Moyo stared at the representatives from each of the archailect powers that were known as the high council. Xerxes representing the harbingers of the supreme beings sat to the farthest left, Eses representing the celestial primordials as one of the oldest among them was after him, Kairos sat for the terrestrial faction, one Moyo was a de facto member of, an unknown woman but with serpentine eyes sat next to him, hair of flaming red with scales that shone on her skin. Moyo had an idea of who she was, being fairly sure given the cold but deadly look she shot his way, but he paid her no mind.
After her sat a very young child, not more than eighteen if he should judge, but the calculating deadly look of indifference on his face warned Moyo to play it safe, anyone brazen enough to sit with Kairos and the calibres of beings on the council was to be assumed to be an equal power as well. Adorned in a cloak of fur that screamed of feral power, Moyo grazed his eyes across the being that assessed him also. Xerxes as usual was the voice of the council,
“Planetary commander titan blade of the legion of the titan, attached to fleet thousand blades of the Molrik system armada” he started formally,
“At approximately an hour and a half ago, communications with the armada of the Molrik system, the system under your purview to consecrate was cut off. We would like to hear your side of the story, be aware that any discrepancies or lies will be noted and my affect your overall standings at the end of this war” he finished,
Moyo frowned, he had no reason to lie, why would they seek to remind him of that?, nodding nonetheless, he spoke,
“at approximately an hour ago, we received the colonizers and fresh batches of recruits for my legion, it also coincided with the exact moment when abyssal forces linked to the mutator himself launched a counteroffensive of the consecrated worlds on the frontlines” he said,
“How were you aware they were related to the mutator?” the child asked,
“Because their aspect was made of decay and mutation, plus the decaying creatures that acted as vessels were described by the archailect to be creatures of the mutator and served as their transport ships” Moyo replied,
The child nodded and waved his hands at Moyo to continue, Kairos nodding subtly although the ever-watchful eyes of Eses the cosmic dragon caught the exchange of half a fraction of a second but said nothing,
“Immediately I ordered the ship ferrying the colonizers and recruit to make all haste to the planet surface while my forces and battleships harry the enemies in space above the planet” he continued,
“On ensuring the safety of the average citizens, I took my cohort commanders as long with the majority of their division commanders and made for my flagship, the defiance, there we were able to ascertain that an abyssal pathway had been opened just at the fringes of where the reach of the archailect stopped, disgorging thousands of the mutators forces” he said,
“By cohort and divisions, you mean troops and squads, right?” Kairos asked as Moyo nodded,
“ensuring the battle ships of my legion were up to the task, I cleared the initial assault of the mutators, buying time for the battleships to create and barricade around the planet and prepare for a defensive battle” he said,
“When you said you cleared them all, you meant your flagship and the battleships of your legion wiped them out?” Eses asked,
Moyo froze and shook his head a few seconds later,
“No, I meant I cleared them with my own, ah, abilities” he replied,
Eses looked mildly impressed, Kairos with a subtle grin, the woman with the serpentine eyes stared on frostily and the child blinked, apparently curious,
“And how did you handle them?” he asked,
“Specialized creatures of the abyss require special training and runes to disrupt, you are not a jade or fringe walkers as we were formerly called, how are you aware of these runes?” the child asked,
“After my recent clash with the elite of Molrik, I gained access to certain runes protecting against the effects of the abyss, specifically against decay and mutation” Moyo said,
“oh? and may I see one of these runes?” the child asked, now captivated,
“Lucirion, not here and now” Eses said,
Moyo did a double take of the child, controlling the look of astonishment on his face,
Lucirion, lord of the jades, another hidden power of the archailect,
The boy or man, whatever way he was looked at gave a sheepish smile,
“you’re right, time and place, please continue” Lucirion apologized as Moyo nodded,
“After we were done with that, we made all haste, the defiance alone as the rest of the battleships protected the planet. On reaching the pathway, I, my commanders and their captains made an assault into the pathway itself where it became apparent that we were no longer within the archailect, nor reality as we knew it” Moyo said,
