Ajax felt bile slowly build up at the back of his throat as he stared across the now empty landscape that had been his home. Its name hardly mattered any longer, seeing as not a single soul existed on the surface of the barren world, situated in a barren system if he really thought about it. As he stared at his father who leisurely made his way across the dusty and cold world, as if reminiscing on old memories, he spoke.

“Do you miss her?, mother?” he asked, his voice carried through the world that actually echoed.

Devoid of the touch of the Archailect, it was a hopeless corpse of a world, and for all intents and purposes, meant to be abandoned in its entirety, wiped from existence even, and yet, his father had brought him back to this world again. The grim paused in his steps, turning to Ajax, his eyes devoid of feelings.

“I remember the day I met her like any other, I remember the day you were born, and I remember the joy I felt when I saw you lift a blade for the first time with such expertise simply from watching me” Garda replied.

“So yes, I do remember your mother, and I intend to honour her memory by making those who brought this upon us pay” the grim completed before continuing his walk.

Following his father in silence, Ajax gripped Voidbringer tightly as he walked along with the well-trodden path, he remembered led to the base of the reaper sect, their main headquarters, his home at one time. Even the buildings had crumbled to dust, nothing but heaps of sands remained strewn across the landscape where the once beautiful bastion of knowledge and art once occupied. Ajax glanced skywards, noticing that the oddly shaped black sun was glowing with its greyish power, illuminating the world in a form of black and white outlook.

Garda stopped, glancing skywards too as he spread his hands out.

“Do you feel it son?, the true power of primordial chaos?” he asked.

For once Ajax wondered what had become of the dragon mage, Virethrax had fared after the battle between the harbingers and him, no doubt the petulant mage had been wiped from existence, or if he had been lucky enough, evacuated with the rest of the people on the nest. It hardly mattered now, the main reason he had freed the despicable creature had been to virus bomb the planet once he had freed his father, a prospect the mage had been all to eager to accomplish as well.

It would had been nice to kill the mage by himself though, half the vile concoctions he had invented during his existence had been sent to all the slave worlds held by house Dracon whenever they wanted to prune the growing slave numbers, something he had seen in good detail over and over again. He spared no answer for the grim though, aware of the rising tensions between his father and him.

Chaosborne.

It was the same power his father was after, the one he had gotten from the creature known as Apophis without going through the obscene murder spree his father had done. While guilt and revulsion roiled within him in waves of anger, he had accepted that the power had provided him with what he needed to bring the blocks of the Archailect down on the supreme beings, something he and his father both shared. Stretching his hand out for voidborne, Ajax raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re about to blow up the planet, can you do it when we’re not actively standing on it?” he asked.

He saw his father suppress his rage as he shook his head.

“You see so much yet so little” Garda replied.

And it stung Ajax.

“Meaning?” he asked tersely.

“The blade, and observe, there is a reason this world was so rich with the aspect of the reaper” Garda replied.

Ajax reluctantly handed the blade over, watching his father stare at its inky black blade with relish.

“I discovered it a long time ago as I sought deeper understanding of the aspect, the reaper, the reaping act itself, is the weeding of all unpleasant life- “

“It is the cycle of existence” Ajax completed.

“You uttered those same lines for the better half of my childhood, I did not ask for a lesson” Ajax replied.

Garda paused, staring at his son, and then he raised the blade up as Ajax began to draw on his chaos power that was suddenly strengthened all around him, even as the ground quaked.

“END!” Garda commanded and stabbed the blade into the ground.

Ajax had to admit that he had not seen that coming, the very planet itself shook as lines of black chaos energy began to spread all around at breakneck speed, consuming the planet and flowing over him, pumping him full of power even as he cancelled his attack, the tattered mantle around him fading away. He caught a look of relish on his father’s face as the grey day became night, night with only one silver eye glowing in the darkness that somehow illuminated the area.

With the blade within the crust of the now black crystalline earth of the planet, Garda stood straight, watching as the very spot the blade pierced through began to rise.

