The feeling of being forced towards a location without having control over his limbs or body in general was somewhat of a novel feeling for Moyo. He glanced at Ashira who had managed to put on a stoic look as she was dragged along also, the feeling lasted for a brief few seconds before they found themselves in a silver and blue sphere made purely of aether.

Moyo had grown accustomed to aether in its purer forms, for the higher the ascension of an individual, the purer the aether and essence absorbed in subsequent monsters of the same rank. This explained why ascenders of lower ranks easily leveled up whenever they were lucky enough to participate in killing a monster higher in rank than them. Moyo however, had personally never felt the aether of a ruler latching on to him so personally, and he didn’t like it one bit.

The titan had always prided himself on his inviolability, his steel like authority and willpower to resist even the strongest of foes, he had even managed to resist the authority of master Duval, albeit a short while and that had almost grinded him to dust. The aether of a ruler held enough power, so much in fact that he was sure if he so much as tried to absorb it with Digi Aye, he wouldn’t even know what had killed him. The authority of the ruler had stripped his Ashe of whatever power it had.

Moyo glanced around, spotting a high platform where a man sat, head resting on the knuckles of his left hand, blue eyes glowing with white hair tied to the back of his head. Above him floated a series of swords and Moyo had a hard time staring at a single one at a time, the pure authority and presence of each blade drove spikes straight through his mind, destabilizing him. It took a minute for him to realize he was on his knees,

“Good, one should always bow before their superiors” a quiet voice that sounded like a sheathed blade about to be drawn spoke,

Moyo froze up, his body tense as the voice rumbled with power, it literally oozed authority and willpower on a scale he hadn’t felt before. Realizing now that the jungle king of nexus point 1 had been holding back, a lot. He wasn’t sure he would had survived if the king had spoken with even so much as a bit of authority as the thousand blades did right now, Moyo wasn’t even sure if the patriarch was doing it on purpose.

“Rise titan blade, Kairos” the soft voice said,

Moyo felt the pressure recede, wobbling to his feet as power returned to his limbs. Ashira sucked in a deep breath at his side as she got back to her feet also, together they bowed at the waist,

“We greet the patriarch” they said together,

“May your path be filled with hurdles, but then again, it already is” the soft voice replied,

Moyo glanced up at the ruler squarely now and saw the ethereal beauty that was the patriarch of the thousand blades. The patriarch sat up straight, gazing down at them like a god he might as well be,

“I am Altair thousand blades, ruler and lord of house thousand blades, excuse the initial fluctuation of power, it’s a bit hard regulating my strength in front of those of lower rank” Altair said,

Moyo noticed the blades had stopped their spinning around the head of Altair like a crown, and as he bowed again, he couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that the blades actually could see him, like they were alive. It shouldn’t had been a surprise to him, dominion itself being sentient, but while dominion only gave off impressions, the feeling he got from the blades were like the gazes of masters staring down at diamonds.

Moyo spoke,

“The apology of the patriarch is appreciated and treasured”

Altair thousand blades chuckled,

“A smooth tongue you have titan blade, I’ve watched your every accomplishment with pride and a sense of satisfaction” he said,

Moyo nodded, eyes scrunched up,

“I could read your mind if I want to, but the question is written all over your face” Altair said,

“Rulers can peek into galaxies beyond their spheres of influence if they want to, especially if one of their descendants is at whatever location they desire or how long they’ve attained the rank of ruler” Altair said, but Moyo noticed his eyes had strayed to Ashira who froze, emotions warring through her face,

“A valiant effort daughter of Kairos, but the eyes of rulers see beyond what even masters can, however you should be proud of your accomplishments, they certainly are”

Moyo was a bit confused, wondering who or what the patriarch was referring to, Ashira merely nodded and bowed,

“Your words bless me lord thousand blades” she replied stiffly,

Altair nodded and turned back to Moyo, who noticed dominion and Oro floating before the patriarch, in alarm he took one step forward and felt ferocity of Oshosi scream at him to freeze as a blade was suddenly at his throat, its bronze edge gleaming with master rank intent that hummed,

“Release him” Altair said airily, his gaze on the blades that floated in front of him,

