Ara moved with all the speed of a master and more, twisting and striking at the titan blade in a series of continuous movements that sage’s eyes struggled to catch up with, ferocity of oshosi managing to keep up with her attacks, giving him barely enough fraction of a second to counter her attacks.
The masters had sought to interfere, core realms smashing down on the former elemental master of Shango, seeking to either destabilize her or outrightly overwhelm her with their powers. Ara tapped her foot softly on the ground, whips made of lightning manifesting in both hands as she lashed at the masters, catching both Killian and Skatha simultaneously, only Duval with his new found elemental flame power able to dodge to attack.
It allowed Moyo to clamp down on her hands, getting one punch coated with Ashe and veneration running through him onto her body as the communion took over, but this time he was ready. Reality warped around him as he felt his mind and hers switch memories, a flash of light and he was suddenly displaced.
******************
This time, it was the aftermath of the battle, that much he could see. Floating lifeless bodies of masters slowly disintegrating, thousands of broken ships in various sizes filled the wide expanse as far as his eyes could see and thousands of weapons of various tiers both broken and whole floated alongside the corpses. The only living beings among the annihilated battle area were Eses, Killian and Tiamat, each looking worse for wear. Broken armour, bleeding bodies and looks of rage and pure agony etched on their faces, none more than Eses herself.
Moyo for the first time saw what an injured Kairos looked like and he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to witness such a scene like that ever again, even Tiamat, with her scorched and burnt body that systematically healed itself stared at her husband with something close to real fear. The direction in which he channelled that fear was Eses who held something in her hand, on closer inspection, his eyes widened as he saw it was the head of the prime lord, not armoured in that helmet of pure decay and powered by all the sub-aspects of the abyss, but a frail white and bony looking creature that looked like a desiccated avian bird than anything else.
She used a finger on her other hand, coated with blue flames to draw runes of such power that Moyo wondered why the creature wasn’t screaming in agony, then he realized it had no vocal chords, no throat really and shivered, this was not a sort of existence he wished upon anybody. Kairos literally shook where he stood, but he gently extracted himself from Tiamat, wobbling as he steadied himself, a loud pop sounded around them and wukong appeared, one arm torn away and his eyes rolled up in his head.
Tiamat moved immediately, grabbing the sage and his jade staff that had splinters around its body, forcing an elixir of such vitality that Moyo wondered just how strong it was seeing as it burnt even his own gaze with its blinding light. It did no harm to the sage though, the reverse actually and with surprising speed as another golden-haired arm replaced the one he had lost and he took a deep breath, coughing out blood in the process of regaining his senses. Kairos spoke, his voice sounding hoarse and tired,
“Is this what you wanted?” he said, tone filled with such bitterness and pain,
Eses glanced at him before turning back to her task, adding another rune to the prime lord’s face,
“Answer me dragon!” he roared as reality quivered,
Moyo trembled at the sight of the great maw’s anger, for even with devastating injuries he still wielded such power. Kairos pointed to orbs that suddenly began to manifest,
“Look at what remains of our brothers and sisters, look!” he shouted,
“Kairos” Tiamat said softly, her gaze broken,
Kairos glanced at his wife, saw the sorrow in her gaze and shut his eyes tight,
“I’m sorry Tiamat” he whispered,
She nodded, glancing at the sage who had regained his senses and was looking around with a look of forlorn on his face,
“I tried” Eses whispered,
Kairos gave a sad laugh, shoulders shaking,
“No, no you didn’t you selfish creature, but what more can I expect from a dragon?” he said as Eses flinched,
“we’ve lost everything, thousands of empires and hundreds upon hundreds of civilizations blown to dust, simply because of your ego” he snarled,
Eses tossed the head of the prime lord to the side as she turned to Kairos, her body bursting into blue flames that glowed like the sun,
“You think I don’t know that, spawn of the deep?” she roared,
Her spiritual form manifesting as a large serpent writhed in blue flames, staring down at Kairos with such malevolence,
“You dare” Tiamat said as she glowed brighter, green ooze of terrible nature manifesting her spiritual form that changed shapes with ever fraction of a second, Moyo trying to look away from the horrors she showed to reality as he couldn’t, his eyes almost bleeding. The sage grabbed his staff, slamming it on nothing in space as a loud gong echoed and his spiritual form appeared, this time a golden monkey with a crown of golden fire roaring,
“Enough of your childish attitudes!” he shouted, drawing the attention of everyone around,
“While you squabble like fledglings, we lose more and more of the aspects of our brothers and sisters, have you no shame!?” he snarled,
Kairos looked away, floating towards where the orbs were, catching them one by one and throwing them into a spatial chamber Moyo wasn’t sure he wanted to know what was inside them. Tiamat called off her spiritual form the moment Eses did the same, all parties glancing away in shame from wukong,
“I brokered a deal with the supreme beings” Eses said softly,
“I will preserve the aspects and essences of those of us ancients and primordials in special dungeons, where the strongest of the future generations can acquire them and learn from the past” she said softly,
“And who would be in charge of these dungeons?” Kairos asked, glancing at her,
“My status as champion of aether has been revoked, the age of champions has passed, as the har- “
“Who will be in charge?” Kairos asked again, this time slower, cutting off Eses,
“As the harbinger of Lotes I will be in charge” she said softly as Kairos gave a short bark of laughter
