Moyo sat atop the crystal walls of bastion, his stat table before his eyes. He was progressing, but not as fast as he was hoping he could, scratching his head as he watched some men pick the bodies of the chimeras clean, leaving only bones behind that an earth mage by the looks of it buried straight into the ground. With a sigh he turned back to his stat table, allocating the meager 140 points he got into constitution,

Name: Moyosore

Path: crushing blade

Body: Draconic Body (+50% defense against mental attacks)

Race: human

Level: 72(Acolyte)

Title: bane of the hive, draconic slayer

Skills:

Blood absorption(L) 20 Titans’ wrath(r)390 Blade of the titan(r)350 Realm of the titan(r)400 Dimension step(r)410 Spatial control(r)370

attributes:

STR: 1050 END: 1612 P: 1200 CNS: 940 DEX: 850 INT: 605

Slowly but surely, he was edging towards advocate, and if he kept on going with this trajectory, by the end of the 30 days, he should be closing in on expert. Withdrawing dominion, he looked at its stats

Name: Dominion (soul bond weapon)

Type: katana

Tier: Rare

Evolution: 5%

Attributes:

Unbreakable: this blade has been dipped in draconic blood and bone, nothing short of full draconic might can cause damage to it. Drainer: dominion has the ability to absorb a portion of a foes might to ingest towards its evolution

Presence: dominion true to his name has the ability to channel the realm of the swordsman of the crushing blade to manipulate gravity in the realm to devastating levels.

Dominion had started on its part to evolution, Moyo had no idea when it began, but it looked like a very slow process. Crossing his legs lotus style, he closed his eyes and delved deep into his core, he could see his sword core glowing silver. It was surrounded by six glowing orbs that rotated it, his six skills glowing with different colors, his blood absorption a deep red, his titans wrath a bright gold color, blade of the titan shone silver similar to the core itself, the realm of the titan shone grey, dimension steps a deep green and finally spatial rip was a dark color with dots of shining light inside it.

Immersing himself in the feeling of his core, feeling the mutual symbiosis his core and skills went through. Moyo decided to test a theory, grabbing his blood absorption skill and his titans’ wrath skill as he tried bringing them together. Immediately a feeling of dread suffused his body, he felt his willpower straining to the highest extent he could wield it before snapping and throwing him out of his core. Panting he turned to his left to see Annika seating close to him, eyes furrowed,

“You did it again,” she said pointing to his skin that steamed,

Moyo looked at his body in surprise, a notification came up

Notice, that any attempt to fuse skills with little or no synchronicity could lead to a 5% chance of success and a 95% chance of either or both skills being destroyed, pursue at your own risk!

Moyo grimaced,

“Not on purpose, tested something out, didn’t work” he replied,

“Well, whatever it is you tried seems to have knocked you on your ass” she replied, sparks dancing on her fingertips

“I’ll get over it, how’s everyone holding up?” he asked as he stood up,

“In high spirits, can’t wait for tomorrow, the different teams are placing bets on what team gets the most kill, there’s light in everyone’s eyes, thanks to you,” she said,

Moyo sighed, sending dominion back through a rift,

“And there lies the problem, I don’t want to be viewed as some sort of savior, it isn’t healthy”

Annika raised an eyebrow,

“Okay, correct me if I’m wrong, but you saw a bunch of people in captivity whom you have no ties with, and you fought to save them” she started,

“Technically, I also wanted the xerrans dead”

“Oh shush, then you gathered them and led them to safety, gave them a place to call their own despite all odds” she continued,

“Well, I was planning to set up my place also, figured I could take some people too” Moyo replied,

“Then you shared your loot and prizes to help a bunch of nobodies gain rare and uncommon paths that are vital to their survival, oh and you also fed them” she finished as Moyo rolled his eyes,

“To be honest if they didn’t view you as some sort of godly figure I’d be surprised, along with the fact that you could whoop every single one of us together and not break a sweat, plus you did just wipe a level 70 wave boss like it was no big deal” she pressed on,

“Fine, fine, I get your point. My point however is they each need to grow without me as some sort of pinnacle, believe me in the wider archailect I’m nothing but a speck, an ant not worth any real powers time” he explained,

“That may be true, but right here and now, you’re our defender and guardian, you’re the wall that stood between us and sure death from the moment you met us. Thousands if not millions are dead already from the moment the system came to the point of monsters roaming around” she said,