“Our world has a very ancient history, primordial even” he started as the burgeoning crystalline ground began to take the shape of a column, its body etched with runes too terrible to be spoken, the names of hundreds of chaotic creatures sworn to Apophis.

“In the time during my sojourn, I travelled to the ends of the Archailect, to ends of reality, I saw it all, and how it’s all connected son, the supreme beings were never the first, they were simply the custodians, the jailers of the one true being” Garda continued.

The column of black crystal hummed with a pulse as pure chaotic energy seeped into reality.

“And with Rohan doing his appointed duties to me during my time imprisoned, they cannot manifest here, only he can, and his latest incarnation has been weakened, rejoice Ajax, a new dawn has come to existence, let everything be cleansed” Garda finished.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“He?, who’s he?” he growled.

Garda glanced at him, an amused look in his eyes.

“Your disciple of course, the titan blade” the grim completed.

Ω

Eses and the harbingers felt it the moment the seals were unlocked, the very walls of reality itself shaking as klaxon calls rung all around the astral bastion as the harbingers sat upright, their eyes glowing.

“By the supreme beings” Xerxes hissed.

“Too late for that” Xandros replied.

“What do we do?’ he asked Eses.

The cosmic dragon took a deep breath.

“We assault the very world of its birth, the rest of the force keeps going for the last citadel, the Archailect cannot fall under any circumstances” she ordered.

“we’re short one harbinger” Zane pointed out.

“We can assume Liakya has thrown her weight with protecting her entire celestial domain, the five supreme beings are still with us, well, I can vouch for Lotes” Xerxes said.

“We can all pretend like we don’t know their wishes, but it has been clear from the start, to them, only the last citadel matters, their link with reality proper, it is their seat of power, and if we won’t surrender our entire galactic domain to be one big fuel of veneration for them, then they expect us to at least protect the last citadel” Grimswolf said.

“And then its decided, we split up into teams like Eses said, we trust in the brigade to secure our universe long enough for us to defeat all that stands in our way, and then we unleash hell on the abyss” Eisner said in her soft voice.

Tixuhl folded her hands.

“I go to the citadel, you’ll need my defensive capabilities” she said.

“Indeed, Xerxes, Tixuhl and Eisnar as well as I will go to the citadel” Eses said.

“Xandros, Zane and Grimswolf with the entirety of my Runebearers will go for that accursed world, cut it off from the Archailect, stall the bastards and if possible, kill them” the cosmic dragon said.

“I don’t see you volunteering to face chaos and its ilk” Zane said softly.

Eses glanced at the true blade.

“My ascendance is near, I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors, its true though, if that’s what you’re asking” she said.

“a rank above primordial, what does that make you, a supreme being?” Grimswolf asked.

Her eyes glowed with cold cosmic energy.

“I could care less, but the forces gathering at the citadel would need my help, Lucirion has crossed over to the rank as well, the citadel is all that matters, we cannot let it fall” she replied.

“Which makes us disposable” Zane muttered.

Eses turned to the true blade.

“Tell me now and here that you’d prefer waiting for the forces of the Chaosborne to assault us before you move, that you don’t want to take this fight him?” she asked.

Zane for the first time revealed his true visage, a cold, terrifying smile that shone with excitement, it was gone in a flash, his reed hat covering his face back as he spoke.

“Very well” he said.

Eses glanced at Grimswolf who shrugged.

“won’t have it any other way” he said.

A feeling of shackles releasing itself around the room as Eses smiled.

“Well, it seems your patrons agree with the terms of engagement” Eses said amused.

A feeling of a presence standing just outside the veil of reality seemed to emanate in the room as Xandros manifested his gauntlets, the arcane weapon burning with power, Eses raised one hand though, stalling him.

“It seems their prime messengers have found us, took them longer than I expected though” she said with a smile as she nodded and reality parted seamlessly like a curtain, letting five being through.

Led by Ishum, the prime of aether whose eyes burned with aether flames, the four remaining primes of Alastor, Draulr, Filvux and Vazyra stepped into the bowels of the astral bastion. Ishum spoke, his voice reverberating with power.