“figures” he spat,
“In return, I have sworn off any control of the archailect, leaving it for my children and those that come after them” she said quickly,
“Is that to be some consolation for depriving them of their father?” Kairos asked,
Eses grew cold as a blade made of her flames manifested, eyes glowing blue,
“Speak of Jothas like that again and I would end your existence right here and now, consequences be damned” she said,
Kairos opened his arms, a blade made of midnight black with skull of some unknown creature serving as its hilt manifested in his hand,
“Come, let me cut you down from that high place you have placed yourself above us” he responded,
“The next person to move will get to understand why they call me the great mother” Tiamat said, her voice echoing around them,
Both parties froze as wukong turned away, drawing runes in space as the broken ships and parts that littered the entirety of space began to come together, being compressed by an unseen force into a ball. Kairos flicked his hand, the blade vanishing, Eses doing the same,
“do you think so low of me as to play games with the dead?” she asked,
“that’s the thing cosmic dragon, I don’t think of you again, not in the same way I would think of anyone respected” he replied,
“I begged and begged, pleaded with you, seek help from the supreme beings, let them deal with this themselves, but no, you sought to prove you were better than them, while wielding their powers as well” Kairos said, chuckling sadly,
“It has happened, there is nothing to be done, we are what remains of the primordials” Tiamat said,
“Let us get this over with and get news back to the greater archailect, a new era is coming, one where the primordials won’t play a role as great as before in the running of things” she finished,
“The age of the harbingers, isn’t that what you called yourself now Eses?” wukong asked as Eses reluctantly nodded,
“I care not for what age is coming, all I want is to know that our peers would be in great hands” Kairos said,
“Then let us ask their aspects and essences themselves” Eses replied,
Kairos reluctantly opened the vault back, letting out the orbs of the aspects and essences that glowed, each with the power of a dead primordial and ancient. Each floating around Kairos, he somehow coaxed them towards Eses who produced a tube filled aether, shattering it a swell of aether filled the area, the aspects orbs glowing as spiritual forms looking more like holograms began to appear from each of the orbs. Moyo spotted Shango and his three masters, each glowing with pure power,
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“What is this?” Kairos asked softly,
“Lotes said she was able to conjure and save a bit of their personalities within their orbs before it faded away, basically they have memories close to a month before they died” Eses said softly,
The dead primordials and ancients all stared at the living with varying looks, some with realization, others sorrow and quite a few of them with contempt, all focused at the cosmic dragon. He watched Eses steel herself as she floated to them and bowed,
“I am sorry, words cannot convey just how deep my shame goes, I have lost almost all I held dear to me, and I have singlehandedly brought about the dusk of the era of our control over the archailect” she started,
None of the beings arraigned before them spoke a word, merely watching, either that or they couldn’t speak, Moyo couldn’t decide. Hands spread wide, she continued,
“As penance, I have forsworn anything that has to do with control in the archailect, only to rise in its time of greatest need. I have brokered a deal with Lotes, to preserve all that you have stood for, to ensure future generations can learn from you and somehow carry on your paths” she said,
This seemed to grab the attention of most of the primordials, however Moyo eerily noted that Shango kept staring in his direction,
No, not in his direction, at him he realized
Glancing behind his back to verify if truly there was some entity behind him he wasn’t aware of, he swallowed as he glanced back at the primordial who folded his arms, a rueful smile on his face like he knew a secret he wouldn’t tell. Turning to his masters, the dead primordial whispered something to them as their eyes widened, their gazes searching around,
Searching for him,
The situation slowly dawning on him, he shook his head, he had been here before, somehow, someway, he had journeyed back to the past and Shango had seen him, given his masters what he no doubt knew now were orders. Eses continued, drawing their attentions back,
“You would be preserved in master and ruler ranked dungeons, extremely hard ones where not just any master or ruler can obtain your aspects and primordial shards” she said,
This drew a lot of looks of disgusts from the faces of the primordials, anger at the fact that they would be relegated to dungeons. The masters simply shifted uncomfortably, long ingrained training of never to disrespect primordials still ingrained within them. Eses however knelt, even as they floated in space, heads bowed, she knelt, much to the shock of the dead beings,
“It is the only way, please, reflect on my mistakes, do not deprive the generations to come of your wisdom and strength, I beg of you” she said softly,
The beings glanced between themselves seemingly conversing in some way before nodding, turning back to Eses who glanced at them. Then one being stepped forwards, a lean but muscular man of bronze skin, two glowing avian eyes and two curved looking Egyptian blades in his hands, a khopesh if Moyo remembered well enough. An Egyptian symbol for life, the per ankh appeared behind him as he pointed his weapon to Eses, nodding to her, a beam of golden light hitting her as she froze for a brief second before nodding and smiling,
“I promise, your shards and aspect shards will be passed along as quickly as possible” she said softly,
Of course Moyo knew now that those words had been a lie, it would be thousands of years before they were rediscovered, if the rage of Ina was anything to go by. With the promise made, the primordials, ancients and masters retreated back into their orbs, floating towards Eses who gathered them solemnly.
