Meeting with the leaders of the various factions of Gaia again brought back sweet memories for Moyo, even though the gap between them at this point was near insurmountable, it was still a welcome relief to see them again. Ba ji was dead, the once lord of the glorious empire supplanted by a small but fierce-eyed woman known as Chen Mei, an ascender on the path of the eternal root, and even as Moyo stared into her eyes, he could see an equal balance of tranquility and brutality. Noting to himself that she and Martha would get along quite fine, even as she bowed to him, surrounded by men in grey and black robes, ascenders Martha explained were part of the military force of the glorious empire.

Taiyang, it was called, an agency dedicated to the protection of the glorious empire.

“you’ll find us sorely desperate to bring about a renewed friendship not just with house titan blade, but with the factions of our true home world," Chen said as they walked together towards the Ife, the once capital of the house.

He had appeared on Gaia to a loud ovation, accompanied by Josh and his Shieldborne in training, what he had wanted to be a simple hello before he went to prepare for the arduous task before him was slowly becoming a hassle. Moyo nodded along with her.

“As it should be, I have no issues with the empire, both yours and Bharat, we need to stand united” he replied.

“It brings me great joy and honor to hear you say this lord titan blade, the glory of your house is both brutal and benevolent, we, the glorious empire would swear an oath of allegiance if you would honor us so” she completed with a bow, her Taiyang warriors bowing lowly as well.

Moyo shuffled uncomfortably as Josh and his Shieldborne kept a straight face, Moyo wasn’t fooled though, he could see the twinkle in the eyes of his Valoris. He had gathered all the factions, his words echoing throughout the planet as he called every major power, high or low to meet with him. Even the so called mafias of the new world, the underworld powers, and unseen powers came to him.

No one would be stupid enough to ignore him.

While he had addressed the lower powers separately, he went into a closed door meeting with the greater factions. Perun of the federation, Chen of the glorious empire, Arjun, the new lord of the Bharat empire, a young but fierce-eyed leader who had begged the forgiveness of his entire empire for their atrocities. Moyo had simply brushed it off, it was a new start for him as well, and he was far above holding grudges with diamonds. William, king of the imperial empire, a diamond whose very path and weapons would place him high up there among the elite diamonds of the Archailect.

He had only waxed stronger and stronger with each rank he climbed proving himself not just as a capable leader but as a powerful one. Cassandra of the union was an undeniable presence as well, the woman on the path of the raging fusion was a burning presence in the meeting, eyes glowing as she smoked a large tobacco in silence. The last was Luke Finn of the explorer’s guild, the once winner of the tournament held on Gaia had grown into a power himself, and together, they had all sat for the meeting. Moyo kept nothing hidden, explaining the dangers that were on the way and the near cataclysmic battle that was about to happen in this region of space.

Perun was all smiles, as well as arjun, the two leaders exchanging looks of excitement as Moyo shook his head. They had struck up a friendship, two diamonds who cared all about battle, Luke and the rest though, were subdued, aware of what it meant as Moyo took questions and gave answers.

“I think the question on everyone’s minds, is if you’ll help us become masters as well,” Luke said,

Moyo glanced around the table, seeing their looks as they awaited his reply.

“Becoming masters with my aspect means you’re sworn to me as vassals,” Moyo said.

“Vassals of one of the most powerful houses of the Archailect, oh the horror,” William said as they all chuckled.

Moyo shook his head with a smile.

“I know what you’re all thinking, but I want you to look farther than the seeming apocalypse when all this is done,” Moyo said.

“No doubt, you all would want to expand your factions to an entire world, and Archailect knows by the time we’re done with this whole issue, they’ll be multiple worlds for the taking” he continued.

“The strongest way to cement your strength in the Archailect is to rise on your own, and I’m not patronizing you all when I say there are people among you with terrible power should they become masters or even rulers,” he said.

“So, what you’re saying is struggle,” Cassandra asked.

“Yes, but I will provide resources for that, training, we have little time I can take advantage of, seeing as the Archailect no longer allows ascensions for now” he replied.

“I will push you and every other diamond you have to the peak of your strengths, mentally and physically, and when ascensions are allowed again, I promise you, you’ll break through the ranks to ruler like it’s nothing” he promised.

“I wasn’t able to enjoy my ascensions, it was too rushed, too quickly, so when I tell you to enjoy it and explore the Archailect, you’ll only have so much before you get thrown into the very political world of masters and rulers” he warned.

“Assuming we survive the coming battle” Chen pointed out as they chuckled.

Together they had finalized the battle plans, choosing to ensure any ascender that was silver rank and below were to be evacuated into bunkers hastily built around Gaia. The golds and above would be the fighting forces of the Archailect, at least, those that made it to his system. The very next day, alarms started pinging as pathways were opening up all around the system, signals from the ships of the legion burning with one single message.