“The appointed time draws close, the forces have been gathered, the skies have grown dark, and the stars are dying out, we must confront the true enemy or watch all reality die” he said.

“Nice speech, what are you supposed closest to the supreme beings doing here?” Tixuhl asked.

“We are to lend you the full might of the supreme beings in whatever you do, the forces of the beings will split in two, one to attempt the crushing of the great enemy and the other to protect the last citadel, in accordance with the……transcendent ones’ orders” the prime of Vazyra said with distaste in her voice.

Eses gave a brief smile.

“It rankles you though, doesn’t it, to come face to face with an existence that actually feels almost on the same level as your supreme beings?” Eses said softly.

Ishum turned to her before the primes could give a retort, walking closer even as Eses looked at ease, Zane raised his head, hand on his blade as a click echoed, a tiny fraction of his blade being unsheathed, his gaze on Sharur, prime of Alastor who locked gaze with him. The prime of Lotes shook his head.

“We go as one to face the end of the cosmos, I could care less if you become a supreme being, as abhorrent as it sounds, my loyalty is to Lotes and the Archailect, I will not respond to your childish taunts, slayer of the thousand wailers” he replied.

instantly Eses eyes grew cold, Xandros on his feet in a flash as Eses actually gabbed her leader of the Runebearers, her gaze burning into that of Ishum.

“You dare” Xandros breathed.

“I did that under the orders of your supreme beings, my very obliteration of a world filled of unborn...” she said pausing as if the very words choked her.

“Unknown lives, the next time you bring it up, I will end your very existence, not just your physical manifestation, are we clear, prime of Lotes?” she asked.

Zane gave a snort and reclined back, tipping his hat to cover his face, bored already. Ishum gave an inclination of his head.

“Apologies, but boundaries must be set” he said.

“indeed” Eses replied.

“If we’re all done pissing off our allies, let’s talk about how you expect us to pierce through the true realm of a chaotic being without disintegrating, aspects of the supreme beings or not, we’ll barely last an hour within that place” Grimswolf said.

Eses flicked her hand as large vial appeared in her hand, swirling with aspect that glowed purple and gold. The primes stood rigidly, staring at the container, Zane sitting up sharply as Xerxes stared in shock.

“Is that?” the brigade leader asked, unable to finish the sentence.

“Indeed, raw essence of the titan blade, his aspect and authority distilled with venerations from the various worshipping worlds of the supreme beings, took me a while to complete it, but here it is” she said.

“So that’s why you wanted to be close with him, it wasn’t some sudden love for the master you took as a child, you used him” Xerxes said laughing even as Eses frowned.

“I did not, believe it or not, some of us actually look to nurturing the next generation, besides” she said, turning to Ishum.

“I got this from a certain friendly supreme” she completed as the prime of aether inclined his head.

“Lotes?” Tixuhl said in surprise.

“More on that later, for now, we need to get to work” Eses said with a smile.

Ω

Ajax watched as the column pulsed one last time and five empty slots carved themselves out of the crystal column, each burning with a bit of the power Ajax had come to grow familiar with after spending countless decades in the Archailect, the power of the abyssal lords. Before he could speak though a pathway opened up and a man that Ajax did not expect to see stepped out into the planet.

Clad in black robes, trailed by another man he knew, Ajax felt his Chaosborne power spread through his body as he stared into the faces of Rohan and Eldon crystal eye, both bowing at the waist to Garda before turning to Ajax who shook with fury.

“What is the meaning of this?” he asked softly.

“I told you Ajax” Eldon said.

“When the signal is given, you would know” he completed.

“Hello, brother” Rohan said with a smile.

“Brother?” Ajax spat.

“Nothing ties us except the fact that you were taught the path of the reaping katana” Ajax said.

“Quite the contrary Ajax” Garda said as Ajax froze.

“It was a long time ago, but I know all my seeds, meet Rohan, firstborn and heir to the reaping katana” Garda said with a smile.