The spatial dimension of mountains named oddly enough as the mountain was the home of one of the legendary rulers of house Kairos, the sage himself. Crafted solely by the willpower of the sage and his sacred weapon and relic simply known as the rod, its real name lost to the annals of history and time. It existed in its own corner of reality, but also in the galactic sphere of power belonging to house Kairos.

House Kairos as far as the archailect was concerned, was a very old and ancient house. Existing as far back as any record could detail, their power and strength were rivaled only by the dragons of house Dracon and their warriors both from the main families and branches of the house were renowned for their strengths and cunning. However, what differentiated house Kairos from most other houses, were the assortment of sacred beasts and creatures that were the pillars of house Kairos, its three rulers not being seen for close to a century now were rumored to be ancient primordial monsters of inconceivable strength.

It is widely said, that the only thing standing between house Dracon and total domination of the entire archailect space were the 10 great houses, but in reality, house Kairos was the main shield protecting the archailect from the brutal regime of the dragons and their egotistical view about reality. Known as protectors, guardians and most times liberators, the house was most times called upon rather than the brigade. For where the brigade would go in guns and weapons blazing, laying wastes to entire civilizations just to remove a single obstacle, house Kairos would move in with precision and accuracy, wiping out their targets before news even left the planet.

Out of all the rulers, the sage, an ancient creature known most notably for his strength was the most popular out of the three rulers of house Kairos. He was also the patron of the plantsmen, his personal army and servants. The plantsmen were mostly sent into war ravaged worlds, healing the ecosystem of said worlds, but most times underestimated for their docile behavior. The plantsmen carried the wrath of nature itself, the underestimated but overwhelming power of nature when it got angry.

Their ranks were broken into the four main elements of nature, water, earth, fire and air. Each branch of the plantsmen due to their nature, wielded two affinities at the same time, the other affinity being the one of plants hence where their names came from. The branches were lorded over by masters, each with supreme mastery of their paths, the masters were rarely known or even seen for that matter. Much like house Kairos, they lived in complete secrecy, known only to the rulers of house Kairos and a few distinct members of the house.

Eogan the green, master of the branch of earth appeared in the mountain. Pocketing a glowing red coin that served as a homing beacon to the spatial world, he stood above a hill silently. Then a presence enveloped the entire world, fusing with its nature itself, Eogan knelt, head bowed. The presence stilled and then coalesced into a single spot, but Eogan didn’t look up. The plantsmen owed their lives to the sage himself, not out of force but of pure dedication to him, and Eogan was one of those who would give his life to the ruler if he so commanded.

“My lord” he said,

“you’ve returned Eogan” a voice thundered around him, sounding like two mountains clashing,

Eogan nodded,

“report” the sage said,

Eogan shuddered at the pure power that filled the voice, the rulers of house Kairos were truly one of the oldest beings in creation. So old in fact, that in order to overcome the aether drain on their galaxy, they each build spatial realms, fueled by their personal aether. Aether that could in fact power an entire galaxy should they wish so, not even Azar, the red scorching claw of house Dracon could do that for long.

Eogan took a deep breath before speaking,

“She is doing fine my lord, even made a companion” he said,

“Oh?” the voice of the sage said curiously,

“An expert, one you would call an inferno, he belongs to house thousand blades”

The sage kept quiet at that news, Eogan continued,

“Ashira has risen to the peak of silver rank, close to ascension”

“and this inferno?, tell me about him”

“a bronze ranker that hit like a peak silver ranker. He broke into silver rank in a tier 300 dungeon as a level 190 iron ranker with an inspiration to bronze rank” Eogan said,

He could feel the interest of the sage hone in on the news,

“Interesting, and Ashira, is he more than a match for her?” the sage asked,

“He has hit the 5000 evolution on his attributes as a new silver ranker, and there’s something about him I can’t place a finger on, but something tells me he will be at the center of the incoming storm” Eogan said,

“The storm will always come and go as it does in the archailect, the last time it came, it brought the grim, and you remember how it went, didn’t you, Eogan of the green?” the sage said,

Eogan stiffly nodded, he did remember, Afterall, experts under the authority and mandate of the grim had wreaked his world looking for that thing. He felt the power of the sage settle on him soothingly,

“Still your rage my disciple, have no fear. I was ignorant of the threat last time, but not again, this time house Kairos, I, would eliminate any storm that comes for our domain” the sage said,

Eogan bowed deeper,

“Do you believe this boy a threat to Ashira, do I need to end him?” the sage asked,

