Ashira quietly made her way through the bastion barracks of the mages protecting the citadel of light, invisible to all around her, she calmly walked towards the large prison gates that stood at the end of the bastion. Two guards in the gold-coloured robes of the theocracy stood guard, giving the impression of an almost normal prison, Ashira thought otherwise though. The people of the theocracy were by nature a very meek but religious set of people, choosing to stick to menial everyday tasks and leaving the fighting to the priests and the ecclesiarchy.

Even as Moyo’s not so surprise attack had caught the theocracy off guard, a most baffling thought seeing as Moyo declared war a few weeks prior. She had seen the bishops and priests that made up the bulk of the army of the theocracy and had frowned, although they were silver rank, they weren’t true silver rank.

She could feel it in the aura around them, their mana somewhat diluted as she passed their sides like a ghost unseen. Whatever Akriel and his archbishops had done to them, something in their paths was broken, something fundamental and they couldn’t see it, drunk on the perceived power of silver rank as they were.

Passing the guards and phasing through the gates etched with runes, Ashira was sure this was the right one, she was also disgusted by the sight she met. Bodies of half alive and languishing prisoners littered the room in barely any state fit for humans to live in, left in their own excrement and stuffed in tight rooms, she stared horrified at what she was witnessing. Claws unsheathed, she calmly walked back to the guards who stood at the entrance and in a flash, tore at the veins of their necks, injecting master ranked poison that melted them immediately to a pile of goo, their groans of agony cut short as quickly as it came.

Turning back to the prison itself, she glanced up and saw the runes that restricted aether from passing through the walls of the dungeon. With a brief flex of her aura, she shattered it, aether entering the prison as the prisoners stirred, calling up her HUD and accessing the system vault. Finding the pills and elixirs she was looking for; she bought the expensive items as they materialized in her hands. A golden cleansing pill and bottles of rare empowering elixirs in hand, she threw the pill to the ground, watching as it exploded out in a wave of dirt eating aether, cleansing the entire dungeon to a spotless look.

She threw the elixirs to the ground as a wave of pure undiluted power shot from the broken bottles, filling the entire dungeon with revitalizing energy, kickstarting whatever healing effects the cores of the people within the dungeon had. Soon enough shouts and pleas for help began to break out, Ashira using a brief flex of her aura to break the dungeons open, its inhabitants rushing out, cries of gratitude to Ashira who raised a hand as they quietened,

“Do not be afraid, I come at the behest of the titan blade, he has come to free the theocracy from the rule of your oppressors” she said,

Many crashed to their knees, weeping and breaking down in relief, Ashira running her gaze through the assembled crowd, looking for any ascender of worth and realizing the strongest of them were advocates, these were ordinary civilians. A child tugged at her robe and Ashira’s heart broke at the hungry look on her face, bringing up her HUD and buying as much rations of food now accessible to the inhabitants of Gaia, she cleared a large space as the food materialized, the hungry prisoners jumping ravenously on the food.

Giving the girl a large piece of bread and bottles of milk and water, she watched the child’s mother kneel in thanks, tears streaming down her face. Rage built within her at the cruelty she witnessed,

“Why, what was your offense?” she asked as the crowd quietened,

An old man hobbled to the front, his skin beginning to get a healthy sheen now with the access of aether, she also noticed he was of the rank of acolyte. The man removed his battered leather hat as he spoke,

“Good miss, forgive the state of this one, but we were locked for crimes ranging from refusal to venerate the bright one and vocal support for pontiff Matthew” he said, his frame being held by two young boys,

Forced veneration was a thing she never knew existed, but with the way her father had described the bright scourge, it would had been possible,

“Rest, none shall come for you again, not while I and the titan blade are here” she replied, carrying the little child,

“Who are you?” the child asked in a timid voice, her mother choking, eyes wide at the question of the child,

“I am Ashira chimera young one, master and ally of the titan blade” she replied,

Whispers of a master breaking out as they knelt in awe,

“we’re saved!” a voice said as shouts began to break out,

Ashira waved her hand as they quieted down,

“were there no resistance fighters?, I find it odd to believe the entire ecclesiarchy fell for the lies of the cardinal and archbishops” she asked,

The room became silent, guilt on their faces as they pointed to a large wall behind them, she gazed at the wall and realized she overlooked another script, a dark one drawn with blood. Shooting a pulse of aura at it, she felt the bubbling vile aura emanating from it and used her aura to shield the entire room from the lash of the aura.

