Moyo wasn’t aware of how much time had passed when he finally opened his eyes, not that he had any sleep, his mind in turmoil. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and stared idly at the ceiling above, with a sigh and a burst of aura, he was on his feet, his bare legs tapping softly on the silver floor. Making his way to the door, he opened it softly, closing it behind him and walked over to one of the chairs, pausing like a deer in headlights when he saw Ashira on one of the chairs, a glass mug in hand that had steam coming from the liquid inside.
She glanced at him,
“Oh, tea?” she asked,
“You drink tea?” he asked,
She chuckled,
“Tea is universal, this blend, however, I have no idea, but it tastes good” she replied,
He silently sat on the chair, taking a cup as a construct poured the reddish liquid for him. Sitting back and sipping it, he gave an audible sigh,
“Tastes like coffee” he said,
“Coffee?” she asked,
“It's a sort of plant seed we roast to extreme dryness and make into tea, delicious” he replied,
“I’d love to have that one day” she replied,
Moyo scrunched his eyebrows,
“We lost a lot during the introduction of the archailect, I doubt it crossed anyone’s mind to save some beans” Moyo said,
“Hopefully someone acquired a path of coffee or something” he said, a smile on his lips as she gave a light chuckle,
Silence prevailed once again, the both of them sipping their teas and avoiding eye contact. Ashira sighed,
“This is stupid” she said, startling Moyo as he looked up,
“What is?” he asked warily,
“This, whatever is going on between us” she replied,
Moyo opened his mouth and shut it back, unsure of what to say, he literally had no experience in situations like this. She stood up, running her hands through her hair,
“You made it clear from the beginning that you had someone, and still” she said, glancing at him,
He caught her eye and nodded, unsure of what to say,
“Odds are, you probably detest me now” she said softly,
“No, never, don’t you ever go there” Moyo growled as she turned to him,
“We fought together, we bled and cried together, we survived battles that could had been our ends together, so don’t you go there” he said as he stood,
She nodded, taking a deep breath before sitting down, putting her head between her hands,
“This is unbecoming of Kairos royalty” she murmured,
“And since when did I care about your house?” he asked,
She nodded again and they kept quiet once more,
“I’m sorry” he said,
She glanced up,
“What for?” she asked,
He laid back on the chair,
“For not making things clear enough, look, I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel anything in me, I did, I still do. Just not sure yet” he murmured,
Ashira stared at her mug,
“Glad we got that out of the way, two ascenders who feel the same way for each other, not sure how it got this complicated” she said,
“More like horny ascenders” he murmured,
“What?” she asked,
“nevermind, just, give me time alright?, I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but I’m not going to deny the fact that I do feel something for you” he said, staring into her eyes,
“Look at me that way again and I’m jumping your bones” she said as Moyo chuckled,
“Anything to get master Killian’s offspring off my case” he responded as she laughed,
They kept quiet again, sipping their teas,
“Flirt with any female, humanoid or otherwise and she disappears” Ashira said offhandedly,
He raised an eyebrow at her,
“Getting possessive, are we?” he asked,
She shrugged, pale green and gold eyes glowing,
“I don’t share” she replied,
Moyo wisely kept shut,
“I got a weird message when I ascended to diamond” he said,
“Weird?” Ashira asked,
He showed her the message,
“L, wonder who that could be” Ashira murmured,
“Well, whoever they are, they must command a lot of power to be able to influence system messages that way” Moyo responded,
“The only ones who could access the framework are the administrators themselves, mythical existences I’m not even sure are real and those who know or have an idea won’t utter a single word about it” Ashira said,
“Then who could had sent it?’, some mysterious administrator then?” Moyo pondered,
“You could take it to the masters, see what they could tell you. That reminds me, what did you do with the matriarch bird essence?” Ashira asked,
Moyo waved his hand as his vault door appeared, cracking open, he opened his palm as the bow dawn piercer settled in it. Ashira sat up, whistling as she eyed the weapon,
“Now that’s a bow, sonic abilities I’m guessing?” she said,
He nodded,
“you’re building quite the armory” she said,
He shook his head,
“This is for another of my companions back on my planet, thinking of arming them all, that reminds me, could you look at this list and tell me if such creatures exist?” he replied as he sent a list to her through his HUD,
“Watching out for others except yourself, why am I not surprised?” Ashira murmured as she received the message, Moyo chuckling,
She was silent for a few seconds, murmuring to herself,
“I’m guessing you are looking for dungeons where these monsters are dungeon bosses?” she asked as he nodded,
“I need their primordial essences more or less, don’t really care about the monsters themselves” he said,
