Moyo held the power, he held the gates stable, feeling the power of the pathway struggle as it twisted and changed shape, the column of purple light that stretched to the skies above thinning and enlarging sporadically. That wouldn’t do, no, he had to do better, he had to seize that one moment he would be given soon enough, he had to shut his mind to what he knew were the dead thousands upon thousands that fought to hold the ground against the reaper, he could sense it, somehow linked to Azael, beneath the notice of Apophis itself.
It wasn’t a nice feeling, one that revulsed him with every second he spent watching, his emotions sealed, locked away lest he gave away the one chance they had. They all awaited his signal, the untold armada that waited for his very planet to become one large pathway to help their allies. He could sense Mardar, he could feel the aspect of the scourge rune, the ancient level power that wielded his aspect for a brief few minutes, it had not been enough to stem the tides, could the tides even be stemmed?.
Nothing but steeled control, the transcendent titan awaited the fabled moment, with cold eyes, he awaited the moment when he could truly let loose, let Azael waste himself against the other transcendents, let the cosmic dragon vent her fury against the reaper, she deserved to hurt him, to crush him before he would inevitably heal back, for as ironic as chaos was at destruction, it was very persistent when given form. He took one deep breath and sunk his blade a bit lower into the ground, his breath coming out in a fog as he shut his eyes, silently begging those souls that died every second for forgiveness, it had to be this way.
*******************************
Tania watched as Xerxes and Mardar were transported to the first circle by the prime messenger, rage boiling her, watching as the man she loved and had stood by for years was now an unconscious husk, battered and beaten. The lord of the dragons’ brigade, the one ascender whom the entire Archailect knew not to mess with, except what they were dealing with was not of the Archailect, it was an abomination given form, one that should have been wiped out from the very beginning, a pity it had come back to bite them in the rear. Still, she was in charge of the second circle of defense, and thankfully, she would hold it with the twin of the man she loved, Xandros, lord commander of what had previously been the Runebearers.
The spitting image of Xerxes, the Runebearer had pitch black hair where Xerxes had golden red, and where the man she loved was a fiery wall of pure justice, Xandros was a frigid lake of cold demeanor, calmly watching as the forces of chaos ate reality as they pushed towards the second wall. He had elected to distribute their forces around, and the joint Archailect forces decided to cover as much of the second circle as they could in barriers, concentrating their forces in what was to be guerrilla warfare. The first circle had tried to stem the tides with overbearing power and had failed, now, it was time for them to try new tactics and she agreed.
The command room was silent, ascenders holding back tears, they had lost loved ones in that first push, she knew of a few brigadiers who had lost either relatives who had joined the brigade as well or soulmates who had risen through the ranks along with them, something that Tania felt the bite of as her mind went back to Xerxes. She unfolded her arms, Xandros nodding at her as she spoke to the command staff in the room.
“Order the ships to unleash their batteries, put me through to them” she ordered.
One by one, the vessels manned with skeletal staffs needed for the barest minimums answered her, the roaring tide, the hand of fire, the talon of the brigade, the setting sun, the order of light, and many more, hundreds of ships who had answered the call to protect the citadel when the brigade had moved themselves to the final hold of the Archailect. They listened as she spoke, as they sailed to certain doom, they listened to her last transmission.
“You go onward to face an enemy you know will not fall by your hands or that of your vessels” she started.
“Our fight is just one, but one that requires sacrifices, I cannot feel anything but shame for the sacrifices you’re about to make, to buy your fellow brothers and sisters even a few seconds to still stem the tides of the reaper himself” she continued.
She felt her voice beginning to break, but she steeled it, she was Tania thousand whips, second in command of the entirety of the brigade, she would rather die than fall to her knees in hopelessness. She saw the look Xandros gave her, the steel in his eyes as he nodded at her again, Tania biting back a snort, that brother was one she never saw herself falling in love with. And then she continued.
