Moyo blazed with power, watching as both he and the jades’ power warped reality around them, cause the aether on the planet to rumble into an incoming storm of power. He was pissed, admittedly not at the jade but at the elite that had come close to critically injuring him, and he was glad there was a brute he could beat on. To be fair the jade had started it first, and even as he watched his diamond rankers gather the troops and ferry them to safety from the wrath of the two beings that were about to clash, he spat out phlegm on the ground, rolling his shoulders as he could feel the restrictions of the archailect settle on him.
The jade was a ruler, it was evident from his aura that wove aether as easily as it had belonged to him, but Moyo could feel his aspect pushing at the restrictions, straining it to its limits but not breaking it, he was after all still a master in rank and a low one at that. The hulk of a man who was all muscles grinned at him, white teeth grinning beneath shaggy silver beards, runes of silver and blue broke out around the man and Moyo felt the balance of power shift subtly, his aura quaking under the power of the jade,
This was in the true sense a monster,
“The fabled titan blade, primordial master” the being stated,
“I find this behavior hardly befitting of a ruler” Moyo replied as dominion sang with its full power,
The barbarian laughed, his mere voice causing the aether in the air to tremble,
“Manners are for your dainty rulers within the safety of the archailect, there is much you do not know, but let us start with respect” the barbarian growled as he cracked forward again, breaking the sound barrier,
Moyo was puzzled, the jade hardly used any special speed ability, evident by the fact that his sight could match the speed of the ruler. However there was something in the aether of the jade that screamed at his senses and Moyo was wary of, that aside from the fact that the mere strength of the jade was the very concept of brutal force. Even as the jade somehow forged runes into a mace, Moyo enhanced and fortified his body with his titan aspect, feeling his titan’s might bloom with his pure willpower. If the titan was an unmovable mountain, solid and steady in his strength, then the blow of the jade was akin to an asteroid, clearing everything in its path without so much as a care in the universe, and clear the titan it did.
Crashing on him with all the force of a raging comet, Moyo felt his bones actually creak and his body propelled with all the force of a bullet, his edict hanging in his throat as an aspect of pure brutish strength settled on him. Wind tearing past him, he felt his body shoot towards the horizon like a missile, and the most ridiculous part of it all was the barbarian matching the speed with which he shot forward easily,
“You disappoint me titan blade!” the jade bellowed as he raised his mace up, bringing it down on the titan again with the force of a monster,
The ground gave way, a crater formed, and the explosion rocked the continent for miles. When the smoke cleared, the jade stood above the titan, one foot on his chest as he grinned down at him,
“Tell me, primordial” he said with a sneer,
“Had enough yet?” he asked,
Moyo groaned, coughed a few times and turned his gaze to the barbarian jade as his body healed immediately,
“Are you done?’ he croaked out, frowning and spitting out a piece of tooth,
The barbarian frowned, eyes gleaming silver and blue before bellowing out in laughter, his voice echoing for miles,
“You talk big for a- “
Wham!
The fist of the titan caught the jade unaware, sending him shooting into the air like a rocket, he stood up, feeling his shattered bones reassemble themselves before he took one step of Ogun, catching up to the barbarian and channeling his titans’ might through his hand, he gripped the head of the barbarian who finally caught up to what was happening, eyes wide,
“let’s start all over again” Moyo replied and shot straight down into the ground from the skies like a bolt of lightning from on high, burying the jade headfirst into the very ground with his legs in the air,
Cracking his shoulders, he gripped the leg of the jade, dragging him out of the ground as ferocity of oshosi screamed, bringing dominion up to block a punch from the jade that blasted him backwards, but this time he channeled his latent gravitational abilities to ground him to the very earth even as he felt his ribs shatter from the mere concussive force. Healing almost immediately, he watched as the jade staggered a bit, right himself before pointing the mace at him,
“You know” he started,
“I wanted to take it easy with you, being a baby master from the archailect and all, you sword users” he said laughing,
“But I see you want a real challenge” the jade said as the mace burst into runes that swirled around him,
Moyo felt it again as he staggered, the aspect of the jade that tore its way into reality, something about the aspect wasn’t right and he couldn’t put his finger on it. The barbarian turned his gaze solely on the titan and Moyo felt such bloodlust like he had never felt before bear down on him with all the power of a jade, his knees actually buckling but maintaining its steadfast strength,
“good” the barbarian said as Moyo saw actual frost come from his mouth,
“It would do you no good to die from a hit” he said and moved,
His aspect screamed in danger,
Ferocity of oshosi screamed in danger,
The very planet seemed to warp and twist,
And though the titan stayed standing, dominion held tightly to guard from an attack his spirit screamed was instant death should it hit, Moyo prepared to unleash everything within him. His gates of aspect were open, his throne hummed as aether, intent, mana, aura and mantle worked in synchronization to stop whatever attack was about to land. Edict in his mouth, he prepared to fight for his life when flames suddenly cut off his vision, the planet turning red with fire that glowed with a lick of orange, coating reality itself like a shroud.
