The entirety of the Molrik system armada met up for the first time since the beginning of the war, right on the edges of where the archailect controlled space met with the barrier of abyssal planets. The armada had gone through periods where they waned weaker and stronger, this time however, they were undoubtedly one of the strongest forces of the archailect currently. They had gone from the sacrificial forces to the forerunners of the entire war of some sort. The entire leadership of the armada had gathered on the flagship of the thousand blades, sitting in a circle, they had listened to the briefing, the orders sent to the thousand blades himself.

Moyo had stared at the other masters, both from house thousand blades and the other clans enlisted under them, he had seen the looks of respect they shot his way as his fame slowly spread through the forces. He had gone from a rookie master assigned a planetary force and not expected to go far, to one of the most pivotal forces of the system and the entire crusade into the galaxy as it stood. Masters Killian, Duval and Skatha while performing exemplarily had played it safe, ensuring most of their forces survived at the expense of slow ascension. If there was to be any downside of the titan’s method of war waging, it was the fact that he supposedly had the highest casualty rate in the Molrik system.

Still, no one could hold him for it, not when each and every ascender knew the risk of involving themselves in the war itself. The titan’s legion as they were called now were a cohesive and most organized of the fighting forces currently if the war in the system were to be concerned. House thousand blades had played it safe as well, putting more of the independent ascenders in their ranks than ascenders of the house or its allied clans. Those who were of house thousand blades were placed in key positions of authority, ensuring that while they were undoubtedly at the frontlines, they were in no way at much of a risk.

That all changed at the last battle though, where they had seen just what the cult of the abyss and the abyss could field at once, devastating damage on a scale that had forced the entire armada was forced to halt their movements and recuperate while they waited for reinforcements to arrive from out of the planet. There were also rumors of the brigade finally moving for this last phase of the system wars, that they were deploying their arcane generals and the strongest of their forces to bolster the armadas as they pushed into the prime planet themselves.

Moyo seriously doubted that, not that he thought the brigade would shy away from a fight, but that the fact that he didn’t think Xerxes would play his trump cards that quickly, Moyo used plural because he knew well enough that the brigade had more than one hidden in their robes. The orders had been clear enough though, they were to all launch a joint effort on the first planet, spearing through the last shield of planets before spreading out almost immediately while Altair himself served as a wedge to keep the punched route open just in case they needed to retreat.

In other words, the high council was expecting nothing less than full bloodshed and a significant casualty rate, Moyo however wouldn’t let that prediction come through, not when his legion were concerned. He had invested too hard and shared a bond too deep to throw them as sacrificial lambs to the slaughter, ascenders left to survive or die at the whims of fate itself. With the plans ironed out, the entire armada began to gear up for battle, Moyo returning to his flagship with Idris who had accompanied him to the meeting. Nodding at Urne who saluted and shola who bowed to him, he sat on his throne,

“Bring up the coordinates for designated to our legion” he ordered,

A large blue map appeared in the middle of the command deck,

“As per instructions sent to the defiance, the legion would move in line with the planetary forces of the stellar blade and sol blade” Urne said as Moyo nodded,

“We estimate that the battle to be fought in the void of spaces would be greater than the battles fought on the surfaces of the planets in our line of sight, I would recommend the battleships of the cohorts form a barrier around the planet once you have been able to make planet fall” Urne said,

“Leaving the defiance and the ships of the other planetary forces to go on the offensive” Idris said as Urne nodded to the commander general,

“any signs of abyssal forces?, Devigians?, Muttites and the rest?” Moyo asked,

“Our probes into the barrier space have been eliminated almost immediately, hence all we know for certain is that space around the planets are filled with hordes upon hordes that would require nothing less than the might of the full legion just to even breakthrough” she reported gravely,

“Makes you wonder how Ajax pierced through” Moyo mused to himself,

“Good, more abyssal monsters to kill” Moyo muttered,

Turning to Idris, he spoke,

“Inform all cohort commanders to equip each of the divisions within their cohorts with aether resonators, we have no idea just how long it would take us to make planet fall and I would not have the abyss eating away at their powers within that period” he said,