A body shimmered into being, a silver gleaming hand holding the blade with red eyes that glowed, clad in the blue robe attire of house thousand blades, the figure before Moyo moved with the fluid swiftness Moyo had encountered in one other being, overseer Iveph,

“android” he whispered, watching as the blade left his throat, a drop of his blood following it,

It took a moment for Moyo to realize the blade had cut through his draconic skin with such ease, he hadn’t even felt it. The android flicked his hand as the blade disappeared, took one step backwards and vanished again, on reflex Moyo activated his Digi Aye. To his dismay he couldn’t find even a whiff of aura or essence belonging to the ascender he was sure was a master,

“Impressive craftwork titan blade, on the blade Oro I mean, even a blind man can tell dominion is the work of the death blade” Altair said,

Moyo was about to ask the patriarch how he knew he forged Oro himself when he remembered the ruler was in possession of a core forge himself. He bowed to the ruler,

“Such high praises from a master forger himself is appreciated” he replied,

Altair gave a non-committed sound, like a dismissal before staring back at the blade, they stood in silence, neither he nor Ashira daring to talk without the express permission of the ruler who seemed lost in thought, Moyo stared hard at the blades floating in front of him,

“It was a gamble you know, bestowing you with that skill” Altair said,

Blue eyes glancing back at Moyo and locking him in place, for Moyo in just a moment got a glimpse of the eternity the patriarch had been alive, every swing of his blade Durandal among other flashes of legendary weapons. Suddenly he was thrown out of the vision, panting as he found himself gasping on the ground, Ashira at his side, staring at him with concern,

“he’ll be fine” the ruler said,

“He merely got a glimpse of history, nothing too straining for a diamond”

Moyo begged to differ, the sort of battles he glimpsed during those few seconds left him speechless, and Altair had only been gold then. The patriarch had fought with only a broken blade, beating back hordes of abyssal monsters with only his mantle and intent fusing with the blade, but the way he moved left Moyo mesmerized. For where dance of Sango gathered momentum before crashing down on a foe with all the might of a titan, Altair danced around the hordes of monsters to an invisible beat, Durandal or sometimes a set of other blades that floated above him interchanging with the swords in his hands.

Altair had used the momentum of the creatures on each other, like the symphony of an orchestra he increased or reduced his swings according to the force used on him. It had been beautiful as well as deadly to watch, his diamond ranked eyesight staring withheld breath till all the creatures had been vanquished without a single one so much as scratching him. Moyo found it hard to believe there were better swordsmen than the thousand blades, especially this Zane of a character.

Groaning to his feet, his eyes meeting that of the patriarch he spoke, voice hoarse,

“Teach me”

Altair smiled,

“If every ruler taught an ascender simply because they requested politely, in which case you didn’t anyway” Altair aid with a chuckle as Moyo winced,

“the archailect wouldn’t be filled with the diverse number of paths it has now would it?, besides, there are certain factors to be considered when bestowing a path, and in your case titan blade, your path forward requires no help I nor any ruler out there can involve ourselves with” Altair said dashing Moyo’s hopes,

“You misunderstand me young one” Altair said, seeing the morose look on his face,

“Ascenders like you and I, even the feral cub of Kairos beside you are…special, our paths are disorganized, our progress unquantifiable, we are the randoms that occur in a detailed system that is the archailect, we are the randoms that enable the fate of the archailect to sway in unpredictable directions, ensuring the scale of power doesn’t benefit a single entity or faction” Altair explained,

Moyo had no idea what the ruler was saying, but he wisely kept shut,

“Every single action we take has a ripple effect on events going forwards. Your defense of your world triggered the decision to use this tournament as a decider for the motion already in the process of being passed. Your strength and prowess have spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxies, spurring lesser factions and even clans to push forward despite the odds stacked against them” Altair finished,

Moyo had become steady on his feet, the ruler waved his hand as dominion floated back to Moyo who caught it, he still had no idea how the ruler had obtained it from his vault in his realm, a very disturbing revelation. He glanced at the ruler who stared at Oro,

“I will keep this one with me, for the duration of the tournament” he simply said,

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Moyo bowed, his mind gnawing at him to ask why but remaining silent. He didn’t expressly trust the ruler, but whatever insight the ruler had must be worthwhile. Altair spoke again, his voice still scraping at the skin of Moyo in a dangerous manner, putting him on edge,

