The brigade had brought a total of five warships to the planet, 4 normal warships belonging to the four overseers of the galaxies closest to the one Duhiri was located in. the fifth was a battle cruiser, a gigantic structure that belonged to commander Tania herself. Each warship carried with it a weapons system that was built solely for battle with master ranked threats and above, and Tania’s ship was a weapon of galactic destruction. Therefore Moyo didn’t have any doubts the planet of Duhiri would had been dust should they decide to clear it off the face of the archailect.
His current issue however was with the two women who argued in hushed voices in front of him, one the vice leader of the universe military, feared even by abyssal monsters and whose powers were nigh infinite from what he guessed. The other was a lady from a house so great, it could as well be called one of the royalties of the archailect, oh and the first lady was apparently some adopted daughter of the second family,
And somehow, just somehow, he had gotten himself into a situation with them,
He laid back on the sands of the dessert, the burning sun of Duhiri doing nothing to him, merely a warm source of light on his body. At this point he doubted anything short of master rank or of abyssal origins could even hurt him. It brought a bittersweet smile to his face, he didn’t really plan on getting to diamond though, situations and circumstances had worked to end him, almost like something or someone tried to put him in the worst of situations.
And who was L?
Whoever the mysterious person was, it definitely wasn’t anyone normal, he snorted silently as the thought, like anyone was normal in this weird reality he had found himself in. Raising his right hand skywards, he traced the outline of the ships belonging to the brigade that were visible in the skies above. Overseer Iveph had led him to a communications chamber where a reflective glass held by a rock that glowed with aether served as a means of communication to the ships off world. Apparently, it was the only source of communication when the brigade had locked down entire worlds.
Masters Killian and Ajax were extremely happy to see him, master Ajax doing a little jig on hearing he was diamond, master Killian sighing, a little smile on his face and repeating the words “moving too fast”, but Moyo saw the look in his eyes, he was proud. A mysterious figure had stood in the background with a mask on, but Moyo saw he wore the colors of house thousand blades, a mystery to be solved for later.
The three kingdoms were under a restrictive dome, a master ranked prison construct of some sorts and brigade neophytes that had arrived with other ships pouring into the three kingdoms to do a thorough investigation of cult infiltrators. Apparently, anyone even remotely suspected of being a cult member was to be immediately executed, no questions asked. Moyo had wanted to protest, it felt nothing like an investigation but more of a witch trial, and Moyo’s world had gone through that. Overseer Iveph had held him back, telling him to trust the process, that just made him more suspicious.
Gold ranked ascenders who had attained the rank while in the dungeon were being separated from their kingdoms, investigated personally and were led to a transport ship offworld. They were apparently going to be taken to a brigade facility and tested for cult membership status, it sounded more like forceful indoctrination or admittance into the brigade, but Moyo could care less. With the golds gone from all the kingdoms, their fighting capabilities were now somewhat on even terms.
Although it looked that way, on second thought it wasn’t, only king Biyo was alive. With kings Alsius and Zahil dead, the red dust kingdom was the only kingdom with a king left alive. Moyo doubted that would hold for long, king Biyo had was now a suspected accomplice to the emergence of the cult and the way the two sisters eyed the now healed and bound king who looked so tired and haggard, Moyo deduced Ashira must had informed her sister about the plot to end them, Moyo did not envy him at all.
He got up from the ground, leaving the two sisters who still bickered and walked farther up towards the dessert. He could feel the eyes of the brigade neophytes trailing him respectfully as he walked away but paid no mind to it, he couldn’t care less what they thought about him. With a thought he brought up his HUD and went to the notification that he had delayed for so long, the presence of the primordial essence of the matriarch sitting in his vault.
Notice: vault of the titan has absorbed primordial essence of Strux, the matriarch sonic avian bird, essence can either be absorbed or forged into a weapon, absorb or forge?
