Moyo and Ashira had spent the next three days preparing like any other ascender, stocking up on supplies. Not that he really needed it though, but with the cost of elixirs and weapons and even food sky rocketing to insane levels, Ashira thought it wise to at least have supplies on hand. Moyo made a quiet note to Ashira that it looked more like the kingdom was going to war than a simple competition for ascension, Ashira had nodded somberly, agreeing with his theory.

Finally, the night before the reaping would begin, he stood outside the inn, on its smooth roof made of some flexible metal he had inquired from Mr. A about its origins. Harder than the average steel found on earth, but flexible enough to be bent into odd shapes, Mr. A had called it Petasteel, and together they had worked out a business plan on importing it to his world after the calamity had passed.

Ashira stood by his side as they watched ascenders and soldiers of the kingdom march towards the gate, the portal leading to the array glowing in the night sky. Arms crossed, Moyo squinted at the ordinary citizens that hurriedly closed their shops, preparing for the incoming fight. A presence manifested close to them as Moyo whipped out his blade, Ashira following suit as he prepared to blast out his realm.

He froze at the sight of the two individuals that stood close to each other, the attire of the one on the left bringing back bad memories,

“Dragon brigade” he breathed,

The dragon brigade overseer who Moyo had rightly guessed was a silver looking man, or rather, he assumed he was a man, silver hair that looked more like thick metal cords, silver eyes that glowed and an almost skeletal frame save for the lean metallic flesh on him. By his side was a muscular man with dark hair and red eyes, a trimmed beard with his arms crossed also, he raised one eyebrow at them, glancing at the blade in Moyo’s hands and back at him,

“a silver ranker drawing a weapon in front of a gold ranker and a king no less” he said and Moyo felt the power of a gold ranker settle over him as his knees buckled,

He grunted as he fought it to a stalemate, refusing to crash down into the roof he was sure would crumble. Ashira also struggled but with more effort,

“Biyo” the overseer said in a mechanized voice,

“interesting” Biyo, the apparent king of the red dust kingdom said,

Suddenly the pressure vanished, Moyo standing straight as he steadied himself and bowed at the waist,

“This silver ranker humbly greets the gold ranker and king of the kingdom of red dust” he said, Ashira following suit,

“I suppose this is where I say something along the lines of may your path be filled with obstacles?” the king said,

“Biyo” the overseer said again, this time glancing at him warningly,

The king waved dismissively, gazing into the distance. Moyo looked up at the overseer who adjusted his stance,

“Greetings experts Moyo and Ashira, you would be the ascenders present at the site of the blight incursion I presume?” he said, his voice Moyo noted again sounded like an A.I generated male voice,

“Indeed, lord overseer” Moyo replied,

“Ah I see you are bothered by my voice and appearance” the overseer said as Moyo looked up sharply,

“I am Iveph, android originating from the construct empire, we aren’t usually found in this side of the universe” he said,

Ashira bowed deeper,

“Thank you honored ascender, we are honored to be gifted the knowledge of your origin” she said as he glanced at her,

“Ashira of house Kairos, the same could be said for you also” the overseer said as king Biyo turned sharply at her,

“house Kairos?, the house Kairos?, what game is the Azartes clan playing?” the king said,

“Actually, my calculations and theory indicate the clan isn’t even aware of a member of that house on your planet and kingdom. And in my candid advice, neither should you look too deep into it” the overseer replied the king,

Turning back to the still bowing ascenders, the overseer spoke,

“We are here for two main reasons” he started,

“I would like to conduct an experiment; my scouring of the planet and the dungeon records indicate no possibility of another blight infestation. But seeing as the first happened in just the same manner, I would require your services” he said,

Moyo froze, slowly understanding what the overseer meant, and apparently by the sharp intake of breath by Ashira, so did she,

“You want to use us as bait to see if the blight has a connection to us” she said,

Apart from the fact that the request was more of an order, Moyo wondered how they came to that conclusion. Could the overseer had gotten in contact with Atreus and obtained the knowledge of the blight attack on his planet?. The overseer turned to Ashira,

“Indeed, however I am of the opinion to exclude you from this experiment, it would be a shame to break the budding relationship between the brigade and house Kairos due to your importance” he said,

