Moyo was a blur as he sped towards the city of monsters from air, the diamond ranker keeping a respectable distance behind him out of courtesy while flying in such a way that made it known that he was with the fabled titan blade. The circular structure was built with layers in mind, consisting of three rings, one progressively smaller but elevated from the last. Each sported a large gate coupled with runic defences, large anti-air and ground batteries as well as a host of ascenders ranging from bronze all the way to diamond rank.
House Kairos was pulling no stops, the three different orders within the house belonging to the three primordials and rulers of the fabled house worked in unison as more troops landed from their vessels above. Saluting and bowing to him as he passed, he watched as what began as a simple applause snowballed into shouts and roars of praises as he flew past, slowing as they got closer to the smallest but grandest ring.
Moyo glanced at the diamond.
“We all heard what you did lord titan blade” the diamond said.
“we’d all be nothing but dead or desperately fighting for our existences had you not broken down one of the runic shields protecting this abyssal world, thank you” he said bowing.
Moyo wondered if they couldn’t see the approaching abyssal storm along with the untold horrors making their way over as well, but he nodded. Slowing down as he floated towards where a golden humanoid ape with a golden staff and burning red eyes stared at him, Moyo marvelling at how easy it was for primordials to change their shapes and looks. He landed softly on what was no doubt meant to be a landing pad for one of their void vessels,.
“Lord Wukong” he said in greeting.
The great sage bared his fangs in a smile, Eogan who stood at his side in a flash smiling at Moyo.
“Call me Sun, you’ve earned it” the fabled primordial replied.
Moyo inclined his head in acceptance, seeing as Ashira had split off from him as soon as they got near the city of monsters, he glanced behind at the diamond, opening his vault and tossing a mythical grade core to the diamond who caught it with wide eyes and reverence.
“thanks” Moyo simply said, turning and leaving the diamond shocked.
“You just destabilized an entire system with that core” Wukong said.
Moyo shrugged.
“can’t be that bad” he replied.
Eogan chuckled.
“You clearly don’t know how much that core was worth” Eogan said.
“Not to me” Moyo mumbled audibly.
“The battle?, who was it?” Wukong asked.
“The cult of the undying hands, a brother named Zeph” Moyo said.
“The ash wrath” Wukong replied.
“You know him?” Moyo asked surprised.
“The scythes sent in classified information before they were so rudely put down by Ajax” Wukong explained.
Moyo calmly digested those words.
“He took out the entire team?” he asked.
“If you’re asking about the Redjaw, she survived the massacre, returned to her home world only for it to be besieged again by the omega blade, her fate remains unknown, but with the complete obliteration of the empire’s defenders, I doubt she survived” Wukong said.
“House Dracon is gone?” Moyo asked, astonished.
“Quite literally, although there have been rumours of refugees spilling into the farthest regions of archailect space, but with our forces concentrated here and the rest left to protect our galaxies, we simply do not have the resources to invest in investigating such claims” Wukong explained.
“So, who protects those regions of archailect space?” Moyo asked.
“The universe is a big place titan blade, lots of space for illegal empires and inter-system gangs to set up fiefdoms for themselves” Eogan replied.
“Some rule as masters, vassals to hidden rulers who collect tithes in ascenders and resources alike, some are backwater worlds destined not to have any ascender beyond the rank of diamond ruling worlds and entire systems, a fate your world would have shared had Altair and Kairos not meddled” Wukong said.
Moyo paused, turning to the sage.
“What do you mean Kairos?” he asked.
The sage froze, as if he had let slip a secret which realistically, he had. With a wave of his hand, he continued.
“I’m referring to his support of you during the tournament against house Dracon’s incessant need to throw low tiered worlds at the abyss, something in hindsight we should thank the supreme beings didn’t come to pass” Wukong replied.
Moyo glanced at Eogan, saw the conflicted but blank look on the face of the master of the plantsmen and knew for a fact.
Wukong had lied to him.
∞
Idris stood with Annika and Josh, watching as the mythical core was accepted into the half functioning archailect interface that was for all means and purposes glitching in this world steeped in the abyss. He frowned as he stared at the incoming storms.
“Correction, we are in the abyss” he thought to himself.
It was hard to explain to the low ranked experts and even few advocates he could see around how they were both in the archailect and abyss at the same time, two realities interlaid upon one another, fighting for dominance. It went without saying to see that the archailect was losing, even without the destabilized Hud’s that glitched and ascensions put on hold, it was evident to the eyes.
Masters and to a lesser part, diamonds were a bit immune from this, seeing as they could tap into aspects. With the masters enforced by whatever ruler’s aspect they were bestowed with and the diamonds little knowledge into aspect that came with its minute protection, they were by all means fit. The golds and below were another case entirely, stripped of their overpowering strength, even with the aether resonators that stretched for miles like lamp posts, it did nothing to reduce the weight of the abyss settling on their shoulders.
With a frown, he watched as Ahib, lord general as Urne liked to call him of the artillery division directed large artillery batteries powered by stored celestial star energies to their fortified positions around the city of Defiance. Idris had chosen that name to signify just what it was they were to do here, like usual, as per the mandate of the titan, Defiance would stand in defence of this region where the titan had cleansed the forces of the abyss from.