“The poison blade isn’t a reflection of your core; it is an advantage born out of situation. To advance to master, you must reflect exactly what concept you use, think of this as a training, does a titan poison his foes before ending them?” the ruler asked, his blue eyes glowing,

Moyo took one step forward, feeding his whole Ashe into that one step as he felt the raw aura of the ruler battering him unconsciously,

“No, a titan crushes his opponent with overwhelming might” he responded and felt something inside of him click, a resonating feeling that echoed through him and seized, the authority of the ruler settling on him,

“Well, that was surprisingly easy” Altair laughed,

“Was that?” Moyo asked, unable to finish the sentence, the mere thought of the possibility dancing on his lips,

“master rank?, hardly, that was just a step towards it, a bit too early though, but I don’t need to tell you what you need to do, do I?” Altair asked, his voice lowering into dangerous waters, eyes sharp on Moyo,

The titan gripped his blade, Digi Aye dancing in his eyes as he shook his head,

“No, it’s perfectly clear” he responded,

The titan would stay through to his mantra, the titan would weather whatever force came upon him, he would absorb their greatest hits and return it back at the edge of his blade. The titan wouldn’t faulter, he wouldn’t look behind in fear and he wouldn’t stop swinging. Altair stared at him and nodded, eyes gleaming,

“Good, you are ready for the tournament, our talk is done” he said,

Glancing at Ashira, Altair spoke, but this time with grudging respect,

“The cub of a beast is still a beast, isn’t that so, Ashira of Kairos?” he asked,

Ashira nodded, head resolute and spine straight, Altair chuckled,

“The sage rides with his plantsmen, the eyes of house Kairos are for once turned in the direction of the tournament. You represent two great houses young cub, do not let us down, do not let them down” he said,

Ashira nodded tersely, Moyo wondered who the ‘them’ was, the sage and the plantsmen perhaps?, or her royal parents. The ruler nodded satisfied and sat comfortably, his face regal and stern, his voice echoing round the blue sphere,

“Hear me titan blade, threefold monster” he started,

Moyo and Ashira knelt in supplication,

“You will go forth with the will of house thousand blades behind you, you will crush, you will decimate and you will end the ambitions and goals of all those who challenge you. You will raise the banner of house thousand blades high in the archailect and you will make our names, my name echo across the universe” he said,

“the serpents ruler thinks to subtly bend the rules, their scion will be unlike any diamond you have faced, but what is a swordsman without a few challenges?. You will crush him no matter the odds”

“Impress me and whatever you desire is yours, embarrass me young ones, and you would feel the wrath of house thousand blades descend from on high”

Moyo and Ashira bowed low,

“By your will” they replied,

Before Moyo could look up, space warped as they were transported out of the ship, but not before Moyo heard the subtle voice of Altair thousand blades in his mind,

“Do it for clan titan blade, for your world”

Moyo and Ashira suddenly found themselves back on master Duval’s ship, appearing between a meeting of the masters and diamonds. Alvar, Raina and the rest startled, they blitzed backwards, Moyo glancing around,

“What happened out there?” master Killian asked,

“One minute you were in space about to throw down with a serpent and the next you were gone” Ajax said,

Moyo scrunched up his eyebrows, Ashira glancing at him in confusion,

“he’s right out there” Moyo said,

“who, Kenuran?, he disappeared with you” Duval said,

“We were about to launch a rescue operation when the ship disappeared, the patriarch has been informed, house Dracon wouldn’t had gotten away with such, the true blade clan wouldn’t take such disrespect this close to their planet” Killian said,

Moyo and Ashira glanced at each other again in confusion,

“he’s right outside” Ashira said,

“Who?” Duval asked again, confused,

“The patriarch” Moyo responded,

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in before the diamonds glanced around in shock, words rapidly pouring from their mouths. Master Duval raised a hand and the room became quiet,

“explain” he said,

And so they did, every step of the way, till they finished and the diamonds stared on in astonishment,

“You met the patriarch” Raina said,

Moyo glanced at her,

“You haven’t?” he asked,

Alvar shook his head, still in awe,

“No ascender below master has met the patriarch” he responded,

Moyo just scratched his head,

“Well, there’s that I guess” Moyo said,

“While it’s not much of a news that house Dracon would want to mess with the tournament, the fact that the patriarch deemed it necessary to inform us means it’s something serious” Ajax said crossing his arms,