Moyo frowned, again the name Kairos was coming into play to save Ashira from a dire situation. Moyo on the other hand, despite being the leader of a clan was still a nobody in the wider scheme of things in the archailect. He felt Ashira at his side bristle,

“I refuse” she said as Moyo sharply glanced at her, eyes wide,

“Excuse me?” the overseer said, his silver eyes glowing,

“I’m not one to run from a challenge, neither would I abandon a friend in need, if the titan blade is mandated to participate then so am I” she replied,

Moyo wanted to desperately shake her from her stubbornness, but with an overseer close to them he dared not move an inch, the overseer spoke,

“Are you certain of this, lady Ashira of house Kairos?” he said,

Lord Biyo looked like he swallowed something foul and Moyo could understand as a fellow leader. If Ashira should perish in his kingdom, house Kairos might simply bare their fangs at the brigade, but the kingdom of red dust would become a footnote in history books. They caught each other’s eyes, the king silently begging him to say something, Moyo giving a light shrug, what could he honestly do?.

“I am certain overseer” Ashira replied as Moyo gritted his teeth,

“Noted and recorded with both audio and video recording,” the overseer replied,

A silver hand stretched in the direction of king Biyo, he spoke again,

“The second reason we are here pertains to the kingdom itself and not my concern” he said as he turned away from them and floated up to the sky,

King Biyo tapped one finger on his crossed arms,

“a silver rank ascender with what I’m guessing is a very impressive stat and a member of house Kairos. How did the both of you gain entry into my kingdom without my knowledge?” he asked,

“Your security at the gate is…not impressive, besides, we didn’t hide it my lord” Ashira replied

Moyo noted the brazen way she spoke to the king, unlike the almost servant like manner in which she spoke to the overseer. Perhaps she had forgotten he was a gold ranker, the king narrowed his eyes at her,

“It is apparent there is more to this tale, but time is short and the reaping has caught us unaware” king Biyo said,

Moyo couldn’t help but think back on what Ashira had said, it was becoming apparent to even him that he kept on getting caught up in the machinations of those higher than him in one way or another. The king was well, a king, he could had sent anyone to summon him, but suddenly, an overseer was accompanying the king to see a silver ranker of no reputation. Ashira spoke next to him,

“unawares?, the delving guild seemed aware though” she said as the king nodded,

“The delving guild are privy to a lot of things” he replied,

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“It is in simpler terms, a struggle for ascension, weapons and relics. Hence, all three kingdoms would be participating under the watchful eyes of the clan Azartes and in this instance, the overseer. I wouldn’t put it past the master of the planet to also be watching, the blight is drawing unwanted attention to this continent and not in a good way” the king explained,

“How so?” Moyo asked,

“Should the overseer deem the planet too hazardous to the archailect, or a gateway to the abyss in general, he would give the order” king Biyo said darkly,

“What order?” Moyo asked again,

“The cleansing, glassing, the mandate, it goes by many names” Ashira whispered, horror slowly seeping into her voice,

The overseer above nodded,

“you’re well informed, good” he said,

Moyo glanced between the two of them as Ashira whirled to him, panic in her voice,

“If they see any sign of a blight infestation, they would wipe out the continent, and if the higher ups in the brigade aren’t satisfied, the entire planet” she said as Moyo felt his body doused by a cold feeling,

Whirling to the overseer, eyes widened,

“it was just a single blight, surely you can’t wipe out entire civilizations, millions of citizens just for that?” he pleaded,

“Actually, billions on the planet. The estimate is roughly around 1-2 billion, you ascenders always forget that most inhabitants of a planet do not care about ascension” the overseer started,

“But compared to the continued existence of life in this galaxy and the universe in total, a necessary sacrifice”

Moyo turned to the king who was visibly clenching his jaw, the king turned to Moyo,

“So, you see young expert, you see why I had to personally come to you. Even now my silver guardians are on standby, ready to lay down their lives in the incoming battle in order to let their families live after this reaping” he said,

“How do we affect this?” Moyo asked, still reeling from the realization of such number of lives being sacrificed,

“If indeed the blight is somehow having a connection to you, as ludicrous as it sounds to me also, I want it in a place where all the powers of the kingdoms could descend on it” he said,

“The array of dungeons” Ashira said as the king nodded,

“Precisely, however that would take place in three days’ time, not tomorrow”

