News had begun to filter in from all over the planet as each troop force broke down and fought the defenders of the cities. Each city had fallen to the forces of the titan blade and each city bore the same news to Moyo, they had all fought Devigians protecting their respective battery placements, they had all fought a mutated diamond cultist and these cultists had in turn self-destructed shortly into the battle. The casualties had been steep and in some forces too steep, Moyo and the reserve forces had made their way to city alpha, watching as the troop forces of the fangs and diablos gathered, healing their wounded and wrapping their dead.
He arrived to an unconscious Marcel, frowning as he realized the diamond ranker had exhausted his aspect minimalizing the effects of the suicide explosion. Just as Idris was reporting from city beta where the forces of the lances and brawlers repeated the same grim news, this time however Yemi had sustained serious burns, being close to the cultist when he exploded. The guard however was resilient and soon enough had made full recovery as he was pumped full of legendary healing elixirs packed along.
Moyo stood grimly next to Romulus and Marcel who had finally woken up, the titan pouring his aspect into the both of them in waves, refilling the aspects of the other guard as well, frowning,
“Their plan wasn’t just to face us” he started,
“It was to cut our forces down drastically”
“It makes no sense, we could get reinforcements” Romulus replied,
“True, but not anytime soon, you forget, no ship can get past the battle happening in the void above the planet despite our ships dominating them, the council wouldn’t authorize such till we consecrate this planet” Moyo said,
The large concentration of abyssal fluid bubbled and hissed, the forces giving it a wide berth as they camped close to it, watching as it released toxic gases. Every effort to cleanse it, even that of the titan blade doing nothing but releasing more fumes. Moyo activated his Digi aye, irritated as it came in contact with the liquid, eyes widening,
“Call all forces, tell them to converge on this location” he said as Romulus snapped to attention, shouting for a communicator,
Moyo whipped out his communication construct, hoping Idris caught the transmission in time,
Casting his aura over the large pond as he felt the fumes eat into his aura, trying to drill holes through it, seeking release. The transmission came to life, the voice of Idris coming over in an almost static sound,
“lord” Idris said,
“Withdraw all troops to city alpha, inform the rest of the guard!” he ordered,
“done” Idris simply said as the transmission cut off,
The pond exploded skywards, tearing through his aura reinforced with his aspect, Moyo moving backwards as all the forces around him went on guard. He knew different though, he knew what was about to happen, he just didn’t know why,
“’lord?’ Marcel croaked, still exhausted but on guard, eyes glowing,
“It was a sacrifice” Moyo replied,
From all cities conquered came the same explosion of abyssal liquid, moving skywards as they converged above, forming a rune with sigils that screamed of death, of pain, horror and agony, of the transfusion of flesh and the arcane rebirth of an abomination. Moyo shouted in his loudest voice as his aura shielded the entire force around him, praying that the other troops didn’t fall for the flashy display,
“don’t look up!” he said,
The command was echoed all around by the rest of the troops who buried their eyes to the ground, trusting him implicitly, except a few who curiosity took the best of them. Moyo watched in horror as the flesh was peeled off their bones, their shouts and screams of agony ringing like a devilish orchestra of horror as it went skywards. Their bones shattering to dust as they crumbled to nothing, and finally their essence flowing towards the green runic circle in the sky. Thunder clapped, the rune glowing brighter as a blast of abyssal power shot towards the spire in the distance.
