Titan blade and crane lance came together in a fury of blades and power in an invisible enclosed space, both warriors seeking the total eradication of the other, and as such, all stops were pulled out to devastating degree. The enclosed space was a maelstrom of boiling power and energy that was powerful enough to boil and peel the skin of any being lower than diamond rank, pure energy sizzling around like steam as both forces clashed continually. After images of both fighters followed suit, leaving behind shadows of themselves locked in conflict as well, truthfully though, it was a battle of attrition, and the titan was slowly coming out on top.
He knew he would, after all, His body and mantle, both fueled by his aspect respectively deflected whatever attack Mortas used on him, the attacks stinging a little to show just how much of the mutator’s aspect the crane lance was channeling. That was the difference at master rank, another hidden prerequisite that only few knew, and that was the prerequisite of choosing a powerful ruler, ancient or a being of higher existence.
Although if that theory were to be followed, then Mortas should had gotten the upper hand, but the titan blade drew his aspect from a source greater than the mutator, and he knew Molrik knew that as well. Mortas drew little to nothing in the grand scheme of Molrik, the lord mutator spreading his aspect to those who follow him and considered it his blessings. Little in his view, but, in reality, Mortas drew enough to ensure he could be placed as an apocalyptic disaster to any planet without a master to protect it. Gegun burned the very air around them lighting it up the same way Mortas’s spear tip did as well.
A step of Ogun and one move later, he was directly in front of Mortas, left hand tightened in a fist, intended to smash into the metal helmed skull of the crane lance. Luck on his side, Mortas was able to dodge the worst of the attack, the frontal part of the helm caving in just a little. Shooting backwards again, Moyo followed tightly, weighing the fact that should this be a trap, he would be cut off from help, but then again, if whatever they threw at him was strong enough to beat him, then he was sure his masters couldn’t do anything about it.
Pulses of power pushed out from the two of them as the battle heated up, the aspect of the titan boiled the invisible barrier into a shimmering glaze like view, revealing the extent of the cage that had been prepared to keep him hostage. Gegun burning brighter, the tentacles that made up the insides of the armor burst out to keep the burning edge of the blade at bay, their edges sizzling as the fiery purple fire repeatedly sheared them off. Mortas hissed in pain before backing off, his skin sizzling with the fiery power of the titan blade.
Moyo remained on guard, Gegun burning brightly, sage’s eyes never leaving the form of the crane lance who battled the power of the titan blade that had seeped into his form. Mortas faced him, ignoring the tendrils of dark purple veins that were slowly making their way from this arm towards the rest of his body, pointing one finger at Moyo, he spoke,
“Do you know why the denizens of the abyss call you the anathema?” he asked,
“Enlighten me” Moyo replied,
“Because your very existence is a slap on the current order of things, order, chaos, you follow none of their edicts, you simply twist whatever the norm is to your own wishes” Mortas spat,
“By the rules of the archailect, you should be dead, and yet, here you are, flowing with powers inconceivable, turning the order of things upside down.” He continued,
“a master killing elites, a concept that has never been possible has now been made possible, a master primordial, a blasphemy as far as the archailect was concerned, and yet you still draw breathe”
Runes began to glow on the metal body of the crane lance as his form began to expand, growing bigger by the second, hands transforming into metal claws with burning tips, eldritch looking tentacles bursting out from all over his body, his form becoming something so grotesque that Moyo spat,
“You call me anathema, I see a new dawn, my goal and purpose has never been clearer than in this moment” Moyo said,
It started as a small spark in his hair, purple fire exploding all around him as his runes burned to life, Gegun becoming a conflagration of fire that burned like a torch, the barrier shimmering, straining to hold back the powers of the titan blade. He took one foot forward, the very earth underneath his feet cracking,
“you say I break the order, I say I am reality’s reply to the abominations the abyss had begun to spawn out, I am the great cleanser, the wall to stop your desecration of life as we know it, the blade to cut off the rot at the source, you are right to fear me Mortas crane lance, I may not be any ordinary master, but I sure as well am not one you can kill off easily” Moyo finished,
Reality echoed with a gong like sound, he felt aether flowing from somewhere far off in the distance, a particular presence settling on him, empowering him, his aether. All around Moyo, the workings of the abyss began to break and shatter, dispelling the hold of the abyss on his aspect. He felt a strain unlike any other settle on him just holding on to the feeling of power, Mortas screeched in an otherworldly voice, waves of the mutator’s aspect blasting through the air. Moyo moved, feeling a calming presence settle on him, his blade feeling as one with him.