“What happens then?” Moyo asked,

“Clan Azartes reveals the location to a tier 500 dungeon, a diamond ranked dungeon in which all the kingdoms top gold ascenders would converge and duel over”

“You would drag us into a battle between golds?” Ashira hissed,

“I’m fine with leaving you out of it, member of house Kairos that you are” the king said, glancing at her with wariness,

Turning back to Moyo he spoke,

“But you, I see the fire in your eyes, now I might be wrong, but something tells me you would cherish such a challenge. Besides, the kingdom would compensate you well enough for your participation” Biyo said,

“You want us there so the overseer can act should a blight reveal itself” Moyo said,

“And have additional firepower against the other kingdoms”

Moyo raised an eyebrow, doubt in his voice,

“I sincerely do not see what we can do against gold rankers” he said,

The king gave a brief smile,

“You sell yourself short, I have seen your record of ascension since you stepped into my kingdom. Going from an iron ranker who had no business in a tier 300 silver ranked dungeon, to returning as a silver ranker” the king said, raising one hand as Moyo attempted to talk,

“Spare me the details, the less I know, the better. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it isn’t to involve myself in the affairs of mysterious ascenders like the two of you. One could magically turn out to be the member of one of the most feared houses in the entire archailect” the king said glancing at Ashira,

“House Kairos only goes after those who commit atrocities, do you have something to hide?’ Ashira practically spat out,

Moyo wanted to distance himself from her, he had a healthy life perseverance, the king laughed,

“Even I wouldn’t be foolish enough to touch a member of house Kairos, no, I don’t, just a healthy sense of self perseverance” the king said,

Moyo could respect that,

“I grow bored of this, are you in agreement?” the overseer asked,

Moyo glanced at the king, then Ashira whose eyes blazed with anger, she nodded without glancing at him. He turned back to the king and overseer and bowed,

“We would be honored to be included in this rare opportunity” he replied,

The king snorted,

“You couldn’t sound more uninterested, till then ascenders. I would advise you stay out of the reaping till the third day, best not to draw the attention of the other kingdoms to powerful ascenders such as you both” he said,

The overseer nodded at them both before disappearing along with the king. The night became quiet again as Moyo and Ashira were left in silence, he glanced at Ashira as he saw her blinking rapidly, she was fighting back tears,

“Ashira” he said softly,

“galaxies” she said, her voice choking,

“What?”

“Galaxies, I hopped galaxies just to run from the shadow of Kairos. I literally ran, I bought, fought and begged my way through different nexus points just to escape from their reach. I lost my closest friend and still the house haunts me” she said, the tears dropping freely,

Moyo was sure this was not a good time to point out the fact that a house as great as Kairos probably commanded respect everywhere. Instead, he held her as she silently cried,

“You know, the line of not abandoning a friend was a bit cheeky, I’d run in a heartbeat” he joked

She coughed out a laugh, wiping her tears, her sleek hair floating as it did,

“No, you wouldn’t” she replied,

“Oh, you know me that well now do you?” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes,

“Not much, but that I know. You’re the dumb silver ranker that attempted to stop an attack from a category 5 blight” she said,

“In my defense, I had no idea” he grumbled as she laughed,

They sat back on the roof in silence,

“would they really do it?, wipe out the continent?’ he asked,

Ashira nodded mutely,

“When I was little, I remember an incident, on the planet of epsilon, a little farm world” she started,

“a category 5 blight infestation happened, no one knew how or why, but it was in house Kairos space and the house sent our masters to cleanse it out”

“However, they arrived too late, the entire planet had been slaughtered, rivers of blood ran and the masters would come back to report such gory scenes that I wasn’t permitted to listen. It was later we learned that a small enclave of farmers had survived, hiding deep underground in the planet, coming out when the overseer of the planet arrived”

She picked at her hair as she spoke,

“The entire planet was glassed, with the survivors, apparently the brigade considered it a risk, not wanting any of them to be a blight in disguise” she finished, her voice a whisper,

Moyo stared hard at her,

“Children, infants that survived were also wiped out. House Kairos was furious, but there was nothing we could do, the overseer was simply changed to placate the rulers who swore off helping the brigade in general”

Moyo stared forward in silence,

“It won’t happen to this world, I won’t let it happen” he said,

“one man against the brigade?, hate to burst your bubble but I highly doubt you can do anything against the brigade” she said with a smile,