Watching it hit the spire, the large monolith of abyssal control on the planet hummed before shooting the beam straight to the ground, a bright explosion flashing in the horizon. Moyo shielded his eyes from the blast, blinking as it cleared to see a monstrosity of epic proportions. His troops stared in horror at the sight before them, unable to comprehend just what they were staring at. Moyo stepped forwards,
“Romulus, Marcel” he said as his guard moved forward with him,
“Gather your troops and retreat, this is no task for a diamond” he said softly,
Or even a master for that matter he thought to himself,
Towering so high it blotted the very skies above, a large dinosaur looking creature with six heads, each glowing and brimming with the power of mutation and decay. Marcel and Romulus protested, but one look from Moyo shut them up,
“Please, I know who that is, you cannot fight it, her, whatever the fuck she just did” he growled,
“TITAN BLADE!” the creature spoke as its voice echoed though the very planet, rumbling like volcanoes about to erupt,
A few ascenders fell to their knees, but the majority of them stood resolutely, their wills unshaken,
“Vesh, I must admit, I’m surprised to see you here” Moyo replied,
“Seeing as you ran away like a coward”
The creature who was apparently Vesh phantom scourge laughed, its voice sounding in seven folds,
“Brave words for one who’s about to be extinguished, the heir of the grim isn’t here to protect you” she replied,
Moyo drew dominion, cracking his neck as he hopped from feet to feet, behind him his troops were retreating, no doubt passing the news to the other incoming troops. The forces of the titan blade could one day become an army so great and powerful, not even the greater houses would risk going to war with them, that day was far away, not today. The beast noticed too and open its jaws, abyssal power gathering up within it,
“DIE!” She shouted as the blast went out,
Moyo shot forwards against a blast that tinged the air green, painting everything in a dark green color as its power filled the very planet. Then the colour went from dark putrid green to a dark purple glow as a large glowing figure made of purple light and power swung a gigantic blade in its hand, cleaving the abyssal attack in two, the attack crashing away from its target in a blast of epic proportions that shook the planet.
When it cleared away, the beast stared in shock at the unharmed forces that were retreating and then back to the titan blade floating within the glowing figure, his eyes burning purple as he smiled,
“How did you do that?” she asked,
“I must thank you” Moyo replied, ignoring the question as the large glowing form he was a part of dissipated, his spiritual form fading away even as he floated in the sky,
“For?” Vesh asked as the creatures’ body took one step forwards, anger in her voice,
“It has been so long since I fought against overwhelming odds, so long since I fought on the razors edge of life and death” he started as his body began to ripple,
Titans body, runic robe of the draconic slaying titan, aura, aspect, Ashe
All these were layered over each other on his body, his form glowing as he grinned,
Dominion glowed like a lighthouse, visible from all over the planet, a shining beacon of pure aggressive power, hungry for the foes of the titan blade,
“Please, drive the spark in me further, don’t hold back” he said as his grin widened,
Vesh looked stumped, the creatures’ usual face devoid of emotion somehow conveyed the shocked look on her face,
“I, the phantom scourge” she said softly,
“Death of a hundred rulers, mutator of worlds, heir to the lord Molrik himself, so belittled by a mere master?” she said,
Above the skies the clouds began to boil, turning to mutated creatures of horror that shrieked, flying around the large creature that was Vesh phantom scourge,
“Your death will not be quick!” she roared,
And from the jaws of the six heads a blast of power unlike no other, scouring the very air as it passed through, mutating even the very air around into dark green spores. Moyo moved, dominion an ever-hungry weapon of pure destruction,
“DA PA DA!” he thundered,
The attack repelling the very effects and attack of the creature, turning away the devastating power despite the wave force tearing the very landscape below, he couldn’t afford to spare a moment to watch if his forces had made it to a respectable distance, but he knew well enough that they couldn’t have done so, not against such magnitude of attack. Even that fraction of a thought had cost him as a large appendage too big to even be called a tail whipped towards his direction slamming into him.
He shot with all the force of a missile towards the distance, crashing into the very ground of the planet and carving out a large path of ground before stopping. Head ringing, ferocity of oshosi screamed as his body tore through the very ground, propelling him away from the feet that crashed into the very spot where he had been before. Rolling through the air before stabilizing, shaking his head as he stared at the creature,
“Alright, my turn” he replied and then shot forwards,
The creature opened its mouth again, prepared to unleash a blast as the mutated creatures around it dived for the titan blade. Moyo cocked his hands backwards and let the full strength of his titans might flow through him, the strength so great that even reality began to solidify in front of him, and then he unleashed it,
“BREAK!” he shouted,
Reality cracked, the creature cracked and the very ground where the creature had stood for miles cracked as well. Explosions of gore and large bones that rained unto the very ground like boulders, shaking the very ground for miles. Moyo floated above, grimly watching as the pieces began to move together, spotting the large green sphere that floated in the middle of the gore,
Bingo, he thought and dived towards it,
Oshosi screamed again as he diverted, rolling through the air to dodge the fluids that suddenly became sharp and went for him. Weaving through the air with speed as he avoided each one, hissing as the edges that touched him stung despite all the protections he had placed on himself. He watched as the heads reformed first,
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“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” the voice of Vesh phantom scourge came from the river of gore below him that began to assemble itself,
Moyo gripped dominion tighter, prepared to unleash another attack again, watching as the body began to form,
“You hit like a ruler, an ancient one, what are you?” she asked inquisitively,
“anathema” he simply replied and unleashed a black hole on the creature.