“Well, the good news is that these monsters will most definitely exist, the archailect comes up with weird creatures all the time, it’s like every new world or galaxy absorbed gets their life forms added to the blender to create new dungeon creatures” she replied,
“The bad news is, you’d need a delving hunter to acquire them for you, and those don’t come cheaply” she said,
“Delving hunters?” he asked,
“They are more like bounty hunters, they take orders for primordial essences and go retrieve them, supreme beings know how they find the actual dungeons because that still remains a mystery to most of us” she said,
“Expensive?” he asked,
“Absurdly, but with the kind of funds we both have, merely a dent in our reserves, we’re diamonds now, we hardly need funds” she replied,
“That, or you petition house thousand blades for the essences, if they have, houses usually have essences they trade for other precious items, however they may require you perform one task or the other of equal quality for them”
“That seems faster, I’ll take it up with the masters” Moyo responded,
The doors to the living quarters opened as master Alvar peeked in,
“Apologies, but your presence are required in the main hall, master Duval intends to brief us on what’s to come” he said,
“we’ll be right there” Ashira replied with a nod, Alvar nodded, closing the door behind him,
Moyo sighed,
“All I want is an extended holiday, no fights, nothing” he said,
Ashira raised one eyebrow at him,
“really?, no fights, nothing?” she asked,
He glanced at her, pausing as he thought about it,
“Okay, maybe a little scuffle here and there” he admitted,
“Uh huh, yeah sure, just a little scuffle?” she pressed,
He shook his head as he stood up,
“I am a man of peace”
“Says the man who decimated golds like they were practice dummies” she responded,
“They had it coming” he protested,
“Whatever helps you sleep at night” she responded,
Bickering their way back to the large hall, they spotted everyone seated. It had been easy to make their way back to the main hall, diamond rank ensured their minds worked optimally, every piece of information taken in, stored and cataloged away for future use, Moyo could even remember the position of each hair on Ashira’s head should he task his mind to it. Finally settled, master Duval spoke, clad in his usual attire of a blue robe and white mask,
“Now that we’re all here, we may begin” he started,
“For those of us new to the event known as the swordsmanship tournament, it is an event hosted by Zane true blade, the undisputed champion of blade fighting and intent. Hosted on his home planet of Altera, it is a championship to display the might and potential of the future generations of the archailect” he said,
“Most times the great houses who participate use it to display their military might and powers while other lesser houses use it to try and curry favor from the great houses participating. Of course, the rewards are nothing to scoff at in their own rights”
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“Rewards such as?” he asked,
“Weapons, relics, essences, path upgrades and even planets go up for rewards. However, the main reward is the mythical path evolution bestowed by the true blade himself, and swordsmen who win this reward have gone on to become rulers, our patriarch himself one the tournament at one point” Duval said,
“However, our aim in this tournament is different, no doubt masters Killian and Ajax must had informed you about the meeting of the councils of houses. There the motion was passed to cull experts from weak worlds and send to the frontlines to hold back the tide of abyssal monsters that continually assault the borders of the archailect” he said,
“Moyo nodded”
“House thousand blades, along with notable houses such as Kairos and Grimswolf were against this motion, the council has decided to solve the matter in a typical archailect fashion, a test of might. Should those who repel the motion reach at least the round of 8 or 4, then the motion will be repelled” Duval explained,
“So we have to win it to ensure the issue isn’t brought up again?” Moyo said as master Killian nodded,
“I like the way you’ve always thought, why settle for half when you can win it all?” Ajax said,
“I’m guessing house Dracon and storm razor are for the motion?” Ashira said,
Master Duval nodded,
“As expected of the serpents, they are in support of the motion, the thought of sending their personal resources to the frontlines is considered heresy as far as the dracons are considered. Why send a dragon when you can keep throwing humanoid lives at the issue” he explained,
Moyo drummed his finger on the table in thought,
“Seems straight forward enough, so what’s the plan?” he asked,
“There are a total of ten houses participating in the tournament, however don’t be deceived, most are lackeys looking to earn favors from house Dracon and its notable two allies” master Killian said,
“House Dracon, storm razor and lights bane are working in tandem to push the motion, storm razor and lights bane are on their way to pushing into the ten great houses, and with the support of house Dracon, should they fulfill their end of the bargain to the dragons” master Duval explained
“Houses fang blade and red wrath are also on their side, looking to be elevated above their stations, on our side are house Garuda, jackal, ghost wind and pure blade”
