The titan blade stepped one foot into the domain of the citadel of light and felt the wrongness in the air, the very fabric of reality weak and punctured with microscopic holes that leaked aether. His feet crunching on the gravel, he drew dominion as he stalked forward quietly, making no move to hide his presence as he marched forward.
Behind him he could see lines of refugees, making their way to his realm, and from the news Tomasa had passed along to him, the other zones and cities in the continent were steadily falling to them, apparently the resistance teams that had been captured and were now freed.
Led by Ashira who he had utmost fate in, he left the clean up to her, allowing him to wipe out the infection at its source. An unnatural chill permeated the air as Moyo walked ever closer to the citadel itself, the biting ever hungry light of the aspect of Rieus trying to hold him back. The runes on his body flared to life, pushing back the foul diluted aspect as he stalked towards the citadel, his mind running through different scenarios all at once.
Dominion hummed the closer he got to the citadel, jarring him from his thoughts of the repercussion of opening the eyes of the inhabitants of Gaia to the powers of primordials. He stopped as he scrunched his face,
“pathetic” he growled as he took a stance and swung dominion,
Pure power screamed as it crashed into reality in front of him that shattered like glass, clearing away the illusion in front of him to reveal a broken citadel, along with a lance of power that shot towards him, brimming with aspect infused power. Moyo stretched his hand forward,
“shield” he commanded,
Purple aspect fused with reality to solidify reality directly in his front, the lance slamming into the wall and dispersing, exploding in earth shaking explosions all around. Above in the air floated Akriel with hundreds upon hundreds of runic circles that glowed, his form of pure gold glowing,
“let’s end this” Moyo said,
“gladly” Akriel replied,
Reality shook and screamed as it shattered, turning dark and then back to a dim view, Moyo finding himself in a barren landscape devoid of life, only golden sands that blew around without any wind, acting as the only source of color in this place. Moyo glanced around, seeing Akriel just as surprised,
“The archailect, the nethervoid, it threw us here!” the herald of Rieus said,
Moyo oddly felt no change in his power, realizing the absence of aether or even as he dreaded, the presence of abyss. Akriel screeched as he glanced below,
“The golden sands, how did you bring us here, what did you do?!” he screeched,
Moyo blitzed forwards towards the herald who flew backwards with speed, hundreds upon hundreds of runic circles appearing in the air as a rain of lances shot down towards Moyo. Digi aye flared around him, absorbing the attacks as he shot towards Akriel, body blazing with aspect in copious quantity. He clashed with the emissary who roared, eyes blazing as he slammed Moyo with a punch, titans might took the brunt of the hit but Moyo still shot like a rocket into the distance.
Akriel followed,
“a hundred years I fought my way to where I am!” he shouted,
A blazing white blade with runes etched into it forming out of nowhere, it screamed of authority, of power and of scourging wrath. Akriel raised it up,
“Burn in his light, Rieus’s judgement!” he shouted and swung the blade,
Dominion blazed with power as it met the blade with pure titan aspect blasting around, a part of Moyo realized the entire area was unaffected by their rampage that would no doubt had levelled an entire domain or continent steadily with the way they ramped up to their full strength. Akriel screamed, rage in his eyes,
“Smite!” he shouted,
“Da pa da!” Moyo replied,
Repelling the attack as a large runic circle appeared behind him, the smiting power of Rieus blasting back towards Akriel who screeched in pain as his golden body smoked, his wings aflame. Moyo pressed on even as Akriel barely managed to deflect his attacks. The titan pressed on, the runes on his body glowing as he unleased the power of his pure aspect pouring from his gate, smashing Akriel into the sands below, the angel streaking like a comet to the ground. Panting, he flicked dominion and raised it up,
“Black hole!” he roared and swung the blade,
The hole started as the size of a golf ball, quickly expanding as it raced for the ground, sucking everything around it including the sands. Akriel rose in rage,
“You fool!” he screamed as he swung the blade, the pure white energy tearing the black hole in two as the hole exploded, blasting everything in its radius, including the both of them. Akriel bleeding gold looked enraged,
“Have you no idea whose domain this is?” he shouted,
“no” Moyo replied and shot towards Akriel below, the angel snarled,
“By the wrath of Rieus, your head would be mine” he snarled and met the titan, blade for blade. Moyo switched to the fighting style of the titan blade, his first move tearing open the guard of Akriel, his second attack shattering his golden skin, revealing his white plain body below,
The wings of Akriel shot towards him, aiming to pierce his skin as they glowed only to rebound of his body, Moyo snorting,
He wasn’t even using his bloodline ability,