Eses’s gaze became as serious as he had ever seen, all their gazes honed in on him even as Kairos nodded, as if he had come to the same conclusion,
“Where were you then?” Xerxes asked,
“Safe to say we were someplace on the edges of the abyss, somewhere the mutator held sway or was his” Moyo said,
“impossible” the child said, all look of curiosity on his face wiped away,
“oh?, are you calling him a liar?” Kairos asked,
“I care not what I call him or your ties with him Typhon, you as well as I know it is impossible, no matter how strong the runes that held the powers of decay at bay, perhaps in the realm of the conqueror Vusal, but Molrik?, no” the child said harshly,
Moyo simply glanced between the council members, gaze unwavering,
“perhaps we should let the master explain to us how he accomplished said task?, he could survive, but his troop and squad commanders could already be infected with the touch of the mutator” the serpentine woman said,
Moyo turned his gaze to her wholly, purple eyes glowing,
“Are you attempting to accuse valiant men and women who dived head first into unholy ground, laid waste to the forces of Molrik and partook in the destruction of the conduits that held a pathway so large, if we had left it open could potentially pushed us right back to where we started initially?” Moyo asked frostily,
The woman raised an eyebrow in indignation,
“I am not some hatchling or barely grown dragon that you can bash around, insult my thinking once again, master or not, favoured of Kairos, I will tear you to shreds” she said, eyes glowing,
Moyo’s runes flared to life, dominion floating to his side as Kairos grinned widely, the draconic slayer runes on his body causing the woman to flinch a little,
“Hagan, I take it?” he asked,
Receiving no reply, he continued, raising his voice,
“Hajin!” he called,
His large and muscular guard walked close to him,
“My lord?” he asked,
“Send for one of your captains, in battle suit armour please” he said,
Hajin saluted before stepping backwards, Hagan snorting,
“we’ve all heard of these inventions of yours, the decay of the mutator while admittedly takes a long time still rusts even mithril, surely you don’t expect us to buy such an excuse?” she said,
Moyo glanced at Eses who didn’t utter a word, merely staring at him, it seemed the mother of the two ancient rulers of house Dracon wouldn’t interfere. Moyo simply waited in silence till the large ascender in battle suit armour made his way to the side of Moyo, going to a knee,
“I await your bidding lord titan blade” he said, his voice echoing with a metallic tinge through the voice control of the suit,
Moyo raised one of its armoured vambraces, showing the glowing purple runes, Lucirion sat forward, eyes wide,
“what runes are those?, they don’t look like any of the recognizable runes the jades use” he said, no hostility in his voice,
Moyo nodded,
“that’s because I got them after my body recuperated from the injuries inflicted on me by the vessel Vesh inhabited, my body developing an actual resistance to the mutator” he replied,
“How?” Eses asked,
Moyo glanced at all of them,
“It seems that somehow, when I fought Vesh, a brigade arcane general was on standby, a lucky coincidence if you ask me” he said,
They understood what he meant, Xerxes gaze smouldering,
“I sent the general immediately I heard you had been defeated, not before” Xerxes replied,
“Excuse me if I’m wrong, but I thought the rules was to send an actual jade or pray tell ancient or if the supreme beings will it, a primordial to fight the elite?” Moyo asked,
He noticed the terse look Kairos shot at Eses, the look of surprise hidden on her face and the look of calculated anger on Xerxes’s. Either Xerxes was being manipulated by Eses, or someone had fed him wrong info, either way, Moyo had opened that can of worms, he’d leave it to them to sort it out. Xerxes spoke once more,
“Rest assured, we will get to the root of the matter and compensations made, you have the apologies of the entire brigade, please, continue” he said,
Moyo knew that was the best he would get out of the Tarrengazer, so he continued,
“With the help of whatever help the arcane general gave me, my body rapidly healed and the runes imprinted in my mind” Moyo said,
“Then we will require said runes to help protect the other forces in the galaxy, if possible reconstruct to apply to the other aspects of the lords of the abyss as well” Lucirion said,
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Moyo shook his head,
“I’m afraid that’s not possible” Moyo said,
“And why is that?” Kairos asked,
“The runes only work for those I have influence over, hence why they glow purple, without me nearby to refuel the runes, they could fizzle out and die, exposing whatever forces you send against the same thing Hagan accuses my legion of” Moyo said,
“it’s ancient Hagan to you, I was conquering entire systems when your planet was nothing but stick wielding rodents” she said,