“The pure blades are participating?, color me surprised” Ashira said,
Moyo glanced at her, Ashira explained,
“The pure blades are like an offshoot of the clan true blade, seeking to etch their own path forwards, they recently became a house”
“Meaning they have more to lose should the motion be passed into effect” Raina said from beside Alvar,
“Indeed, lines have been drawn and the form of the first stages of the tournament is unknown to anyone but the true blade himself, he is judge of the tournament” Killian said,
“The clans blood blade, rage blade and diamond blade of house thousand blades have deemed it fit to allow their scions who are seated here with us to participate in the tournament. Inge, Gisela and Lothar respectively would be on team thousand blades” master Duval explained,
Moyo glanced in the directions of the three diamonds who nodded back at him, keeping their silence, perhaps some culture of house thousand blades forbade them from speaking. He turned back to master Duval who continued,
“As expected, we will ally with house Garuda and the other houses who support our cause, for one thing is always clear about the first stages of the tournament, they are usually a free for all” he said,
“And you can bet house Dracon would be doing the same, therefore our strengths should be evenly matched” Ajax said,
“When do we arrive Altera?” Moyo asked,
“In a little less than a day” Killian said,
“So prepare yourselves, we rendezvous with the ship of the patriarch and the ship of house Garuda before finally entering altera space” master Duval said, effectively dismissing them.
Masters Ajax and Killian led Moyo and Ashira through a different path in the ship, going through hallways and corners that were filled with silvers and golds doing menial tasks. The sight of golds bowing and scraping as they passed put a frown on his face, golds were royalty on Duhiri, special assets that were as close to demi gods, on earth they would be neigh invincible at this point. Yet here they were, eyes low and backs bowed in supplication to the diamonds and masters they served.
It drove home the point to Moyo that no matter how high you climbed in this system, no matter what level you think is the peak, you would answer to someone. Shaking his head and nodding at the golds whose eyes widened at the show of respect he sent their way, he walked into a circular room, training mats and wide blue screens with streams of messages running through them filled the room.
On the wall to the far-right lay master Killian’s blade, its silver steel glimmering in the light of its surroundings. Master Ajax turned to them and spoke,
“Tell us everything, no details spared”
And so Moyo and Ashira did, from their initial entrance to the kingdom of red dust, to their time in the diamond dungeon, and finally the blight and abyssal attacks. At the end the masters were seated, pondering,
“I do have an idea of who this…L character could be, but as insane as it will sound, I pray with every fiber in me that I am wrong” he said,
Moyo nodded as the master had a faraway look in his eyes,
“There is this…tale passed along from generation to generation of house thousand blades, it serves as a bragging point to the other houses. It is said that the thousand blades himself was a genius, attaining diamond and then master through enlightenment” master Killian said,
“So, to cross over to master requires enlightenment?’ Moyo asked, that wasn’t as much of a secret as he thought it would be,
Killian and Ajax chuckled,
“To a lucky 1%, to cross over to master requires certain things we would divulge to you after the tournament, lest this block head over here tries to cross it without the necessary preparations” Ajax said, gesturing at Moyo who only shot him a beaming smile,
“However, the tale goes that he was contacted by the supreme of edges himself, a simple message with the words be my harbinger” Killian said,
Ashira’s eyes widened, Moyo glancing between them, confused, master Killian nodding,
“As you have guessed right lady Ashira, the message was signed with the letter A” Killian completed,
Ashira glanced at Moyo, her eyes showing trepidation,
“what’s wrong?” he asked,
“What it means is that only supreme beings among a few other beings in existence like administrators can sign on a system message, and there is only one being we know of in that sphere of power that has the letter L in her name” Ajax said,
“Lotes, the true dragon and personification of aether” Ashira whispered,
Moyo scrunched up his face in confusion,
“What would some ancient looking dragon want with me?” he asked,
Killian shook his head,
“We have no supporting evidence to declare fully that it was the dragon herself, also, like every other thing surrounding your existence, do not speak of this outside this room. Some would react violently to the fact, calling it blasphemy. At best the brigade could come to recruit you and at worst you could have the cult of essence who venerate the dragon coming after you”
Moyo raised his hands in exasperation,
“Great, like I don’t get enough trouble with regular dragons” he said,
“Put your mind off that, you said your vault evolved?” Ajax asked,
“Yes, it is now the vault of the deific titan” he responded,