Growling as she dropped the child into the arms of her mother, she withdrew talon and walked briskly to wall, stabbing it into the bricks as the power of talon melted the bricks, the rune sizzling as it popped like a bubble, revealing the hidden room behind the wall.

A loud cry went from the people behind Ashira, revolt from what they bore witness. Ashira took one step back, her mind not wanting to believe what she was witnessing,

“Cover the gazes of the children” she whispered, stepping through the broken walls,

Arranged like a meat factory were ascenders on meat hooks stabbed through their shoulders, low groans coming from them. Her gaze locked unto a device in the middle of the room, a device that slowly harvested their aether and mana, keeping them weak. Amidst the floor pooled with blood, Ashira blinked towards the device, crushing it with her palm as it gave a loud whine, exploding and releasing the stored aether and aura within it.

Buying the same golden pill and set of elixirs, she crushed the items as the citizens poured into the room, mostly the men as they helped remove the ascenders from the hook line they were neatly arranged. Numbering over a hundred from what she could see, she moved to the closest that was coming back to his senses,

“The pontiff, where is Matthew?” she asked gently,

The man groaned, pointing to even another wall, Ashira growled silently and with a pulse of her aura, shattered the entire walls around them, using her aura to hold the debris and fling them away. The walls shattered too to reveal pontiff Matthew, or what remained of him, an emaciated ascender, no less than bones strapped to a chair, eyes milky white and an orb floating above his head.

Ashira realised what it was immediately as she shielded the people around her from its effect, shooting a beam of power skywards, a beacon to the titan blade. A pathway opened up almost immediately as Moyo stepped through, dominion at his waist as he glanced at Ashira and then at the pontiff as his eyes widened. Ashira pointed to the orb,

“aspect” she said,

Moyo growled and withdrew dominion, the aspect of the titan pouring out of him through his aura. In the background, the shield of energy holding back the power of the titan flared as pontiff Matthew sat ramrod straight and then smiled, a most demonic smile as the people behind Ashira whimpered, feeling the bloodlust. The possessed pontiff glanced at the titan blade,

“Titan blade” it said in the broken voice of pontiff Matthew,

“Akriel” Moyo growled,

“It is useless, you cannot stop the scourge of my master” Akriel said,

“And yet I get ever closer to ending your existence” Moyo replied,

“the archbishops?, they were pawns, pieces of discardable wastes I used as I wished” Akriel said dismissively,

“And the ascenders of Lumia, whose paths you’ve shattered or stunted with your dabbling with aspect?” Moyo asked, deadly anger in his voice,

“There will be more subjects to test with by the time I end your existence titan blade” Akriel said, smiling as the body of pontiff Matthew began to shake,

“This vessel is reaching its limit, a shame, i- “Akriel said before Moyo blitzed forward and grabbed the ball of aspect floating above the head of pontiff Matthew,

“the stolen venerations of millions of Luminian citizens, condensed into this paltry excuse of an aspect?, I see why your master treats you like a servant, you’re incompetent” Moyo said,

Akriel snarled,

“Let those be your last words” he snarled as the ball began to hum louder,

Moyo tore open his deific vault doors that appeared immediately, tossing it towards his sea of Ashe as the ball thunked into the ocean, exploding within it with a light pop. The look of shock on Akriel’s face through the body of pontiff Matthew was comical, Moyo grabbing the pontiff as he spoke softly, his edict resonating,

“Da pa da”

The edict forced the essence of Akriel out of the body of the pontiff, causing him to slump, the essence formed a light and wispy form of Akriel that stared with terrible rage at the titan blade,

“Put your house in order Akriel” the titan blade said,

“I’m coming for you” he finished, dominion flashing as it tore apart and consumed the essence of Akriel as it died with a terrible anguish,

Moyo grabbed the body of Matthew tighter as the pontiff cracked open one eye,

“Titan, please, people” the pontiff groaned before slumping back into unconsciousness,

Moyo turned to Ashira,

‘I need to get back to my realm, this aura and aspect restricts me, can you lead the civilians back towards my realm?” he asked,