“And its primordial to you, I was wreaking every pompous brat your entire house was throwing my way from iron rank” Moyo replied back instantly,
Hagan snarled, but then Eses slowly glanced her way and the second ruler of house Dracon withered back like a dying plant, Eses stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to Moyo, the look she shot her daughters way promising retribution,
“so what you’re saying is these runes could serve only your legion well enough, then perhaps it is a lucky coincidence your legion are the one facing him” she said,
“Perhaps too lucky of a coincidence, in any situation, send the runes to us, we shall do our own findings and see if what you say is indeed true” Lucirion said,
“And if it is?” Moyo asked,
“What?” Lucirion asked, clearly not expecting the question,
“If the runes are indeed being able to be reconstructed, remodelled, whatever you wish to call it, I believe as the creator of such a valuable rune, I deserve some reward” Moyo stated,
He could see the amusement dancing in the eyes of Kairos, Eses giving a light chuckle that irritated Lucirion who frowned and Xerxes who sighed,
“I had heard you were a selfless being, it seems those rumors were wrong” he said,
Moyo waved his hand as he shrugged,
“Oh I have no need for coins or planets, or anything really, those I could get on my own” Moyo said, the nature of the proclamation sounding just as self-assured as it was egotistical, but he could back it up and they knew that,
“Then what rewards do you want?” Lucirion asked,
“Two things actually, firstly, no doubt you would be putting up the reconstructed runes on the system vault for a ridiculous price” Moyo said,
“And?” Lucirion asked,
“I don’t want that, make it cheap, one silver coin a piece” Moyo said,
The council froze, unsure of what they had just heard,
“One silver coin?” Eses asked confused,
Moyo nodded,
“I won’t allow my runes be accessible only to the great powers of the archailect, leaving the weak with no protections against the abyss” he said,
“no one less than expert rank should even see a blight or a denizen of the abyss” Lucirion said,
Moyo stretched his hands out,
“And yet here we are, fighting the very same creatures we deny, thousands upon thousands of my people dead because we wage a war they were not adequately prepared to face” he said,
“If my creation is to be employed, then I insist it is sold at one silver a piece, if possible, lesser” he said,
“Now let’s not jump to conclusions, one silver a piece is okay” Xerxes said wincing,
Lucirion stared at him contemplatively,
“I must admit, I had not expected such a request, but yes, it will be so, and your other request?” he asked,
Moyo raised one finger,
“Reward, not request” he stated,
Lucirion inclined his head,
“Taking lessons from the king of monsters I see” he said,
Kairos blinked softly,
“Who, me?” he asked innocently, no one believed the look,
“one percent of the funds generated from the sales of the runes should go into my legion” he said,
“Ah, the real monster shows its face, well-done Kairos, you’ve taught this one well” Lucirion said chuckling,
“I did nothing, you all laid the framework centuries in advance” Kairos replied chuckling,
“And why should we help fund your legion?” Eses asked,
“It isn’t going directly to my legion, it is going to the families and loved ones of those who fall in battle, and whose kids I will take on the responsibility of raising in my own domain or system” Moyo replied,
“Bold words for a master without a system” Xerxes said,
“I’d be having one by the end of this war, might as well start making plans” Moyo replied shrugging,
“Very well, I believe the archailect keepers would open a vault for our esteemed master” Lucirion said,
“Archailect keepers?” Moyo asked confused,
“They are what are known as a bank in your world if what I’m translating is correct” Eses said,
“the archailect has a bank?, why am I just hearing of this for the first time?’ he asked confused,
“You didn’t really think it was the archailect itself producing the coins out of thin air, did you?” Kairos said chuckling,
Moyo blinked, nodding,
“Well you’re wrong, the archailect sends requests to the banks to reimburse each and every ascender for whatever feat it deems they be rewarded for, the banks are the regulators of the coins and keepers of whatever transactions occur in the archailect” Xerxes said,
“of course you’d know this if you weren’t ascending at neck break speed like some lunatic” he muttered as Eses jabbed him,
Moyo gave a light smile at that,
“I believe those are my terms, now I would usually close the deal with a handshake, a custom of my world, but seeing as you guys are literally untouchable in the archailect, I would need a very tight oath swearing that you and those under you who would be involved with this process will adhere strictly to the terms we have agreed upon” he said,
“Questioning our honour?” Eses asked amusingly,
Moyo shrugged,
