Moyo moved with all the speed his now maximized body could give him, tearing through the air as he wielded both Gegun and dominion. Both weapons flashed through the air as he moved with lethality, exchanging blows with the titan who met his every move with a calm outward look, parrying and push him back on the defensive anytime he so much as made a tiny miniscule mistake. He crashed to the ground for what felt like the fiftieth time, rolling away before intent attacks tore the spot he was in to shreds.
Moyo had watched as the titan sealed away all of his powers except for his newly forged body and his intent. No aura, no Ashe, no veneration, simply intent, the almighty power of blade and projectile weapon users. His training with Skatha flowed back to him, his rusty steps sharpening, and yet, the titan held him back with not an inch more of the same power he had been using from the beginning. Moyo felt frustration biting at him, but he tempered it down, he knew he wasn’t up there with the best blade users in the Archailect, he wouldn’t deny it.
If he was to attain their heights, the heights of Altair, of Ajax, of Zane, then this was the path forward. Shifting backwards, he steadied himself and sought for that elusive feeling, the one he had always touched upon during battles of life and death. It was a feeling of a swordsman at joy, a swordsman who touched upon but a speck of Alastor’s aspect, the pure aspect of intent. He saw the titan coming at him, blade raised as reality obeyed seamlessly to his will, he raised his blade as well, shutting his eyes and gripping the blades tight.
When he swung it, he had only one thought on his mind, to cut, to cleanly slice what was in front of him in two. He didn’t care about reality, it would heal itself, and he trusted the attack to hit only the enemy in front of him, nothing else. It was a tiny ray of sunlight on a cold day, a pleasant itch at the back of his mind, but he felt it and he sank himself into it. Both blades connected in a storm of power, tearing at each other’s will, Moyo feeling his Ashe strain against the lock the titan had placed on it. When he opened his eyes though, he staggered, feeling a thin slice bleed from his shoulder down to his abdomen.
Falling to his knees, he used both blades to hold himself up, staring at the titan who nodded at him.
“Good, after two whole days, you’ve finally tapped into it, the base form really, and against your average masters and rulers, that should put an end to the fight” he said.
“But against true intent users?, those who dedicated themselves strictly to intent till they got the upper echelons of expert rank?, it would simply mean they acknowledged you” he finished.
Moyo nodded, feeling the wound vanish a second later, climbing to his feet.
“You said the first stage?” he asked.
“Base form” the titan corrected.
“There are no stages to Anshara, such as there are no stages to intent as well” the titan began explaining.
“To understand intent is to understand Anshara and vice versa, one is an extension of the other, the higher form of intent is Anshara and what you just touched was the prerequisite for using Anshara, the true form of intent” he said.
“So what have I been using all these while?” Moyo asked.
“Barely intent, if there’s any way for me to explain it, you’ve had to layer it upon other things to get the desired results the higher you ascend, haven’t you?” the titan asked.
Moyo nodded reluctantly.
“How do you even know all these things?” he asked.
“I was the origin, I know everything abut all the aspects, I simply cannot download them into your mind if that’s what you’re thinking” the titan replied with a smile.
Moyo zipped his mouth the titan chuckling at the expression on his face.
“To master intent is to realize what intent means to you, you already now know what intent means in its purity, but you must create your own intent, your flavour if you understand me” the titan said.
Pointing at dominion and Gegun, he continued.
“Those two blades are two halves of a whole, they belong together, and though you’ve made excellent use of both of them from their creation, the reason they will falter, is that both are halves of what I suspect your intent to be” the titan explained.
“isn’t my intent supposed to be the same as yours?” Moyo asked.
“No, you walk your own path, so did I, your intent will be yours, so tell me, what do dominion and Gegun mean to you?” the titan asked.
Moyo stared at the two blades, feeling his bond to them, their significance to him and his path.
“Dominion was my first blade, the origin of my power, the weapon that understands me the most” he started.
“It is my will to reach the summit, to be acknowledged as the greatest and my zeal to break those who go against me” he finished.