She nodded,

“Easy, see you in a few minutes” she replied,

“Good, when you’re ready send a signal, I’ll tear a pathway through” he replied as he passed through the pathway back to the realm of the titan,

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Ashira turned to the assembled people, the ascenders who were of bronze rank she had rescued and were huddled together, whispering to themselves. Walking to them, she watched as they went to their knees,

“Honored master, we owe you our lives, we thought we would languish in that hell for all eternity, our very existence is yours to use as you wish” a man who looked to be the eldest of them spoke,

Ashira shook her head,

“We don’t have time for this, I’m guessing you rebelled against the reign of Akriel?’ she asked,

“We are what remains of those who were loyal to the pontiff and had stood up to fight back against the false angel and his false archbishops” the man said, pain in his every word and reflecting in his gaze,

“The true archbishops were slain in cold blood, we will have our revenge, even if it means our deaths” he said as the rest rose up behind him, rage in their eyes,

“You could do that, or you could protect those who have been persecuted as you all were” she replied,

The bishops turned their gaze to the civilians who trembled with every explosion that rang through the air, guilt in their eyes,

“I’m pretty sure there are more spread across Lumia, if these were just in the capital alone, what about the entire continent?” Ashira prodded,

“Thousands were taken honored master, how the rest of the factions heard nothing proves how deadly and silent it was” the man said,

“Then you need to recover your strength, prepare to counterattack, the titan would help no doubt” she replied,

The man nodded as he tore the crest of Lumia off his cloth, the men behind him doing the same,

“We are no longer bishops of the Lumia, but we would complete our oaths to the pontiff as we swore it” the man said,

Ashira scrunched her face,

“Your paths come from the path of Lumia, without it you would be pathless, all your ascension lost and your path broken” she warned,

The man smiled,

“The moment the titan appeared and destroyed the power of Akriel, we got a notification from the archailect” he said,

“It gave us the chance to switch paths, to begin again at iron but with a different path” another said,

Ashira’s eyes widened,

“he’s not going to like this” she replied, shooting a beacon to the sky as a pathway tore open right in front of her.

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

Vaughn assault piercer had applied to join the special forces of the United States military when the archailect had struck, throwing him continents away into what is now known Gaia. A proficient weapons user, his favorite and preferred weapon being the ‘scar’, the special forces combat assault rifle, a compact weapon of pure death, it had influenced his path, bestowing him the path of the assault piercer.

He had gone on to perfect his path as best as he could, resolving to make the best of his situation as he became a one-man mercenary for sects and schools who needed man power against the dangers of the evolved and mutated monsters that now called Gaia home.

He had been a peak stage advocate, learning through his underground contacts about the necessity of training his willpower and authority for the coming calamity. It had served him well, Vaughn becoming a one-man guerrilla war tactician as he stalked the monsters through hidden parts of the continent, laying waste to entire swarms with his cadre of weapons.

Soon enough he broke through to iron and got access to the wet dream he called a realm; Vaughn was a quiet enthusiast of anime in his old life. A hobby he kept quiet to himself, he had always wanted a power as that of an overpowered anime character in the form of Gilgamesh, an anti-hero in the fate series and like magic, the archailect answered his wish.

So even as he laid suppression fire with the two chain guns that were meant to be fitted on an Apache attack helicopter to mow down the hundreds of zombies-looking ascenders that ran with bloodlust at his squad, he was having the time of his life.

His path also came with an awareness for when another weapon user was close by, and while it did absolutely nothing for him during his training with the titan blade, it had been honed to perfection. The moment his instincts screamed at him in a direction, he turned the gun and laid waste to everything in that direction, watching as barriers of golden runes sprang up, managing to stop his intent filled bullets but not before cracking the shields.

Ascenders in the gold robe of the theocracy began to appear all around the rooftops, holding guns of different forms and shapes Vaughn was not familiar with and that was saying a lot seeing as he was also a gun freak.