Idris nodded before bringing up his HUD, Urne turned to Moyo,

“My lord, communications from the flagship stellar blade” she said,

“Put it on screen” he replied,

The holographic image of the stellar blade appeared,

“Master Killian” Moyo said in greeting,

“Master Moyo, I believe we are ready to push through?” he asked,

Moyo nodded,

“As soon as the thousand blades gives the order” Moyo replied,

“The thousand blades has reported that his aspect has been able to pierce through the veil of the abyss just a little, and that what we face would be nothing less than strong cultists and dedicated servants of the mutator” Killian said,

“Then we better pound them into oblivion then, I trust my legion to handle themselves, so far as we keep the real terrors off their backs, I’m sure our forces combined will be more than enough to push them back to wherever they came from” Moyo replied,

“Indeed, however this time, the thousand blades will be joining us to assault a particularly large planet” Killian said,

Moyo raised an eyebrow at that,

“Why?” he asked,

Killian shrugged,

“he won’t tell me, perhaps something the high council informed him off, however we and the rest of the masters will be his guard as he undergoes the mission” Killian replied,

“meaning we’re leaving our forces to handle the other planets nearby?, diamonds against whatever might be defending the spires on those planets?” Moyo asked, appalled by what he was hearing,

“For a while, till we can resolve whatever it is that is on that planet in time to punch a hole through towards Molrik prime itself” Killian said,

“Is there something the council isn’t telling us?” Moyo asked,

“There are a lot of things the council aren't telling us Moyo, the main goal is to survive long enough to find out just what they aren’t telling us” Killian responded,

Moyo nodded wordlessly, Killian seeing the hesitation in his eyes,

“we’ve all seen the power structure that is your legion, I have no doubt they would perform exemplarily” he said,

“Still, I will not see my warriors die” moyo replied,

“Not with all I’ve invested into them” he finished,

“Then we better clear that planet quickly” Killian said as the call closed,

Urne turned to Moyo,

“Your orders my lord?” she asked,

Moyo tapped a finger on his throne in thought,

“Change of plans” he said,

“Inform all cohorts to employ all promethean battle suits and weapons of the artillery division, then the battleships and the defiance are to glass that world to ruins before dropping so much as a single ascender” he said,

“All cohorts are to move together, I don’t care how many continents are on the planet or how far they are from the spire, you move together, and if the odds are growing drastically against the legion, you retreat to teleportation zones, get the injured out first” he said,

Idris nodded as Urne saluted, Moyo reclining on his chair as he began to cycle his aether,

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

The flagship of the thousand blades moved first, breaching the barrier between the aether space and the abyssal space, the rest following immediately behind. Moyo felt it as their HUDs died out and the aether resonator snapped on around the command decks, the aspect of the titan shielding the worst of the abyssal auras from penetrating the ship. Urne kept shouting orders to the deck crew as they communicated with the other ships. Moyo turned to Idris who had summoned his conquerors might, in his hand as well was the stronger version of the titan’s weapon, the broadsword humming with tier two aspect,

“I leave the legion in your hands” he said,

“We will not fail” Idris promised,

Moyo gave a weak smile, patting him on his shoulder before opening a pathway with his willpower, forcing it to stabilize before passing through and appearing on the command deck of the thousand blades ship where Altair sat, his eyes closed in quiet concentration. Duval, Skatha and Killian behind him along with four other masters of the allied clans to house thousand blades. They all turned to him with the exception of Altair, Duval speaking first,

“Welcome titan blade, we are ready to progress” he said,

Killian nodded at him and Moyo turned to the other masters, Killian introducing them,

“While we know each other, let me introduce them to you formerly” he said,

Pointing to a very muscular man with red hair and beards holding a large hammer bigger than his entire body,

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“This is master Keman iron hammer of the iron hammer clan” he said,

Moyo nodded at the silent brooding man who nodded back, Killian pointed to a woman who held a lance etched with runes on its metal surface and also the arm she used in holding the weapon,

“This is master Teva singing lance of the singing lance clan” he said,

Moyo looked at the woman with green hair and eyes that stared at him coldly, pale white skin and green nails. He nodded stoically at her, unflinching at her gaze as she inclined her head to the side. Glancing at the next man who wore a hooded robe with only his eyes that shone beneath it, his iris a series of rotating runes that glowed, changing colours intermittently,