He grabbed the blade, feeling his aspect thrum through it, and he prepared to swing it, he let go of every other thought of power within it. Dominion was forged to have intent run through it, to serve as a conduit for his intent, to reveal his rage, and as the blade swung down, it did just that. Moyo felt that itch again in his mind, felt it grow into a warm feeling within his bones, his muscles relaxing as the blade completed its movements.
Reality bent, no, complied to his intent, his seas once again parted peacefully, the attack so clean and precise that it made a straight line for as far as the eyes could see. He staggered after that though, feeling his body drained as the titan snapped his fingers, freeing his powers, his Ashe and aspect replenishing him. Walking closer to Moyo, he plucked dominion from his hand.
“Probably should had fused your mana boon with your mana and Oya's boon together, that way your regeneration would be near infinite” he said to himself.
Moyo took a second to get his bearing.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
“What was that?” he asked, astonished.
“That, is the beginning of your ultimate skill with the blade, that was one half of your Anshara” the titan said with a smile.
For the rest of the day, the titan once again sealed his powers, leaving him with dominion to attempt to remember what he had done, the feeling within him, and for what felt like days but merely hours, Moyo swung his blade. He kept swinging even when the titan checked on him hours later, swinging even as he attempted to push his body to the limit, swinging till the very sound of dominion tearing through the air was the only melody he could remember.
When the titan appeared in front of him, stopping dominion with two fingers, the melody rung through, the titan nodded even as he showed Moyo the two thin cuts on his fingers.
“let’s begin phase two” he said with a smile.
Dominion was placed one side, and Gegun was picked, the blade glowing with purple and green fires, the blade humming with power.
“You know, to hate the abyss so much, that you literally forged a blade simply to wipe them from existence is just, wow” the titan said, glancing at Moyo.
“I needed an efficient way to kill them” Moyo replied innocently.
“And you simply couldn’t reforge dominion with that power in mind?” the titan said.
“oh” Moyo replied.
“Oh?” the titan asked.
Moyo shrugged helplessly, the titan shaking his head.
“If there’s one good thing about this, it’s the fact that it’ll help explain the other path of your Anshara” the titan said.
Tossing the blade to Moyo, he nodded.
“Go on” he said.
Moyo nodded, gripping the blade as it burned, raising it up, feeling it burn with his power. He created the blade to be a bane to the forces of the abyss, to kill and burn their essence from reality, damning them into oblivion. It was to be his wrath against the abyss and its ilk, his purifying flame, his rage and his absolute judgement. However, he knew, even as he tapped into that feeling of his Anshara, that that was merely an incomplete weapon, if dominion was his conduit to pass his intent through, his rage and his power, Gegun was his wrath made manifest, his judgement against those who would defile him, it would ferry both his intent and rage, fusing with it to deliver his judgement on all his enemies.
The moment it swung down, dominion vibrated, both blades humming in synchronicity as the blade concluded its movements, but there was no visible reaction. He felt his entire being quake as he staggered, the titan steadying him, he glanced at the titan.
“That was the truth of Gegun, the second half of dominion, one you forged without an inkling of the truth of what it can actually accomplish when paired with the right conduit” the titan explained.
“dominion” Moyo whispered as he sat down.
“exactly” the titan replied.
“Why aren’t I getting any rewards from the Archailect for these accomplishments?” Moyo asked.
“Two reasons” the titan replied as they stared at the prime aspect sun blazing in the sky.
“One, the aether in the Archailect has been coming up short these days as you know, with chaos seeping through the folds of reality, it’s taking all of the supreme beings concentration to hold the Archailect together, at least those working together” the titan said.
“What do you mean by that?” Moyo asked.
“Nevermind, nothing you can do about it, secondly to the Archailect, you’re dead, until you reforge your body, then the rewards will start pouring in” the titan replied.
Moyo hesitated to ask what all that was about the supreme beings and a division among their ranks, but the titan was right, there was nothing he could do about it. And so he stood, staring at the throne.
“let’s get it done” he said as the titan chuckled.