Moyo grinned at it, he didn’t need the essence, he was diamond and there was nothing he wanted to use essence for in a long while, however he had a perfect idea for a weapon and who to give that weapon to. He picked the weapon option as he summoned his realm, his mini reality of an island with a mountain and purple skies manifested in front of him as a series of diamond ranked fiery perception fell on him, shaking his concentration a little.
With a growl he shook them off and sent a message to Ashira to inform the brigade lackeys about staying off his matter, she texted back saying she did so and immediately the presence faded away. With a deep breath he shook off the distractions and stepped onto his island, feeling the very aura in the air sing to him, his Ashe surrounding him like a cloak as warmth flooded his body, this was home.
He walked up to the vault doors now permanently fused to the base of his mountain, the doors swinging open to reveal his vault room and forge. He closed the doors immediately after him, a vault forge was a very valuable thing and Moyo didn’t want eyes peering at what he did in there. The essence, now condensed into a blue shard sat daintily on his forge table, next to his mantle hammer. One would imagine it being a harmless item, but Moyo had seen the being that had been the shard and it was a disaster walking, he hadn’t even faced it himself but the power it produced was of pure destruction.
He picked up his hammer, eyes glowing as intent suddenly flowed from the opening above the forge table, pouring his purple intent tinged liquid onto the shard as it sizzled and becoming almost clay in form, hot burning claylike item. He raised his hammer up and brought it down on the essence, purple and blue sparks flying from the collision, the essence while perfect for another blade wasn’t what Moyo wanted, no, he had enough blades already.
What he wanted was to spread the power of the matriarch in the same fashion as it came, through sound, and the best weapon for that was a bow. With his will come to life through the mantle, the essence began to transform into a blue bow, shining with intent running through its crystal frame, glowing till it took shape. The bow formed and Moyo took a step backwards, wiping his head in reflex action, he didn’t really feel tired or such, but some things were hard to drop as a human.
Notice: primordial essence of Strux, matriarch sonic avian bird has been forged into a bow, to complete the process, Ashe and a name most be bestowed on the weapon.
This was the part he had to be careful about, he didn’t want the weapon tied to him, sure he wanted his own armory, but there would be plenty of chances to do that in the future, for now he wanted to bestow the weapon on someone else. Gently, he channeled his Ashe into the weapon, empowering it while holding the command for the weapon not to tie itself to him. With a final push of Ashe into the weapon, he cut it off and named it, a name he thought most perfect for it
Notice: bow has been infused with Ashe and given the name Dawn piercer [sound]
A weapon for the sect leader of the dawn archers, Ayo crimson huntress. Moyo had gotten the idea as he laid on the sandy dessert while the sisters bickered, what if he made one weapon each of diamond rank for his sect leaders?, something as a relic of office. Along with whatever mantle they created for themselves, it would ensure their survival, Moyo was no longer under the illusion of leaving them to protect themselves. Sure, he won’t be there all the time to protect them, but Moyo had watched golds and diamonds die like chickens, he wasn’t about to test it out with those he called family.
With Annika and Ayo out of the way, he had a list of specific monsters he wanted to run through Ashira to see if they existed in any form and where he could find such dungeons. He had the funds for those, as he checked his accumulated loot for the monsters he had killed in the dungeon and it staggered even him, he began to understand why funds weren’t things higher ranked ascenders bothered with again, he could finally understand why they traded in weapons and relics.
Opening his HUD, he first read the message about the evolution of his Ashe. He could understand runes
Ashe: the titan has evolved his authority into a better and closer aspect of himself. You can now understand runes better and the underlying principles of them, able to also take them apart and see how each part fueled by aether ticks.