“This is master Kimiv rune touch, master of the rune touched clan” Killian said,

Moyo nodded at the man who nodded back immediately, folding his arms right back into his large robes, turning his gaze to the last woman who floated a few meters above the ground with mists beneath her feet,

“finally, we have master Kelsi bloodmist killer of the mist killer clan” Killian said, the woman with blood red lips and what Moyo eerily assumed were hopefully red paint and not actual blood running from her forehead where it had been drawn in runic hoops to her eyes,

She nodded at him, Moyo nodding back, Killian sighed satisfactorily,

“We are for this mission the retinue of the thousand blades, wherever he goes for the duration of this mission, we will follow” he said,

“What of the other clans and sects’ masters?” Moyo asked,

“They will oversee our forces during the period we are gone, ensuring no unwarranted surprises turn up during our absence” he replied,

“We are more than enough to crush whatever filth the cultists throw our way” Keman said, his voice booming,

Moyo wanted to reply when they felt the aspect of the thousand blades fill the room, the ancient snapping upon his deep blue eyes. They turned to him, Altair releasing a held breath as the ship shuddered,

“We have crossed the barrier and are pushing deep towards the planet, all forces have engaged” Duval said,

Altair nodded, standing up in one fluid movement, his fine robes unblemished as series of blades manifested around him. Some elemental and some with arcane runes inscribed on them, one thing they had in common was the fact that they had all been forged by him personally, for they carried his aura. Gripping one of the blades, a silver double-edged weapon with silver chains running from the hilt to the pommel itself, blue arcane runes that spoke of the power to cleave all things immaterial alone, he spoke,

“Allies, masters, friends, we go forward to my destination for the sole purpose of protecting the entirety of our armada” he said, his voice soft,

“This mission, what do we face that requires the might of an ancient and five masters to deal with?” Moyo asked,

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you” Altair said shaking his head,

“But I believe when you see it yourselves, you would understand just how important it is that we free the entirety of the dire galaxy from the hands of Rohan” he finished,

“And that traitorous Ajax went on without informing us, all, we should execute him should we come across him” master Teva of the singing lance said,

“you’re welcome to try” Killian replied coldly, catching the woman off guard,

“What the omega blade decides to do is his business alone, it bears no weight in our mission, that will be the last I hear of that subject” Altair said,

The master of the singing lance nodded accordingly, no doubt hearing the authority in the tone Altair had used,

Moyo paid the issue no mind, the best she could do was run her mouth when Ajax wasn’t around, when it came to push or shove, her path could not stand next to the omega blades’ or his for that matter. Altair clapped his hands, drawing their attentions back to himself,

“We must move and quickly before our enemies realize we’re unto them, if they haven’t already anyways” he said,

Moyo watching as Altair tore open a pathway through reality and into the nethervoid that swallowed them, dropping them over a sea in the void that was as still as land, its depth pitch black with only the glowing auras of all of them lighting up their way. Moyo treaded carefully on the black waters, keenly aware of a presence around them,

“Whose domain is this?” he asked softly,

“This is the nethervoid young one, no one claims domain within it” Kimiv rune touch said,

Moyo glanced at Altair out of the corner of his eyes who nodded, affirming Moyo’s thought,

They were within the realm of some being, the same way Moyo had fought the messenger and herald of Rieus, Akriel in the realm of the slumbering sands himself. He let the issue die down, the masters apparently unaware of the true powers of the nethervoid, he never did ask how the nethervoid worked yet, and just as it occurred to him now, why the masters and rulers didn’t implement it from the start of the war. Sneaking through the nethervoid to assassinate your enemies sounded like something that should be encouraged, but if it wasn’t, then that meant there were either restrictions to its use or they just plainly couldn’t use it that way.