“But I want to assure you, your deaths will not be in vain, we will fight till we join you wherever you go to rest, so we raise our hands in salute, to all your vessels and their controllers, the flames of the Archailect burn brighter because of your sacrifice, and as you sail into the dusk of existence, we can only say thank you, and fight well, may the supreme beings give you the rests you deserve” she completed.
The entire room saluted in silence, hands to their chest as they watched the hundreds of ships that blotted the void in front of them, it was still not enough, but they would do their best. Then a roar came, from the citadel itself as the stars behind them shone brighter, the cosmic dragon at work as she released runes, blistering light that shot from the stars of the void themselves fusing with the ships as they burned brighter. Xandros bowed his head.
“To the cosmic dragon, the grand protector, the transcendent” he whispered audibly.
As she was about to speak, to ask why in a fit of rage, why the cosmic dragon and the harbingers themselves wouldn’t step out to face the reaper right now when the citadel was still safe, she felt another tremor go through reality around them. It felt like calm had settled, a presence she could only attribute to aether itself, runes dancing around them, like a vortex of power had been let loose right in their midst, within each of them.
“Lucirion” she whispered; eyes wide.
Had the aether blessed stepped in himself?, from the citadel itself where he stood vigil against the machinations of the reaper. She felt her ties to aether itself being strengthened, felt the fire within her grow to outrageous levels as she drank it in, feeling her aspect begin to coalesce around her as she shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke.
“begin” she ordered.
All the ships opened fire at the same time, cascading explosions of light ripping the incoming chaos apart as they all stood together, torrents of firepower bathing the void, stemming the incoming darkness, the long-ranged artilleries of both circles answering the call as well, burning the void with an explosion like the birth of a new universe, everything turning bright white. The citadel itself burned golden and unleashed its wrath, adding to the ongoing inferno, in that moment, Tania stretched her hands out, closing her eyes.
This was it, the full might of the Archailect brought to bear, its destructive capabilities that drove even diamonds to their knees in awe, watching as reality shook and roared around them.
“Burn them from their hidden places!” she roared.
“Scour the skies of the void with your purifying flame!” she continued, raising her hand.
“We are the wrath of the Archailect!, we will stand in Defiance, we will die in Defiance, we will cast you down from your unholy realms!, we may die, but by the Archailect we serve and protect, we sure as hell will scorch you along, you filthy bastards!” she roared.
The room broke out in shouts of pure rage, watching as the flames rolled across the infinite darkness, shrieks of rage coming from the unholy creatures who were burnt out of existence along with it, leaving nothing but smoking ash that pushed back the incoming wave of chaos, Tania breathing heavily despite doing nothing, body charged with excitement, wondering if they had done the impossible.
When the light was gone, she saw him, the reaper, his cloak flapping slowly in the void, his form steaming, his eyes conveying the rage within it as well. He raised his hand holding his scythe up shakily, laughing slowly, heavily.
“Admirable,” he said.
“Very admirable, so much stubbornness, but all for naught, you have bought yourselves a few minutes at best and an hour at most” he continued.
Xandros sighed.
“Well, at least we tried,” he said.
Tania found herself laughing, no idea why that was funny to her, glancing at the Runebearer who smiled sadly at her.
“That was a good one,” she said.
“We go to war” Xandros replied.
“Indeed, we go to war” she replied.
She nodded at the communications staff, turning her back to the ships that opened fire again, unleashing everything they had on the reaper and the two floating wraith figures that stood with him. She felt it when the reaper swung his scythe, the absence of hope and the beginning of despair, shuddering slightly as gasps went from the assembled ascenders in the command room. She held on to that feeling, the one when the entirety of space around them had lit up from the power of the forces arrayed against the reaper, that feeling of elation. Saying nothing, she knew when Xandros joined her, both of them teleporting to their assembled forces deep within the circle, watching as the thousands turned to them as they appeared.