“They are coming”

It had two meanings, one was the fact that every ruler and power that had managed to evacuate the majority if not the entirety of their planets and empires to either the domains of the primordials before the forces of Azael descended on their planet had arrived with said primordials in tow.

It also meant the forces of Azael were right behind them and even as Moyo, with his blade at his side, stood aboard the Defiance, gripping Oro watched as the pathways opened, he gripped his blade tighter.

“Begin the procedures,” he said grimly.

All across the systems, pings of alert began to echo as ripples moved through the air, like threads, the veil twisted together by Martha, the Shadowweaver along with every other illusion ascender within their ranks began to churn. Moyo raised his blade as it burned bright, speaking into the Archailect itself, his word a command, an edict given life that touched every single ascender prepared to wage war.

“EMPOWER”

Ω

Ajax knelt on the ship he had been given, a sleek but deadly weapon of war forged by Ahib the Runebearer along with the Forgelord of house titan blade, Boyle himself. It was a behemoth, dwarfed only by the Defiance and the flagships of the incoming legion of the titan. He gripped his blade tight as he murmured to himself.

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Retribution

It was the name of the ship, he had named it himself, it stood as a vessel for revenge, nothing more than that. He had been led astray, that much was certain, he had committed crimes unspeakable, and when the time came, he would happily pay for them, just not before he tore down the machinations of his once father. He would rip apart the plans of the reaper, he would ensure that wherever the forces of chaos stood, he was there to oppose them.

It brought a sense of peace to his mind and body as he felt the aspect of Eses twist with the still cowering aspect of chaos, doing something to it, changing it on a fundamental level. He felt a rush of power suffuse his body as the voice of the titan blade echoed across reality, it was a spark of the titan’s aspect, nothing too much to overwhelm his, but it came in contact with his aspects and his burned bright, evolving it, empowering it as the word commanded.

The ascenders on the ship burned with a piece of the aspect of the titan, an aspect that had been empowered by reality itself, the very fabric of what made up the cosmos. Each of them had been given the power to hurt chaos, it wasn’t much, but it was all that mattered. Ajax grinned as he swung his blade.

“This will be fun” he chuckled.

Ω

The factions of the forces of Gaia stood as one, prepared as they stood in silence, some ecstatic more than others, the large vessel they occupied gifted to them by house titan blade.

“Calm your nerves, Cassandra, we all know you can’t wait to lose your wrath on our enemies,” William said as the rest chuckled.

“Says the man who holds Excalibur in his hand” she replied.

William shook his head.

“Simply a weapon of my station” he replied.

The words of the titan blade echoed through reality as they shuddered.

“So much power,” Chen said, eyes wide.

Perun lifted the two axes in each hand as his aspect of frost blossomed more.

“I’ll say what we’re all thinking, we all envy his masters,” he said, as the rest laughed, hiding the tension.

Ω

Martha and her spiders all waited, wrapped together in shields and distortions to protect them from the gazes of the enemies. They waited, watching with bated breath as the entire might of house titan blade and then some blotted the stars above the system with their forces, each waiting at their given positions. She peeked through the veil, an effort that wasn’t easy, but she had the aspect of the titan to draw from, and it made her job infinitely easier, almost to the point that she wasn’t even trying.

She could see the forces of the abyss, just waiting outside the system, watching and waiting to intercept the ships of the Archailect that were about to cross through. And then the titan spoke, his word sending as much thrill as it made her shudder, and then she could see all, everything, calculating the distances and proposed attack as she stared farther and farther into the bleak dark future where lines of power were beginning to crack the darkness that shielded her gaze.

She could peek through those cracks, she caught a sense of the plans of the enemies and smiled, sending a burst of message to the entire masters of house titan Blade and Moyo himself.

“Proceed as usual,” it said.

Adjusting her seated position right within the heart of the palace of the titan blade himself, she smiled.

Ω

The moment the first ships broke through, Moyo moved, his presence encapsulating the entire system as he followed the directions of Martha, watching for any signs of Azael. First came the planet ship of house Tartarus, its behemoth of a body passing steadily through the pathway to reveal harried ascenders who fought with wraith-like beings, oily and dark all over the planet ship.

Immediately the creatures of chaos themselves were exposed to his aspect; they began to weaken. The strongest of them struggled as they battled on, accosted by the forces of house titan Blade who began to move, ships upon ships filled with diamonds, masters, and even rulers who had arrived before the main rush that was about to happen begin to remove the shrouds on their cores. Moyo still floated above it all, watching the battle, watching as the forces of his house buckled under the influx of battle.