He did not fight the feeling, he let it flow through him, his intent growing stronger by the fraction of a second, his sage’s eyes seeing the different strands of intent hidden within his every swing, and he understood their flow,
Anshara,
The great swordsman state, one he had merely grazed during the tournament and his fight with Kenuran, the titan blade moved with eerie precision even for his rank, every move was anticipated within his sphere of influence, it was like his core realm had been summoned, except this one came with the deadly edge of blades. Sage’s eyes crushed any predictive move made by Molrik, even as the tentacles grew in their thousands, seeking to crush him to nothing. With a grim smile, Moyo reveled in the feeling ever closer to the pure aspect of the blade, a realm he dimly realized in a corner of his mind belonged to Alastor.
Bloodied and beaten, the scorched form of Mortas staggered as Moyo twirled, dropping a crushing kick to his midsection, blasting him backwards with all the force of a bullet, driving him straight into the distance. Moyo followed, steps of Ogun keeping up with the beaten crane lance that struggled to right his frame only for Moyo to appear there, another crushing punch to his frame, driving him farther into the distance, pushing him ever closer to his main goal. Mortas roared, fresh tentacles driving themselves into the ground, halting his movement with a jarring rock, Gegun pierced his body in that moment, Moyo driving it in through with his titan might, burying it to the hilt. Huffing in exertion as his connection to Anshara faded away, he stood over the rapidly burning body of the crane lance.
Mortas still in shock stared at his body that blazed from the inside, the blade eating him up with speed from inside, he glanced at the titan blade,
“you” he said, choking as he coughed out green blood, his form shrinking back to its metal carapace,
“you’re the end of everything” he croaked before sighing into true death,
The metal carapace housing his literal essence and lifeforce crumbled to black and green ash with a little bit of sludge, Moyo taking a step back, feeling the barrier shatter all around him. All at once, the absent sounds of the hellish battle happening all around him came back all at once, jarring him from the words Mortas had spoken. A large creature lunged for him before an ascender with spinning discs of pure mana diced it to pieces, futilely protecting him from the diamond ranked creature.
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Without a word, the ascender shot a beam skywards before leaving his side, Moyo wondering what that was for before Idris and his entire guard appeared round him in a circle,
“My lord” Lucina bit out, blades dancing around her as she fended off the barrage of attacks that homed in on their position,
Hajin roared, red and blue lightning rampaging through the skies, striking continually with the force of bombs, laying waste to their surroundings, damaging the diamond ranked creatures that were coming for them,
“To the titan blade!” Idris roared,
His entire legion answered in a roar, those alive anyways,
“How long was I gone?” Moyo shouted,
“Far too long my liege” Femi replied,
Moyo understood grimly, glancing around the death field filled with the bodies and burning forms of ascenders and abyssal creatures, diamond rankers battling with creatures of the equal rank, pushing towards the titan blade. Moyo had seen enough though, snarling as he swung Gegun in an arc,
“Immolate!” he commanded, borrowing a command he had heard being used over and over by other beings,
Concentrating his willpower and authority into the exact visualization of what he meant, watching as purple flames exploded around him into the distance, burning whatever creature it touched that was not of the archailect into columns of fire, wails breaking out around the field. Sage’s eyes and ferocity of Oshosi screamed at him a fraction of a second later, warning him of the incoming attack. Calling on his realm to encompass his guard, Idris feeling the incoming attack as well by proxy, however his warning came too late.
A power Moyo was familiar with flowed around him, Altair dropping out of nowhere, Durandal in hand. The blade glowed blue, vibrating softly as Altair casually swung his blade from up to down, his aspect finely honed to a delicate edge that made even Moyo jealous parting the power to two. The attack in the form of coiling green serpents of pure mutator aspect exploding, Moyo pushed Idris gently back, glancing at his guard and champion,
“Protect the legion, where I go you cannot handle” he said,
“We could care less, don’t fucking die on us Moyo, not when everything is literally going to hell” Idris growled,
Moyo stared speechless at Idris before smiling, nodding and fist bumping his champion,
“and miss out on the other fun battles on the way?, hell no” he replied,
Idris nodded and turned to the guard,
“Go wreak things up” he ordered,
They dispersed as quickly as they came, but this time with renewed power, Moyo having given them the upper hand across the field. He walked closer to Altair who stood stoically, staring into the distance where forms were approaching, forms Moyo quickly realized,
“Anshara” Altair said softly,
“You felt it?” Moyo asked,
“It would be hard not to, with your aspect flaring and honed to a sharp edge in those few minutes” Altair said chuckling,
In silence they watched the forms grow ever closer,
“If you join this fight, you could die, you know that right?” Altair asked softly,
“Masters Killian and Skatha?” Moyo asked,
“Far away from here, with orders to choose one of them to return back to my empire should I fall” the thousand blades said,
“that’s a dark look to things” Moyo said lightly,
White flames blazed out next to Moyo, Mardar stepping through, columns of fire, golden and red descended next to the jade as well, the two arcane generals appearing. Mardar, runes dancing all around him, floating with meanings Moyo could not decipher and crackling with barely controlled power. Mardar glanced at him,
“Barring the mutator himself, those are his strongest subordinates coming for us, this is as grim as it gets Moyo” the jade ruler said,
“It will be a battle sung about for ages to come” the male arcane general said,
“Assuming we survive this” Altair said,
“We have to” Moyo replied, dominion appearing in his second hand,
“We owe it to all those we protect” he finished,
“You mean those the supreme beings protect?” the female arcane general corrected,
Moyo did not reply her, none of them did, their silence carrying a meaning that even the arcane generals understood. They were the ones who had watched as those who looked up to them had been sent to their deaths in the name of the supreme beings, as far as Moyo and Altair were concerned, they did the protecting, not pseudo deities hanging out somewhere and spectating.