Moyo nodded,

“True, however we can deal with the Dracons later, for now we need to get to altera safely” he said,

“we’re already here” master Duval answered,

Moyo glanced backward towards the helm of the large display in the meeting room to see a large green and blue planet in sight. Twice the size of earth, the ball of water and what Moyo assumed was green lush landscapes gave off a subtle feeling, he turned to the masters,

“Can you feel that?” he asked,

Master Killian turned to him,

“Welcome to a tier 4 world, the world of masters” he replied,

“And what you can feel is intent, pure, undiluted intent, the blessing of Alastor” Duval said,

Moyo turned back to the display, watching as their ship looked significantly smaller the closer they got to the humungous planet. Ships began to appear from the darkness of space, gigantic ships that dragged size with the ship of the rulers and smaller ships similar to that of master Duval. Ashira dragged his attention to a ship with a large red crystal bird statue carved on its helm,

“House Garuda” she said,

Ulsa and master Urush,

Moyo smiled as he nodded back at her,

“Wonder what she’d say about our ranks” he murmured, Ashira giggled,

The ship of house Dracon appeared next to them, the gigantic structure with the head of a golden dragon carved onto it floated close to them, Kenuran stood on the helm, a frown on his face as he stared in their direction. Behind him stood a female Draconian with a different tinge of skin color, a diamond of house Dracon. House Garudas’ ship opened up, Moyo glancing at their direction. A woman with deep red hair, a red robe and a bleached white skin that had a frown on her face marched out, Ulsa behind her, walking in tandem, with her, head bowed.

Moyo frowned, eyes narrowed,

“I don’t like that” he said,

“Like what?” Ashira asked,

“Whatever is between that woman and Ulsa” he replied,

“That is Sonya red quill, disciple of master Fiona the burning princess, she holds the title of ember lady” Ashira said,

“it’ll be normal for Ulsa to be her hand maiden”

Moyo grunted,

A black sleek ship appeared next to their ship, a deep midnight black with the head of a snarling lupine creature, house jackal. A sleek gigantic pure blue ship appeared by its side followed by a chrome silver ship as large as the blue ship,

“Houses ghost wind and pure blade” master Duval said,

The respective ships opened up and one person each, bleeding diamond rank energy copiously stepped out. All eyes turned to the sleek ship of master Duval,

“All houses brought their rulers’ ships and the patriarch decides to stay hidden” Ajax grumbled,

A shadow fell over their craft, the large castle ship of deep blue color appeared above them, its bottom opening up as their craft floated up, seized by the ship. Master Duval turned to him,

“You were saying?”

Ajax rolled his eyes, turning to them,

“Alright, the other houses intend to show off their strongest fighters, one of you diamonds need to step out, or two, not more than two, it’ll be perceived as weakness” he said,

“What does this prove?’ Moyo asked,

“it’s a show of power, bragging rights” master Killian explained,

“they’re checking each other out while keeping most of their cards hidden”

Moyo turned to the diamonds of house thousand blades, Inge, Gisela, Lothar, Raina and Alvar. Alvar crossed his arms,

“I’ll step out, Raina will walk with me” he said,

Moyo shrugged,

“Fine by me” he replied,

“it’s you Kenuran wants though” Gisela said, speaking for the first time, her soft voice echoing,

Alvar turned to her,

“We need to prove to them that we aren’t depending on borrowed strength, house thousand blades sired scions also” he said,

“And we are scions, however Master Killian is right, most of them aren’t showing their true strengths, they’re showing those already popular” Raina said,

Master Duval nodded,

“Keen eyesight Raina” he said as she bowed,

Moyo wondered why Raina didn’t refer to master Killian as father most of the times, shrugging the inconsequential thought aside, he glanced at Alvar who had a hard look on his face. He sighed, Alvar felt threatened, an outsider raising the banners of his house, meeting the ruler of their house, a feat no one else had accomplished. He eyed the brimming diamond, glancing at Ashira who was busy staring out of the ship, eyeing the assembled diamonds of the houses. He finally glanced at Mr. Duval, watching the master remain stoic in front of his son, he sighed again and turned to Alvar,