“I’d be a fool to trust any of you simply because you say so, and I’m no fool” Moyo said,
They swore the oath, a tight one Moyo ensured left no loopholes, and with that settled, they asked him to continue,
“We breached the pathway, fighting our way through uncountable numbers of mutated creatures alike, Muttites, Nethertaurs and really powerful servants of the mutator known as Devigians” he said,
“It took us a few minutes, but I was able to destroy the conduit and kill any Devigians including a really larger one before they summoned whatever it was they were most likely about to summon” Moyo finished,
“No doubt one of the direct servants of either the elite or Molrik himself” Xerxes said,
“That was good thinking” Lucirion admitted, Moyo inclining his head in gratitude,
“This battle suit of yours, I haven’t seen the likes before, is this some new invention?” Eses asked,
Moyo nodded,
“first fielded against the forces of the mutator on this planet, we have been able to improve on existing models to create this armour that has not only saved the lives of countless legionnaires, but has improved the strength of my forces allowing my shock troops to hit with more firepower while giving them diversity in weapons and double the lasting period for their endurance” Moyo stated,
“You sound like you’re advertising them to us” Xerxes said with a raised eyebrow,
“that’s because I am, I’m sure you all won’t expect for me to give off such a priceless work of technology, why, even Ahib would be appalled at the thought of that” Moyo said smugly, tapping the still kneeling captain to leave,
Xerxes sighed,
“Fine, how much per suit and when can we start shipping out?” he asked,
“Ten diamond coins a piece” he said smiling as Xerxes looked appalled, Kairos roaring in laughter and Eses shaking her head ruefully,
“Your greed knows no bounds” Lucirion stated with a smile,
“it’s greed when I intend to hoard it, which I have no plans of doing by the way” Moyo replied,
“Oh, and what do you intend on doing with it if not fund your own army?” Xerxes asked,
“I believe that is between I and my clan” Moyo replied again,
Xerxes inclined his head, no doubt the brigade would be closely monitoring him post-war, haggling the price to five diamond coins, Moyo accepted, knowing he could had sold it for one diamond coin if he so desired. The monopoly was the fact that they would sell it directly to the system vault who would send orders to them directly before the brigade sent transport ships to procure them back to wherever they are needed.
Agreeing to start production for the forces of the archailect proper, Moyo cut the call, turning to Ayesha who bowed again to him before leaving. The recruits were initiated that night, each cohort picking their preferred candidate of the two thousand recruits sent. They would be known as initiates for now, deployed with veteran legionnaires at the next battle and should they prove themselves worthy of the tenets of the legion, would be elevated to the ranks of legionnaires themselves.
Moyo had raised an eyebrow, inquiring what the tenets entailed, to protect, loyalty and perseverance, he had been told by Idris, he hadn’t argued with those words. The colonizers or pioneers were handed the cities created, Moyo receiving confirmation that the planet was now under his jurisdiction and as such, he was to assume control of the planet. He had contacted the clan, describing the dusty and arid atmosphere and leaving it to the clan to decide what sect got the planet.
At the end of the day, his sentinels were given the planet, Idris nodding satisfactorily as Moyo remained puzzled,
“Why would you want such a dry place for the clan?” he asked,
Idris shrugged,
“you want the sect members brutal and battle prepared?, throw them into a planet as unforgiving as this, oh, and could you create a water source for us?” Moyo asked,
It occurred to Moyo that he could, with veneration he could, ignoring the look on Idris’s face when he realized Moyo hadn’t thought of it. Soon enough, running across the continent that reminded him too much of Duhiri were rivers and streams flowing with water, turning patches of lands near the cities to subtle growing vegetative areas. As per the request of Idris though, the majority of the planet especially the distances between the cities were left as dry areas.
With josh leading the bulk of the forces of the sentinels towards the planet now, Moyo turned his attention back to the legion, preparing them for the most definitely arduous battle to come. The next few days saw the legion prepare for the eventual call to kickstart the final push into the prime planet of Molrik. The modified ships of each of the cohorts now painted and upgraded to full flagship status, the cohorts watching as their insignias were displayed proudly on their ships high above the stratosphere of the planet Idris had named Amathos in preparation for the eventual calamity to befall the planet.