Promethean suits thundered towards their sides, their heavy form built with mithril and pieces of Divinium, the entire circle coming to life as the a.i that controlled the entire structure spoke, appearing in a male form without a feature, just a smooth face.
“All sectors dedicated delay points have been rigged, all teams are aware of their remaining sectors, the jades report compliance to activate traps at a moment’s notice lord and lady Xandros and Tania” it reported.
“Good,” Xandros said as he stretched his hands out.
“manifest” he commanded.
The silvery and gold gauntlets took form, pure arcane relics of unbridled power, pieces of the cosmic dragon herself, forged into weapons, the highest of honors, some ascenders even falling to their knees in reverence. Xandros watched as his body began to become armored, the pieces of Divinium infused with the aspect of the cosmic dragon herself appearing from runes that burst to life around him, bathing him in raw cosmic flames.
“My lady?” a voice to her side said.
She turned from where she had been watching the Runebearer, seeing her personal arcane general at her side, and held in the arms of a Promethean was a suit of armor, held gently. She glanced from the arcane general to the armor, the general with a walking stick in hand, an arcane weapon disguised. He nodded, bowing.
“Forged in secrecy for you by lord Xerxes himself, I was under oath from the lord himself not to reveal it to you till we reached this point, and I can only beg your forgiveness,” he said going down on a knee, head bowed.
“Rise Yobar, I suspected Xerxes of something the moment he allowed me to take the position of a circle commander,” she said, a sad smile on her face.
She touched it and felt a jolt of power run through her, eyes wide, she turned to Yobar.
“Were you aware?” she asked.
The arcane general glanced at her in confusion.
“The aspect of the titan, Aserite, I believe,” Xandros said from beside her, a standing armored warrior in blistering aspect, awe in his voice.
“How- “Tania said, cutting herself off.
“It is not enough to do lasting damage, and the fact that he has given it to you should explain my brothers’ plan clearly enough, don’t you think?” Xandros said.
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Tania turned to him, unsure of what he was saying.
“I’m aware lady Tania, that you carry the heir to the Terrangazer line within you, and I would die first before I see you fall in battle, yes, I was aware,” Xandros said.
She stared at him speechless, Xandros smiling as he hugged her lightly.
“Now, put on that armor, I will always be with you every step of the way as well” he completed.
“As would I,” a voice said as an elderly man appeared, hands folded behind his back, but his eyes a flaming fire.
“Elder Eldrakor,” Xandros said in greeting.
“Please my liege, simply Eldrakor,” the ancient dragon said, bowing at the waist to them.
“As you would be her shield, let me be yours in turn lord” he added.
Tania stared at the conversation between the two of them, unsure of where it was leading, but she saw Xandros nod, the elderly dragon heaving a sigh of relief.
“Far be it from me to deny you this battle, but I can only hope you survive Eldrakor, the Runebearers, no, the Archailect would need people like you to rebuild it,” he said.
The elder gave a sad chuckle.
“Our generation watched the Archailect fall this far, I believe our time has come to an end, don’t you think?” he said.
Xandros sighed, a loud explosion shaking the circle, despite its near moon-like size.
“The enemies are at the barrier my liege,” Eldrakor said.
“indeed” Xandros replied.
Tania had worn the armor, forged of Divinium with signs of draconic scales interwoven with the metal as well she felt the power flow through her like a raging ocean, her eyes alight as she reveled in the power itself, feeling her aspect stretch his numerous arms, the hazy outline of burning whips manifesting around her. She opened her eyes, nodding to Xandros who smiled softly, turning to the jades who had assembled with them.
“Open the great doors, Ijas, battle formations, Prometheans prepare the bulwark” Xandros commanded.
The jades nodded, beginning to draw their runes as they prepared for the battle of the circle itself.
******************
Azael watched as wrath moved forward, lean with long arms that seemed to flow at its sides, the second personification of his power was a sight that drove terror into the minds of whatever unfortunate being dared stand in its presence, even its fellow lesser chaos creatures recoiled in its presence giving it a wild berth.