“I’ll accompany you out, behind you of course” he said,

Alvar turned to him, a bit mollified,

“Sounds like a plan” the diamond replied

Moyo saw Ajax give a short nod approval, he had diffused the situation peacefully. With the decision made, the two of them marched out of the ship, through the doors of the larger ship, the halls quiet, only the sounds of their footsteps echoing around them. Moyo felt the power oozing from the diamonds arranged outside, he shivered as a grin split his lips, his eyes glowed,

Finally, a challenge,

Dominion appeared in his hands and Alvar took a step back,

“Why are you grinning?” the diamond asked,

“The anticipation of letting loose soon” Moyo whispered,

“Alvar, the titan takes lead” a voice echoed around them,

Moyo recognized the voice and so did Alvar as his eyes widened and he fell bowing,

“As you will it patriarch” he whispered,

Moyo honestly thought the diamond would put up more of a fight, but he supposed the wishes of a ruler superseded any protest he could dream up. Moyo had kept moving though, dominion humming in his hands, begging him to let it loose on his foes, he stepped out and floated to the top of a spire, Alvar silent behind him,

“I see house thousand blades let a vassal lead, speaks a lot of their strength, doesn’t it?” Kenuran shouted,

“Hush worm, have you no manners?’ the red-haired lady, Sonya of house Garuda spoke,

“What did you just call me you flightless bird?” Kenuran growled,

A deep baritone voice chuckled from the man standing on the ship of house jackal,

“I see the spawn of fire still hasn’t learnt to look before speaking” he said,

Sonya flexed her shoulders as wings of flame broke out of her back, flames that Moyo somehow instinctively knew to avoid in the future, something about his draconian skin warned him it could burn him, and badly. The lady on the ship of house ghost wind cleared her throat, her green hair glowing,

“We represent notable houses, this behavior is unwarranted, at least until the tournament begins” she said,

“indeed” a voice said, resonating around them,

Floating in front of the ships themselves was a man that suddenly appeared,

Clad in a simple robe, a bald head and a simple sword at his waist, a blade that screamed pure intent, blood lust and pure authority. They all snapped their mouth shuts, self-preservation informing them that this man was a beast of intent, an unsheathed blade. He glanced at them all, brown common eyes surveying them, he bowed,

“I recognize the presence of the rulers, may your reigns bring peace and illumination to the archailect” he said,

A flash of power came from each of the house ships, in a blink it was gone, but Moyo had felt it the same way they had all did, the eyes of the rulers. The man straightened, arms folded behind him,

“I am Sigmar true blade, master of house true blade and for this tournament your overseer of sorts” he said,

Moyo saw everyone bow and he followed suit, the man nodded,

“at least your houses taught you respect” he muttered,

As they straightened he continued,

“In the spirit of cordiality, the house representatives would begin to introduce themselves, honored house Dracon would lead” the man said,

Moyo was pretty sure the most of them didn’t think there was anything honorable about house Dracon but he kept his silence, again glancing at Ulsa who stared at him, her eyes twinkling, at least she didn’t seem oppressed to him. Kenuran spoke, his voice rumbling like thunder,

“Kenuran red jaw, house Dracon”

“Hurd gale blade, house storm razor”

“Utra gloom blade, house lights bane”

“Roul paw blade, house fang blade”

“Saroth wrath blade, house red wrath”

“Curtis eclipse blade, house jackal”

“Kel fading blade, house ghost wind”

“Titus white blade, house pure blade”

“Sonya red quill, house Garuda”

As they called their names, sobriquets and houses, they released their auras, their powers enveloping their surroundings. Moyo crossed his arms as diamond ranked powers pressed on him. Eyes closed, he let the words of the ruler wash over him, he had only one aim in this tournament,

Overwhelming strength,

Opening his eyes, he stepped forwards, his mind and body ignoring the auras of the diamonds even as it battered him, dominion drawn, he let his body take it all. Feeling his body build up the power gotten from their auras assaulting him, he could feel their eyes on him, watching this vassal member of a great house represent them, gauging him. Moyo released his aura, the mountain crushing every opposing aura around him, startling them at the efficiency of his aura,

“Moyosore titan blade, house thousand blades” he said, eyes gleaming,

Sigmar smiled at them,

“Good, let the tournament open” he said,