*************************************
The vision blurred and Moyo found himself back within the cavern, within the realm of Ara who staggered back also, a look of sadness on her face,
“So long has gone by” she said softly,
Moyo nodded,
“The archailect barely remembers your names any longer” he replied,
Ara gathered herself,
“If I must pass on what I know, you must prove yourself” she said, eyes flashing,
Moyo smiled, watching as the realm dissipated and the masters crashed onto the elemental from all directions, Duval and Killian coming from both sides while Skatha came from above, weapons glowing. Her whips moved, catching Killian and Duval, shoving them backwards with a blast of lightning while she gripped Skatha, attempting to slam the master into the ground. Skatha moved with all the deftness her lithe body gave her, using aura to forcefully release her grip from Ara, twisting in the air as her blade sliced the air where Ara had stood before.
The elemental chuckled as she dodged backwards, right into the trap Killian had been building up to behind her, his aspect creating tiny little intent stars beneath their feet that shot up, spearing into whatever position Ara stood on. With lightning speed he dodged, laughing before cursing as one clipped her, her whips dissipating into forks of lightning that blasted around the room,
“Solar burn” Duval commanded as fore sparked to life around Ara who hissed,
Moyo stepped in at that moment, dominion swinging as Ara stared with wide eyes, conjuring a large blade made of lightning to parry the weapon of the titan blade. It worked, except Killian slipped in-between, his blade silently slipping into her chest as she stared wide eyed. Gripping the blade, she smiled,
“Got you” she whispered,
Oshosi screamed and Moyo knew what was about to happen, without thinking twice he grabbed Killian and Duval, flinging them backwards as a large runic circle appeared above him, raining down lightning on him with all the force of an angry god. It tore the cavern floor, ripping apart huge chunks of crystals, striking repeatedly against his skin with crackle of booms. When it was all said and done, Ara stared at Moyo in surprise, the titan coughing lightly,
“Got you back” he replied before one punch coated with Ashe and aspect drove the elemental into the cavern walls, watching as she crumpled in shock. He blitzed forward without giving her time to recover, gripping her shoulder as Esu’s greed began to siphon from the elemental master that visibly weakened, eyes wide.
Before she could move again Killian was there, driving his blade for her heart as Moyo gripped the blade, glancing at the stellar blade who turned to him in surprise,
“No, she yields, don’t you?” he said softly, glancing back at Ara who nodded weakly,
Removing his hands and staring at the master who turned to him weakly, a smile on her face,
“I couldn’t give anyone better” she said softly,
Stretching one hand out to them, two shards appeared, one white and the other blue. She glanced at Killian,
“I respect anyone who knows well enough to put down an enemy despite their condition, saves you a whole lot of regrets later on” she said as the blue shard floated to him,
Moyo watched Killian snatch it from the air, eyes wide as his HUD no doubt brought out its description before bowing to her,
“Thank you” he said softly,
Ara nodded and glanced back a t Moyo,
“The great father was right after all, there is hope yet for Ife” she said,
“The Ife you knew was gone millennia’s ago” Moyo replied as he knelt in front of her,
“True, but you are currently building something better, you have made us all proud Moyo, this is for you, your path may already be laid out, but no doubt you will find a worthy successor to my power” she said, a twinkle in her eyes,
He nodded, understanding the words left unsaid,
He glanced at the white shard, glancing at the notification before that,
Notice: Esu’s greed has absorbed skill: lightning reflexes of Ara,
Notice: Oshosi’s ferocity(R) has resonated with skill: lightning reflexes of Ara, chance to evolve,
Clicking yes, he felt the evolution take one of his legendary aether shards, glowing
Notice: skills are combining……...