Coupled with his Digi Aye, Moyo doubted any barrier a mage threw at him could hold him down for long again. With a grin he hung the bow on a rack that suddenly appeared and checked his overall stat table, being a long while he did such,
Name: Moyosore titan blade
Path: crushing blade
Body: Draconic Titan (+90% defense against mental attacks)
Race: Human
Level: 500 (Expert diamond)
Legendary core user: mountain stronghold of the titan
Title: bane of the hive, draconic slayer
Skills:
* Greed of Esu (L)-250
* Dance of Sango (R)-250
* Wrath of Oya (R)-250
* Realm of Olorun (R)-250
* Step of Ogun (R)-250
* Ferocity of Oshosi (R)-250
* Digi Aye (R)-250
attributes:
* Titans might: 5050
* Titan’s Tenacity: 5072
* Titan’s Ashe: 5000
* CNS: 3200
* DEX: 3720
* INT: 2105
The first thing he noticed was that his voice of Eledumare had seemingly left his skill log, absorbed into his Ashe, although it was still represented in his core, in theory though it had become a part of his authority. All his skills had also reached a uniform level of 250, something he was sure diamond rank had to do with, even Digi Aye also. His attributes were by far the most monstrous of them all, three having evolved into a higher state and at five thousand plus, he was truly a monster for his rank.
His Ashe was registered as titan’s Ashe, it made him wonder if anyone else could possibly be able to evolve their authority and willpower into Ashe, but it was a contemplation for a later date. Satisfied with his progress, he checked his loot accumulation for the dungeon in full and his eyebrows shot up,
Notice: for advancing to diamond from the rank of silver in a level 500 dungeon and completing said dungeon, you get:
* 10,000,000 diamond coins
* 10,000,000 gold coins
* 100,000,000 silver coins
* 500,000,000 bronze coins
* 1,000 rare aether shards
* Rare path: path of the sonic shriek
Moyo scratched his head, wondering if the system glitched for the amount he saw here were insane in its own right. He could bury Bastion in wealth right now and not feel a thing, coupled with his previous wealth, Moyo rubbed his hands gleefully at all the meals he could buy. First of all, he would invest in mama T’s food business, he wasn’t about to let his traditional dishes die out, in fact, if she could open branches all over his world and other worlds, he would help her.
Nodding at his self-righteous fight for food, his attention was drawn to the presence of two people stepping into his realm. he glanced at the bow dawn piercer for the last time, taking its info in with a smile,
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Dawn Piercer: a bow forged by the titan blade from the primordial essence of a sonic avian matriarch, this weapon has the imbued power of sound, every arrow released from its strings carries a significant portion of the sonic cry Strux the matriarch was known for and can shatter mountains into powder. Made for Ayo crimson huntress, it can only be wielded by the huntress and the titan blade alone.
With a satisfied nod he left the vault, closing it behind him and walking to the edge of his realm where Ashira stood with a smile on her face, something about her eyes enraptured him and he was beginning to be bothered by the feelings that were slowly growing inside of him for her. He attributed it to spending an absurdly long time with her and shook it away for now, she stood there with lady Tania who glanced between him and Ashira, a smirk on her face that creeped him out, in his opinion, people as powerful as she was had no reason to smile.
