomplishment of our goal, the first stop when have been working towards” he said,

They all nodded,

“Now most of you might be wondering why I am not with the abyssal core that belonged to our fallen leader Garda, the Grim” he asked,

“We were hoping you might explain” Remhu, lord afflicter spoke, his voice a resounding croak like that of a toad,

“Simple, strategy, the core and the apparent misleading of the brigade were to draw them to the direction of the Grim and away from our true machinations we were working here” he spoke,

“So, the core is still intact with the Grim?” Jager asked,

“Indeed first brother, and in time we would retrieve it, but I simply wanted to pass a message along to Xerxes and his brigade, that not even the most secure place in the home of the supposedly most powerful house of the archailect could stop me” he responded,

“a waste of chance” Araman spoke,

“Some might call it that, but I choose to rely on the wisdom of a man who has never led us astray” Eldon replied,

Araman turned to Eldon quietly and Rohan could feel the blistering rage and bloodthirstiness coming from the both of them. He clapped his hands, drawing attention back to himself,

“Brothers, lords, this is no way to celebrate a major victory against the archailect” he said,

“It is only a victory for as long as the barrier holds” Mortas spoke up,

“For once I agree with a mortal, it is only a victory for so long, holding on to the galaxy is another issue entirely” Molrik said,

Rohan wasn’t blind to the bond between Mortas and Molrik, both of them having a common love for the art of transfiguration and as such were most times allies of each other. If anything, it posed a bright future for their partnership and he subtly encouraged it,

“I thank you, the both of you” Rohan replied,

“But now the brigade has seen that the core is in fact not our main goal, I have cause to believe they will shift their attentions away from the Grim and onto subjugating this place we call home” Rohan said,

“If what you said is true, then we’re about to fight a war unlike anything the universe has ever seen” Zeph Ash rain said with a smile on his face,

“Yes, in exactly four months’ time, we all know they would come with the biggest force they could ever muster; it would make the original war against the Grim look like Childs play compared to this” Eldon said,

“And that is why we need to prepare, to deal with this phase so it doesn’t interfere with the next phase of our plan” Rohan said,

They all agreed,

“As such we would be moving ahead with our plans, and the consecration of the worlds, we have a lot to do my allies and brothers, for war beckons and we must answer” Rohan said.

**********************

The chimera, the construct warship built for Ashira by clan true blade floated near the planet, given the name in tandem to her path, it had been brought online at the behest of the master who owned the ship. Sitting deep within the ship, Ashira held the torn robes of the titan blade, gripping it tightly within her fists and staring hauntingly as the blank wall that shimmered. By her side was a diamond warden, whose identity she couldn’t remember but had prostrated himself before her, head bowed in supplication as he awaited her orders.

He would remain in that position indefinitely, should she wish it he would end his life as well, that was the power she wielded as the daughter of primordials and the chimera. She had cried, had raged and had rampaged through the ship with the servants of house Kairos pleading with her, kneeling in supplication for the “glorious chimera” to seize her rage. She had finally calmed down when Eogan showed up, helping her process the fact that Moyo was gone, and so she isolated herself within her quarters, waiting for the meeting between the rulers and brigade to come to a close.

For the tenth time that hour she folded what remained of his robe, the blade Oro had been returned to her by Altair, the ruler of house thousand blades and it lay propped up on the wall, stark reminder that the wielder wasn’t around to use it any longer. Standing up she took the blade, expecting its toxins to burn her skin when she realized it didn’t, the blade humming in resonance with her chimeric path, the toxin doing nothing to her.

She placed the blade at her side, determined to wield the weapon in honor of Moyo, the restrictions on the blade seemingly removed for her. She tied her green vine like hair behind her, into a knot as she glanced at the diamond,

“Rise diamond” she spoke, the diamond bolting to his feet in a ramrod manner,

“Who are you?’ she asked,

“By your will, I am Rhys of clan Utur, and I am here to swear fealty to you” he spoke,

Ashira eyed the shaven haired man who stared at her with pure veneration in his eyes and bit back the disgust in her eyes. He stared at her the same way people stared at her parents, like deities, she shook her head,

“I do not have time for this diamond, perhaps some other time” she said,

He bowed again,

“The words of this master is like a gem on my existence, I shall go and hone my path farther and await your decision” he replied and left,

Ashira sighed, sitting back down and staring at the starry expanse of space that shone through her glass paneled screen. They had gone on such adventures together, she had watched him survive attacks that would had left many ascenders dead,

But not Moyo, not the titan blade,

She had gotten used to him bouncing back from numerous path-ending calamities that it never occurred to her that he might one day meet a fate he couldn’t escape, and now he was dead, slain by a monster she had sworn to chase to the ends of the archailect if she had to, consequences be damned. A knock drew her out of her ruminations, Ashira glancing at the door as it flicked open to reveal, master Malia chainer, leader of the wardens, the military arm of house Kairos.

All her life Ashira had known the woman and had never seen so much as pity in her eyes, but she could see it there now, lingering below the hard visage of the binder of worlds as she was known. The master nodded at her,

“Master Ashira” she said,

“Master Malia, how may I help you?” Ashira asked gruffly,

“Your presence is required by lord Kairos and the rulers on the planet below” she said,

Ashira’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion,

“Why would they need me down there?” she asked,

“It is concerning the events of the spire, it would be best you attend to them” Malia said,

Ashira nodded quietly as she made her way down to the teleporter at the command deck, passing through as those on the command deck bowed to her, she paid them no mind. Appearing below on the planet Altera, she glanced around to see the presence of the brigade in large numbers, policing everyone and monitoring the entire populace of the continent. Following lady Malia who led her straight to a large building where brigade members flew in and out of as well as those in the robes of clan true blade.

Making her way through, she descended to a subterranean level where a large conference room resided. Entering with master Malia at her back, she beheld all her father, Zane true blade, Altair thousand blades, Xerxes world burner and her adopted sister Tania seated. Bowing to them, her face cold she spoke,

“You requested my presence?” she asked,

“Indeed we do lady Ashira, concerning an issue we find you would be interested in” Xerxes said,

Ashira glanced at her sister Tania whose lips were pressed shut together, but Ashira could see the gleam in her eyes that passed a wordless message to Ashira, one that made her heart skip,

Hope,

She glanced back to the rulers,

“An issue?” she asked,

“Yes, it concerns a close associate of yours” Zane spoke,

Ashira knew then, Kairos nodding,

“Indeed daughter, it concerns the titan blade”