Altair stopped all of a sudden, withdrawing a large white crystal, glancing at them, he spoke,

“Prepare yourselves, this will take a heavy toll on my aspect, I’ll need a minute or two to be back in fighting shape” he said,

So that was it then, the amount of aspect it took to break out into hostile territory, Moyo summoned dominion, ignoring the surprised looks on the faces of the masters,

“What metal is that?” Keman asked in awe,

“Some metal I got as a reward for consecrating a planet” Moyo replied, lying smoothly,

To begin to even divulge how he had gotten mithril and created Aserite would push at the oath he swore to Alastor and the brigade, not to talk less of painting a target on his back. Should he so much as give them a little of the metal, it was him the oath would execute, not the receivers, and he doubted they would go through any lengths to help him though. Gripping the blade hard, the masters faced the thousand blades as he began suffusing the crystal with his aspect, the item glowing blue and silver as it shone brighter,

“Ready!” he shouted,

Then dragging his hand down as it slicing an object with his blade that hung next to him, he shouted the command,

“CLEAVE!”

The nethervoid tore open as his aspect hl the abyssal powers at bay, preventing them from flowing into the nethervoid. Then they all saw the horrors running at them, bipedal monsters that stank of master ranked abyssal energies. Oily black skin with the snarling faces of a canine with huge sharp teeth to match, master Kimiv moved first, hands whipping out of his robes as he whispered a spell, a book of ultraviolet light appearing behind him,

“PURIFY” he commanded,

Runes broke out behind him, all manner of coloured mana infused with authority tore through the air, slamming into the monsters as they screeched, pushing them tumbling back into their fellow monsters,

“Protect the thousand blades!” Duval shouted as he withdrew his blade, the golden and burning weapon cleaving into the monsters that moved at master ranked speed,

Moyo whipped dominion through the air, appearing right in front of one of the creatures and cleanly decapitating its head, the stump sizzling like acid had been poured on it as the body began to liquify. Mantle appearing on his body, he took the brunt of a claw slash, the force blasting him sideways as he rolled through the air. Activating his titan’s body despite the claw doing nothing to his mantle, he wielded his gravitational ability on his body, feet slamming into the ground.

He was on a planet, what planet he had no idea, but over the cloudy oily skies, he could see flashes of void battles, the ships no doubt somewhere close by. A bright light shone as Moyo saw master Killian summoning his realm of moon and moonlight, infusing the aspect of the thousand blades as fragments of the moon light broke away, shaping into blades that rained down on the monsters.

Eyes searching frantically for the thousand blades, he saw masters Skatha and Duval standing side by side, diverting whatever monster was coming their way in the direction of the other masters. The bloodmist master filled the air with a reddish tinged mist that became whatever weapon she desired, skewering the monsters as they came close. Master ranked monsters, Moyo could hardly believe what he was seeing, even as he coated his body with Ashe and his aspect, gripping the throat of another monster as it screeched in agony, the aspect of the titan blade burning away at its essence.

Tearing it apart, he joined the fray, glancing at Altair who stood by himself now, no doubt recovered to an extent. The thousand blades snapped his fingers, his realm of a thousand blades covering them all and in one fluid expert move, sliced all the monsters at once, wet chunks of bile inducing oily flesh dropping to the ground with squelching noises. Getting a moment of respite, Moyo spoke,

“Where are we?” he asked,

“Right where the mutations of Molrik are being bred for the coming battle” Altair answered,

“The mutator has begun to spread his realm?” Kelsi bloodmist asked,

Altair nodded,

“It is so, after the abyssal pathways opened up, it served as a distraction for the mutator to cement a mutation domain right within this planet, shielding it with abyssal energies to throw the senses of the council off of what he was doing” Altair said,

Pointing his blade into the distance,

“However, this domain is not our concern, who runs it however is” the thousand blades said,

“The elite?” Duval asked,

“No, the brother Mortas crane lance of the cult as is he now known, a master ranked cultist” Altair said gravely,

Moyo wanted to ask just how strong a master ranked cultist had to be to warrant an ancient and eight masters coming for him when the ground shook and became fleshy,

“He is aware of our intrusion, be on guard!” Altair said, releasing a pulse of aura that ripped apart every monster for miles,

As if it were waiting for such a reaction, the slain monsters body fluids began drawing together, forming a rune that pulsed with abyssal powers,

“He comes” Altair said,

And from the rune, coated in the black stench filled liquid rose a naked man, eyes black with a pure white grin, the man stretched his hands out, the liquid solidifying into a black oily robe around him,