Moyo bowed at the waist to her,
“Vice leader Tania” he said in greeting,
The brigade commander gave a wordless “hmm” in reply, Ashira jabbing her with her elbow as she hissed the word sister. The commander rolled her eyes,
“Good day titan blade, may your path be filled with hurdles, blah, blah, blah” the woman replied in a playful tone, Moyo was not amused,
Ashira rolled her eyes and turned back to Moyo,
“we’re free to leave this forsaken planet” she said,
Moyo scrunched his face in confusion, not that he wasn’t happy to leave, but it just didn’t feel right,
“Just like that?” he asked,
Lady Tania cocked her head to one side, eyebrow raised as she smirked,
“why, do you really enjoy your time on this world so much you feel bad about leaving?, or was it the absence of anyone to disturb the time you shared with my little sister you’re worried about?” Tania replied, her voice steadily growing cold,
Moyo froze, a chill spreading down his spine at the implied meaning of her words, glancing franticly between Ashira who groaned and lady Tania who broke out in laughter, his heart beating loudly in his ears at every movement she made that had him twitching in fear,
“joking!, joking!, sheesh!” the woman said, slapping his shoulders as he pasted a smile filled with terror on his face,
“Surely the commander has a good sense of humor” he replied, bowing hastily,
“Oh, you flatterer, you don’t need to butter me up, I could care less what she did and who she did it with. Besides, you look like strapping young, virile, oof!” Tania said, grunting as Ashira infused her tri into the hit she gave with her elbow in embarrassment, her face beet red,
“Fine fine, in truth you can leave this world, the both of you have no taints from the abyssal incursion, despite the both of you coming close when I expressly instructed the both of you not to” Tania said sternly,
Moyo gulped, dreading the question he had to ask next,
“and if we had?, been tainted, I mean” he asked,
“Then I’d had eliminated the both of you” Tania simply replied,
Moyo glanced at Ashira with wide eyes, trying to affirm if the commander had been joking,
“She would’ve” Ashira grimly replied,
“Indeed, my obligations are to the supreme beings, archailect and brigade first before family ties” Tania responded,
Moyo bowed again to her,
“Your mercy is a boon on me, this one appreciated it” he said with gratitude,
“Please, call me Tania, I get enough groveling from the members of the brigade, that reminds me” Tania said,
“I have two questions for you, first of all, who is Ajax death blade to you?’ she asked lightly, idly picking her nails,
Moyo saw her posture and knew she listened to his every word,
“He is an emissary of house thousand blades that came along with master Killian to recruit me for the swordsman tournament and trained me along with master Killian in the journey so far” he responded truthfully,
It was getting easier just saying the truth these days as he could use master Killian training him also as a reference. Lady Tania relaxed,
“good, also, do you know who Ashira is?, really is?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with secrets barely suppressed,
Moyo glanced at Ashira that stared at him, he nodded and spoke,
“I know she’s royalty of house Kairos, I know she’s favored by the sage and I know she means a lot to house Kairos, are you also favored by the sage?” he asked,
Lady Tania gave a chuckle,
“That over furred ruler of our house could care less if I lived or died” she responded,
“You know that’s not true; he always checks up on you” Ashira countered,
Lady Tania shrugged,
“True enough, however do you really now who Ashira is?’ the lady said literally pouncing on one foot to the other,
Moyo shook his head,
“If Ashira wanted to let me know, she would, it’s her secret to keep and I would wait till she felt comfortable enough to tell me “He responded,
Lady Tania stared at him with wide eyes, turning to her sister,
“Wow, you really have this one wrapped around your fingers, don’t you, you little minx” she said, Ashira rolled her eyes,
“Says the lady who rumors say is having an affair with her boss” Ashira countered,
“touché” Tania replied,
“And are you?” Ashira asked,
Lady Tania gasped, fanning herself dramatically,
“how dare you say that?, oh the drama!” she replied dramatically,
“I didn’t hear a no in there” Ashira said with a smirk,
“Shut it pipsqueak” lady Tania replied,
Moyo shook his head, Ashira had one scary family.
**********************
The brigade had isolated the world rather than destroying it, but two warships were to stay behind for a while to monitor events on the planet. Ashira and Moyo had followed lady Tania through a portal to appear on her flagship, Moyo marveling at the scale of the ship as they looked like ants inside the structure. From there they had filled papers stating that they had no hand in the abyssal and cult incursions, Moyo shook his head at the bureaucracy that transcended even planets, again he thanked his luck he wasn’t back at terra dealing with all that.
From there lady Tania had escorted them to the entrance of her ship,
“So, I heard the both of you are going to participate in the swordsmanship tournament” she asked,
Ashira and Moyo nodded,
“Then I’ll be keeping an eye on things over there, just hope I don’t turn up. The only reason I’d need to is if an abyssal incursion occurs again” lady Tania said,
Moyo desperately hoped that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t keep turning up where abyssal or cult related activities happened. Lady Tania turned to Ashira,
“And you’re representing house thousand blades?” she asked,
Ashira nodded again,
“As payment for protecting me when the Dracons came after me” Ashira replied,
Lady Tania’s eyes widened,
“The Dracons did what?” she asked,
Ashira waved it away,
“Old news, but you get the story behind why I’m participating” Ashira pushed,
Lady Tania stared at her for a few seconds and Moyo could see her gaze soften, her sisterly side finally showing. In that moment Moyo desperately wished Kenuran or some other member of house Dracon was around, he’d gleefully watch Tania wipe them from existence. Lady Tania touched Ashira gently,
“Be careful young one, we can’t have a galactic war now, can we?” she said as Ashira rolled her eyes but nodded her head.