“no!, no my lord, in fact, I believe he’ll be a valuable ally to house Kairos. His sense of determination and pride along with his loyalty to those he calls friends is astounding. The silver ranker almost got in to a fight with a category 5 blight to protect me” Eogan said,

“I’m guessing they don’t know you’re a master?” the sage said, amusement in his voice,

Eogan scratched his head and chuckled,

“They think I’m a diamond ranker, better that way, in my opinion they seem desensitized to those of power, plus I gave the titan blade something to look forward to” Eogan said,

“the titan blade?, is that his sobriquet?” the sage asked,

“Indeed, my lord, and he also participates in the swordsmanship tournament, trained by Killian stellar blade himself” Eogan said, omitting the name of Ajax,

“you’re holding back” the sage said quietly, the air and power in the mountain stilling, Eogan took a deep breath,

“And also, Ajax deathblade” he said,

The sage kept quiet and then began to chuckle, power swelling up all around the reality as Eogan felt with alarm the four guardian beasts of the ruler awaken from their slumber. Prostrating himself before the ruler, he shouted in his loudest voice, even as the cry of a bird pierced the air around him, tress torn asunder, mountains shaking,

“Great sage, equal of the heavens, the great sunderer and crusher of deities, listen to your humble servant” Eogan cried,

The sage stopped laughing and uttered a word,

“speak”

Eogan began to sweat, he knew of the history between the ruler and the name deathblade. The grim, progenitor of the sobriquet and school of the reaping katana had been a peak master who had dueled the strongest rulers of the archailect to a standstill, at least those who had answered the call of the brigade in that moment of need. Being the only being in existence to ever scar the sage, the ruler had sworn revenge on the school, wiping them out wherever his plantsmen had encountered them.

Till the harbinger of the true dragon herself, Xerxes the head of the brigade had issued a mandate to the rulers of the ten great houses, bidding them by order of the supreme beings themselves to cease the execution of the school or all those that were left after the capture of the grim himself. Of course, by that time, only Ajax, disciple and rumored blood son of the grim himself was left alive and handed to the dragons of house Dracon as a slave.

The sage had reluctantly ceased his imminent attack on house Dracon to snatch the boy out of their claws only to execute him personally. Now on hearing that his favorite family member was having close ties to an ascender being trained by the death blade himself was ludicrous.

“that child Altair, despite my warnings took the deathblade as his emissary, and now that child has a disciple who’s friends with my Ashira?, tell me Eogan of the green, why shouldn’t I end his existence, hmm?” the sage asked coldly,

Eogan could feel the guardian beasts hone in on him and he winced, those were not creatures he ever hoped to tangle with, he spoke,

“Because my lord, he is far different from the death blade, in fact, I believe the stellar blade is his actual master. Plus, the child tried to save my life, I owe him a debt my lord, and he doesn’t follow the path of the reaping katana, his path is one so unique, it baffles me” Eogan said,

The sage was silent for a few minutes as Eogan froze, then he sighed, the guardian beasts falling back to slumber as Eogan shuddered in relief. He suddenly felt a presence near him,

“Gaze upon me Eogan” the sage said from beside him,

Eogan gazed up into the golden furred face of the ruler, his sharp canines and red eyes blazing,

“I will believe your judgement Eogan, but if harm comes to Ashira, it is not my wrath you should be afraid of disciple, it is the wrath of the other two” he said,

The other two rulers of house Kairos, nicknamed the primordial catastrophes rarely moved, but when they did, it was often taken as the signs of an apocalypse by worlds. Eogan prayed for himself and the galaxy of house Kairos in general that nothing happened to Ashira, he even had half a mind to snatch her back home to house Kairos.

Now that the main news was done, he informed the sage of Ashira finding a primordial shard and selling it to house Garuda with the rewards of a tier 3 world and a million diamond coins. The sage had chuckled, opening his hand to show a blue shard glowing with pure aether, Eogan sucked in his breath,

“Is that?” he asked,

“The primordial shard, exchanged it for a primordial shard with the affinity for mana, a fair exchange” the sage said,

Eogan stared at it in wonder,

“It is to be a coming of age gift for Ashira, I wonder how she’d feel when she sees it” the sage said,

“Probably throw a fit and stomp off the go sulk with the guardian beasts” Eogan muttered as the sage roared out in laughter,

“This tournament of the swordsmen, perhaps we need to pay attention to it, with the blight attack on Duhiri, and the attack on the nest, the archailect is reaching a crescendo again” the sage said,

“house Dracon was attacked?, in the home of the rulers themselves?” Eogan asked astonished,

“Indeed, Azar fought off what seemed like an attack by the cult of the undying hand” the sage said,

Normally, in reality proper, uttering the name of the cult would draw the powers of the brigade down on you like a hammer from on high, but here, in the reality of the sage, the brigade couldn’t listen in or even act, his authority was absolute.