Azael though, picked this particular personification for the second circle, rage had shown the first circle just how much it loathed their existences, and how far he was willing to go, wrath on the other hand was there to punish them, to ensure their screams bled all across to the first circle and citadel.
Wrath knelt at his front even as the other forces assaulted the barriers protecting the second circle, runes flashing as they obliterated his forces in their thousands only for more to take their place. For every one killed, a hundred more replaced them, slowly cracking the barrier that raged with burning flames and frigid ice as well as cosmic fire. Azael spoke, a simple command to the creature as it nodded, its form diluting as it turned towards the barrier, stretching its hands out towards the barrier, where thousands of its kindred hammered away, shrieking in excitement to attack the forces of the circle.
It clapped its hands together, a large image of its rune appearing, slamming into the barrier that shattered with one final explosion, letting the creatures through, wrath trailing slowly behind them, its hands folded behind it. Azael chuckled, crossing his legs as he awaited the inevitable fall of the second circle.
**********************
The moment the barriers fell, the systems of the second circle came to life, all defensive mechanisms roared as they spat all manners of attacks, from pure mana blessed by all the runic factions to large constructs that blazed like the morning sun, crashing down on the unnumbered hosts of chaos, doing their bests to stem the tides themselves.
It was futile, it wasn’t enough, but it bought the true defenders time, time as Xandros led the first of the defenders in retaliation. His form, that of a lance of pure power as he appeared across multiple battlefronts, gauntlet smashing and purifying the creatures that came after his troops. It was messy, it was bloody with gore flying around, slain ascenders littering the metal ground as he moved.
Ijas belched out attacks, burning chaotic creatures from existence, the jade numbers bravely pushing themselves into the hosts of chaos creatures, each of them a blazing sun, burning both runes and life force in an attempt to stem the tides.
“Now!” Xandros thundered.
The very second circle came to life, ascenders of the jade and brigade pushed forwards together, weapons swinging as they clashed with the creatures, flying shapes forged of aether and pure flames danced around slamming down on the creatures as the very aspects of the archailect themselves, the core aspects burned to life across the walls of the entire circle, bathing it in a myriad of colors, raging as the chaotic creatures burned out of existence with a shriek. Xandros landed, watching as the darkness was contained, eyes in the distance when he felt it, his eyes watering from its mere presence.
“Retreat!” he roared.
Those smart enough to recognize the raw panic in his voice shot backward, Prometheans burning power as they pushed backward as well. The ijas were unable to navigate just as easily, so when the full force of the presence landed, it took Xandros and his realm to repel the worst of the attack, protecting those in his immediate vicinity from its terrible power. Right before his eyes, he watched ascenders fall to their knees in agony, behaving like rabid dogs as they bit and clawed at each other, blood and fluids leaking from every orifice in their bodies, crumpling into the ground in throes of pure pain.
He saw the creature step into the second circle through the destroyed entrance, lights blaring, the creature cocking its head as it recognized Xandros as the biggest threat in the area. A pathway opened and Tania stepped out along with Eldrakor, the Runebearer dragon trailing with runes dancing around him. The creature stepped on the skull of a convulsing ascender, crushing it to a pulp as Xandros moved, gauntlets flashing with power, Tania at his side as well. The creature seemed to take a breath and then all shadows enlarged around it, as if attempting to suck all the light from the room.
From said shadows came hundreds of whip-like appendages, flashing towards the two commanders who reacted as befitting their positions. Flaming whips in their hundreds manifested behind Tania, clashing with the oily black appendages, their movements as reactive as they were coordinated, a dance of pure will and skill. Xandros was a walking tank, runes burning to life around him in great white flares, clashing with the limbs whenever they got close to him, he pushed on, the flames turning to arcs of electrifying white power that protected him and empowered his gauntlets.