Standing up she stretched her frame, Moyo noticing how her dark skin blended well with her white teeth and blue eyes that sparkled with lightning. Shaking his head, he removed said thoughts with no small amount of willpower,

“Just ask Mrs. Martha, she’s been monitoring the system on earth, apparently apart from bastion, no other sector in the yellow zone has a stronghold yet, let that sink in” she muttered,

“Really?” Moyo replied

“Indeed, partly because no one would be foolish enough to go into the yellow zone for a rare dungeon core without being at least an acolyte or more, and for humanity at large, that’s a big gap to fill for now,” Mrs. Martha said as she blurred into view close to them,

“How the fuck did you do that?” Moyo asked in surprise,

“The path of Anansi has its perks, my mana webs are everywhere, they feed me information from all around bastion and call my attention to where I’m needed” she replied,

Moyo was impressed, it was a useful skill to have when it came to intelligence gathering, it explained how bastion performed so well during the last wave. Mrs. Martha had coordinated attacks from everywhere within the sprawling maze that still stood tall in the moonlight that reflected over bastion. She sat down close to Annika, and they all watched the people of bastion in silence, Idris taking on the sentinel corps by himself in a sparring match,

“we’ve started something, haven’t we?” Moyo muttered,

“you’ve started something Moyo, and when you leave in whatever journey your path takes you, know that the place you left behind to be the refuge for humanity would stand the test of time,” Mrs. Martha said as she faded away from the same way she came,

“creepy” Annika muttered as Moyo laughed,

On the horizon fire blazed from the forge that Boyle commanded, Moyo could hear the clanging of metals as Boyle crafted something, the rhythm of the hammer drew Moyo, the same way it drew him when he created his path. With purpose he began to move, following the hit of the hammer as he produced dominion and went through a series of sword swings, feeling the hum the blade made as it tore through the air effortlessly. Annika stood and watched him in rapt silence, some instinct telling her not to disturb the movement.

Moyo bent all his willpower into making his blade cut through his imaginary foe in his front, feeling his body warm up as he increased the movement speed. Lost in his thoughts, Moyo had no idea his movement was being watched and copied by the sentinels and Idris below, as he increased the speed again, arms swinging and feet moving to the rhythm of the hammer, the crystal of the wall cracking below his feet.

He could feel his mind pouring deeper into the style of the crushing blade, the path of the crushing blade was not built to deliver only inevitable death, it was a path forged to always prove superior no matter the foe, it was made to withstand attacks as much as it dealt back in overwhelming power, to crush both the path and will of the whatever foe was brave enough to face said path. It was the path of a titan, every swing carried the full willpower of the titan, Moyo could feel it in his bones, his body sang out in ecstasy as he increased the tempo, this time his hands a blur, his legs stamping and twisting to the rhythm of the hammer long forgotten. With a final slash, Moyo roared out his entire rage at the archailect that had been rekindled as he practiced, taking a step forward as his entire willpower was focused to the edge of his blade.

Summoning intent blades that wrapped around his blade like a storm, with one move he unleashed it. The very air split apart, clouds parted before the might of that attack, notifications appeared on his screen

Once again you have taken a step on the path of the crushing blade, you have tasted the power of the overwhelming might of the titan, the finality that proves all other strength obsolete in its front

Blade of the titan +100

Body blazing with heat, Moyo took in his surroundings as his mind finally resettled. The forest in his front had a path violently carved out in his front, the very clouds had been split and as he turned to look at the people of bastion, he saw his sentinels staring up at him with nothing short of awe tinged with a bit of fear. Aware that Annika was at his side he turned to see her gawking at him,

“What was that?” she asked,

“Me practicing my sword skills” he replied sheepishly,

“Well, whatever that was, it was damn powerful, pretty sure you killed anything in the path of that strike,” she said looking towards the forest,

“Maybe, maybe not, but now they’d have enough sense to leave bastion alone,” he said,

Annika watched him do the thing he did that was close to teleportation, her heart beating in excitement, that was the sort of power she wanted. The gulf between them was as wide as the ocean, despite him being just an advancement stage away from her, with a determination she had no idea where it came from Annika began to copy a bit of the movement she saw, immediately stopping as she felt weak, again she marveled at how he managed to withstand the movement, but that didn’t stop her.