More pathways spat more forces, Thousandblades, slumbering sands, the primordials and ancients of the Archailect coming in their numbers. He watched as the forces of chaos began to grow in number, his legion cohorts passing through as they too were suddenly empowered by his aspect. He held back the pain in his chest, they had lost so many ascenders, but now was not the time, he trusted Martha’s plan, and he waited.

Ω

Araman felt the forces of chaos tear their way through the system of the titan blade, closing in on the planets of the system even as more and more ships tore through the opened pathways, carrying both ascenders and chaos forces together. He and his apostles stood together the four of them reformed again, their bodies stronger, behind him were the forces of the abyss, his abyss, ready to tear down the entire system of the titan blade himself.

They began their journey, moving slowly from behind where the Defiance and the titan blade himself had faced the incoming battles head-on. He honed the aspect of the abyss to a sharp point, piercing through the shield that protected the system like a needle, he had been patiently waiting for the strength of the titan to wane, there was so much observance he could make all at once, he wasn’t a supreme being after all. The moment they passed through, the shields of the unsuspecting planets turned to them and Araman unleashed hell all at once, not giving them the chance to raise the alarm.

No doubt, the titan blade would have felt his incursion right now, but there was only so much he could do without splitting his forces in half, and with the search for Azael going on, it would be risky. The moment his attack, a lance of pure abyssal power slammed into the planet, it detonated, Araman summoning a large pillar from a pathway he had forcibly opened, creating a makeshift nexus point to summon the powers of the abyss. His first move had been a success even as his forces began to spread out, he had done it, he had broken into the system of the titan to unleash havoc.

And then the threads loosened.

It was like his eyes had been covered by webs, pure surprise at how it could have happened, the titan wasn’t versed in illusion techniques, he was a sharp, heavy mountain you could see from a mile away and struggle to avoid the inevitable collision with. Reality rippled and there were no longer planets around, there wasn’t one there in the first place, in its place were hundreds of ships, all with their weapons primed and ready, all with masters burning with the aspect of the titan blade.

They had known they were coming, Araman cursed quietly, grasping the strands of faith to peek through where he had gone wrong even as he summoned a large claymore blade, the metal dark grey and burning with the aspect of the abyss. He searched around, tearing through the sticky illusionary threads that had blinded him, that he hadn’t noticed. It would take an ascender of unimaginable strength to have been able to accomplish such, either way, he would tear through their forces.

And then another presence revealed itself, one that had been enough to stop him in his tracks, his eyes wide.

“Eses?” he growled.

Impossible the cosmic dragon had gone to the last citadel, if she left, it would weaken the strength of the forces there. His theory was proven right when the power changed from that of Eses to something else, something terribly powerful, so powerful in fact, that his abyssal forces began to lash out in fear and anger. Araman swung his blade, letting loose a hail of abyssal energies that lashed at the ships, an opposing force clashed with it and rendered it inert, tearing it away in a hail of explosion.

Araman set his gaze on a man he knew by reputation alone, a man that by all purposes should be dead or at worst running,

“Ajax omega blade” Araman boomed.

“You know of me?, I’m honored” Ajax replied with a grin.

“What are you?” Araman asked, even as he began to glow with abyssal energies, the aspect of the abyss pressing down on the ships that burned to life with power.

“Not sure on that yet, I’ll get back to you” Ajax replied and swung his blade.

The power cried with the beauty of the cosmos and pure obliteration, so powerful was it that reality buckled, Araman about to cry out at the foolishness of the omega blades’ attack. Should he rend reality apart, even a little, it would give way for the forces of Azael to come through, and then they’d be fighting a three-way battle. Then to his surprise, the power was supported by reality, empowered if he dared say so, and crashed into his forces, purifying and obliterating them in only the way the aspect of Eses or Azael could, tearing their foothold in reality and burning it away to nothingness.

Araman moved, placing himself in front of the attack before it crashed into the large pillar he had summoned to anchor the aspect of the abyss here. It pressed on him as he stared with wide eyes, he was the abyssal prime, no one save the primordials should even remotely be able to stand up to him, and yet here he was, exerting his presence to deflect the attack. Rage burned in his eyes, wrath in his voice as he spoke,

“I have come too far and too hard to let a mere insignificant gnat get in my way, now BEGONE!” he commanded, infusing the aspect of the abyss with it.

Araman watched as more than a thousand voices shouted back their versions of commands, all emboldened by reality, all echoing as they worked in tandem, linked together by the aspect of the titan that blossomed into reality. Ajax laughed raising his knuckle as he spoke.

“I learned this gesture from the inhabitants of the Titans’ world,” he said as he gave Araman the middle finger.

“Suck it,” he said with a grin.

Araman had no idea why the gesture angered him so, but he unleashed the entirety of his forces, swinging his blade in rage as Ajax leaped and laughed as he prepared to clash with him.