Moyo was wide awake the moment the first ray of sunlight drifted through his room, his butler or man servant Augustus silently entering the room, gliding towards the dark blinds as quietly as he could. Moyo was up though, already phasing away the way only a master could and towards the balcony. Watching the sun come up on Bastion, he saw the throngs of early workers making their way across the vast domain, his master ranked eyes taking in everything, Digi Aye watching the flow of aether as they intermingled.
He felt Augustus open the balcony and pause as he saw Moyo, making a short bow, he spoke, adoration in his voice,
“My lord” he said,
“Stop it” Moyo replied,
He felt Augustus freeze,
“My lord?’ he asked,
Moyo sighed, turning to look at the immaculately dressed butler in a suit,
“everyone’s been treating me differently since I returned Augustus, I’d not have you be the same way” he said,
Augustus paused, understanding filtering across his gaze, a soft smile on the face of the elderly man,
“Ah, I see, you feel, different sir?’ Augustus asked,
“You do know you could call me Moyo right?’ the titan asked,
“I do that and the throngs of ascenders who worship the very ground you walk on would have my head” Augustus said with a chuckle,
Moyo rolled his eyes,
“My point exactly, I’m just the average ascender doing his best to protect his world Augustus, I’m no deity” he replied,
“An ascender who has climbed up to one of the highest echelons of the archailect sir, a height most wouldn’t get to see in their lifetimes combined” Augustus pointed out,
“Then it should be a point of encouragement, to push them to their limits, not venerate the one who managed it” Moyo argued,
Augustus adjusted his white gloves, his red hair blowing in the morning breeze,
“Most of humanity would rather look to salvation than grab that salvation by themselves my lord, in as much as you’d want to drag us all into the future by sheer willpower, I believe deep down you also realize that not all will have the same monstrous willpower you have lord” Augustus said,
Moyo simply stared at the man,
“down below are thousands upon thousands who would readily lay their lives down to protect Bastion should you require it, they would go down fighting to protect their homes in blood and sweat and pain should the need arise, but to individually climb the ladder of ascension?, well, that’s asking a lot from all of humanity, don’t you think my lord?” he finished,
Moyo silently nodded and turned back to view the multitudes that moved below, watching as the sentinels’ changed shifts in the far distance. Augustus quietly left him to his thoughts, he glanced towards the large building in the distance left for guests, there Ashira resided, totally lost in the new world she resided in, enjoying the sights and views. He smiled at the thought, she deserved the rest, to be lost in a world without any care for the powers that ruled the archailect or the politics of power play.
He felt the intruding power that tore a pathway towards his location and raised one eyebrow, amused at the brazen nature as a pathway of burning light opened up in an intricate runic circle. From the pathway stepped out a blonde-haired man in gold robes, a white sash tied at the waist and a golden book cradled in his hand, on his face was a haughty look.