Slowly copying the movements, she felt her core churn with the lightning it held, her very core sending lightning running through her body. her eyes shone blue as she increased the tempo a bit, and the very clouds darkened as thunder boomed overhead, she was the herald of the titan, his sign of destruction, she wielded the lightning of the deity sango, the rage of an African god, she would not lack behind in his steps. Her very body glowed blue, her core crackled with lightning as the weather seemed to revolve around her, lightning bolts striking with her from the skies above with deadly accuracy and nourishing her very being. When her endurance couldn’t take it anymore, and her sight became blurry, she took the last step and raised her hands to the sky in a finale of thunder and lightning that tore the landscape. Below everyone watched as the lady who would later be known as the storm of bastion wreaked the forest in all her thunderous fury.

The next day crept up on the citizens of bastion, the sunlight glittering off the crystal walls that shone, atop that wall stood every ruling member of bastion. Moyo sat lotus style, awaiting the next wave,

Then he felt it,

The subtle chill that permeated his bones, eyes snapping open in obvious alarm, scanning the horizon,

“Did you all feel it?” he asked,

“The cold weather? Yeah, we all do” Idris mumbled,

“No, there’s this feeling” he replied,

“I can, it feels like a malignant force, whatever this wave is, I doubt it’ll be like the rest,” Mrs. Marth said,

Notice! The next wave is about to begin! Prepare yourselves for Urguth comes!

“Seems you were right boss” Ayo remarked,

“What in heavens name is an Urguth?” Annika asked,

A loud screech reverberated through the air, the vibrations digging into their very bones, rooting them to the spot. The feeling of dread multiplied, but Moyo was able to push it off, his 50% defense against mental attacks finally manifesting, the rest of the team had no such luck and the squads of bastion were a bumbling shivering mess. With a roar he unleashed his realm over everyone, granting them some form of reprieve as they gathered themselves together,

“What the fuck was that?!” Annika growled

“It was in my damn head” Idris groaned,

Mrs. Martha pointed in the air where space rippled and a claw tore through the very fabric of reality, Moyo withdrew dominion at once, cycling his core as he began gathering intent to sharpen into blades. A scaled hand burst through, and from the tear, in reality, flew out serpentine creatures,

Ice wyvern level 70

“Oh fuck” Annika muttered,

“protect the people!, I’ll try killing the boss as fast as possible!” Moyo growled as he blasted off the top of the wall,

Cursing to himself he activated the blade of the titan, slicing the first wyvern that flew out and slamming it towards the second that roared in pain. Whatever entity controlled the waves was one sick bastard, sending a dragon specie against level 30 initiates? but then again, they were in the yellow zone, no human was meant to be in the yellow zone. Remembering the ordeal, he went through against a mere wyrm, Moyo dimension stepped and burst through into the temporary dungeon to appear in a freezing landscape, the wind blowing with deadly ferocity as it carried the chill of the artic with it.

Wondering for a minute if he was in the north pole or another realm entirely, Moyo took a step forward when the very floor shook with fury, a gigantic form ripping itself from the very ground. White scales glittering in the very sunlight, serpentine eyes blue with fury and sentience,

“So, the rulers have reneged on our deal? they send this whelp to kill me?!” a voice that sounded like broken glass being scraped on the floor came forth from its mouth,

Urguth ice wyvern level ****(capped at 80)

This titanic creature that is an evolved wyrm was once a lord of an entire planet domain, choosing to rebel against the archailect, it had been cast down from the lofty heights it attained, now marked an enemy of the archailect, and its destruction is highly approved.

Moyo stood against the full imposing might of Urguth,

“I have no idea what you just meant, you’re the boss of a crisis wave about to destroy my home, call it off” Moyo growled,

The beast screeched in laughter,

“Is this what the archailect has become?, is this what I’ve become, a mere hatchling speaks back to me?!’ it screeched as it opened its mouth, blue energy coalescing in it,

Moyo blasted forward, dimension stepping as the blue beam of power poured from the mouth of Urguth, refreezing everywhere it had frozen before. Dodging the blast he gathered intent blades, his katana glowing with a blade of the titan attack, Moyo twisted in the air and came down with the devastating attack and met the claws of Urguth coming up to strike him. The two attacks clashed in a fury of sparks, Moyo unleashing his realm and watching Urguth tear through it like it was nothing,