Mardar spoke,
“On the bright side though, we have a primordial with us, albeit a baby one” he said as Moyo smiled lightly,
“a simple master, nothing more” Moyo replied,
Altair snorted,
“Even your humility should have limits, among us standing here, you and Mardar have the highest chances of survival” he said,
Moyo did not reply though, merely gripping his two blades tighter, watching the five forms reach a distance that even normal humans could look at them. Vesh phantom scourge, decked in crystalline green armor, pale white skin and ash lips, green eyes glowed and two crystalline, serrated needle-like weapons in both hands. At her sides were three other beings that exuded raw power, a large Devigian with blistered skin, dressed in a wrapped grey attire from the waist down, its hulking form looking down at them with a large mace in its hand and on its neck a medallion that Moyo grew weary of every second.
The third being was a slim looking elf, burning green hair and a staff in its hand, once again defying the stereotype of elves being archers. Also armored in green crystal armor a circlet glowed like a halo a few meters above its head, radiating the aspect of the mutator in its full force, pushing back at the combined aspects of Moyo and all his allies, its gaze on the female arcane general, Moyo realizing that the Devigian priest had its gaze on male arcane general.
The fourth form was one Moyo was familiar with another servant of Molrik, but this one looked older, and stronger. It carried a staff with a large decaying hand on its tip, a naginata as Moyo realized when the servant raised it and a green blade slid out of its lower half. The servant glanced at him and Moyo saw burning hatred in its gaze, a promise of untold pain, agony and horrors that awaited him should the being get its hands on him.
The fifth being was a wraith like figure, draped in a green miasma of eldritch power that flowed with deadly runes of mutation and decay, large green chains flowed out from within its form, floating in the air with a heavy feeling that Moyo felt all the way from where he was, and while seeing not distinguishable form from within the robes, he knew instinctively that it was staring at the jade. However, it shifted its gaze to Altair, Moyo narrowing his gaze,
That left him with Vesh, good, he preferred It that way,
The phantom scourge spoke,
“Disciple of the omega blade, we meet again, slayer of the chosen and servant of Molrik” she said,
Try as she did to hide the bitterness in her voice, Moyo felt it tremble through the words she spoke, he simply stared at her, purple and silver eyes boring into hers. She pointed one serrated weapon at him,
“You said you were coming for me, that you would end my existence, well, here I am” she continued,
“By the will of Lotes, you shall be purged, the very archailect and reality rid of your taint” the male arcane general said,
The Devigian priest gave a throaty laugh, its eyes staring with malignant glee and sadistic joy in the direction of the general,
“Bother about yourself, because you face Grutlir, high priest of the great mutator, your bones will adorn the great shrine of the lord mutator” it said,
“It is you who shall born in the ever-purifying fires of the great Lotes” the female arcane general snarled,
“And yet, your skewered body shall be left bloated and dangling from a pole by the time I am done with your blasphemous sacrilege of the lord mutator’s realm, slain by the weapons master of the lord mutator, Vheldi” the elf said,
“You came into our reality, crossing your unholy realm where you should had stayed, you are the true interlopers here” Altair said, eyes on the servant of Molrik,
The being shook its head sadly,
“Hubris, you beings of aether think reality belongs only to you, perhaps it is good we are here to wash away your ego in blood and sacrifice, you will go no further Altair of the thousand blades, for I, high servant of Molrik, Voctu, will be your bane” the high servant said,
“All the top powers of Molrik gathered in one spot, technical elites in all, your egos truly are outstanding, and I will be privileged to cut you down, my clan will bask in the glory” Mardar hissed,
From the depths of the robes of the wraith came a serpentine voice,
“Ego, what do you know of ego, lower adept of the aether blessed?, you think that monster would be here to protect you?, no, I will send your bloated body back to his citadel of unspoken runes, the name Azur the rune wraith carved into your form” it said,
Vesh clapped once,
“Now that the introductions have been done with, I will only say this once and once, by the benevolence of the lord mutator, leave, turn back and get your forces off our realm and beg for the mercy of the mutator, do that and you will be spared along with your forces” she bit out,
“You know we’d rather die than accept that” Moyo replied silently,
“finally,” Vesh bit out,
No other words were spoken, none that needed to be said in that moment as both forces clashed, reality fracturing and throwing them deep into the Nethervoid.