From the shadows stepped out a hand of Anansi with a slender blade pointed at the throat of the robed man, movements so fluid, Moyo himself was impressed at the masked iron ranker. The robed man glanced at the blade to the face of the expert of Anansi and then at Moyo,
“Greetings in the name of the Luminian order” he said,
Moyo moved to talk when a large green rune script appeared in the air above dominion, a beam of light depositing Samantha next to Moyo who had an enraged look on her face, a staff coming down with all the force of a bronze ranker on the robed man who Moyo realized much to his shock was a simple advocate. Moving swiftly, he caught the staff of Samantha, the attack fizzling away to aether,
“Samantha” he chided,
“he used some arcane magic to rip through the pathway rune over dominion!, the after effects are ripping through barriers I placed over dungeons on the borders with the calamity zones, hundreds of settlements are at risk!” she growled,
Moyo had no idea what this calamity zones were, but he was sure he could handle them later, right now he had what looked like a priest to deal with. The man seemed unperturbed though, most couldn’t maintain eye contact with him, but here was a foreign priest of another faction who couldn’t care less about the fact that Moyo could end him should he feel the urge to,
“You come here without permission, you impinge on my patience advocate of Mathew” he said,
The robed man bowed with a smirk, a faux show of respect that had the hand of Anansi tightening his grip on his blade,
“Excuse me, but I come at the order of the luminous one, the saint of saints, pontiff Matthew himself, his title is as important as yours” he said haughtily,
Moyo nodded,
“I see, I see, apologies then, and you are?” he replied,
The robed man was oblivious to the deadliness in the voice of the titan, standing straight and speaking,
“I am bishop Terzo, servant of the holy archbishop Gosto, archbishop of the Luminian order. I was ordered that your attention was needed by the most holy of saints, pontiff Matthew, blessed be his name” he said,
Moyo nodded,
“I see, and this message required you tearing through my runes, a feat an advocate can’t do, makes me wonder how you did it…...it’s that book, isn’t it?’ Moyo asked as his Digi Aye blazed to life,
He frowned at the book as the aura pouring out of the book had his aura and throne humming in irritation, it felt more like another power was contesting this particular space with him,
No, another throne he observed with stark realization,
In a move too quick for the priest to even realize, he had plucked out the book from the hands of the priest, forcing the book open with his mere titans’ might. The priest crashed to the ground under the wisps of Moyo’s aura, unable to speak as he stared fearfully at Moyo, terror in his eyes. Moyo felt a bit bad at bullying a mere advocate this way, but his instincts screamed at him to be wary of the power coming from the book.
He remembered long ago, asking the then archbishop Matthew where his power came from, back then had been a time of discovery. Every path back then had been an awe-inspiring work of willpower and ingeniousness, proving that humanity could forge their own path. Now though, with what he knew about the archailect, what he knew about his own path, he wondered just how much of that freewill was actually in reality freewill. He released the bishop of his aura, grabbed the dangling bishop by the throat,
“Let me make something clear bishop Terzo, I don’t care what power protects you, I care not what power you venerate” he said,
He saw the bishops’ eyes widened at the words of the titan blade,
“Oh yes, I know, and I’d dig to the bottom of this, believe me, tell Matthew I’m coming to pay a visit soon, tell your superiors this was not the way to come at me” he said,
With a thought, he tore open the pathway the bishop came through, at the other end was a room filled with priests, kneeling before a large golden tome. In front of them was a large man with two golden axes strapped behind him, he looked startled for a second, eyes finally falling on Terzo as his eyes widened,
“I’m guessing you’re the fine bloke who sent him my way?” Moyo asked,
The man stood straight,
“You desecrate the body of a bishop titan blade, I thought you better than that” the man rumbled,
“I never did catch your name, you are?” Moyo asked,
“Archbishop Gosto” the man named Gosto replied,
“Good, extend my greetings to Matthew” he said and flung the barely conscious bishop through the pathway, much to the exclamations of the regular priests,
Staring at Gosto and seeing the bronze ranked experts’ eyes light up, Moyo forced the pathway shut, turning to Samantha, his gaze now serious,
“Now, someone explain to me why the Luminian order are now behaving like pricks?” he asked,
***************************
Moyo appeared in the suite belonging to Ashira, chuckling to himself at how he had to sneak around his own domain to avoid detection by the throngs that kept an eye out for him. Stepping into the room, he saw her cross-legged, eyes closed as she meditated, her eyes snapping open the moment she saw him,