Together they floated to the top of the mountain, seating upon the throne of intent, taking a deep breathe as he prepared for the power to crush him. Instead, what he felt was the same melody he had heard as he swung dominion ceaselessly, the same melody growing in sound as his intent fused with the boon of Anshara, boosting his mastery of the art to the extreme, and then, veneration, the will and prayers of countless millions who had come to believe in him adding to the mixture. It resonated, bathing both him and his two blades that were in dire need of reforging.
The prime aspect once again descended, the edict of creation itself, its will made manifest, bathing him and the blades, giving him a vision of what was to be, a smile on Moyo’s face. he stretched his hand out to the blades, watching them float upwards, the two halves of what should had been one begging to be fused together. The titan moved closer.
“I initially thought you would do the fusion once you regained your body, but it seems some things are better done when the inspiration comes” he said, nodding his consent.
Moyo doubted he would had been able to hold back the two blades being drawn together even if the titan said so, but this way, he could bend his entire existence into forging what he knew would be his greatest weapon. He felt his intent throne descend, right down into his forge, still seated as the two blades lay on the anvil, with one word, breathed through the very command of Ashe, his aspect and the prime.
“FORGE” he commanded.
The two blades exploded in a burning light of power, his mind sucked into the forging process as the hymn continued, becoming clearer and clearer, revealing itself to be a tune he had long forgotten, one of his home.
His true home.
The beats of the Gangan drum set his heart pounding, his eyes aflame with power, his mouth opening and closing with authority begging to be released. He could hear the words of the Gangan drum, the talking drum, calling to him, pounding with his very heart. Back during the tournament, the same melody, albeit muted, now blared in his entire being.
“Eni tí ó fi ìbínú ọlọ́run dẹ àwọn ọ̀tá rẹ̀.
ẹniti o da abẹfẹlẹ lati pa gbogbo awọn ti o wa niwaju rẹ.
jo si lilu agbara rẹ lilu, jo si ibinu awọn baba-nla rẹ.
omo ina, irin, omi ati afefe, omo ibukun, egun ati agbara.
alabukun orisha, omo ifa, asiko re ti de!.”
“He who hunts his enemies with the rage of a god.
he who forges the blade to slay all that comes before him.
dance to the beat of your pounding strength, dance to the rage of your forefathers.
son of fire, metal, water and air, son of blessings, curses and power.
blessed of the orisha, son of Ifa, your time has come!.”
The hammer rang and the echoes of metal on metal echoed through the forge, he could feel the titan at the edge of his vision, watching with rapt attention as the process continued, dominion and Gegun melting into a puddle before their very natures called to each other, fusing to one. On his heart beat, on he watched, eyes burning with power as he spoke with intent.
“MU” the sharpness, the edge of the blade will never grow dull, not while it existed.
“ASHE” his authority, the blade will carry his authority, his willpower.
“PARE” to destroy, it would wipe out all those who went against his edicts, its cut was final.
On and on, the titan imbued the weapon, with his will, his edict and with that, the forge seemed to inhale, before the blade burned to life. Its hilt was solid Aserite, wrapped with what looked like the shed scales of a dragon, he wasn’t sure where that came from. Its blade was a beauty of purple and gold, the prime aspect coming into the mix when he wasn’t aware. Burning with power, its edges sharp enough to split reality with a casual swing, he watched as the blade floated to him.
“master” it said.
Moyo staring in shock as the blade spoke, getting up as the intent throne crumbled away to dust, its use completed. He gripped the blade, this weapon of unparalleled power, thrumming with enough power to detonate an entire planet. He gripped it and felt it balance with his entire being, it was complete, it was simple, deadly, but complete and it would cut all, no matter the rank. The blade hummed again.
“a name master” it said, its oddly female voice asked.
“Oro” Moyo breathed.
“Your name will be Oro, just like its significance in my culture, for to see it is to see death, to see your blade is to mean death as well” he said.
The weapon hummed once before settling in his hand, its blade cooling, the titan floating closer.
“Two gone, few to go” he said with a smile.