“What sort of trickery is this? how does a mere acolyte wield a realm?” Urguth growled,

Moyo gave it no answer, dimension stepping backward to gather intent for another run at the beast,

“What faction are you from?, speak hatchling” Urguth ordered,

Moyo could feel a will imposing itself on him, bending him to spill his entire history, gathering his willpower he shouted as he fought back, breaking the hold, Urguth staring at him with eyes wide open in shock,

“How? what sort of willpower do you possess? what is playing out here?” Urguth intoned,

Breathing deeply and legs shaking, Moyo recovered quickly, his endurance doing wonders. That attack had taken a lot out of him, already notifications were pouring in, ignoring them he tore open a spatial rip,

“Interesting, hold” Urguth ordered

Immediately the rip shattered, whatever authority Urguth had over space, Moyo could not contest it, the beast immediately growled, and what looked like blue blood coughed out of its mouth,

“Damn you, Xerxes!” Urguth shouted,

You should have killed me when you had the chance!” it continued,

Seeing as it was distracted, Moyo tore open another spatial rip and jumped in, appearing above the beast whose eyes widened in its apparent mistake. Perhaps it never expected to see an acolyte move through a spatial rip, or its negligence in facing him, Moyo would make it pay though. With a shout Moyo wrapped his realm over the head of Urguth, bending his entire willpower to that act and freezing the head for a few seconds,

They were all he needed,

With one heavy blow of dominion Moyo channeled the gravity power in his blade, he channeled the path of the crushing blade also as the very force of his blade first shattered the skull of the beast before embedding itself inside the skull. Every bone in Moyos’ arm shattered as the vibrations poured back on him, in a moment of pain that blinded him, he failed to see the tail of Urguth slam into him. His entire body caved in, bones shattering as frost permeated his skin, blacking out and jarring back awake in agony as he landed on the frozen ground, he watched Urguth screeched in pain, blood pouring out of its head as it swayed before falling with a loud crash, it’s head close to Moyo who choked on his flood, a rib piercing into him.

With a movement that brought a sharp pain to him, Moyo stretched his hand towards Urguth, activating his blood absorption skill, immediately his eyes cleared, bones snapping back into place, noticing a sort of blue wisp flow into him also as his mind seemed sharper,

“shouldn’t go out this way” Urguth murmured,

Moyo scrambled back in slow motion as the eyes of the wyvern glanced at him,

“I see now, you’re no ordinary acolyte, you have the body of a wyrm, a dragon hatchling, who are you?” Urguth said, choking on its blood, the life slowly leaving its eyes,

“Moyo” Moyo replied,

“Moyo, a battle well fought, for this I give willfully give you my authority, my strength and my blood, feast on my very being, and in return I all but ask one favor” Urguth intoned,

Moyo nodded, the creature was dying, and Moyo was pretty sure all was not as it seemed, something was wrong with the picture the archailect was framing,

“Grow stronger hatchling, gather your might and free us from the chains of the archailect, a big favor, but I see it in your eyes…titan,” Urguth said as he breathed his last,

Moyo saw the body of the beast deflate right before his very eyes, turning to sludge as the flesh peeled off its bones that shone white. The sludge flowed into him in an agonizing haze of freezing power, a red notice appeared on his screen,

Notice! The essence of Urguth the ice wyvern is attempting to evolve your essence, accept? Y/N

Moyo clicked yes as he felt his mind shut down, suddenly he was jarred awake in a white landscape, nothing in his surroundings, just a numb whiteness. In his very front, a shape began to form, a humanoid form that slowly took form. With alarm, Moyo noticed he was staring at himself but with serpentine blue eyes and a wide smile that stretched from ear to ear,

“Urguth,” Moyo said,

“I am what remains of the wyvern of frozen destruction, I am what you need to conquer to gain access to the authority of the master on the path of the freezing existence, defeat me and grow stronger, lose to me and cease to exist,” Urguth said,

Moyo couldn’t afford to waste time here, having no idea what took place at bastion, he needed to get back as fast as possible. With a roar Urguth came at him, Moyo calling dominion but to his shock seeing he couldn’t feel his blade, dodging a swipe of Urguth that trailed frost, the creature cackled,

“This place is your mind, no weapon resides in your mind, fight me like the dragon hatchling you are, let us see who devours the other!” Urguth growled,