“How are you doing it?’ she asked,
“Doing what?” Moyo asked,
“walking around so easily, can’t you feel the weak aether in the air?, it reeks of expert ranked aether and too weak for my skills. I have to meditate for at least an hour to gather up my personal aether and intent” she replied,
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Moyo scratched his head, for a while he’d been subsisting on his own aether his body produced now. His throne flooded his body with the titan aspect which in turn increased the aether and intent flow within him, the titan was a one-man battery and he was pretty sure he could power the entire planet should he wish to. He shrugged,
“I’m different” he simply replied,
Ashira rolled her eyes,
“Even at master rank you’re still an oddity” she said,
“And I saw something even more odd a few minutes back” he said,
Ashira stared at him curiously,
“Listen, is there any way I can contact your father?” he asked,
Ashiras’ eyes widened at the request,
“Why?, what’s wrong?” she asked,
Moyo snapped his realm around them, Ashira glancing around before raising her eyes expectantly. He produced the book and Ashira took in a deep breath,
“You can feel it too, don’t you?” he asked quietly,
“where did you get this from?, it reeks of old power, really old power” she replied,
While Ashira didn’t have a throne herself, she was of the blood of a primordial, wielded the authority of a primordial as well, if anyone was to be receptive to the power as well, it would be her. She grazed the book with her fingers and drew them back like they shocked her,
“Yes, really old power” she said,
“And to think a few ranks below, we wouldn’t even notice” Moyo murmured,
“I don’t understand, this is an isolated world, what power would have dominion here, albeit quietly?” she asked,
‘that’s what I intend to find out” Moyo replied,
Ashira took a deep breath, exhaling slowly,
“Okay, here’s the thing, my father doesn’t give straight answers, not unless he likes you, he talks in absurd riddles and whatever you think he’s after, just know he has two more reasons for doing whatever he does” she said,
“Noted, any malicious intentions?’ he asked,
Ashira shook her head,
“No, not unless you threaten house Kairos’ interests” she replied,
He nodded,
“Good, let’s get this on the road” he said,
She nodded and brought up her HUD, sending a message to her father,
“By the way” she said,
A flick of her wrists and Oro appeared in her grip,
“You might need this back” she said,
Moyo took Oro from her grasp, feeling the blade hum quietly, its toxic nature welcoming him with its warmth as its maker. He glanced at Ashira and then back at the blade,
“I want to test something, can I have talon?” he asked,
Ashira stared at him inquisitively before producing her original blade, the black blade holding an almost feral feeling to it. He gripped it despite its protest, blasting malicious intent at him as the air was filled with the feral intent that battered at his realm, Moyo snorted,
“cute” he whispered,
A thought opened his deific vault doors as he passed through, leaving Ashira behind,
“Text me whenever he’s ready to talk” he said as the vault doors closed behind him,
He took a deep breath as he walked towards his forge table that had grown bigger, the crystals that made the table now humming with deific aspect. He placed talon and Oro side by side on the table, feeling the power that ran through the blades he grabbed his mantle hammer, touching the blades and willing them both to dissolve into essence,
Notice: titan is attempting to dissolve blades Oro and talon back into primordial essences, risk of the essences losing potency possible, proceed?, Y/N
The warning came up on his HUD as he swiped it away, picking yes. The blades hummed as another notice came up on his HUD,
Notice: blade talon cannot be dissolved due to the titan not being its forger, blade Oro has been dissolved
Moyo scrunched his eyebrows together, this was going to be an issue. He planned to break down both blades and then fuse them together into one weapon, but nevertheless he could work with the situation on ground. Gathering the essence of the primordial Savar queen serpent, he used his Ashe to impress it upon talon, another notification coming up,
Notice: titan is attempting to infuse the essence of a primordial Savar serpent unto blade talon, fuse? Y/N
He picked yes again and felt the essence begin to seep into the blade, carrying his hammer, he pounded it into the blade, infusing his Ashe into the blade, urging it to drink in the essence of the queen Savar serpent. When he dropped the hammer, the blade glowed a dark green color, the raw aura of ferocity and poison wafting from the blade itself. Coupled with the previously imbued power of toxin one side of her path afforded the blade, this was an increase in the potency of the blade.
His HUD lit up with another info,
Notice: titan has successfully infused the primordial essence of a queen Savar serpent into the blade, talon now has an increased toxin potency.