He turned his gaze to Josh.
“Are you sure of what you’re saying?” he asked softly.
“I would never accuse an ally, or supposed ally in this case if I wasn’t sure of what I saw and felt” the mithril warden replied.
“I’ve always been suspicious of him, granted I joined this war late, but one simply doesn’t survive an invasion of abyssal monsters due to having superior weapons” Annika added.
“He does make superior weapons on the go, I’ve seen that with my eyes” Idris argued.
“And so had ship mistress Urne” Annika said as she gestured behind her where a lance of light deposited Urne.
Hands folded, she nodded as she walked close to them.
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“Indeed, I have worked closely with him, but it would be stupid of me to trust him implicitly, the lord might be, but we should not” she said.
“What is your theory, lady Urne?” Josh asked.
A Shieldborne appeared next to the mithril warden, dropping a slate in his hands before blitzing away with the same speed. Idris watched the Shieldborne go with master ranked eyes, they had lost one of their numbers to an entire team of category six ascendent heralds as they were truly known in the abyss. It stood to the testament of the Shieldborne that a diamond ranker was able to hold back three master ranked creatures till Josh had shown up, still, the Valoris of the Shieldborne had simply said to him.
“They need to be stronger”
As if expecting diamonds to survive against master ranked creatures, the sheer ludicrous nature of such utterance had caught him offguard, but then again, as he stared at Josh, he could see he meant it with every fibre of his being. Idris snapped back to attention as Urne spoke.
“He serves a higher being, probably an ancient” she said.
“no” Josh replied as all attention turned to him even as he crouched at the edge of platform where they stood, watching as vessels dropped off the legions and returned back to the Defiance in the void above the planet.
“Not just any higher being, a Primordial, or even those above them” he said.
Idris’s eyebrows went up.
“You mean- “he said, pausing as Josh placed one finger to his lips.
The Valoris nodded as Idris took in the ramifications of what that meant.
“Why do you say so?” Annika asked.
“Think of it” Josh started.
“Even those sworn to primordials faced an onslaught so terrible, their masters and ruler ranked ascenders sustained quite the injuries from what I can glean together, yet here is one single supposed diamond whose ship was so cleanly wiped of any abyssal taint, that there was no need for reinforcements" he explained.
“Then he’s at least master or even ruler ranked, we just have to find out who he serves” Urne said.
“Peculiar, seeing as he was also imbued with the blessings of the titan blade at the inception of the legion” Idris said.
“at least we can rule out any malicious aim at the titan blade” Annika murmured.
“Indeed, for now we move as if we saw nothing, no need to get him suspicious, not without any tangible cause to accuse him of. In essence, he’s working for the good of the house, I can leave with that” Idris replied.
“As I could as well” Josh said.
Urne and Annika nodded as well in unison, coming to a consensus.
“The legion is in place?” Josh asked Idris.
“All ten cohorts accounted for and ready to deploy, new Ijas and Promethean battle suits have been forged and the artillery division apparently boasts of a mini star battery within the city intended to power the weapons with non-stop fire power” Idris replied.
Annika whistled in appreciation.
“someone’s going all out this time” she said.
“I intend to hold the city till the return of the titan blade, possibly even let him watch from behind the lines, it’s been a while we really got our hands dirty” the titan fist said.
“I hear you, the wardens are itching for a fight as well, any plan?” Annika asked.
“We wait for the outcome of the meeting the lord went for, then we plan our strategy” Idris responded.
Urne placed one hand to her ear as she frowned.
“everyone” she said out loud as they turned to her.
‘The forces of the abyss, they just stopped” she said.
“What do you mean stopped?” Josh asked with a frown.
Snapping her hands, she brought up a live feed from the Defiance above whose sight was trained on the abyssal forces marching towards them in the far distance. It showed a death still army filled with all sorts of abominations from all the different factions of the abyss, at their heads were literal embodiments of each of those creatures, except these were far meaner looking.
“They are known as the lieutenants of their various abyssal lords” Idris said to them.
“The titan killed three from each faction if my memory serves me right” Idris continued.
And sure enough, at the head of each of specie was a missing lieutenant, the Bloodfiend sorcerers of Vusal the conqueror was missing their lieutenant, same thing for the Voidborn Shriekers of Lesuth the defiler and the spectral wailers of Remhu the afflicter. Josh stared for a few seconds.
“Then who’s the big bad clad in black robes?’ he asked.
“That is someone from the cult of the undying hands, not to clear on the details, but he’s supposed to be someone important, tussled with the titan, we’d have to be careful of that one” Idris warned.
Josh stared at the high brother of the cult of the undying hands.
“You take him down before he gets remotely close to the titan blade, then he’s mine to take down” Josh said as a matter of fact.
Idris chuckled.
“Underestimating me?” he murmured.
Josh turned to the titan fist and champion of the titan blade.
“Truthfully?, no, hoping you’d let me get a crack at him” the Valoris confessed as Idris chuckled.