When it cleared, an unknown man was standing there, dressed in the red coat of the dragon's brigade. Tall and muscular, heavy chains wrapped in both hand like a gauntlet and glowed with heat, he stopped the punch of the jade, and the force of the hit tore the very ground around them, creating a V shaped canyon so deep. The being gripped the fist of the jade so tight, the two of them staring down each other, Moyo feeling their willpowers smash against each other,
“Ever the brute, jades” the being rumbled,
“This has nothing to do with you arcane general” the jade spat,
“no” the being agreed,
“But it has something to do with them” it said looking up,
And right on cue the very skies above cleared of clouds as a large golden ship materialized, the jade snarled in disgust,
“They have no jurisdiction over us” he said,
“No, but the harbingers do, the both of you are to present yourselves for questioning” the arcane general said as two golden beams smashed from above unto them, beaming them right up into the ship.
Moyo blinked away the flashes of light to see large manacles on his hands, stumbling a bit as he felt powerless, his very path locked away. He glanced to his left where the jade had the same manacles on but with a murderous glare on his face. His brain then took in the surroundings, a large golden hall with large obsidian green jade columns all around him. He was locked in some sort of stasis field that aloud movements and floated a few meters above the ground, and he could feel the power in the room, a power that came from the beings arraigned in front of him, the harbingers.
Seated on thrones that displayed the banner of their respective supreme beings behind them, Moyo stared in part awe and calculated silence at the beings who observed him with a stone-cold gaze. As usual Xerxes sat in the middle, the banner of a golden dragon wreathed in flames behind him, to him. To his left were Zane with the banner of a white blade writhed in runes on a blue banner, Grimswolf, a large hulking wolf-man seated with the banner of a large planet of bright green on a black background.
To his right were Tixuhl, harbinger of Filvux and a banner of an armor and blade of gold with a red background, Ernesh the android, a banner of a large circle and cog with silver inscriptions that glowed and shifted behind him and finally Eisnar, harbinger of Vazyra, a woman dressed scantily with very prominent features and aether crystals floating above her head. The beings stared at them in cold silence for a few seconds as Moyo shifted awkwardly,
“Are we going to-“the jade said as Zane raised one finger, effectively silencing the jade,
“One more word from your mouth jade Björn grim rune and I promise you, you would be sent back to your clan in disgrace” Eisnar said, her voice melodious as it was deadly like a coiled serpent, Moyo immediately lost any budding feeling he had for the harbinger at that,
He turned to Xerxes who sighed,
“You keep putting yourself and the rest of us in positions unbecoming of a primordial” he said,
“Pseudo primordial, let us not forget that” Tixuhl Irios said, a large woman in silver and golden armor, black hair tied behind him and two shields floating above her head, she screamed of mantles, both offensive and defensive,
Moyo turned to her in silence before turning back to Xerxes who raised an eyebrow,
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“Well?, anything to say for yourself?” he asked,
Moyo cleared his throat before speaking,
“I would like to first of all apologize to this council of…...harbingers, the situation while escalating was not my intention” he said,
“And yet you thought you could take on a jade of the second order, are you aware how close you came to losing your mortal shell?” Grimswolf said, his voice sounding oddly enough like a growl although Moyo hard nor felt no malice from the question,
“He gave me no choice, it was either defend myself or die” he replied,
The Grimswolf turned to the jade who stood as rigidly as a statue, sighing before speaking,
“What do you have to say for yourself, Björn grim rune?” he asked,
The jade turned to them,
“He disrespected me, plus I felt the essence of the destroyer on him” he said formally,
“You mean the aspect of the elite?” Eisnar asked,
Björn gave a stiff nod,
“Barring that fact, you thought the next available thing to do was to attack the master, are you aware of the tentative peace between us and the primordials?, especially his patron?” Ernesh bit out,