****************************
Idris watched from the defiance, watching the battle of the titan below. The defiance being led by a ship that had appeared out of nowhere, a large vessel crafted into an actual asteroid itself, on its body an unknown crest but standing atop it. The entire forces of the titan blade had been saved just before the explosion of power by an arcane general, one of the elite forces of the brigade, a being that had somehow bolstered the teleportation abilities of the defiance and all the battleships to insane proportions with just a command.
They had all been withdrawn from the planet, every single ascender and forced to watch as their leader battled an elite, a being only rulers and those above them could face and not die. They watched as the titan blade threw everything he had at the creature, ripping and tearing into its flesh even as his attacks literally tore the landscape apart, crushing mountains and created new ones from the literal valleys carved around the area they fought. Idris gripped his blade tighter; they were restricted from leaving their ships, they literally couldn’t as the barrier the arcane general placed around their vessels denied any landing ships or even the teleportation array from working.
Still they watched, as the titan was smashed into the ground over and over by the now numerous appendages of the creature that had transformed from a dinosaur looking creature to some sort of kraken, whipping around hundreds of limbs as they hammered into the titan,
“Why isn’t he doing anything?!” Hajin snarled as his holographic image watched,
Idris gritted his teeth, rage fuelling his veins as he turned to the general who stood on the meteor craft, arms folded and a look of concentration on his face,
Why wasn’t he indeed doing anything?
*******************************
Arcane general of the dragons brigade watched solemnly, arms folded and legendary weapons brimming with untold power. Arcane generals were bred for one thing and one thing only, unrestricted destruction, they weren’t sent to capture average ascenders or do the whole policing work for the archailect. No, those were left for the usual master brigadiers or even diamonds who had just graduated from their neophyte programs, they were deployed when the brigade thought whatever target they had would be foolish enough to face them in battle.
In this situation, he had been deployed to destroy the abyssal body used by the elite of Molrik and while his standing orders were to wipe the planet clean of any infection, he had been ordered to hold by the leader of the brigade himself, told to wait till the ascender known as the titan blade had either been grievously wounded or he retreated. The general whose name had been exchanged for the purifying power granted by the will of Lotes, a sacrifice not even the leader or the top echelons of the brigade would be willing to make watched with amusement.
He had indeed heard of this titan blade, this ascender who was growing popular, but while he found it somewhat surprising at the fact that the rumors of a master ranked primordial existed, he hadn’t expected him to last this long, not against an elite of the lords of the abyss, creatures that it took three or more arcane generals to subdue and grievously injure, not kill, if such was possible for anything below ancient rank.
Still the master ranked ascender endured, even as the generals’ fingers twitched, barely restraining himself from joining the battle, he watched as every attack was weathered by the titan blade,
proceed
the words echoed within his skull, arcane generals had no use for HUD communications, their very souls were conduits to serve Xerxes and Lotes herself, their words imprinted on their hearts. The general withdrew a short spear, a weapon forged from the shavings of Divinum gotten from the forge of Alastor himself, imbued with the scouring and cleansing power of Vazyra herself, smelted in the very powers of Lotes, one of the precious relics of the brigade given to them by their patron being herself. He was about to proceed when he another command floated through his mind,
halt, observe
the general neither pondered nor questioned why the command was given, it could care little for that, only an overwhelming disappointment of being withheld from battle. It turned its gaze to the titan blade, slowly nodding, if what was said about the titan blade was true, that he somehow broke barriers formerly unbroken, then he would watch this ascender quietly. Keeping the relic weapon back into his robes, he sat on his craft in silence, if there was one thing it hated more than ever, it w as being stuck in the games of the powers, and right now it didn’t envy the titan, not when he was stuck between the primordials,
someone in the celestials must have a bone to pick with him.