Prepared for the usual dizziness, he steeled himself as a loud ping sounded,
Notice: skills: Oshosi’s ferocity has combined with lightning reflexes of Ara to create skill: Oshosi’s ferocity(L)
Oshosi’s ferocity(L): now imbued with the greater power of an elemental master, your body and mind are now in sync, able to react just as quickly as the Oshosi warns.
Note: Oshosi’s ferocity cannot grow stronger till you ascend to ruler rank
Closing that window, he checked the shard given the him,
Aspect shard of the greater elemental Ara (primordial): imbued with the direct tri-aspect of Shango himself, this shard has evolved into a primordial aspect shard, due to its owner being on the cusp of becoming a ruler. It invokes the true aspect primordial lightning of Ara, can only be bestowed upon trial by combat.
Sending it into his vault, he stood straight as he watched Ara break into motes of aether, a smile on her face as she closed her eyes,
“Finally,” she said,
Dungeon notice: congratulations!, you have defeated the second dungeon mini boss: Greater elemental lightning warrior (Ara), you get:
* 20,000 diamond coins
* 40,000 gold coins
* 80,000 silver coins
* 160,000 bronze coins
* 10 legendary aether shards
* Whips of lightning(L)
Duval and Killian walked closer,
“Was it worth it brother?” the sol blade asked,
Killian opened his eyes as Moyo saw him smile,
“Oh yes, yes it was” he said as Duval chuckled,
“Your path is that of stars and moonlight, what use would a lightning affinity do for you?” Moyo asked,
“One of the areas I fall short has been speed and hand to hand combat, let’s just say I won’t be falling shot on that anymore” the stellar blade replied,
“she’s right” Moyo said,
And as quickly as they came, they shot towards the last room, where no doubt the last master under Shango awaited their presence. Monomono, the lord of thunderstorms, the final and no doubt would be the most formidable of all the masters. Moyo couldn’t see how this was possible seeing the calibre of fighters Ina and Ara had been, nevertheless he didn’t let his guard down though. Weaving through the various tunnels as they got closer to their final destination, he was prepared for the battle to come.
They came in a foggy area, dark cloud that weighed heavy around them impairing their visions, and that was saying a lot seeing as they were masters. Blade drawn, they stepped around warily, a notice appearing on their HUD,
Dungeon notice: prepare for the final cavern battle!,
* Single wave of monsters along with mini-boss
* Thunder cloud creatures
Prepare yourselves!
Moyo was about to ask what it meant when a loud moan filled the room and a gong echoed, they glanced up as fire and lightning coalesced above them, forming two large axes as the clouds shook with lightning,
“I have seen what my fellow masters have seen, I have heard what they have heard” a voice echoed,
“Now I will test you to see if truly you all deserve my path” it completed,
Oshosi screamed, clear and faster than before as Moyo moved, a whiplash from his movement blasting around him as dominion swung into stop the blade of lightning that suddenly appeared at his side, Killian with what Moyo realized was also lightning-fast movements that went far beyond what any master could do, caught the other blade of fire just as Skatha and Duval were reacting.
Fighting against the raw strength he could witness, Moyo bent all of his titan might into deflecting the attack, realizing with wide eyes that they could had died right there and then.
Esu’s greed tried to grasp anything but couldn’t, like the thundercloud that fogged the area, it couldn’t latch on to anything,
Different forms and shapes appeared from within the midst, barrelling towards them with pure power as Moyo could make out nothing. Duval was suddenly there, blazing like a sun as he swung his blade, a torrent of flames burning the area as the creatures made of thundercloud screeched. Then the clouds grew heaver and rain began to pour from them, in a deluge that actively put off the flames of Duval, much to his surprise.
The masters huddled together, realizing this battle would be no easy feat.
**********************************
Urcar and Hilar broke through to the second cavern where they were beset upon by large golems made of lightning and stone, the masters and those following them huddling down as they dug in to beat back the first wave. Urcar going all out, smashing golem after golem, leaving the other masters to fend for themselves while instructing Kasia and the last two diamonds with her to retreat to the edges of the cavern, watching from what they assumed was a safe distance as masters did battle across the cavern.
A loud scream drew his attention to a master whose head exploded in gore, it earned him a punch to the face that snapped his neck, his feline reflexes saving him from having it torn cleanly off his neck as he twisted in the air, blade flashing to destroy the golem. By the time the first wave was over, most of the masters looked worse for wear, Hilar and Urcar staring disgustedly at them, and in the usual fashion of the scale viper, he said nothing, merely watching them with dead eyes.
The second wave started and another master was lost, Urcar brimming with annoyance and the shame of returning to the war, two masters less. He tore into the golems savagely ripping limbs apart as he roared in anger, he would get to the thousand blades if it was the last thing he did.