Björn was about to talk when reality cracked and Zane sighed, using his reed hat to cover his face as Xerxes groaned in frustration. A large eye appeared above them, flicking around with a wet sound before honing in on the titan. It flicked its gaze back to Xerxes and narrowed,
“This has nothing to do with you Kairos” Xerxes said,
The eye stared for a few seconds before disappearing from reality itself, Moyo stared at the spot in surprise, wasn’t the fleet Kairos in another system entirely?. Grimswolf cleared his throat and Moyo turned back to the harbingers arraigned,
“No less the primordials will throw a fit about this” Zane said in his whisper-like voice,
“We will deal with that later, ascender titan blade, by the authority vested in us by the supreme beings, we invoke the right to question you about the event on blade-2, due to the fact that as of right now, you are still a master and not a full-fledged primordial, apologies for what’s about to happen” Eisnar said with a wince,
Moyo felt the chains become abnormally heavy, his knees crashing to the floor as the weight held him down,
“Do not lie and the weights won’t increase” Tixuhl said in her cold-like voice, Moyo found himself disliking the woman more and more,
“You may begin” Xerxes said formally,
Moyo narrated the story, informing them of the forced entry into the planet, the diamonds or category fives that attacked, covering up the aspect of the category six or elite as it was called. He narrated the fight, explaining how Idris had broken the spire and consecrated the planet to the archailect before the appearance of jade Björn who decided to beat him into submission. By the end of his tale, Ernesh was sitting upright, the harbingers staring at him with cold accuracy that unnerved him,
“This is strange, the elite of the destroyer in the realm of-“Ernesh said as he paused, Xerxes glancing at him in alarm,
He nodding as he caught himself, his mithril metallic frame sitting back upright. Moyo was curious as to what he had wanted to say as no doubt there were still things he was unaware of, however the harbingers were not looking inclined to share and Moyo was not about to push his luck. Tixuhl turned her gaze to him,
“So, what you’re saying is the elite somehow simply scratched you before escaping?’ she asked,
Moyo was sure she felt disgust at him taking a blow, which was stupid in hindsight when he thought of the abnormal strength of the elite, but he simply nodded. Grimswolf spoke next,
“You were lucky young primordial, if I remember explicitly, you were informed to call on your ruler should a situation like that occur, which in itself makes no sense, no elite should be this close to the frontlines” he said,
“No transmission and no time, the planet was deep in the power of the abyss” he replied,
Xerxes nodded before turning to Tixuhl who turned stiffly to him, waving her hand as the chains broke into shards of mantles, releasing him as his strength flooded back into his limbs, his aspect released. He stood up straight, watching as the gazes of the harbingers turned towards Björn, a fellow ruler if Moyo was correct, but the gaze of Tixuhl remained on him, ever vigilant. Zane spoke up,
“Jade Björn grim rune, any explanations as to why you didn’t question the planetary commander first to ascertain the situation?” he asked silently,
He saw Björn grit his teeth in anger,
“I don’t owe you any explanations” he ground out,
“No, but you owe me an explanation and by proxy the harbingers” a voice said as reality cracked again and Xerxes cursed out loud,
“Honestly, is there no sense of privacy in the archailect any longer?” he said loudly,
A man much bigger than Björn stepped into the room and Moyo felt the insane and ridiculous urge to hide and whimper, grinding it out as his aspect flooded his limbs, his eyes glowing as he gave an involuntary snarl before realizing what he had done. As reality reasserted itself behind the man, the large man with grey and white beards reminiscent of the ancient Vikings with a large rune covered two-sided axe to boot glanced at him with a snort,
“You are a millennium too young for me to play with, down boy” he said as the pressure released the titan and he panted, feeling a strain he couldn’t explain settle on him, like he had been dueling for months straight.