The creature recognized him for the threat he was, and yet, it couldn’t take its gaze and concentration from the thousand whips, something Xandros was about to exploit to the fullest of his capabilities. He went from a steady walk to a blitzing move, flashing to the front of the creatures as more appendages than he could count crashed down on him in fury, biting through his runic protection and crashing down on his armor. He felt the bite, and yet he felt his body repel it just as fast as it sought to seep into him through the cracks in his armor.
His gauntlets fell on the creature like a judgment from a higher being, raining down wrath as the two figures exchanged blows, obliterating everything in their paths. He felt the pain even through his armor, his willpower barely keeping him sane as he fought on, realizing that its attacks did less external damage and more internally, seeking to attack his core itself. He gave a great roar, white flames along with electric white power pouring from his mouth as he burned brighter.
He could dimly hear Tania calling his name, sweet Tania, he might not agree with his brother on all things, but this one he did. He had chosen right, plus the fact that she was holding her own against a literal power of chaos told him volumes, but he had a duty to perform, better he than her die here. Holding the realm and battling the creature was becoming too much for him as they phased around at break-light speed, tearing their way through the vast second circle. He had successfully diverted the battle from her location, now he could truly let loose, tapping into the core power of the circle itself as he felt the already laid traps spring to life all around the circle, ensuring the circle itself was a ticking time bomb waiting to blow up in the face of the reaper.
Of course, few knew this, only he and Eldrakor, but it was the price he’d have to pay, the mere presence of the creature was driving the ascenders mad, no matter the protections, it left them open for the other creatures of chaos to rip them limb from limb. He felt the pain in his skull now as he tore the creature apart, burning brighter, tapping into more and more of the aspect of Eses herself, he was a raging inferno, he was a purifier, his will was law and he was her blade, her judgment come down on the filthy creatures of chaos themselves.
He could feel his armor melting around him as the Divinium metal held on, he was a nexus point of three aspects all at once, the creature screaming in pure pain as he cracked the mask on its face with the burning rune, his gauntlets hammering away in pure rage. He couldn’t count how many times he had been stabbed, bathed in the oily black aspect of chaos, and yet his body fought on rejuvenated, endless whispering of runes that burnt the creature manifesting as he pushed on. Perhaps, he thought to himself, perhaps they could hold the second circle, for everywhere they fought, he flushed away the taints of chaos, his rage never-ending cycle of power, burning with raw aether as well.
************************
Azael frowned as he realized Wrath was losing, this wasn’t some fluke, Xandros wasn’t a fluke, and to be honest, he should have expected it. Where Mardar and Xerxes were also powerhouses, they didn’t have the experience and raw arcane brilliance that was Xandros, there was a reason Eses chose him to lead her Runebearers and not his twin. This wouldn’t do, the Runebearer was nullifying the presence of his wrath, a one-man force that reminded him oddly enough of the titan blade.
He snarled, why was that accursed name still in his thoughts?, why did that child haunt his very movements?. Azael had plans to savor the invasion, there was nowhere for the forces of the archailect to run to anyways, so why did he feel like he was on borrowed time?. he gripped his scythe, stepping foot into the circle as the very Divinium walls began to react, metal peeling off as they attempted to attack him. End was there, the last of the personifications, a smiling mannequin as it snapped its fingers, and an echo of power tore through the entire circle, extinguishing the powers of the archailect in almost half the circle. Azael knew they had all felt his presence, Xandros and that annoying brigade female that had previously held back wrath.
He raised his scythe up, gathering the power of chaos as he felt Apophis in his mind, watching savoring every moment. The chaos being was preparing itself for its true manifestation, already he was reaching his apotheosis, the peak of his true power, a true vessel, one with the raw power to house the true form of the true supreme being. Azael smiled to himself, his skeletal skull stretching in a maniacal grin as he brought the scythe down, and along with it, pure obliteration, wiping out the entire sector in front of him as he moved towards the location of wrath.
