The summit at pantheon on the continent of Rimor lasted for an entire day, the leaders of the various factions getting reacquainted with themselves as they planned their next course of actions for the coming few months. The dungeons had been a pressing issue, Moyo realizing that not only Asa had the issue of an impending master rank dungeon that was sealed and could break open in a months’ time. He had winced in realization of what his presence had caused for the other factions and inhabitants of Gaia as a whole.
The delicate ecosystem cultivated by the archailect had been shattered by his various antics, Gaia had no reason to have a master or even a diamond currently. The highest of ascenders were to be bronze, hence silver ranked dungeons being the apex dungeon in the world, however a culmination of Moyo and the delving guild had seen the archailect automatically react, placing gold, diamond and master ranked dungeons on each continent. He had no choice than to agree to helping out whenever those dungeons broke, the master ranked and diamond that was.
Each faction had their terms, more like requests seeing as they couldn’t push him to do something he wouldn’t be interested in doing, plus they had no idea about the intricacies of the archailect. Only Mrs. Martha through the akashic library in the possession of the clan and he knew about it, and she was of the opinion to milk it for all they could get. He would lead the incursion into the diamond ranked dungeons, he and a few select ascenders, however a team from whatever faction he was currently helping out would have a full-scale team of their best ascenders, including their faction leader along with them.
It was a risky proposition, nothing short of suicidal seeing as the sneeze of a diamond ranked monster or even master could literally end the life of a bronze ranker, but they would have the protection of a master and the titan blade at that, suffice to say they were in safe hands. With that decided, and the method of loot sharing agreed with the titan blade getting the essence of the diamond and master ranked dungeon boss, they closed the issue up. The next issue had been the protection of Gaia as a whole and Moyo had kept silent, watching as the explorer society outline the power of each faction. He had to hide a smile at the wrong power level given to the clan.
Mrs. Martha it seemed had been leading everyone by the nose, Moyo knew well enough that the clan had more bronze rankers than iron or even lower leveled ascenders. He also knew there was a distinct possibility that if the clan could mask their powers, so could any other faction, although not to the extent of the clan but possible. He had sat up at the thought that there were possibly hundreds of planets in the milky way galaxy, prime for colonization, but here they were, bickering over one when each faction could rule one or more, just like the other houses in the archailect.
The question wasn’t if they could but when they should and Moyo was hesitant to even bring it up, whoever heard of bronzes colonizing a world?. The resources needed for such, the manpower needed to be moved at first and the likes were staggering and he doubted the factions could afford to bear it. Of course, the clan could, with his funds, the funds of the clan and a few connections he knew he could pull, it was a possibility. He had shelved the idea for now, resolving to just observe even as the society gave a proposition to create a joint task team, a standing independent army of such to be the loyal to no faction but Gaia as a whole and to be the first line of defense against external threats.
Moyo had smiled at the thought, realizing they had the same idea that he had, however there were issues he had with such a proposition. The first being that any faction could plant double agents within it, he knew Mrs. Martha definitely would. He had voiced out his complaints and had seen most of the factions were in support, but he had said he was working on one, a former team of ascenders that bore some sort of veneration to him and he was molding into a taskforce of such. He had sworn there and then that when he was done with them, they would only answer his orders when it came to the good of all the factions, but they would operate independently. Their means of recruitment would be to gather whatever ascenders were causing a nuisance to factions or Gaia as a whole.
They would serve the group as a form or penance or be executed, the Raja of Bharat, Devesh had voiced his opinion there and then, saying he didn’t trust the process which had seen more debate, the factions deciding to create an intercontinental council of whatever group Moyo was creating. One of the five ascenders that would be gathered from each of the ascenders that would join the fledgling organization that currently had no name. The current team Moyo had would be the council of Asa, each faction having their own council.
Moyo had sighed as the debate had ragged on till the early hours of the night, refreshments and the likes coming in. Much to Moyo’s relief, the factions decided on letting Moyo complete the first batch of members and seeing the results before deciding on anything else. With that out of the way, Moyo had finally bid goodbye to the factions, reminding them of the coming attack on the continent of Lumia that had gone dead silent, all agents of the various factions secretly pulling out of the continent.
The restrictions of the brigade member ensured that anyone that had the path or touch of Lumia in them couldn’t leave the continent, the agents pulling out successfully meant their loyalties were assured. They had agreed to launch a joint attack, with the other factions playing their part by keeping the borders contained as agreed. Moyo had left with Idris and the rest on the sentinels’ ship, bidding Luke a goodbye with the disgruntled Natasha at his side. He finally got to the root of the issue of the vice leader of the explorers’ society, realizing it had been an isolated clash between the sentinels and the explorers concerning a dungeon.