**********************************
Moyo threw the appendage he had hacked away, panting softly as his skin sizzled, healing just as rapidly as the fluids from the creature Vesh had become burnt him like acid. Wrath of Oya numbing him to the pain despite his robes being eaten away slowly, he could see it, the body of the creature Vesh phantom scourge inhabited couldn’t keep up much longer. While its regeneration was literally off the charts, Moyo had been steadily cocooning the area with his aspect, letting it gush out of him as he forced out any abyssal aura or aspect around the both of them, ensuring the area was saturated in his aspect despite the abyss smashing against his area.
For the first time in like forever, he genuinely felt himself weakening, and as if that was not enough, he couldn’t feel any of his guard aspects on the planet. Praying they had somehow found a way off the planet, he stood, flicking blood off dominion,
“I could do this all day long” he said,
The torn creature that was Vesh chuckled,
“Can you?” it asked dubiously,
Its form exploded as Moyo threw up an aspect barrier, shielding himself from the explosion, watching as the pieces of gore suddenly shot back into a whirlpool of blood and gore that rotated at blurring speed. Being compressed by the seconds, it reduced into a humanoid form of a featureless woman holding two large needles longer than her body, floating in the air she radiated decay and mutation, reality around her transforming into different grotesque shapes. Moyo steadied himself as he stared at the woman,
Vesh phantom scourge, or a projection of her,
“Another homunculus?” he asked,
Vesh snorted, giggling softly,
“Like I’d waste another of that precious resource on you” she replied,
“No, this is merely a projection of my will, my mind given form, but never fear brave ascender, it is enough to get the work done”
“Many have underestimated me, none have lived to retell the tale” Moyo replied as he took his stance,
“Your ego knows no bounds” she replied, all mirth gone from her voice,
“It isn’t ego when you can back it up” he replied,
“Good, let me show you what happens to those who don’t know their places” she replied,
It was faster than a blink, even to his master ranked eyes it had been like she had somehow tore through the space she had been, appearing in front of him and into the hardened barrier of reality around him. Moyo knew without it he’d had been dead, he would had been obliterated, and it scared him just how strong an elite was when they got serious. Still he rolled away, watching as her mutative powers warped the hardened reality, shattering it and coming straight after him. His eyes were closed and he took a great risk, steadying his breath, he swung dominion, feeling the blade come in contact with a metal surface and get pushed back. Pushing himself off the surface like a rocket, he created distance between himself and Vesh,
“Running are we” Vesh taunted as she blitzed towards him,
Moyo dodging a stab of her needle that decayed the very air around him, whipping his leg in an arc as it slammed into her frame, blasting her backwards. Vesh steadied herself in the air, only for Moyo to slam into her, burning ever bright as runes forged themselves around the both of them and a wave of Ashe and intent tore into their bodies. Vesh screamed in agony as her body was systematically shredded, the intents of the titan ripping into her. Taking the chance to attempt to retreat, he stared with horror as she gripped his throat tight, her torn face glaring at him in rage,
“You dare!” she screamed as she plunged one of her needles through his chest,
Attempted too however, the protections of the titan pushing hard against the intrusion, Moyo realizing he barely had seconds. He took a gamble then and there, staring into her eyes as he glowed brighter, his aspect beginning to eat at her abyssal body as she hissed in pain, attempting to leave him alone only for Moyo to call out a command,
“PIERCE!”
Dominion tore through her chest the moment she left him alone, stabbing straight through her as its blade came out the back the same moment her needle pierced him, depositing mutations and decay straight through his bloodstream. The two of them locked in perpetual agony,
“I want you to remember this moment” Moyo bit out even as he felt his body tear itself from the inside out, fighting the powers of the abyss with his aspect,
No doubt she was doing the same, but this moment carried more weight for her than it did for him. She had been bested by a mere master, albeit one stepping into the realm of the primordials, but a master nonetheless. He twisted the blade as he arms went limp, the aspect of the titan ravaging through heir, burning the very form she inhabited,
“The moment you were bested by a master, not a ruler, not a primordial, a master” he bit out even as he spat blood,
He could feel his limbs trembling but with his other hand he removed the needle watching it fall down to the ground below them. The form of Vesh couldn’t speak, couldn’t scream, but its eyes promised revenge and death, it promised untold horrors. Moyo smiled,
“Let that name forever ring in your head, for I will be the one to end your pitiful existence Vesh phantom scourge” he said with a grin filled with agony,
“I am moyosore, the titan blade, and I am coming for you, for all of you” he finished as she went up in flames, her mouth open in a silent scream of rage and agony, burning up like a dried piece of paper in an inferno,
Moyo felt himself freefalling, he gripped dominion as he whispered,
“One last thing for me dominion” he said as he flung the blade with the last of his strength, watching it pierce through the air before slamming itself into the abyssal spire,
“Black hole” he muttered,
The spire exploded in as a black hole formed, Moyo’s eyes widening as he realized he didn’t have the strength to call off the attack, his eyes forcing itself close as he prayed someone or something could stop the skill, with that he fell unconscious, his body slamming to the ground with a loud bang.