If Björn was a monster, this man was something from a Lovecraftian story, while he looked human enough, the very power that surrounded him screamed in harmony both with the archailect and reality, but also with the aspect of terror and grim bloodshed, the joy of ripping flesh from bones and bathing in the exultation of blood of your foes dripping down your body. He could proudly say this was one being he would rather not face, not yet anyways. Tixuhl sat up,
“While the jade might be under your jurisdiction, this is the court of the harbingers, you are not allowed to barge in that way” she spat out,
Moyo was beginning to think she was generally rude to everyone, broken heart maybe?. The man brushed her words away,
“At ease pup, I’m merely hear to formally apologize and to ensure that idiot over there follows your every instruction” he said, his voice sounding like that of a weary old man,
“Does this come from you as the clan leader or is this at the doing of that man?” Xerxes asked,
The man snorted,
“The grim rune clan apologizes to no one, unless the jade lord himself orders” he said grudgingly,
Moyo was terrified of a being stronger than this man before him that had the power to force the creature that just appeared to apologize. Tixuhl gave a weak chuckle,
“jade lord, that is what he calls himself now, quite like a child” she said,
The man casually pointed his axe at the harbinger of Filvux and Moyo scrambled to find a way out of the room, turning to see even Björn shifting backwards in alarm. Tixuhl herself had suddenly become armored up in preparation, her entire body in armor as the two shields began spinning above her head in preparation,
“You can insult me all you like, but one word of disrespect against lord Lucirion and I would tear you limb from limb” he growled,
“chief Ingvar, please” Xerxes said as Zane sighed and reclined on his throne in exhaustion,
“You are not the first harbinger of Filvux, neither will you be the last” the creature known as chief Ingvar said,
And with that threat dropped, he dropped his hand down, the pressure in the room receding as both Moyo and Björn gave sighs of relief at once, glancing at each other awkwardly before turning away. Ingvar turned to Björn who went to one knee immediately, head bowed in submission,
“When they ask, you answer boy” he said as Björn nodded,
“As you will it grandfather” he replied softly, Moyo suddenly had a pinch of pity for the jade,
A pinch,
The man turned to the harbingers and took a step back,
“If you please, continue” he said gruffly as Xerxes nodded,
“Well?” Xerxes asked Björn,
The jade while still on his knees answered with a clear voice,
“I felt disrespected at the slight given to me, I apologize to the council of harbingers, I apologize to the titan blade and I apologize to my grandfather, I am ready to lay my life down as recompense” he said,
Moyo stared in shock at the tone of the jade, the submissive attitude and the posture, Xerxes nodded,
“It is forgiven, we are at war, we cannot afford to have infighting, not with one of our greatest allies the jades” Zane said,
“a note of warning young titan blade, know what foes to fight” Ernesh said with a chuckle,
“you’re like a child given a weapon, you think you’re powerful, but you are centuries too young to battle with the true monsters out there in the archailect, no matter what delusions Kairos has fed you” Tixuhl said, Moyo noticed her tone was a lot calmer,
Ingvar grunted as he stood straight from his slouch, waving his hand as the stasis field that held them popped like a bubble, its mantle power flowing back to Tixuhl,
“If that will be all, I will be taking this grandchild of mine back home, your mother will be quite glad to educate you on manners” he said as Björn trembled,
“ma’s back?” he asked,
“Aye, and she’ll have your hide for this, not even your dad can save you now” Ingvar said with a chuckle as Björn gave a light whimper,
The chief turned to the titan, removed a ring from his hand and tossed it to him, he caught it and felt the aether from it, the raw power that seemed to be on par with his aspect strength,
“I apologize, should you find yourself in the frigid wastelands that are the frontlines, show this to any jade order” he said,