He had dumped a hundred diamond coins in her hands, the sputtering vice leader now possibly one of the richest ascenders on Rimor with that. With Moyo apologizing and Idris grumbling one out at a look from Moyo, they had departed and in a display of power so staggering, he knew it would be talked about for years to come, Moyo tore open a pathway just outside of the borders of Rimor, sending the entire ship through and coming out at Bastion itself, alarms and klaxons shrilling at the blatant intrusion of the ship.
Moyo had sulked as Mrs. Martha gave him a stink eye, reminding her that her only suggestion was to go with an honor guard, no one said anything at hopping right over with a pathway, even as the bronze ranked sentinels had puked their guts out at the power that roiled over them, Idris looking green and excusing himself with dignity. He couldn’t try that out with irons or those below experts though, their bodies not strong enough to weather the passage. The video had been playing nonstop, the world marveling at such power displayed.
He had asked Luke before leaving if the footage of the Lumia incident had been displayed, Luke had shaken his head, apparently, he had cut off the feed when the incident had begun and the society apologizing to the public, stating the power of the titan had disrupted the entire thing. He had needed to get back to Asa quickly and start with the ascenders that were at the citadel of endurance. Making his way to the black zone where the citadel was situated, he stepped out of a pathway to see Ashira standing in front of the aura dome he placed over the entire citadel and dungeons around it.
The area had almost become a place of pilgrimage, ascenders marveling at the pure display of power. Moyo had ordered the clan decree again that whoever so much as came close to the area would face the personal wrath of the titan blade. That had been enough to see the sects and schools scrambling away for safety, however Ashira stood there, watching in silence even though she knew of his arrival. He stood next to her in silence, watching as she ran her hand across the aura shield that felt and reacted more like a bubble,
“Sometimes I wonder if you realize just how much power you exude from the little things you do” she said,
Moyo chuckled,
“I doubt the factions and inhabitants of Gaia would consider a working of aura like this as little” he replied,
Ashira smiled and turned to him,
“For masters and diamonds, it is, we’re no longer in their realm again Moyo, they live in ours now” she said,
Moyo nodded, frowning,
“Nothing we do will change the look of pure awe and veneration they might have for us, right?” he asked,
She shook her head,
“No, and neither should it, we represent a force of power as much as we assure them of their protection from the hordes of the archailect Moyo, remember that” she said again,
He glanced at her again, eyes scrunched together,
“what’s up with the sage like advises you’re dropping?” he asked,
She laughed glancing at him,
“You didn’t come up to the ship to see the chimera” she said softly,
Moyo cursed, pinching his nose between his fingers,
“Ashira, I’m so so sorry!” he pleaded,
She chuckled,
“Think nothing of it Moyo, I could literally see what you’ve been going through, as well as whatever lady Annika told you” she said softly,
Moyo froze at that before sighing and nodding,
“Yeah, I guess you would’ve, master rank” he replied with a sad chuckle,
Ashira faced him fully, holding his face in her hands and staring into his eyes before nodding and releasing him, Moyo raising an eyebrow,
“What was that?” he asked,
“Just making sure you’re fine, we all need you Moyo, but we’ll also be there for you, never forget that” she replied,
Moyo gave a sad smile,
“And here you are, supposedly about to call it quits with me, whatever we had” he said softly,
This time Ashira froze, turning to him, eyes wide,
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“Where did you hear that?” she asked,
Moyo shrugged,
“I could sense it, either that or you’re leaving, right?” he asked,
Ashira shook her head, turning away,
“I’m not calling it quits with you Moyo, I…” she said hanging like something held her throat,
She cursed in a language so profane, not even the archailect translated, Moyo wincing at the words. She turned to him, frustration in her eyes,
“Moyo, please, I’m not breaking up with you, not really, I just…sigh, my mother, aaarrgh!” she screamed, her voice killing off the dungeon creatures that flew through the air around them, Moyo glancing at her warily,
“You do know you could just explain later, right?” he said,
She nodding, taking a deep breath before speaking again,
“I swore an oath to my mother to go on a sabbatical, I have responsibilities to my house I need to go deal with and my mother is of the opinion that you’d be a distraction for me” she bit out,
He nodded,
“I understand, till when?” he asked,
“Till the invasion” she bit out,
He glanced at her,
“Four months’ time, when do you leave?” he asked,
“I was able to buy a month to help you clean out this Lumia mess, then I leave and the next time we meet would be at the muster point” she replied,
Moyo kept silent for a few seconds, took a deep breathe and shook his body, plastering a smile on his face, well, I guess that means we need to move quickly” he responded,
She glanced at him and smiled,
“I promise, it’ll be worth the wait, if you want to, of course” she said softly, searching through his eyes,
He raised an eyebrow,
“You think I’d find someone better than the daughter of two rulers?’ he said with a smile,
She laughed,
“I guess not” she replied,
Moyo faced the bubble,
“Alright, it’s time to whip these ascenders into shape, care to join?’ he asked,
“About that” she said as she brought out a box and threw her realm over the both of them, putting a finger to her lips to indicate silence,
She produced a small box from her spatial vault, handing it to him,