“Heretic, you have trespassed into the holy wrath of- “one of them said as a bullet from Vaughn blew his head away, spraying blood and gore around,

“Heard that speech before” Vaughn muttered, a stub of cigar in his mouth,

“The rest of the ascenders opened fire on him as he flipped back towards a building, bullets made entirely of intent and aura ripping into the building,

Vaughn smiled, his eyes alight,

“Are you really going to let your people fight for your archbishop?” Vaughn shouted,

The only reply he got were more firepower poured down on him, spitting out the stub of the cigar he had been smoking, he nodded to the huddled form of his squad,

“Let them have it” he said,

They nodded, six of them and let loose the grenades he gave them, gotten from the few relics he had salvaged from the days of pre-archailect days and in few quantities. Knowing they would do nothing to the bishops that peppered their spot, he let the explosion and shock from the chain reaction distract them and he stepped out,

“pierce” he whispered, the command suffusing his body as his mantle, a complete military special forces attire protected his form,

The Apache guns transforming to his favorite scar rifle in both hands as he began to lay waste to the shell-shocked bishops, his helmet coming with targeting aid that pinpointed the bishops even as they scrambled in shock, blowing off heads, chests and limbs as well. He felt it then, the holy intent tinged with something greater that shot towards him as he rolled, dodging the bullet that exploded behind him, leaving a mini crater behind in its wake.

Vaughn stood up, guns at the ready as he stared at a man floating in the air, two golden handguns that glowed with barely restrained power,

“Those were the lives of the faithful you wasted, you will pay for it” the man said,

“Archbishop I presume?” Vaughn asked, keenly aware of his trump card in position,

“Archbishop Ponzio of the order of the blistering guns, prepare to meet your death” he said,

“Pretty sure that’s what your other two peers said before meeting their deaths at the hands of my friends” Vaughn said,

Ponzio smiled and whipped his gun up, firing bullets successively as Vaughn dodged and kept returning, the two of them exchanging bullets in a hail of devastation that wiped anything around them from existence.

Together their realms slammed in place, the realm of the archbishop a place of piercing bullets that peppered Vaughn, his realm a blank wall withstanding the attack. Hiding behind the wall that seemed to move along with whatever angle the archbishop shot, Vaughn calmly watched the numbers on his helmet count towards hundred, aura keeping track of the archbishop,

“Face your end like an ascender” Ponzio said as he flew backwards, his two guns slowing,

“smite!” he shouted, the authority manifesting as the guns released a sizzle,

The blast of the bullet echoed around both their realms, Vaughn smiling even as the bullet tore a hole through his wall realm,

Charge complete: 100%

Tapping the wall, he spoke,

“Armory open” he ordered as what was mistaken for a wall opened up to reveal hundreds and hundreds of guns,

Archbishop Ponzio shot Vaughn without pause, not intimidated by the hundreds of guns of different make and type being revealed. The bullets shot towards Vaughn only to get stopped by a golden tactical shield that materialled in the crack of a second before Vaughn, deflecting the bullet,

“Come, colt” Vaughn said, a colt M1911appearing in his hand as he turned it to the archbishop and spoke,

“pierce”

The bullets blasted out with authority and intent so dense, it turned the very reality in the realm of the assault piercer into a sharp form, humming in tandem with the bullets. Archbishop Ponzio raised his runic shield to deflect, the bullet piercing through with the full authority of Vaughn bent towards its aim. Ponzio was able to dodge the fatal shot, the bullet tearing through his shoulder socket as he grunted, twirling from the force as he righted himself a moment later, only to stare into the barrel of the colt right in front of him.

The bullet tore through his brain even as a large book appeared above him, flickering in and out of reality,

“Ah shit” Vaughn said as he remembered the warning about the use of a higher power,

He slapped his chest as reality bent around him, even as the book unleashed a hail of bullets, laying waste to everything around Vaughn. Even as the power was spent and the dust settled to reveal an almost post-apocalyptic landscape, Vaughn stepped out of his cracked bunker, his once-a-day skill dissipating into motes of aether, he grinned,

“Knew that would come in handy” he murmured as his realm vanished, staring down at the headless body of archbishop Ponzio,

“Silver rank my ass” he growled,

“Commander, the flare” one of the members of his squad said as they came out o the trenches they had dug, hiding form the clash of the two silver rankers,

Vaughn nodded and shot a forced beam of aura skywards, a grin on his face as he lit the cigar, the last of the archbishops was dead, all that remained was the shield protecting the citadel of light from the titan blade and that was in the hands of someone else.