“It considers itself linked to some sort of divinity” master Killian murmured,
“I don’t know, you don’t look like a supreme being to me” master Ajax said as Moyo rolled his eyes,
His vault doors suddenly appeared by his side, swinging open with a creak to reveal his forge, master Killian’s eyes widening and Ajax whistling,
“You know, when you told us, I didn’t believe, but seeing it now, you just keep pulling out surprises” Ajax said, glancing at Moyo,
“Dangerous surprises young one” he said,
“I honestly have no idea how I got it, it happened when I almost died at the jaws of the primordial Savar serpent” he said,
“Forced evolution, I’ve heard of it happening a few times in the past, your body and mind is pushed to the limit and an ascender somehow surpasses their limits” master Killian murmured, turning back to Moyo,
“I’m not sure you understand the gravity of what you have here, clans, factions, whole houses even the great ones fight over ascenders with core or vault forges, whatever name you want to call it” he said,
“The patriarch hand crafted most of his blades due to the forge he also possesses, it was one of the reasons house thousand blades could successfully break into the ten great houses”
Moyo nodded,
“Figured as much that it’s a rare commodity” he said,
“Rare doesn’t cut it, in the whole archailect, only five people are known to possess core forges, other great houses could be hiding some secretly and we’ll never know, but as it stands, you’re the sixth core forger” Ajax said,
“Which brings me to a request of mine, I need some specific primordial essences” he started,
“done” Killian said as Moyo paused, startled,
“Well, that was quick, I thought I’d need to perform some tasks for you, bla bla bla” he said,
“I’m guessing you simply possessing a core forge is enough for the house, in fact I’m guessing they want to have you work for them” Ashira said as master Killian nodded,
“As a liaison of course, I recognize you have obligations to your own clan, but I can petition the patriarch to have your clan fall under the purview of house thousand blades,” he said,
Moyo shook his head,
“While I would prefer an alliance with house thousand blades, I’m not comfortable outing my clan under the authority of another” he said,
“Your clan?” Ashira asked,
Everyone stared at her, Moyo scratched his head awkwardly,
“Moyo, I know I’ve never asked, and to be honest you don’t need to-“
“Clan titan blade” Moyo said simply with a smile,
Ashira paused again, absorbing the words he just uttered,
“You own a clan, as a diamond” she said,
“More like I was an advocate then, but yeah” he said,
She stared at him,
“So in essence you’re a patriarch” she asked,
“I mean, if you put it into perspective, yeah”
“Then that’s what Mr. A was talking about” she murmured to herself,
Master Killian cleared his throat, Moyo turning back to him,
“What matters now is to ensure you don’t carelessly show anyone your vault, by now your cores and realm must have fused right?” he asked,
Moyo nodded grinning,
“The raw power” he said,
“Now you know how easy it was for me to toy around with you as an acolyte then” Ajax said chuckling,
Moyo winced at the realization, he wasn’t sure he could hold back that much, that level of control required a level of keen awareness and subtlety that came with time and experience, he was currently a force of destruction with no breaks once he let loose. His vault door vanished as he waved his hand, master Killian sighed,
“This tournament will come with a lot of tribulations, this, I can feel” he said,
“We gathered as much, but I’m fighting for the fate of my world, I don’t care what force would stand in my way, I’m cutting them down, one step at a time” Moyo replied, eyes glowing,
Master Ajax glanced at Ashira,
“I see why you fell for this one, all manly man’s man” he said as she looked away, Moyo rolling his eyes,
An alarm blared in that moment everyone coming to attention as Moyo drew dominion,
“Proximity alert” master Killian said,
Together masters and diamonds hurried towards the bridge of the ship, lead by master Killian. They appeared at the bridge where master Duval had his arms crossed, shouting orders to the silvers that manned the control helm,
“what’s going on?” master Killian shouted over the blare of the siren that cut off,
“See for yourselves” Duval replied,
A screen came on to show a large ship, red and titanic in size while bathed in pure gold at the helm, Moyo didn’t recognize the crest he saw that was forged in pure gold. A large clawed hand,
A scaled clawed hand,
immediately he narrowed his gaze, a feeling of Deja Vu in his gut,
“House Dracon” master Killian said gravely,
Moyo clenched his fist, watching as the ship opened up and a figure he hoped he’d never see till the tournament walked out of the ship, the ever infuriating smile on his face,
“Kenuran, how did they locate us?” Moyo growled,
“we’re a few hours from Altera, it is usual for houses to start running into each other” Ajax said,
Kenuran folded his hands behind him, clad in gold with a red sash, his blade at his waist, he looked bigger, his diamond ranked transformation adorning him with a red thin serpentine tail that had gold flames at its tip. The dragon spoke, his voice somehow echoing through the vast emptiness of space,
“titan blade!, step out!”
