The day finally arrived for the departure of Moyo from the planet, he stood outside of the gates of Bastion, katana in hand with a serene look on his face, by his sides were his companions, Annika to his immediate left, gripping his hand tightly, not really uncomfortable to him but he understood. Idris to his immediate right, followed by Mrs. Martha, and then to Annika’s side were Ayo, Mr. Boyle, and Josh. They stared upwards towards the sky, awaiting the master that Moyo had been informed would arrive. The night before the entirety of the upper echelons of Bastion had held a send-off party for him, a surprise party, not as much as a surprise to Moyo who had felt the electric feeling in the air as they prepared and had investigated quietly. They had danced and laughed all night long, food and wine flowing freely and even the usual uptight vice sect leaders had participated in the occasion.

The thought of leaving his domain behind sent mixed feelings through Moyo, but a glare from Mrs. Martha reminding him that he had a reputation as the biggest bad in the world to maintain had him laughing but restoring the shaking steel of his determination. He and Mrs. Martha had previously gone through the ascension method to expert, explaining to the rest that after gaining enlightenment from the establishment of a realm, the next step was to face a personal calamity. This step had stumped them, realizing that it was the fight that Moyo had with Evon had been what had shot him past the barrier, Mrs. Martha told him they’d deal with it and he should place it out of his mind, but how could he?.

Walking to his verandah that same night, he had seen Annika standing there in a deep blue gown, blue hair and eyes staring upwards at the moon, deep in concentration. It had been the first time he had not seen her with her famous spear, but she looked every inch the warrior she was and more. He had taken a moment to drink in her posture, quite aware that he was ogling one of his sect leaders and close friend, understanding now why the rest of his sect leaders kept staring at him like an idiot, not that they’d tell him to his face though. He took a step forward when she spoke,

“Done staring at the merchandise?’ she asked, glancing back at him with a tight smile, her blue eyes glowing, bringing out her beauty in addition to her rich t=dark skin that glowed softly under the moonlight,

Moyo shook his head a little, subtly driving the thoughts that were less than appropriate, aware that the conversation he was about to have was meant to be as candid and as clear as possible. He stepped up to her side, aware of the warmth of her body and the tiny currents that ran through her body,

“So, I’m leaving tomorrow” he started, wincing at the dumb line he used, of course, she was aware, they all were,

She gave a light laugh,

“You really are bad at this aren’t you?” she asked,

“No, no I’m apparently not” he replied with a smile, staring down at the multitudes that danced and partied, unaware of the main reason the leaders of Bastion partied and attributed it to the tournament and the clans’ performance, it was better that way, they needed morale to be high.

He turned to her as she did,

“How long were you aware?” she asked,

“In all honesty, I had no idea till recently, pre-tournament I believe,” he said,

She raised an eyebrow,

“And you said nothing?” she asked accusingly,

He scratched his head awkwardly,

“Well, there was the whole post landing issue, then the tournament, then preparations, then the tournament itself, then the secret hydra group thing going on with the union and the empire, well, you get the point” he replied,

“Uh-huh, sure, blame it on an average day in this new world of ours,” she said as he laughed,

“Apologies, although another factor was me,” he said,

“You?” she asked,

“we’ve barely known ourselves for close to a year, we’ve been running from one scenario to another, battles after battles, I wasn’t sure if what you felt was genuine or it was just the proximity that we had, I guess it felt too early,” he said softly,

“And what do you feel?” she asked,

He looked at her, her blue eyes looking at his purple ones,

“Afraid, this new world we’ve found ourselves would take what we would have should I decide to go through with this, plus I’m going away on some secret tournament and have no idea if the one-month duration would remain one month, what if it’s the reverse and one month there was up to a year here?, what happens when I’m not around to defend the earth and clan when the experts arrive? what-‘ he said, hanging as Annika kissed him,

Moyo had felt bliss twice in his life, the first time he tasted pancakes, the flavor melting in his mouth with the syrup, the second time was now. Her lips were softer than anything he had felt before, and the smell of her skin reminded him oddly enough of the smell of the traditional perfume used by his mom back then. Unconsciously he wrapped his hands around her before he felt electricity zapping him and he released her with a startled look on his face as she laughed. Using her perfectly manicured fingernails to hold his chin and whisper softly to him,

“No touching the merchandise till you decide if you actually want this, and that’s when you get back from whatever tournament this is, alright?” she said,

“Yes, ma’am” the titan blade replied,

With a smile, Annika disappeared in a clap of thunder, Moyo standing there as his mind tried to compute what had just happened. It took him a minute to clear his thoughts as he could still smell her perfume in the air. With a sigh he sat on the railings, ignoring the potential risk of falling from that high, to be honest, he pitied whoever would need to mend the road after he crashed into it. A knock on his door jarred him back from his thoughts that were running faster than a bullet train. Telling the person to enter, he rolled his eyes as he saw the set of people who entered,

“You know, it’s not a good habit to leave your own party,” Idris said,

“Plus, Annika also, strange” Ayo said with a faint smile on her face,

“Indeed? this is most puzzling, perhaps our resident special spy police commander has an idea of what transpired?” Mr. Boyle asked,

Mrs. Martha’s eyes widened in fake shock.