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

Idris, sect leader of the titan’s sentinels and titan champion swung his broad sword in an arc as he clashed with the light-based sword of cardinal Elita. Adjusting his grip, he summoned the titan might within him, feeling the energy of the titan aspect dim a little, its access to the aspect at the main source having been cut off. Nevertheless, it was enough to slam the light-based creature cardinal Elita had become into the wall, her essence shattering and reforming, a bit dimmer this time. He noted the fact as he rolled away from the slash of her blade,

They were both on borrowed time,

Running towards her, the cardinal screamed as runes burst forth around her,

“Hymn of the faithful, scourge!” she commanded,

Idris realized the strength of the command would literally eat away at his physical form and with a thought activated his titan skin ability. His body suddenly enveloped in runes of purple that glowed harshly, deflecting the attack in its entirety as he closed the gap, the blade swinging for the head of the cardinal who brought her blade up to clash with him, golden eyes glowing,

“I will end your existence even if I perish heretic!” she growled,

“My death is not in your hands cardinal Elita” Idris calmly replied, his hand snapping out the grab the neck of the cardinal as the last of the titan skin coalesced in his palm and slammed her light form into the ground,

Unable to disperse due to the interference from the runes of the titan, the cardinal crashed into the ground, cracking it as her form flickered,

“Nooo, not like this!” she shouted as she began to hum and glow brighter,

“Oh great Rieus, bless my final act, give me the power to smite this heretic from your gaze oh great scourge!” she shouted,

Idris felt the temple humming around him as she began to siphon all its latent power,

“Elita, this is madness” Idris shouted, anger in his gaze,

They had duelled as silver rankers, each trying to outdo the other from the moment he had invaded the temple, however he had witnessed the downward spiral of her abilities and it had left him confused.

The aspect of the titan empowered his already latent abilities, what he was witnessing was the slow but deadly leeching of her abilities and skills, giving her the false power from a borrowed aspect. Even now as she glowed like a nuclear bomb, Idris realized it was the power she borrowed, only faint traces of her power were left.

Resolving to end this, he took one step and blitz forward towards her as she grinned and shouted,

“Burn in the light of Rieus, smite!”

Idris activated his final access of titan skin for the day and with the titans might he had, slammed the flat part of his blade on Elita, activating his repel ability as well as the titan aspect dimmed, deactivating from his body even as Elita screamed as she shot like a missile towards the gold barrier protecting the citadel of light in the distance. She exploded in a flash of light, a loud boom that shook the very floors and released a wave of power that assaulted the golden dome, cracking it.

A loud gong echoed,

Notice: the emissary of the titan has defeated the pseudo-emissary of the temple of Rieus!, all penalties against the allies of the titan has been removed!

Idris felt tired as another notice appeared in his HUD,

Notice: you now have access to the unclaimed temple, turn it over the veneration willingly to your primordial or exchange it for a favor from your primordial?

- 5,000 diamond coins

- 10,000 gold coins

- 100,000 silver coins

- 1,000,000 bronze coins

Idris whistled,

“This champion gig pays” he said as he chose to give the veneration to the titan, he had no use for it,

Another loud gong echoed,

Continental notice: the unclaimed temple has now been consecrated to the titan blade, all allies of the titan blade now have +50% increase in potency of skills!, allies of the theocracy now have -50% potency in skills!

The titan appeared next to him, walking through a pathway,

“Just great, another temple” he said as Idris chuckled,

“When you’re good, you’re good” he said,

Moyo snorted as the venerations that were sealed in the orb began to permeate his body,

“So much power” he whispered,

Turning to Idris, he spoke,

“Gather the entire force, tell them to retreat to my realm with as much civilians as they can get” he ordered,

Idris nodded and left, leaving Moyo who focused the veneration and clapped his hands as a notice appeared with the echo of a gong,

Continental Notice: the primordial titan blade has bestowed a miracle on the land, all injured or close to death and allies of the titan blade will get a100% healing buff for the next 1 week!

With that done, he rose to the air and drew dominion, eyeing the barrier that protected the citadel now weakened without the power if the temple feeding it, he spoke calmly, reigning in his anger,

“Shi” activating his edict as he swung dominion,

The arc of power twisted reality, bending it to the will of the titan as it crashed on the barrier and shattered it to pieces. Floating towards the citadel, the titan prepared to make the emissary of the bright scourge pay.