“Eight masters and an…ancient?” he said, actually surprised as he laughed,

“I am grateful to the archailect to consider me such a threat, never in my life did I hope to see one of you powers” he said,

The thousand blades flicked a finger as the man exploded into gore that splattered around, Moyo seriously hoping he was dead because the power he felt from the man had no actual rank, it just felt……terrifying. echoes of laughter came from all around them as the man reformed back,

“I’ve always wondered how it felt to die that way” he said, reforming again, a black lance in his hand,

The weapon stank of pure decaying energy, and with a startled look, Moyo realized just how strong the aspect of decay resonated in the weapon,

“So it is true, you really are fusing with the mutator” Altair said,

The man made of black fluid shrugged,

“a little disturbing, I admit, but it works, already you all consider me a threat worthy of an ancient” he said,

Moyo quietly wondering why the man hadn’t sensed his primordial power, no doubt not expecting a master to wield such. Pointing one finger at them, he spoke again,

“This place will be your grave, but I will not sully my hands with the bodies of masters, come find me ancient, if you dare” he said chuckling as reality twisted and the man exploded,

Throwing up his realm that forced its way into existence, Moyo watched as each of the splatter became a rune, floating skywards before pausing far from each other. They began forming individual humanoid shapes, each with glowing green eyes and an oily shape, each with the power of master rank,

“This world can’t take the battle we’re about to have” Keman said,

“It will, this world is as much mutation as it is a world, hold them at bay, I will end the Mortas myself” Altair said as he blazed brighter, his spiritual form taking shape, ripping into the area around them,

The oily shapes fled from the rulers’ aspect, an inclination to Moyo that weren’t as strong as he had predicted. He activated step of Ogun, appearing directly in front of one of the creatures whose reflexes had it bringing scythe like claws down on him. Dominion tore through the oily but sharp appendage as it screamed, his aspect burning its fluid with a gagging stench that almost caused the titan blade to lose focus. Oshosi screamed and he rolled sideways through the air, dodging a spear made of the same black energy that blasted past where he had been mere seconds ago. Two of the creatures were on him, speaking at the same time,

“Anathema, child of the end, of the great enemy, the father comes for you” they said,

” What father?” Moyo asked,

Attempting to speak again, one exploded into gore as the hammer of Keman blew it apart, the runes of destruction on the hammer adding extra damage to the attack. The other lit up in green flames as Kimiv rune touch, activated an attack above its,

“We fight young one, not listen to the lies of the abyss!” Keman berated,

Moyo gritted his teeth in frustration, he had been about to learn just what this anathema had meant, nodding and diving back into battle, he gathered veneration within him, feeling the orb of power pulse as he transferred it into his blade along with his aspect, tearing one of the creatures that battled Teva singing lance to a standstill, her aspect definitely not suited to fighting the abyss. The creature shrieked as it lit on white flames burning away into oblivion.

The master glanced at him in shock,

“What was that power?” she demanded,

The titan barely gave her a once over,

“The power of family” he said, shooting away and leaving her all the more confused,

Killian froze his foe in clumps of ice before shattering it into a thousand pieces, his brother Duval burning them to cinders. Fighting back-to-back, the brothers of the sun and moon laid waste to what was left of their foes,

“Feels like old times, right?” Killian said chuckling,

“Except this time we’re not fighting for renown and recognition” Duval grumbled as Killian laughed,

The masters gathered together,

“We need to press on” Duval said,

Moyo noticed the absence of master Skatha,

“the silent blade” he said,

“With the thousand blades” Killian said,

Keman shouldered his hammer,

“Hmph, so much master ranked threat” he said,

Moyo was about to reply when the very fleshy ground heaved and tentacles of decaying flesh shot out at terrifying speed, piercing Keman and Kelsi bloodmist at once, the rest barely reacting in time to dodge the appendages that numbered in the hundreds, waving around. Moyo sliced his way through a number of them, his aura blasting out as he blazed, burning the tentacles as he grabbed the body of Keman and Kelsi, his aspect burning out the decay as they groaned unconsciously.

His realm imposed around them, protecting them from the tentacles, he watched as the other masters gathered around him, watching as the entire planet became a mass of fleshy, decay aspect tentacles.