“Me? far be it from me to quietly monitor our esteemed leader for his protection and coincidentally see him melt for a woman” she said,

“Alright, knock it off, it’s bad habit to spy on me,” he said mock chastising Mrs. Martha with a smile on his face,

“Look at him, he’s positively glowing, he could as well giggle and start hopping around,” Ayo said as she laughed, earning her a glare from Moyo,

“Oh, stop it, that’s the all-powerful titan blade you are making fun of, with his mighty hand he could crush you,” Mr. Boyle said,

“Well, I doubt it’s us he wants to use any force on tonight,” Idris said as the rest roared with laughter, save Mrs. Martha who stared at him with a sad smile,

“you two aren’t together, are you?” she asked,

“Our situation is between us, you all are too nosy,” Annika said as she appeared again in a clap of thunder, wobbling a bit as Moyo caught her,

“Woah, easy there, you made the perfect exit, why’d you spoil it by repeating it?, besides, it’s nice you’re training your realm powers,” Moyo said with a smile,

“Oh, shut it you” she fussed as she playfully slapped his shoulder,

He chuckled, leaving her as she stood on her own, hands on her supple waist that brought out her-, stopping as he shook his head, he definitely had it bad. The rest had confused looks on their faces,

“Wait, what do you mean you two aren’t together?” Idris cried out in mock horror,

“aha!, return my coins, I knew it” Ayo shouted,

“you guys took bets over us?” Moyo asked as he raised his eyebrow,

“Moyo, the whole clan, and I mean all the way down to the initiates have a running bet on you two” Ayo said without blinking,

“Oh,” he said, dumbfounded, glancing around to see he was the only one out of the loop,

“that’s enough of that, leave the both of them to their issues, let’s discuss why we’re here,” Mrs. Martha said,

And like that, the whole mood changed from a jovial atmosphere to a slightly somber one, Augustus the elusive manservant of the titan blade who was only seen when he wanted to appear smoothly slid into the room and dropped a tray of wine into wine glasses. Mrs. Martha shared the glasses around to each person before she spoke,

“a toast, as well as a tribute, to the man who brought us together despite not being related to us in any form,” she said,

“To the man who built an entire empire from nothing but his sheer will and his blade,” Mr. Boyle said,

‘To the lord of the clan titan blade, the protector of mankind, well, allegedly” Idris said as they laughed,

“To the titan blade, may he keep leading us down the path of overwhelming victory,” Ayo said,

“To Moyo, the titan blade” Annika simply,

“To Moyo” they had all chorused,

And the night saw Bastion’s finest gather with smiles on their faces.

The night had gone on till dawn, the party winding down and Moyo with his leaders silently vanishing as they gathered in front of Bastion, the guards on duty puzzled to see their heavy hitters all in one place, staring upwards at the sky.

*************

Moyo for the third time in his life felt a power almost akin to that of a deity descend on him. The skies opened as a ship that could be only called a large cigar-shaped vessel floated slowly to the ground, and behind it, floating serenely but with a bored look on his face was Atreus himself. The overseer stopped a while back as the ship landed softly on the ground. Moyo was sure he was not the only one feeling the overwhelming holy power coming from the ship, and it made him feel like a pest, he glanced to the side to see his advocates withholding their trembling, the acolyte guards had passed out in sheer proximity to the ship. Moyo saw Atreus sigh before speaking,

“Oh, shut off your power, have you forgotten this is a tier 1 world?” he asked with a ticked-off expression,

The power snapped away as a voice resonated out from the ship,

“Apologies overseer, the house of a thousand blade bears no ill will to the brigade, permission to proceed?” the voice asked,

“By all means” Atreus replied,

“Thank you. Expert Moyosore titan blade, at the behest of the ruler of house thousand blades, you are been given the mandate to represent our great house in a swordsmanship tournament, do you accept this responsibility?” the voice asked,

Of course, it was all for formalities, that and to show the numerous people who were watching this scenario play out the supposed reach of the clan titan blade. Moyo stood straight,

“I, Moyosore titan blade, hereby accept the call to battle, my blade would be used in the defense of house thousand blades,” he replied,

“Then it is sealed, in return, for the duration of the tournament, the clan, and its entire territories are now under the protection of the house of the thousand blades,” the voice said,

Atreus snapped his hands as a notice appeared in the sky,

Global notice: House thousand blades have taken sole protection of the clan of the titan blade for the duration of two earth months, any perceived attack against the clan is an attack against the ruler of the thousand blades and is subject to their rule, be warned!.

“Step aboard the ship Moyo, we have no time” Atreus practically growled,

Moyo glanced once at his people, his faction leaders nodded once at him before he gathered his will and marched towards the ship whose side opened up to let him in, the same way a dark blue automaton that had all sharp edges and crystal stepped out and floated towards his advocates, Atreus cleared his throat,

“As per regulations stipulated in the accords, the territory of the contestant is allowed one master rank defense sentient construct or device for their protection,” he said as Moyo’s eyes widened,

His territory was more than safe, and with that thought he matched into the ship, the door closing behind him as the light came on to show a man with silver hair sitting on the bare ground, legs crossed and the first thing that held Moyo was his very presence, it felt like the world itself, a planetary force of nature. Immediately he fell to his knees, aware of who this was,

“Greetings, master Killian,” he said,

“Greetings, expert, be at ease, we’re leaving the atmosphere of your world” master Killian said, his voice as serene as the wind,

Moyo wasn’t even aware they were leaving his world already, a side of the sip shimmered to show his giant world rapidly becoming smaller as he felt a sense of loss. He was leaving the safety of his world to go heavens know where,

“I assumed as much that you would feel lost,” master Killian said,

Moyo turned to the man and bowed,

“Apologies master Killian, first time” Moyo replied, as Killian chuckled,

“I should think so, besides, I brought along a gift now that we’re leaving the sight of the overseer,” Killian said,

Moyo looked confused as he wondered what the master meant when a presence revealed itself, shaking off an invisibility skill that even Mrs. Martha would have had no idea was there. Moyo stared in shock, his hands limp as the man in front of him smiled, golden locked hair glowing with some otherworldly power,

“Hello, monster,” the man said,

Moyo fell to his knees, body shaking as he uttered the words he had thought,

“This disciple greets his master” he whispered his voice shaking,