The cohorts also saw their robes now painted in the colours of they chose,
Red lightning carved into the robes of the Kaminaris,
Blue and silver striped robes for the claws of the titan’s legion,
Grey robes for the lances of the titan’s legion,
Gold robes for the Zhiyuans of the titan’s legion,
Green robes for the brawlers of the titan’s legion,
Brown robes for the Aegis of the titan’s legion,
Black robes for the Diablos of the titan’s legion,
Purple robes for the revenants of the titan’s legion,
White with gold striped robes for the Spadas of the titan’s legion,
Silver with grey striped robes for the steel guards of the titan’s legion.
All gathered in one spot with their banners flapping in the air, Moyo stood with his guard and Idris, all dressed in the colours of their cohorts, save Idris who maintained his robe of purple and black. Moyo spoke, his voice being carried by the aether in the air,
“I’ll make this short” he started,
“We have rested, we have honoured our fallen and we have prepared as much as we can, our legion, the legion of the titan is ready, and we will spread our fury across the planets taken by the enemy, they will taste our blades and spells, our fists and authority” he said,
“And when all is said and done, I want them to quake on their feet when they see our banners, I want them to whisper our name in fear at night, knowing that no matter where they hide, we will root out the corruption, we go to war to protect what is ours, the titan legion is reforged anew today!” he finished as roars answered his reply,
Moyo glancing at his HUD as he saw the call,
It was time to move out, grinning, he gripped dominion sheathed at his waist tight, he was ready.
***************************************
Ajax omega blade, ruler on the path of the omega blade walked across the battlefield if it could be called that. Everywhere the strewn bodies of cult members and abyssal monsters disintegrated as his aura touched them, pure chaos wiping their dead bodies out of existence as his planetary force members killed any still left alive. All wielding weapons attuned with the aspect of chaos, they were walking executors, unflinching in the face of abyssal evil and their devotion to the omega blade a bulwark in its own right.
Ajax lost in thought frowned at the sight in front of him, he had been held back by the servants of Molrik themselves who had left the throne world of their lord to accost him here, harrying him till Vesh who had been forced to face him in another homunculi body had been forced to retreat as well, along with the decimated servants. So they had done what the abyssal forces always did whenever they realized they couldn’t win a battle, they poured the hosts of the abyss down on him like an avalanche.
Ajax and his forces despite having the superior edge were forced to retreat, that is, until Ajax had noticed the forces of the abyss running through the pathway in a frenzy, behind them in the tainted and decaying realms of the abyss imposed on them purple fires raged. Ajax had gone to investigate, the aspect of the abyss doing nothing to harm him as his aspect tore it apart, but Ajax paid it no heed, for the sight he saw shocked him profoundly,
Moyo, the titan blade, blazing with his aspect that seemed to hurt the abyss itself on a fundamental level. Chaos only burned the abyss to nothing, a simple effect of its aspect, but the aspect of the titan literally hurt the abyss profoundly, causing its hold on reality to unravel before shrivelling up like it was sucking whatever powered the abyss into itself, empowering itself. He had been both proud and disgusted at the same time. He had exited the other side of the pathway, not before silently ensuring his former disciple esc upaped the clutched of the abyss.
Not that the titan blade needed the help though, shattering the conduit and getting every single ascender he brought along to safety, he couldn’t be more proud of him,
“a shame your path is becoming corrupted” he thought,
What would those powers in the archailect think and do when they realized their child prodigy was literally consuming the power of the abyss, empowering his path?
What would they do when eventually his path was consumed by the abyss in turn?
Ajax gripped his blade tighter, most likely accuse him of being an heretic and cast him out the same way they did him. He wouldn’t allow that; he would end the threat to the archailect and his titan blade of a disciple as quickly as possible. And if his disciple fell to the lures of the ravaging powers, Ajax swore to be the one to end him, give him the honourable death he deserved. Turning his gaze to the last two planets in front of him, where not even his forces could break through with the star fortress, he pointed his blade, the arcane weapon of pure chaos and smiled.