“Not against the brigade, we do our best here, on this planet, from tomorrow” he said,

“You heard the king- “

“I could care less what the king said, we have the power to act, to hell with their games” he growled,

Ashira stared at him before laughing,

“What?’ he asked puzzled,

“You should see your face when you were saying those words, filled with righteous fury” she said,

Moyo scratched his head in embarrassment,

“I agree though, to hell with their games, we do our best, we don’t answer to them. What would masters Killian and Ajax want us to do?” she asked,

“Master Killian would tell me to keep my hands off the situation and simply obey whatever the overseer demanded of me, he’s more of the obey the order type” Moyo said as Ashira smiled,

“Master Ajax though, he’d tell us to go in sword swinging, smile on our faces as we fought impossible odds” Moyo said shaking his head,

“I’m guessing that’s the advice you’d follow?’ she said,

“Damn right, from tomorrow we’d do our best, saving our fury for the third day when we- “Moyo said, stopping in his tracks, eyes wide as Ashira kissed him,

The moment disappeared in a flash, awkwardness between them,

“uh” he said,

Ashira shook her head,

“Nope, no words, just wanted to get that particular thought out of my mind, my first time anyways, just let it go” she said,

Moyo nodded numbly, his head a confused mess, together they sat in silence,

“Whoever she is, she’s one lucky girl” Ashira finally said,

“What?” he said,

Ashira rolled her eyes,

“Whoever this Annika girl is, she’s lucky” Ashira said,

Moyo simply nodded,

“Perhaps you’d meet one day” he said,

Ashira chuckled,

“I doubt she’d want to meet the girl that kissed her man” Ashira said,

Moyo chuckled,

“I doubt it” he replied,

“we’ll discuss this though, whenever you want to” he said softly as she nodded and laid her head on his shoulder,

Together they watched the kingdom prepare for the reaping.

***********

The sage of house Kairos sneezed and frowned, golden tail swishing behind him,

“Why do I feel someone’s messing with someone I know?” he mumbled

***************

Day broke as the ascenders of the red dust kingdom, the iron rankers lined up with the wind barrier of the array in the distance. They had been permitted to use the portal in crossing over to the location of the array, however they were to stay a good distance from the array itself. Banners flapping in the bright dessert wind, at the other side stood the iron rankers of the black sword kingdom and to the far right were the banners and iron rankers of the glowing sun kingdom.

Each kingdom wore the colors they were respectively known for, the bright red of the red dusts, deep black of the black swords and bright gold of the glowing suns. Above the iron rankers floated bronze rankers on all sides, eyeing each other warily, they were there to ensure the bronze rankers of the respective kingdoms didn’t manipulate the reaping. Due to the rules, they were not to actively participate in the reaping of the first day, except to withdraw any iron ranker who was mortally wounded and was able to call for help in time before being killed.

And even at that, the bronze rankers of the other kingdoms could stop them from the extraction, all in all, it promised to be a bloodbath. In the distance, silver ranked auras of different levels and magnitude blazed on all sides, a warning to the respective silver rankers on each side that the other side were watching and could act at a moment’s notice also.

Above the array, a shadow suddenly loomed to life as a large island appeared over them, casting a shadow so wide it literally blotted out the sun, casting the whole area into perpetual darkness. From the island that blazed with gold ranked powers was a man floating down. Eyes covered up with a blindfold, arms folded behind him and in a black robe with a red sash at the waist, he spoke softly, but with enough power that it rang all around the area,

“Welcome to the reaping, ascenders of iron rank, you would be given the honor of fighting to your hearts desires with monsters from the dungeons unleashed and also with each other.” He started,

“As is custom every 500 years, no consequences would come from the actions on this field today, clan Azartes assures this. All the loot and relics you acquire will be yours irrespective of who slaid whatever creature produced it, in other words, it’s a free for all. Ascenders of a higher rank then iron are strongly advised to stay out of the battles between the irons unless called for, may the best ascenders win when the dungeons are closed.” He finished and vanished back into the island,

A loud voice spoke from within the island, carrying enough command in that one word that drove the iron rankers to battle,

“BEGIN”

The wind barrier fell, the iron ranked dungeons broke open and monsters of all shapes and sizes poured out. The kingdoms went to war with a roar.