Lady Tania turned to Moyo, her gaze serious,
“And you titan blade, do not under any circumstances speak that name the puppet told you in public” she said, glancing at Ashira who stared at them curiously,
“Maybe tell this nosey one but in private, we can’t throw the archailect into panic again, it took a long while to end the last one” she said,
Moyo nodded firmly,
Lady Tania clapped her hands,
“Good, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start going, lots of places to be and reports to drop” she said,
“and king Biyo?, what happens to him?” Moyo asked,
“He has been banned from leaving Duhiri, the moment he leaves the brigade overseers have the express order to end him and his lineage. But his capital punishment falls to his new emperor, the new master Jager Azartes, and from what I hear, Biyo is better off dead than that” Tania explained,
Moyo had never met the emperor, he was just as surprised that the former diamond ranker was now a master, but he would take Tania’s word for it. With a brief goodbye Moyo and Ashira were left drifting in space, it was a novel feeling for Moyo, knowing he no longer needed to breathe. The higher he climbed, the more the nuances of humanity no longer bothered him again. He and Ashira floated towards where the circular ovoid craft of house thousand blades.
The craft opened up to reveal masters Ajax, Killian and the masked man standing at the entrance. At either side of them were individuals lined up who bowed on seeing them, as one they chorused,
“We greet the honored diamonds!”
Moyo and Ashira paused, startled at the display. Master Ajax hooked his arms across their shoulders,
“My diamonds, I must say, you really surpassed my expectations” he said as Moyo grinned,
“And mine also, I must ask, how was the experience?’ master Killian asked,
Moyo shrugged,
“Meh, almost died more than twice, fought monsters twice my rank, got betrayed, became blind for a while, fought a diamond as a gold, got chased by oversized diamond chickens and watched the vice leader of the brigade battle an abyssal and cult creature” Moyo said,
He keenly removed the fact that the vice leader of the brigade was a Kairos and infact the sister of Ashira, and with the way she squeezed his hand, the look in her eye, she appreciated it. He winked and turned back to the masters who were speechless for once, master Killian cleared his throat,
“Moyo, Ashira, meet Duval sol blade, master on the path of the sol blade and my twin brother” he said,
Moyo and Ashira looked surprised,
“Brother?’ Moyo asked,
“Indeed, but to you I am simply master or elder Duval, are we clear titan blade?’ the masked man known as Duval said,
Moyo turned to the man as a silence ensued, not sure what to reply. Ashira stepped forwards,
“It seems there’s been some…. misunderstanding” she started,
“You are Ashira Kairos, correct?” Duval said, cutting her off,
“I am” Ashira curtly replied, ice steadily creeping into her voice,
“In as much as I am honored a member of house Kairos, I would prefer you let me address the adopted member of my house in a manner I see fit” Duval finished,
“I’m not really feeling the love from you right now” Moyo said,
Duval turned to him,
“We shall discuss this away from the ears and eyes of our lesser, come along” he said and turned,
Moyo narrowed his eyes at the master, master Killian with a frown on his face and Ajax tsking,
“Want me to cut his head off?” master Ajax asked,
“Ajax!” Killian said, startled,
Moyo laughed, it was good to be back.
****************
King Biyo knelt in chains on the island shadowland, home of the master Jager Azartes, broken and weak, he crouched before the emperor of his continent. The continent of Vistea and their master hadn’t even made an appearance, wisely staying off whatever happened at the other side of their world. He had failed, his machinations had failed, and like a dog he had been dragged to the presence of Jager by Renul Azartes, the upstart.