Punching Akriel backwards with all the force of a missile, he ran, catching up to the herald and slamming him into the sand below, Akriel groaning as he attempted to roll away only for dominion to pierce one wing down, holding it with all the force of the titan as Akriel cried out in anguish. Moyo stalked up to him,
“You don’t even realize it do you?” he said as Akriel spat at him in agony, trying to tear dominion off his wing only to get his fingers cleanly sliced off as he screamed,
With a snarl the white blade floating next to Akriel shot towards Moyo who twirled and grabbed it, siphoning the aspect within it as it fizzled to nothingness,
“Impossible!, the blade of Rieus, the wrath…” Akriel whispered even as gold tears dripped from his face,
Moyo saw lines of purple snaking from where dominion had pierced his wing,
“Impossible things happen around me” Moyo said as he shrugged, crouching next to Akriel,
“This power you have, the power of Rieus, you don’t see what it’s doing to you, do you?” Moyo asked,
“The aspect of Rieus rewards those who worship the bright scourge, I am his most loyal servant” Akriel groaned even as Moyo raised one hand,
“Spare me the speech, I can see the lies plainly, you’re smarter than that Akriel, you just happen to be serving the equivalent of the devil” Moyo replied,
“We all must serve a master, I would rather serve the greatest of them all” Akriel said, however Moyo could hear the bitterness in his voice,
Cocking his head to one side, he nodded,
“you’ve realized it haven’t you?, not now, a while back, but you did, didn’t you?, how the aspect of Rieus feeds on your potential to gain your own path aspect” Moyo asked,
Akriel only growled,
“That explains the weakness of your troops, the aspect authority you bestowed upon them slowly ate at their paths, weakening them, it explains why the silvers were so weak and the bronzes becoming thralls” Moyo said quietly,
“There are prices to be paid for power titan blade, don’t act like you aren’t leeching from that fake emissary of yours” Akriel bit back as his wing stabbed by dominion began to crystallize, glowing purple,
“Look, even now you steal my very existence” Akriel said, laughing in pain,
Moyo glanced at the wing,
“Actually, Idris is my champion, and I gave my aspect freely” he replied as he summoned dominion to him, not before cleanly slicing the wing off as Akriel screamed in an anguish so terrible, it reverberated around,
“that’s the difference between me and your master, I need nothing from those who follow me, I protect them and I expect them to protect those weaker than them” he said,
Akriel groaned as he crawled to his knees, giggling maniacally,
“Impossible, no primordial gives freely, no power is free in the archailect” he whispered,
Moyo said nothing, merely watching and waiting to see his next action, dominion on his shoulder,
“Who are you to deserve everything you have?” Akriel whispered as he swayed,
“Hundreds of us have given our lives in service of the bright scourge, numerous worlds sucked dry for my lord, and still, even after centuries I remain herald, unable to go higher or lower, stagnant” he growled,
“I am not responsible for your woes, we must all choose our paths” Moyo replied,
The herald laughed loud, a laugh filled with such pain and hatred,
“choice?, you think you had a choice on your path?, think you fool!, whenever have you chosen the direction the archailect has blown you?” he shouted, Moyo frowning,
“we are all at the whims of the supreme beings!, you were merely favoured, a dancing puppet in the hands of those merciless existence!” he said as he swayed,
Moyo shook his head,
“that’s where you’re wrong herald” he said softly,
“Free will and fate works in tandem” he said,
“It was my fate to walk the path I do, but it was my freewill to dictate what I would do with my path, it was my will to protect those I do, my will to make friends and family, my will to stand as a protector and not an oppressor, that is where you and I are different” he said with a cold look,
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“You decided to serve a ruthless being, it was your choice to continue to serve such a being, it was your choice to doom uncountable billions to an agonizing existence by feeding those worlds to the bright scourge” he said,
Pointing at Akriel he spoke as his eyes blazed purple, his aura blazing,
“Do not blame anyone for the rewards you now garner, they were by your own actions” he said,
Akriel chuckled as a glowing short gladius blade appeared in his hand, Moyo frowned as he felt a sort of malevolent power from the blade,
“Whatever you’re about to do, think on it, you still have the freewill to break loose of the hold of Rieus” he warned,
Akriel grinned, a crazy glint in his eyes,
“and become a master used and discarded?, no, let me show you how the bright scourge rewards his followers, it’ll be the last thing you see heretic, for you will not leave the nethervoid alive” Akriel said as stabbed the blade straight through his heart,
Mouth open in pure agony and anguish, Moyo took steps backwards as he felt the pure blazing aspect power pouring from the herald. This felt truly like what an aspect should feel like, undiluted pure aspect of Rieus washed the area in golden light, Moyo blasting out his aura washed in his titan aspect, countering the power of Rieus. The light cleared to reveal a large monster, Akriel’s meaty flesh now a broken corpse on the ground right where the monster stood.