Moyo gave a light nod as reality cracked and shattered, the two jades passing through what Moyo quickly realized was the Nethervoid. It closed up behind them and he turned to the harbingers who remained seated,
“Moyo” Xerxes started with a sigh again,
“Are you even aware of how outclassed you were?” he asked,
Moyo gave a slow shake of his head, Tixuhl wanted to talk as Zane raised his head to her,
“Let the brigade talk” he said softly, words held in her mouth, she reclined and said nothing, Xerxes continued,
“In truth it is not your fault, your meteoric rise through the ranks of ascension with the extra boons have given you a somewhat skewed outlook of the archailect” he said,
“Eisnar, if you please, a recording of a jade versus a blight, probably category 5, thank you” he said,
The harbinger of Vazyra nodded, a crystal floating down to reveal a holographic image of a frozen wasteland, a man with two oversized handguns that were five times his body weaved through hordes of monsters, each shot of his guns that were more or less canons wiping out an entire planets’ worth of blights, infact the frozen world exploded in a supernova before reassembling back. Moyo watched with wide eyes,
“That is a jade, one of the second order, their masters if you would use archailect terms, although that is a ruler close to the realm of ancients” Xerxes said,
“The jades are the real unsheathed blades of the archailect against the forces of the abyss, the bulwark against the ravaging powers and they answer only to the supreme beings with exceptions to when we hold a coalition like this” Ernesh said,
“They are unstoppable, they practically live on the border of the Nethervoid and the abyss itself, anchoring planets to the archailect with their mere authorities, they are not beings you can hope to beat anytime soon” Xerxes said,
The leader of the brigade sat up straight,
“If I had known or had my way during your early ascendence, I would had placed a seal on your ascension, barring you from crossing the rank of diamond” he said,
Moyo tightened his fists, an act that didn’t go past them unnoticed,
“You think me evil, brutal but I am not” Xerxes said,
“It is the same course of action I would take as well young titan blade” Zane said,
“you are too young to understand just how deep in the games of the archailect you are, and the false sense of security the great maw has impressed on you furthers the issue” he continued,
“Know now that if the king of monsters had to choose between you and his empire, he’d wipe you from existence in a flash. I have no idea what games he’s playing, but seeing as he has essentially tied you down with his daughter, I can only hope you are wise enough to be careful and watch yourself, the archailect is a cold place titan blade” he finished before reclining back on his chair,
“We do not tell you this to discourage you young one” Eisnar said as she shot a disapproving glance at the rest of her peers,
“Merely to caution you, even the brightest stars go out, you are drawing too much attention to yourself young one, be careful, this war is as much a chance to beat back the abyss as it is for those who want to take out their rivals, I would hate for one such as yourself to be the victim of such circumstances, you present a great future for the next generation of powers in the archailect” she finished,
Moyo nodded stiffly, reigning in his rampaging emotions,
“Again, I apologize for my behavior” he said as they nodded,
“Oh and we approve of your innovations, the weapons you have introduced into this war would go a long way in preserving ascenders lives, as a reward we and the council have agreed to give 50% of each weapon and inventions bearing your mark to you as from now on” Ernesh said with a gleam,
“you’re only doing this to spite the omnidroid” Eisnar said with a chuckle,
“That and he employed a member of my alliance, rest assured Ahib will have a bright future for his impressive models” Ernesh said,
Now on lighter topics, Moyo gave a weak smile,
“If it pleases the council, I would like to request the planet as a base for construction of weapons and armored constructs till the end of the war and to take custody of the planet” he asked,
“Granted, it is the least we can do for a master that survived an attack against an elite” Grimswolf said,
Moyo bowed to them in gratitude, his heart however troubled.