∞
Zeph ash wrath burned with rage as he sat aside the elder bone dragon, it had been defiled by the elite of Lesuth himself, Vaelus. That alone caused him to curse silently at the situation of things, he hadn’t underestimated the titan blade, never, and his plan had been flawless, even Rohan and Araman himself had said so. There was just something about the titan blade that caused meticulously thought-out plans to simply crumble in his presence and it drove the hight brother of the undying hands mad with rage. Even as he knew the collective eyes of the lieutenants of each of the abyssal lords were on him, he sat straight, feeling the power of Araman burning within him, along with the blade that caused him to have doubts of his plans going forward. Eyes flicking to the strapped weapon across his waist, he wondered just what the aim of the lord of destruction was.
Apart from killing the titan blade of course.
He took a deep breath, feeling the abyss shudder to life around him as they manifested, the three elites of the three abyssal lords that stood just below the lord of destruction. At first, Zeph had been skeptical, curious even at the hierarchy of power among the lords of the abyss, for despite their boasts of all being equal in power, it was glaring to him and as he was sure, those who weren’t deluded by serving one of them alone.
The death of the abyssal lord of mutation and his aspect forcibly torn from the abyss by none other than the titan blade, a feat that still drove Zeph to the edges of sanity at how it was even possible, had shown that some were weaker than the others. And so, with the blessings of Rohan, he and the other brothers had quietly withdrawn their alliance from each of the abyssal lords they had chosen. He had researched the vast library that had manifested on dire itself, for to call that world a piece of the archailect was laughable.
While this world was still on the brink of being completely consumed by the abyss, despite what the forces of the archailect thought, it bore no semblance to the untold changes that had happened to dire itself. For one brief second, Zeph had actually pitied the forces of the archailect should they make it to the world itself that was the seat of power of the remaining abyssal lords, then death would simply be a blessing for them.
What he had unearthed has caused he as well as the remaining high brothers to throw in their lots with Araman himself, for if those records were true, then this battle was simply a farce, but he refused to believe what he had seen. Afterall, those same scrolls were delivered to him by none other than the elite of Araman himself, the elusive creature known as Shayne blight touch. It spoke to the fact that Araman had known of their secretive investigations, and despite the boons bestowed upon him by the abyssal lord of destruction, Zeph was still cautious.
Nothing good came from destruction.
He held back the reflex action to summon his staff as they floated closer to him, feeling their overbearing power even as the rest of the untold hordes knelt in supplication to the voices of the abyssal lords.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t strip the flesh of your skull and watch you die slowly as a fitting tribute to lord Vusal” Gorefang rumbled as he floated closer.
The elder bone dragon rumbled as the elite of the conqueror floated closer, Zeph could see it in the creatures’ eyes, how it yearned for the sweet release of death itself, something that would be forever denied the creature. He shifted his gaze from the creature to Gorefang even as Malachi, elite of Remhu and Vaelus floated closer, eyes on the cities of aether that sprung up in the farthest reaches of the continent, the bleak power of the primordials shielding their forces from the power of the abyss, even as their large vessels began to train their weapons on the forces of the abyss.
He didn’t mistake their relaxed form for complacency, he knew how terribly dangerous they were in battle, for they had finally come in their true form, not the borrowed husks given to them by the blood pits of Vusal himself. Their very presence warped the abyss, strengthening it with the aspect of their lords themselves, the abyss thundered and grew stronger in strength.
“Because unlike you all, I have the titan blade right where I want him, right where lord Araman wants him” he replied.
“The contract is at an end, dire has been completely consecrated, the fusion is complete, the abyssal lords are free to do as they please” Malachi interjected.
Zeph froze, glancing at the wraith creature.
“You mean” he started.
“Indeed, mortal” Vaelus started.
“The planet has served its use, we no longer need to obey the commands of a lord of the abyss that serves no use to us, we obey the commands of our own lords now” the ebon blade said.
“Meaning you’re only alive simply because the destroyer somehow convinced our lords to let you play your little game to an end” Gorefang said.
“you’ve been thrown to the ravaging creatures of the abyss Zeph ash wrath; your only hope is your plan actually working out” Malachi said with no small amount of glee.
“You think me defenceless?, you think lord Rohan would stand for that?” Zeph said as he gripped the blade at his waist.
The eyes of the elites went to the weapon.
“Is that?” Gorefang started as Zeph felt a smile creeping across his face.
It seemed by the astonished looks on the face of the elites, they knew how deadly and equally powerful the weapon bestowed upon him by the lord of destruction really was.
And then all three busted out in laughter.
Zeph froze, confusion etched on his face even as Vaelus turned and laughed to the skies above.
“Good one lord Araman, good one!” Gorefang roared.
With a decisive snort, Malachi floated closer to Zeph.
“Consider yourself saved by the grace of the destroyer himself, we are at your command, oh high priest of the lord of destruction” Malachi said, bowing at the waist.
The other elites followed suit, Zeph actually summoning his staff.
“You look better in that posture, common sense prevails I see” Zeph said, gripping the blade at his waist tightly.
They stiffened before beaming at him widely.
“It is as you say, high priest ash wrath” Gorefang said,
Zeph turned away, eyes burning with pride and rage in equal measures, oblivious the malicious glints within the gazes of the elites.