Looking like a stork with three heads, its eyes glowing as it gave a loud screech,
“do you see titan blade?, this is the pinnacle of power given by lord Rieus!” the bird screeched in the voice of Akriel,
Moyo gripped dominion tight as his spiritual form began to take shape,
“Even with all I said, you walk this path, fine” he growled,
He took his stance as he blazed with aspect, the power of the titan blazing skywards in a column of purple light so bright, it illuminated the area. Akriel’s new form screamed, blasting him with pure aspect light from the three heads combined,
“DA PA DA!” Moyo roared, runes blazing to life around him with a loud hum,
The power of Rieus slammed into Moyo and repelled back with an almost atomic explosion, ripping into Akriel like an unforgiving wave of the ocean, the stork screeching in pain as the power of his own master began to obliterate his entire existence. The titan wasn’t satisfied though, taking another step, he raised his blade as his spiritual form followed suit,
“BLACK HOLE!” he shouted,
The command echoing in the nothingness of existence, a large blackhole forming and consuming Akriel whose deathly throes were filled with anguish,
“you think you know power Akriel?, then die feeling but a fraction of mine!” Moyo growled,
“Go, dominion!” he shouted and threw the blade,
Dominion sang through the air, a streak of power like a bolt from on high, stabbing through the black hole and into what remained of Akriel, embedding itself within his monstrous bones and releasing a blast of aura, totally obliterating what remained of the herald, the black hole exploding along as well. Leaving nothing but wisps of essence and aspect from Rieus floating around, Moyo raised his hand, dominion flying into it as he roared, his eyes blazing purple, his runes glowing in victory.
When he had let loose his emotions in their entirety, he calmed down, sitting on the sand, dominion at his side as he awaited what would happen next, already feeling the interference somehow. The wisps of power that remained from the aspect of Rieus began to coalesce together, taking a humanoid shape. It revealed a being of light with long hair, a luminous glowing body.
It floated serenely to the ground, turning its blank face to Moyo who remained seated,
“Titan blade” it said, its voice sounding like a hundred dying screams all at once,
Moyo picked dominion and began wiping it clean,
“Rieus” Moyo replied,
He could feel it now, what the true aspect of the bright scourge felt like and he detested it in its entirety. It felt like anguish, like vile faux holiness and justice, it felt like oppression and it irritated the very soul of Moyo who turned his cold gaze on the bright scourge,
“I suppose I must thank you” Rieus continued, ignoring the look of pure hatred Moyo shot his way,
“Ending this disgrace to my lineage and existence when I was hard pressed not to” he continued,
Moyo calmly watched the primordial as he squatted and touched the sands, a chuckle from his throat,
“I believe you should have a say in this, after all, you played hosts to the squabbles of children, didn’t you, Viaris?” Rieus said,
Moyo raised one eyebrow, confused till the sands below them seemed to take a deep breath, expanding and sighing. He glanced to his side as the sands began to coalesce forming a human sized figure, empty eye sockets and a dark chasm for a mouth, it turned to Rieus,
“You are not welcome in my domain bright scourge” it said,
Rieus gave a mockery of a bow,
“And yet I come with my hands stretched, there need not be enmity between us, oh slumbering sands” he said,
Another primordial, Moyo had fought on the domain of another primordial and he hadn’t felt its power, not one bit. Viaris slumbering sands turned to Moyo,
“Titan blade” he said,
“Slumbering sands” the titan replied,
“I must apologize for my silence during your scuffle with the lackey of the bright scourge, I make it a habit not to interfere in the dealings of our fellow primordials if I can, but I heard your words and I commend you, I see reason why the archailect has deemed it fit to elevate you so fast” Viaris said,
Moyo looked taken back, surprise in the words the slumbering sands said, he heard Rieus give a disapproving tut,
“you consider this lower life form a peer?, you the slumbering sands, eater of suns?” Rieus said,
Moyo felt something deadly from the slumbering sands, a feeling he couldn’t put his hands on and it put him on edge. Viaris turned his gaze to Rieus,