“Now before you use what is in that box, I want you to realize you can’t tell a soul about it, not your clan members, not your closest friends, not a single soul. It’s either that or it leaks out and you have rulers hunting you” she warned,
Moyo glanced at the box in alarm and then back to her face,
“What is it?” he asked,
She gestured for him to open it, he did, reading the description given by the archailect as his eyebrows steadily rose up in alarm and awe, glancing at her,
“Is that even possible?’ he asked softly,
She nodded,
“I had heard rumors, but I didn’t think it possible, so you see why?, houses would kill to have what you have, I believe it’s best you keep it, absorb it later, the process for it to settle takes a few days of serious disorientation” she advised,
Moyo nodded as his vault opened up in her realm, startling her at the raw power of it and Moyo tossing it inside and sealing it shut, the vault blinking away with a pop. They stared at each other for a few seconds,
“Your father?” he asked,
She shook her head,
“Mother, she dabbles in things like that, and in her words, she was curious, but I believe your really know why” she said meaningfully,
Moyo nodded,
“Securing my allegiance to house Kairos and you, that is a debt I’m not sure I can pay back” he said softly,
Ashira shook her head,
“Not a debt, a promise from my mother, from me as an extension” she replied,
He smiled,
“Well, I believe we’ve kept them waiting for long, don’t you think?” he said,
She nodded,
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to have a lot of fun beating them around” she replied as they laughed.
*************************
Moyo and Ashira passed through the aura shield he had put up himself, staring at the hosts of dungeon monsters that flew through the air and ran across the landscape,
“Thinking of making this place a pocket dimension?” she asked,
Moyo glanced at her,
“Is that even possible?” he asked,
He knew of training zones and the likes, but an actual pocket dimension?, was that even within the purview of masters?. She nodded,
“Rulers do it all the time, it all depends on how much authority and now that I realize it, access to aspect that you can infuse into the runes” she explained,
“You say it like these runes are free for anyone to use” he said,
“that’s because they are, no one is stupid enough to go creating a pocket dimension when you don’t have aspect or you’re lending one in minute quantities from a greater being” she replied,
“Tartarus, the throne world and imperial seat of my house resides in one, it makes it almost impervious to attacks from other houses, if they manage to get through the hundred strong worlds on their way there” she said,
Moyo widened his eyes at that,
“An entire world?” he asked,
She nodded enthusiastically,
“My parents were already ancients bordering on primordial statuses when house Dracon had just made a name for themselves as a clan, and believe me that house of vicious lizards is quite old” she replied shuddering,
“So much aspect and authority” he murmured,
“So much that every word they say has just a bit of their authorities leaking into it, sometimes it made me wonder if those who had remained loyal and steadfast to my house did so because of the subtle nature of the authorities” she said almost to herself,
Moyo could understand where she was coming from, he had simply clashed eyes with Typhon and he had gotten the almost overwhelming urge to kneel and be subservient to the king of monsters. Only the use of long-range communication and the fact that Kairos no doubt viewed him in favorable light had stopped that embarrassment from happening. It also drove home the fact that he was in no position ready to fight Rieus ouroboros bright scourge, primordial entity and trickster. If he had the same effect like Kairos had on him, then he was no doubt fucked.
He placed it at one corner of his mind, he had a lot of research to do concerning primordials, what they represented and their respective aspects. He also had a feeling that there was a specific amount of aspect laced authority that a primordial could bestow on either his emissary or masters as a whole, this was because he hadn’t expected to slap around Akriel around like a toddler. She pointed at the citadel in the distance, a large behemoth that looked more like a mountain than a monastery he had built.
The titan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully,
“Something is going on here” he said,
Ashira glanced between him and the citadel, squinting her eyes before releasing a pulse of aura that had the monsters screeching in terror and fleeing from the area as quick as they could in an almost mad frenzy of terror. Moyo had felt the aura of Ashira and marveled at the pure ferociousness of an apex predator, her aura spoke of pure feral fury of claws, fangs and roar, Ashira glancing at him with a subtle smile,
“You can say it” she said,
“Say what?” he asked feigning ignorance,
“My aura is awesome” she replied smugly,
Moyo snorted,
“It felt more like a cute teddy bear with claws” he teased,
‘what’s a teddy bear?” she asked curiously,
Moyo brought up his HUD and found the image, showing her as she sputtered startled, Moyo laughing even as she huffed and stomped her way towards the citadel in mock outrage. He gave a light hop and caught up to her as she stared into the horizon,
“You are aware that your world will expand in size, right?’ she asked,
He nodded,
“I had put it into thought, with the whole higher ranked dungeons spawning here and there, it was inevitable, although it makes me wonder, would another master ranked dungeon pop up once we clear the current one?” he asked,
That would spell bad news for him when he was offworld, he knew the best he could to was forcibly raise the leaders of the world to silver, and maybe if he tried well enough, peak silver, where no doubt they would spend years trying to reach gold. Not every ascender had the regenerative abilities he had, or the backing of a great house and masters teaching them. While it had dawned on him that he was also in fact a master now as well, he could speed up the rate of ascension should he deign to do so.