***********************
The arcane general could count on one hand the number of things that surprised him in his entire existence, and the battle between the elite and this titan blade ranked high among them. With wide eyes he watched the child actually pierce the elite with his blade, although he took what the general knew could be a most devastating wound to the chest. The child had defeated an elite, not its actual body but an actual elite, a job reserved for the scythe squad that were nowhere to be found.
He moved when another command filtered through his mind, flashing towards the planet as he stretched his hand out, stopping the blackhole from consuming the entire continent. With a pulse of his power, he wiped it away as easily as blowing dust, flicking his hand with a frown as the attack left red welts on his palm, glancing down at the convulsing titan below, wondering how strong he really was. Glancing at the destroyed spire, he sighed as he rolled his eyes,
“I hope your display was worth it though” he muttered to the body of the titan,
Appearing before the master, he gripped the jaw of the titan blade in his steel like grip, wrenching it open forcefully before dipping his hands into the folds of his robe and bringing out a golden elixir, a mythical elixir of rejuvenation. One given and produced only for the arcane generals and top brass of the dragons’ brigade; it served as a means to purge their system should they face some abyssal creature that managed in the unlikely situation to infect them with their taint.
Of course, such a brigadier would be killed immediately, again, if such was possible as the very aether burning fire of Lotes flowed through their veins, but one could never be too careful. The arcane general considered it a waste though, a mythical elixir wasted on a mere master, still it was not his place to question the will of Xerxes and the council. Withdrawing an aether rod, he wrapped the titans’ hands and carrying him on his shoulders before hopping slightly to the site where the broken abyssal spire was situated.
Landing softly, he held the hand of the titan, using it to impale the rod into the ground as the very it released a pulse of aura, consecrating the planet. Standing up with a sigh, he suddenly remembered the ascenders stuck on their vessels in space, unable to come to the aid of their lord. With a wince he removed the barrier, watching as transport ships after transport ships made their way to the planet at neck break speed, he wondered if they even remembered that they could teleport to the planet.
Glancing back at the titan whose body had stopped convulsing, he frowned again, watching as his body readily drank the mythical elixir, not wasting a single drop. He could see something happening within the boy, some sort of transformation and he wondered if he shouldn’t end his existence right here and now. No doubt he’d be obliterated by Xerxes for that act but he’d be saving the archailect from another Grim or Rohan, something however stayed his hands, perhaps curiosity, or perhaps the urge to see what he transformed into.
Either way the arcane general opened a pathway to his ship in space, appearing within its control deck and prepared to open another pathway with his ship back to his station. He would keep an eye on this titan blade, he was eager to see what such a monster could become when forged further.
****************************************
Deep in the cocoon of mutation, on the planet Molrik itself, Vesh phantom scourge, the woman in the actual flesh trembled in rage and as she couldn’t believe it, fear. She had been stabbed by that…. weapon of the titan, if it could be called that, she had felt its sentience and to say it had hungered to taster her would be an understatement. Steadying her nerves as her eyes blazed with fury, the inner fleshy walls of the cocoon boiling and sizzling in tandem with her rage, she paused as she heard the toll of a bell,
The mutator himself was calling for her,
No doubt he had felt her psychic presence return back to the planet, no doubt with questions. As she stood up, she forced herself to remember the moment he had pierced her with that weapon, she steeled her nerves. His was an existence she couldn’t suffer, and she would be sure to end him when they inevitably got to planet Molrik itself.