“Remember your denizens seek to pass my galaxies to your next conquest, do not make me end the existence of the hundred ships that remain” Viaris said,
Rieus laughed,
“Expendable pawns Viaris, although I’m surprised out of a thousand ships, you spared a hundred, getting soft in your old age?’ Rieus asked,
The pure callousness with which Rieus spoke of those under him shook Moyo to the core, the way he took their deaths with levity. His gaze became cold, Viaris nodding next to him,
“Everything and everyone are simply pawns to you, it explains why you would be their lapdog for close to a millennium” Viaris said,
Rieus shrugged,
“They pay well, besides, mortals are infinite, the more you crush the more they procreate, it’s actually good for business” the bright scourge said,
“Then understand that my world is off limits bright scourge” Moyo said, channelling his aspect as he saw Viaris fold his grainy hands, his posture in support of Moyo,
“Already you have done enough damage, an entire faction brought low, countless lives lost and paths broken, no more” he growled,
“Hear me now Rieus ouroboros, Gaia and its galaxy is now under my protection, should you move against what is mine, you will be declaring war with me, so please, I dare you, bite more than you can chew, come for my galaxy and watch what happens” he said,
Rieus looked stumped for a second before bursting out in laughter,
“You?’ he started, his voice conveying his disbelief,
“you, a mere master with just a taste of your aspect, you dare threaten me?, before your galaxy ever existed I did, I the scourger of worlds?, my mere thralls would overrun your entire galaxy, I simply need to snuff out your sun and that’s the end. Tell me titan blade, do you have enough venerations to remake a sun hmm?” Rieus said as Moyo only saw red,
A loud pop sounded next to him as a figure appeared, Moyo reeling,
“Kairos?, how?” he asked,
“There is indeed much you do not know of the nethervoid, it connects everywhere and resides nowhere” he said with a smile,
Turning his gaze to Rieus, the great maw, king of monsters spoke,
“then what about my army?, my strength, do you wish to test your might against mine oh vile scourge” Kairos asked,
Rieus hissed, his countenance changing,
“Kairos, this doesn’t concern you nor that…...being that is your partner” Rieus said,
“oh, you mean Tiamat?, she extends her greetings, oh and the watchers may or may not be assaulting a prime temple world of yours currently” Kairos said with a smile,
Moyo could feel Rieus bubbling with rage, Viaris stood as well,
“The cults of the slumbering sands will stand with the titan blade should you declare war, it has been so long since a worthy sacrifice has been offered to me, perhaps that emissary of yours, Habriel, wasn’t it?’ Viaris asked,
Rieus became deathly still,
“The celestials wouldn’t take this lying down” he said,
Kairos laughed as Viaris chuckled,
“Please, inform them, then maybe after we deal with this abyssal issue, we can have a proper archailect war, it has been long we’ve had one, don’t you think Viaris?” Kairos asked,
“Indeed, the eons of slumber have made me famished, I wish to see the blood of my enemies flow again, good times, good times” he said,
Moyo felt a cold feeling suffuse him, realizing how out of his league he was, not even the thousand blades, azar and the other rulers he knew could match the scale of pure destruction these monsters could unleash should they wish it,
“The supreme beings will end your existences” Rieus said softly,
A large white rune broke out above them as a messenger appeared, floating down. It was the same messenger that appeared in his realm, stopping just inches from the sand, the angel spoke,
“You do not speak for the supreme beings Rieus, their favor on you doesn’t extend that far” the messenger said, levelling a withering stare at the bright scourge who squeezed his fists,
It turned to them also, pointing a finger,
“And there would be no war, not when the archailect would no doubt be recovering from the attack of the ravaging powers, do not test the supreme beings primordials” it said as a warning,
“I’ll take it into consideration, no promises though” Kairos said with a smile,
“Perhaps, only the flow of the sands of fate and time will decide” Viaris replied also,
The messengers’ eyes flashed with rage before calming, but Moyo had for a brief second seen a monstrous entity beneath the façade the messenger currently projected,
“Have it your way, you have been warned” it said,
Turning its gaze to Moyo, it spoke, a smile on its face,
“Lord titan blade” it said with a bow,