However, when he spoke to masters Killian and Ajax like he did almost everyday despite the exorbitant costs in gold coins that could set up another faction well up to domain status, he had been warned. Worlds where the leaders had an obscene amount of power over their people or subjects usually always become a world of pure madness and power-hungry maniacs.
If they didn’t have to answer to anyone, seeing as Moyo would hardly be on the planet most times, it could devolve into a mad house, with factions launching wars after wars in the name of supremacy. It was why great houses usually stationed a single master on worlds with experts, these masters putting diamonds in charge of continents as well. This served as a stark reminder to the inhabitants of those worlds that although the perceived eyes of the ruler could be far away, looking at the bigger picture, there was a master ready to enact justice at a moment’s notice.
He had been advised to raise them to silver and leave them alone, silver being the rank where the ego of superiority began to set in, forming the framework for what sort of diamond, master or even in the most minute number of them, the ruler they could turn out to be, he had also run his theory of colonizing other worlds to them and had met the same warning, putting them on a world with no supervision could see an entire civilization turned on its head. It was already certified that Moyo would become a ruler, and until he had his house in order, then the milky way galaxy, colonization of worlds was off the option if he wanted peace.
Ashira shook her head, dragging the conversation back to the current topic of master ranked dungeons,
“The only reason why master ranked dungeons are even on your world was a reflex action by the archailect to make up for the fact that a master had been made on Gaia. With a master ranked dungeon, naturally there had to be dungeons of diamond, gold and silver” she explained,
“So, after we clear out those dungeons, they’d cease to pop up?” he asked,
“No, not really, they would begin to form up in their own zones. Silver dungeons for silver zones, gold dungeons for gold zones, etc. That way, even if the monsters broke free, they would be contained to their own zones, the aether in the lower zones not being enough to sustain them” she explained,
“And with the eventual ascension of those on Gaia, they could slowly make their way through these zones?” he asked,
“Precisely, although I have a feeling the current position of Bastion could in time become the zone for master ranked dungeons” she said thoughtfully,
They had gotten to the large gates of the citadel where a loud gong reverberated, the gates groaning as they swung open slowly. Moyo frowned,
“I’m not sure if that would be good, especially if I’m off world” he noted,
She waved her hand dismissively,
“I said in time, more like in years if not decades, the process is slow and based on the majority of the population of the continent. So until the archailect recognizes the presence of more than at least two masters, it would begin the evolution of the ecosystem” she explained,
“then the black zone?, what happens to that place?” he asked,
“I believe once you clear out the high ranked dungeons there, it’ll stabilize for a while, most definitely becoming a silver ranked zone” she said definitely,
The mountain structure of the citadel was hollow on the inside, reflecting the skies above with the buildings and rooms carved into the walls of the mountain itself, Moyo nodded his head,
“I was right, something is wrong, it’s like the citadel is slowly becoming a reflection of my core realm” he said,
Ashira shrugged,
“Probably because of your aura or something, I’m not to clear on the intricacies of master rank” she said,
“Or this could in fact be your core realm reflected, master rank as we know is where the realm becomes fully physical, able to take a place on a planet as its domain and be called at a moment’s notice” she finished,
“So it’s possible my realm is taking this place as a base” he said nodding,
Tomasa golden staff stepped out cautiously from a building in the wall, glancing up at the opened skies before down back at the masters. Moyo smiled at the cautious look of the ascender,
“You thought you’d be safe in the citadel, right?” he said,
A large gold ranked monster screeched through the air and dived down towards Tomasa who currently held no staff but snarled back, his aura subtly forming around him into the shape of a large golden monkey. Ashira took a startled breath, instantly recognizing the form as that of the sage even as Moyo took one simple step without activating any skill, appearing next to the monster and grabbing it by the throat.
It squawked in terror, fighting futilely to escape the grip of the titan, it was akin to a chicken fighting in the grip of a stone golem. Moyo glanced at the petrified Tomasa whose aura had dispersed, falling on his behind,
“First rule of the archailect” he said loudly, using his aura to drag out the remaining ascenders who stared helplessly, no doubt wondering what sort of hell they had willingly pushed themselves into,
“Nowhere is safe” he completed and with a brief squeeze, exploded the head of the creature of its neck, the body flopping helplessly to the ground even as it began to disperse to essence and aether.