Moyo growled in reply, meeting the beast halfway in battle, and began to pummel the beast, for every claw mark that ripped and froze his insides Moyo dropped punch after punch. Together they engaged in a savage battle, Moyo noticing grimly that the creature healed faster than he did. Disengaging as he jumped backward, his body torn and bleeding, he watched the beast heal faster,

“is that all you have hatchling? do you think to stand against the archailect with such feeble attempt?” it taunted,

Moyo focused, ignoring the attempt at goading him into battle, he couldn’t win against dragonkin albeit the essence of one with just physical might, the specie in general superior to humanity when it came to that aspect. Like light in a room the solution became clear as day, he was in his mind, the very home of his willpower, with an intense focus he went in on the attack,

“Good, good, a dragon never backs down!” Urguth growled and attacked,

Moyo dodged the swipe of a claw and with his focus, he channeled his willpower and with a thought, he tried channeling his absorption technique. His hand grew dark like tar, and as he landed the hit on Urguth, the difference was clear as night and day, the attack for no better words ate the part of Urguth it touched, the arm he hit disappearing and flowing in the same wisp-like method he saw into him. Moyo felt stringer at that moment, Urguth growling and moving back as it cradled the shoulder, another arm slowly growing out. Moyo narrowed his eyes and moved, with a step he appeared before Urguth, grasping the creature with one arm in the throat as the beast began clawing at him, Moyo felt himself grow weak, Urguth absorbing him also.

With rage in his heart and eyes Moyo channeled his entire willpower through himself, he was his willpower and absorption,

“I’m no dragon hatchling” he growled at a desperate Urguth whose eyes widened in alarm,

‘I am retribution, I am the wall that stands between calamities like you and my world” he continued as he began siphoning the entire essence of Urguth who howled in anguish,

It was over in a minute, only Moyo left as he could feel the power of a wyvern flowing through him, the authority of dragonkin in his very body, and with a slight use of his willpower, he felt the space they were in shatter before him. Gasping awake to find himself in the icy wasteland where he had slain the beast itself, a notification appeared before his screen

Congratulations! You have slain the disaster known as Urguth the wyvern of frozen destruction! for destroying said calamity you have done the archailect a favor! you get

100 legendary aether shards +1000 to all attributes Scales of the wyvern

Level 85!

Notice! Authority of Urguth has formed synchronicity with your attribute willpower, evolve attribute? Y/N

Moyo clicked yes as he became dizzy, he felt his mind growing larger and firmer, able to have different lines of thought at once,

Evolving attribute willpower……evolution enhanced due to absorption of legendary aether shards......evolving…...evolution complete!

Attribute willpower has become attribute: will of the titan!

Notice! Skill blood absorption(L) has synchronized with the essence of Urguth to evolve into the skill greed of the titan!

The greed of the titan (L)

You have absorbed the might of a wyvern, the next stage of advancement for the revered dragon race. Now you absorb not just the might of your foe but the very essence they hold, beware! for you are now a foe for every dragonkin in the archailect, they would attempt to destroy you on sight for the abomination you are becoming!

Moyo felt high on the evolution, the very aether above him swirled at his beckon, an acolyte had done the impossible, he could now absorb the very aether in the air. With alarm he remembered bastion, cursing to himself he gathered the bones of Urguth into his spatial rip, for the first time feeling a slight weight in his spatial rip. Running towards the exit of the dungeon and wondering why he wasn’t thrown out he came out in the air to see bastion burning, the crystal walls broken in certain corners.

Annika and the rest were steadily retreating towards Ife as the wyverns kept up the attack, Moyo was confused, why wasn’t the wave over? with surprising ease he unleashed his realm over bastion, not feeling any strain whatsoever. The wyverns froze in the air as Moyos’ realm radiated dread for the creatures that hung in the air in terror, the retreating fighters glanced up to see Moyo on the crystal walls in shock,

Moyo grasped the very aether in his realm, forcing them to impossible sharpness, and in one strike decimated the entire wyvern army to shreds, flesh and bones raining down on the citizens of bastion. The whole area was dead still, Moyo retracting his realm as everyone stared in shock,

“What did I miss?” he asked as a loud gong notified the end of the wave,

Again, the members of bastion brought forth a brutal shout of victory, the injured joining along as everyone hugged and celebrated, the titan had come through for them again….