“Again, I come to hear your decision, as you can see, the terrestrials will bring nothing but trouble and doom to your existence” it said,
“And yet, it was one of your celestials that sought to destroy my world, I find that ironic, don’t you think?” Moyo replied calmly,
“The supreme beings apologize for the incursion by this one, again their offer stands to end his existence” the messenger said,
Rieus whirled to the messenger and raised one hand, the messenger raised a finger as a blue chain collar and manacles appeared around Rieus, the runes on them spoke of a period so old, it hurt Moyo’s head just thinking of it. Rieus chocked on his power, crashing to his knees and Moyo felt revolt just staring at how low a primordial had been brought. The being turned its gaze to Rieus,
“You will keep quiet and listen, even now for your actions, the great Lotes has ordered a detachment of the brigade to wipe out your influence on certain key galaxies, your debt to the supreme beings will therefore double” it said,
Rieus trashed in anger beneath the collar that shattered, his power blazing forth,
“YOU DARE!” he shouted as the messenger snapped his finger, Rieus disappearing,
Sighing as it dusted its cloth of imaginary dirt, its expression changed again as it spoke,
“Forgive the distraction, Rieus was once like I am” it said,
“a messenger?” Moyo asked,
“Indeed, his circumstances are…pitying at best, but his is a matter for another day, let him stew in his rage even as the brigade lays waste to what he had spent the better part of five centuries accumulating” it said with a smile,
Kairos simply shook his head, a smile on his face,
“so?, your decision lord titan blade?” it asked,
Moyo stared at the messenger as he walked forward,
‘do you know the one thing I learnt from my time in the archailect?, its debt” Moyo said
“Debt?” the messenger asked, confused,
Moyo nodded his head,
“Indeed, debt, the power it holds over those in the archailect is astonishing” he started,
“The debt to power, the cost it incurs to gain it. It goes without saying that most in the archailect would do anything to keep climbing the ladder, I’ve seen it play out over and over it disgusts me” he said,
“The bishops, the archbishops, Akriel, masters, diamonds, entire kingdoms and their kings, Kenuran and now Rieus, the cycle remains unbroken. Adapt or die, grow stronger or perish, at the end of the day, we all become the pawns of those stronger than us” he said,
Pointing to the spot where Rieus once stood, he continued,
“I once thought the realm of primordials was the final pinnacle, a rank where one can finally throw off these debts and just help those beneath them attain peace, but here I stood and watched a primordial and an old one at that be treated like a mere slave, it solidified my decision” he said,
“and that would be what?, titan blade” the messenger asked,
“no more lord?, oh my, how quick the courtesy went” Kairos remarked as the eyes of the messenger flashed and Kairos simply smiled,
“I will be beholden to no one, I will walk my path a free man, my fate may not be mine to control, but I will retain the freewill to choose from the numerous paths my fate will open to me” he stated,
“I will not be joining the celestials, extend my apologies to the supreme beings, but if that is how they treat their primordials, then I want nothing from them” he finished,
The look on the face of the messenger was enough to convey the disgust it felt,
“You were meant for great things titan blade, the favour of all six supreme beings ready to be bestowed on you, your path becoming the bedrock for the next generation. All that thrown away for morals that do not stand” it spat,
“Somehow, why do I feel you gave Rieus that same pitch when he joined?’ Moyo asked as Kairos snorted and Viaris shook his head,
The messenger nodded,
“As you wish titan blade” it said as it disappeared,
Moyo turned to the two primordials who had vanished as well, startled, he sighed,
“Great, now how do I leave this place?” he groaned,
Reality shook as it blurred and found himself back on the broken and destroyed citadel, surprised as he turned around to see Ashira and Idris talking, both pausing when they saw him as Idris shouted and shot a beam of power to the skies above,
“So?” Ashira asked,
He nodded with a smile, she beamed as she hugged him, turning to Idris,
“Inform them, tell them Akriel is no more” he said,
Idris spoke through a communication device and all around the capital loud cheers broke out, chants of the titan blade ringing around.