Moyo grabbed the blade and whistled at the raw power that emanated from the blade, feeling the pure toxin that would stun even a master for a few vital seconds in a fight. Anything less than master was asking for instant death and Moyo was satisfied with his work, turning, he made his way back to the door, opening it and stepping out to see a holographic display of a man standing in front of Ashira.
The man flicked his eyes to Moyo and the titan felt the gaze of a being older than time itself settle on him, he faltered in his steps, eyes wide as he realized it but snarled silently, moving forwards with determination. The man nodded,
“Good, you’re beginning to understand” the man said,
Moyo stopped close to Ashira,
“Moyo, may I introduce the head and patriarch of the entirety of house Kairos, lord Kairos himself” she said,
Moyo knew instinctively he shouldn’t bow, not to a fellow primordial, of that he was certain, for he could feel the power coming from the man, even though realistically, a hologram shouldn’t even be able to project such,
“Please, call me Typhon, you’re a fellow primordial” Kairos said as Ashira gasped,
“Lord Typhon, an honor to talk with you” he replied,
Kairos nodded back at him,
“And you also, it isn’t every time I get to meet a master with the early powers of a primordial, although, such discussions should be said away from the ears of the uninitiated” Kairos said as he glanced at Ashira,
“she’s a good confidant of mine Typhon, I’d have few people with me in these circumstances” Moyo replied,
Kairos glanced between his daughter and Moyo before nodding,
“So be it, but be aware that once she steps into the reality of primordials, she places herself at risk of their ire” he warned,
“Should they be so stupid as to come after her, they’ll have to go through me” Moyo replied,
“Careful there titan, hubris has been the downfall of more than a few primordials” Kairos said with an amused expression on his face,
“I don’t say what I can’t back up, besides, would you really stand back and watch them harm your daughter?” he asked,
Kairos smiled, a look eerily creepy on his face,
“we’ll see” he simply said,
Moyo nodded at that stark answer, understanding immediately what would happen to those that dared harm the daughter of Kairos. He handed the blade to Ashira who stared at it wide eyed before bringing out the book and revealing it to Kairos whose eyes hardened,
“Where did you get that?” he asked, his voice sounding like the roar of a hundred monsters put together,
“An order who follow a path linked to that book” he replied,
“Kill them all, wipe them from existence” Kairos simply said,
Moyo raised an eyebrow at the callousness of the words coming from Kairos, the king of monsters turned to Ashira,
“Swear on the archailect that the next words you’re about to be privy to will not be spoken out of the presence of I, the titan or eventually the brigade” he ordered,
Ashira stepped forwards and said the oath, Moyo turned back to Kairos who folded his hands behind him,
“what do they call themselves now?, the poor souls infected by the bright scourge?’ he asked,
“the bright scourge?, anyways they call themselves the Luminian order” he replied,
“Those who bring light, the blasphemy” Kairos spat,
Moyo waited on Kairos to explain,
“This is the work of a primordial, but without boring you on how primordials work, the short form is that we work through proxies as you would soon begin to see” Kairos said,
“And this particular primordial is known as Rieus ouroboros of the bright scourge, a particularly irritating and gluttonous being that feeds on the veneration of millions if not billions of fervent worshippers to power his existence” he said,
“Millions?” Moyo asked,
“He has existed for almost as long as I have, has been casted out of galaxies innumerable and has always sought to be one of the only few primordials left in existence, even when most of us realize it’s a most futile effort” Kairos said,
“And he does this through?” Moyo asked,
“Infiltrating a world, although how he managed to sneak into a world pre-calamity is a mystery to me. He therefore understands the beliefs of these worlds and models himself after these beliefs, sending his most powerful masters to act as a source of worship, these in turn transfer the venerations to him” Kairos said,
“So, we’re dealing with a fake messiah?” Moyo asked,
“More or less, one whose sole purpose is to leech power form these innocent people who are no doubt under his watch and would lay down their lives in mere utterance by whatever master controls them” Kairos replied,