Moyo turned swiftly and began to march towards the shuttle zone where little crafts deployed from the ship, Ashira placed a hand on his shoulder, halting him,
“What are you doing?’ she asked,
“You heard that overgrown worm” he growled,
“I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but don’t be stupid, he’s baiting you” she replied,
“Oh, I know, trust me” he said with a clipped smile and turned back to continue his march,
“Titan blade!” Ajax shouted as Moyo turned to look at his master,
“Do not engage him, but don’t back down” he said with a grin,
Moyo smiled and bowed at the waist, purple eyes glowing. The golds and silvers he passed bowed at the waist to him, uttering the word ‘titan blade’ solemnly. Ashira appeared at his side,
“This is my fight” he said,
“I don’t care, I want to give that dragon a piece of my mind, would you deny me that?” she asked softly, pale green and yellow eyes glowing,
“never” he grinned,
The shuttle shaft blast doors opened and Moyo and Ashira floated out of the ship turning about and facing the direction of the dragon,
“How nice to see you again titan blade, you must have advanced to gold to even consider being a threat to me, seeing the way you stepped out so brazenly” Kenuran said,
“Gold?” Moyo asked with a raised eyebrow, a smile dancing on his lips,
Ashira blazed first, her diamond ranked aura and path of the three-fold monster clashing with the aura Kenuran released. The dragon growled, smoke pouring from his nostrils as he whipped out his blade,
“Move one inch, house Dracon or not, I promise you I’d cut you down like a dog” Moyo growled,
Kenuran whipped his head to glance at Moyo,
“Such insolence, when your betters are talking, insignificant creatures like you should keep SILENT!” he roared, his authority slamming into Moyo with all the force of a bull,
Moyo had been digging deep into himself for a while, gathering everything that made him who he was, his willpower and authority had been forged, broken, and then forged again in the fires of tribulation and battle. The authority of the dragon, like every other authority of a superior race hammered into him, challenging his willpower and impressing on him the urge to submit to what it thought was a greater power.
The titan however did not view any other power than itself as superior, it was a mountain, a fortress, a world built on defense, and as Moyo had realized, a blade, forged to cut down anyone stupid enough to try and subdue the titan himself. With determination and resolve, his eyes glowing purple and his aura snapping out like the power of an enraged deity, Moyo broke through the authority of the dragon, shattering it with a single utterance,
“NO”
Kenuran stumbled back in shock for a second as Moyo’s diamond ranked aura fused with Ashira’s to hammer into the dragon. Kenuran grinned, flexing his arm as a golden arm guard appeared on his shoulder, Moyo wobbling back as a fiery feeling suddenly encapsulated them. Whatever that arm guard was, it was bad news, for it felt like Kenuran’s authority had grown stronger, insanely stronger.
With a roar Moyo broke through the haze of power, Kenuran frowning, drawing his blade,
“You wings need to be clipped” the dragon roared,
“You can try” Moyo retorted,
“Always wanted to skin a dragon” Ashira said,
Kenuran made to reply when another shape suddenly came into being, a titanic structure of blue color, shaped like a gigantic castle on a ship with golden spires all around it, the crest of house thousand blades on its side,
The patriarch had arrived,
The ship of house Dracon suddenly began to hum and Moyo felt an almost ethereal power coming from the ship, a voice echoing through the vast darkness of space,
“Return grandson”
Moyo froze, Ashira ‘s eyes widening as they deduced who it could be, the patriarch of house Dracon was on the ship, Azar scorching claw was on that ship. Another aura blazed from the ship of house thousand blades, of intent and the pure power of edges, encapsulating he and Ashira as they suddenly felt an overpowering feeling hauling them back towards the ship. Kenuran floated back to his ship, a grin on his face,
“Till we meet again, titan blade” he said,
Moyo merely stared, his cold eyes causing Kenuran to frown,
“Moyo” Ashira said, drawing his attention back to where they were being dragged towards,
With a frown he nodded,
“Time to meet the patriarch” he replied.