******************
Tania felt it the moment Azael stepped into the second circle, it felt like the end of all things, like she was staring at the end of life itself, nothing existed past the point where he was. She could have sworn he felt stronger than when he arrived, walking with all the powers of oblivion behind him, which he had. No words were needed to be spoken, none needed when everyone knew that to stay was to simply die, and yet, she couldn’t abandon her post just as easily, not when Xandros still fought on, his burning presence a reassurance to her.
“My lady, we must retreat,” Eldrakor said.
She glanced at the Runebearer, watching as what was left of their forces made their way to the pathway leading to the first circle. Rage and bitterness flooded her mind, nothing had worked, they knew it was a losing battle, but still, to push them back just as quickly?, was this all that the strength of the archailect was worth?. she nodded, locking on to the position of Xandros, fear gripping her heart as she realized that was where Azael was headed.
She tore open a pathway, pushing through as she manifested right where Xandros raged against the creature, her whips adding to the battle as they tore the creature limb from limb. Her eyes widened at the raw power it possessed, this was what Xandros had fought against alone?, even though he was nothing but a conduit of raw energy at this point.
“Xandros we need to leave, now!” she shouted.
The creature was nothing but a pile of floating burning chaos aspect, it would reform later but for now, it was gone, and yet, Xandros gave no response. He was a burning humanoid light, his gaze golden as he turned his head in the direction where she felt the reaper calmly making his way toward them. She shook her head slowly, aware of what was about to happen.
“Xandros no!” she shouted as he flashed away in a cacophony of explosions.
*************************
It was the personification of cosmic fury, it was the raging power of Eses given form and it knew its mission, it saw and sensed it all at once. It was there, in the midst of the darkness, the powers of chaos pressing down on it with all the power it could gather, futile, baseless powers of chaos without a focal point were of no consequence to the fury itself. It knew the two that were of true threat to its existence and it them in turn, the vessel of chaos itself and its servant, it was the only way in which the fury could describe them.
The fury was at their front, the servant of the vessel, the puppet, the one that embodied the end itself stepping forward to oppose it. The fury's finger was in its skull in a flash, a little orb of pure cosmic energy blooming as the vessel laughed, flowing backward with all the ease of a being not threatened. The personification of cosmic fury raged, it would show the vessel the true wrath of the transcendent herself, and even as the puppet shattered in a wave of burning fury, it set its sight on the grinning vessel.
It was aware the puppets would reform later, for as much as it knew it was cosmic fury, it wasn’t the solution, the titan was, but for the moment, he would take the place of the other transcendent.
“Amazing,” the vessel said, laughing as it prepared to face him.
The personification took one step into the vicinity of the vessel and knew it was outmatched, it felt the true power of the vessel, and it resigned itself to damaging the vessel as much as possible. The moment it prepared to attack, the vessel struck, no, the fury realized, the vessel had struck earlier, he was simply realizing it now.
Its blessed gauntlets shattered, and its Divinium Armour that had melted to its frame lost its power and shattered, leaving only the raw energy of the cosmic dragon in place, but that was enough. It pointed one finger at the vessel who sucked in a breath and raised its scythe up, calling on the power of chaos to its aid, the fury for some reason laughed within its mind. It had no idea why it did so, its previous identity wasn’t of any consequence, he was the fury, that was all it needed to know, and it would serve its purpose.
“PURIFY” it commanded as it became a miniature sun, exploding with a dragon’s roar.
And there was light.
**********************
As Tania crashed into the first circle, panting as her amour smoked, she stared at the desiccated form of Xandros, Eldrakor at her side, the dragon wincing even as she felt the presence of the harbingers coming down on them. She knew in her mind the reaper wasn’t dead, all Xandros had done was buy them valuable time, she had no idea she was weeping, had no idea that tears dropped down her cheeks even as she stared at the destroyed second ring. She hoped, prayed, that the damage was enough for the titan to make his appearance before the reaper came for them all, but even with that thought, she knew, it was impossible.