The king of monsters glanced at him again, gaze darkening,
“As no doubt Ashira has explained to you, we sent you home immediately to avoid the gaze of the other primordials, but with an emissary of Rieus on your world during your ascension, there is every possibility the emissary has informed his master. I will check on the situation of things from my side, you’d best wipe them out before Rieus himself turns his gaze to you soon” Kairos warned,
“I have friends and allies on that side, I can’t just end them because they’ve been brainwashed” Moyo protested,
“You fail to see my point titan blade, they are no longer those you know, they are simply sleeper cells of an invasion force soon to be unleashed on your world, it would be thrown into an apocalyptic state and when Rieus feels he’s losing more than he can afford, he’ll withdraw his essence from them and leave them as dead husks, retreating back deep into the archailect to prey on his next world” Kairos said with coldness,
Moyo paused at the words before nodding,
“I’ll put it into consideration, do I need to inform the overseer in charge of my galaxy?” he asked,
“You should, and should the overseer confirm it, there’s little he can do rather than prepare for cordoning off the infection and if you want, scorching that particular area” Kairos said,
“If I want?” Moyo asked,
“you’re a master now titan blade, plus a pseudo primordial, like it or not It comes with certain…benefits, one being that you’re the recognized ruler of that entire world and soon enough, your entire galaxy” Kairos explained,
“What makes you so sure?’ Moyo asked,
The king of monsters raised an eyebrow,
“Do you see anyone else from your galaxy surpassing you in strength?” he asked,
Moyo admitted the fact silently,
“I’ll keep you updated, my thanks Typhon” Moyo said,
“And yours titan blade, I do so hope this will be the beginnings of a more…fruitful relationship?” Kairos asked as his eyes flicked to his daughter,
Moyo made to talk when Ashira stepped forwards,
“I can in good confidence tell you that whatever idea you have of Moyo and i are strictly friendship, at least for now” she said,
Moyo turned slowly to her, not comprehending what he was hearing,
Ashira nodded at him and back to her father who looked between the both of them before nodding,
“Fine then, I need to take my leave, Ashira, speak to your mother” he said before the hologram flickered off,
Moyo stood in silence,
“Dare I ask?” he said softly,
Ashira sighed,
“You have a lot on your plate Moyo, now is not the time to overcomplicate things with a relationship, I hope you understand?” she said,
Moyo stared at her for a few seconds before nodding,
“Part of the talk you had with Annika?” he asked,
She shrugged with a smile,
“you’d have to talk with her, something I guess you’ve been avoiding due to guilt” she accused,
“I literally just got back” Moyo protested,
Ashira snorted,
“Keep telling yourself that” she said,
They chuckled,
“Like the blade?” he asked,
She nodded and swinging it idly,
“I can feel the power, anyways, what do you intend on doing now?” she asked,
“Call an emergency meeting and figure out what to do next, if this threat is as big as he said it is, my world can’t afford it” he said with a sigh,
“Seems prudent” she replied,
Moyo stared out into the bright sunlight, the sun radiating in its full glory,
“I come back home to rest, to have some time with my clan before whatever shit the archailect decides to throw my way resurfaces, but now” he growled as he bunched his fists together,
Ashira sighed,
“Such is the way of the archailect” she replied,
“doesn’t mean I have to like it or play by its rules” he said,
“Yet here we are, thinking of how to stop the plot of an insane primordial from decimating your world”
Moyo accepted that reality with a frown,
“What will you be doing?” he asked,
“Trying to sort my house issues from here, daughter or not I have responsibilities to the house and my sudden exit from Altera would have complications” she replied,
“I’ll be with my clan then, need to understand the changes to my world and what has been happening since when I’ve been gone, I barely recognize any of the political landscapes any longer” he said,
“For a master, you are oddly out of sync with your subjects, it’s what power vacuum causes, don’t let it bother you too much” she said patting his shoulder affectionately,
He nodded and stepped out of the building, opening a pathway straight from the room to the very gates of Bastion miles in the distance, first of all he had to see what dangers now lurked in his domain.