All Biyo had wanted was to unify his continent, to shake off the chains of bondage placed by house Azartes on them. Instead, he had lost every power he had, all his golds and guardians dead, his commander apparently a cult member and his kingdom deposed of him, given to someone else. Biyo wasn’t even sure of the situation his family was in, he wasn’t even sure he’d see the end of the day, on the bright side all his adversaries were dead.
The emperor reclined on his golden throne,
“To say I’m disappointed in you, all of you will be an understatement” Jager said, his gruff voice rolling like boulder,
Biyo bit his tongue, bowing lower, his diamond rank body trying its beast to heal him but the chains on his neck, arms and legs, forged with abyssal qualities restricted and sapped his strength. The emperor continued,
“To think I placed people like you in charge of a whole continent, disgusting, you couldn’t even play your roles right, sheep as you are”
Biyo glanced up, something wasn’t right,
“You all were meant to die in that dungeon, serve as fossil for the rise of the master, serve as food for the blights, instead you trashed decades of hard work” Jager continued,
Biyo’s eyes widened, realizing what was happening,
“you” he croaked as the beginning of a smile broke out on Jager’s face,
“You!, c-“ Biyo said before the realm of Jager, a place of infinite darkness and intent slammed into him, draining everything he had, authority, aether, intent, aura, everything,
And as he drowned in his realization and sorrow, Biyo bitterly prayed, even as he felt a blade pierce his heart, he prayed to whatever ruler, supreme being or existence was out there to please protect his world, to spare them from the horrors to come.
Master Jager Azartes, emperor of the red dust kingdom and sworn ascender to house iron Ash sighed,
Lord Rohan would not be pleased,
Even as he used the blood of Biyo to trace runes on the ground, the blood bubbling to form a face indistinguishable, he bowed,
“report” the voice said, sounding like bubbling hot water,
“The world was spared, the brigade isolating the world, all suspicions have been cleared” Jager reported,
“Impressive first brother, impressive. A pity the world was spared though, would had powered the whole process” the face said,
Jager looked up, confusion on his face,
“Pardon this unworthy one lord Rohan, but I thought the dungeon was the end goal, to have a footing in the archailect?” Jager asked,
The face smiled, an inhuman and creepy smile that sent shivers up Biyo’s spine,
“a part of the plan, even with the brigade, in their hubris, thinking they have things under control, they simply delayed things. Besides, the dungeon still exists, Tania thought she erased it all, it simply exists as a wormhole, a wormhole imbued with the flames of the brigade, imbued with the flames of our arch enemy the true dragon” Rohan said as Jager’s eyes widened,
“a wormhole we can use to enter any place once, like a prison for instance” the face said,
Jager bowed low, his head to the ground,
“praise the master!, your wisdom ever a guiding light!” Jager said,
“Lay low, draw no attention, all eyes are on us and the tournament about to hold, our time draws near first brother. Many a pawn has died for this, Zortes, Lirun, Pevina, each a cog in a great wheel. Soon our great one would rise and claim his place” lord Rohan said,
“As you wish lord Rohan” Jager replied,
“The Grim lives” Rohan said as the blood dissolved to mist,
“The Grim lives” Jager replied.
*************
Outside the island shadowland, Xerxes world burner floated, invisible to all but the woman who floated next to him, the lady Tania. Together they watched the master of the world drop the veil he used. It had always amused Xerxes whenever ascenders thought rules applied to beings as old as he and Tania, he tossed a weapon to Tania, an ornate blade forged by Alastor himself, the supreme being of edges,
“Seems you won this bet” he said,
“Told you Rohan had him in his grips, we raze the world now?” Tania asked,
Xerxes narrowed his eyes,
“No, increase security discretely, inform the rulers of the great families, tell them to turn their eyes to the tournament” Xerxes said, eyes blazing,
“Tell them to prepare for war”