“the cult is moving again?, how did they get past the watch of the rulers on the frontlines?” Eogan asked,

“That remains to be seen, it is why I’m suspicious of this titan blade, his relation to the death blade could prove disastrous, and I’d be damned if I let him drag Ashira along” the sage said,

“I would sooner end him, debt or no debt before I see him drag the princess” Eogan swore,

The sage nodded,

“Inform the other branches, summon the masters, prime the vessel, something tells me house Kairos would need to act soon, very soon” the sage said,

Eogan nodded and bowed again before opening a spatial pathway and leaving the sage.

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

Annika storm bringer and the rest of the ruling powers of clan titan blade sat in the castle of dominion, in the domain of Bastion. Summoned with urgency by Mrs. Martha, the advocates had come in blazing with power to see her sitting calmly and sipping tea while smiling at them, Annika personally thought the spider queen as she was known in her kingdom of Trellis was enjoying this period of peace a little too much.

However, they had sat down as she said she had important information for them, Annika was sure it would be about the splintering of the glorious empire. It seemed all was not well within the continent and the people formerly known as the Japanese were advocating for their independence from the continent. Mrs. Martha glanced at them as she smiled,

“Moyo sent a video message” she said,

Annika felt joy, happiness, a tinge of sadness and bitterness at him not sending it to her. All of a sudden, she noticed eyes on her, then she noticed the weather had changed from its sunny disposition to a cloudy and windy one. Mrs. Martha cleared her throat,

“It looked as a formal message and knowing Moyo, he probably didn’t realize he could send it to all of us, so dearest Annika, please calm yourself” Mrs. Martha said as Idris snickered and Ayo jabbed him with an elbow,

Annika muttered an apology as she ceased the rampaging storm, the skies clearing back to its formerly sunny state, she still found it mortifying that he still drove her into recklessness at times. Mrs. Martha’s face changed as she spoke,

“it’s part heartwarming and half serious, it explains the scope of what we will face after ascending to expert” she said,

“Does it explain anything about the calamity?” Boyle asked,

Mrs. Martha shook her head,

“No, like I guessed, there’s a seal in place from giving such information until after the calamity when it became useless”

“So much for that” Samantha said,

The runic sorceress as she was known had gotten her own chair in the halls of dominion, her prodigy and fledgling organization, Femi and Octagram her only responsibility, that and capturing the creatures of the yellow zone to use for experiments. Mrs. Martha tapped something on her HUD as a holographic image of Moyo popped up in the middle of the room, Annika felt her heart skip a beat.

He looked older, tired but blazing with inconceivable power, she was sure he would be a god at this point should he return to the world. Mrs. Martha snapped her fingers,

“Oh, and call the vice sect leaders, they all need to see this” she said,

In a few minutes, all the vice sect leaders had arrived, Josh, Julius and the rest. After briefly explaining what was about to happen, Mrs. Martha played the recording.

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

Moyo sat on a chair, one hand propping his head and the other twitching unconsciously. His eyes, seemed far away and the usual brightness had been somehow dimmed, like the eyes of a man who had seen things and couldn’t talk about them. He took a deep breath and sat up, releasing it as he spoke,

“Hello everyone” he started,

“No excuse can justify my silence, nor should it, but in my defense, I thought it right to give you all breathing space. Ever since we created Bastion and expanded our influence on the continent of Asa, it felt like I’d been holding you back, all the world ever saw was the titan blade” he said as he smiled weakly,

“Not the cunning and brilliant Mrs. Martha, not the solid wall of Idris, not the accuracy of Ayo, not the technological brilliance of Mr. Boyle nor the skilled and powerful wrath of Annika. This tournament was to be as much as a vacation and a time for you all to rise, overcoming the perceived shadow of the titan blade. You all are family to me, down to every last ascender that belongs to clan titan blade, this journey was for me to get stronger in order to protect you from the dangers of the archailect at large.

But with time, I’ve come to see the hubris of my line of thinking. There are monsters in the archailect, on my first day of training, I was decimated like a fledgling, taught that I was a little fish in a big pond back on my world. To the greater archailect, we are nothing but specks of dust to them, so little beneath their feet, they didn’t even know of our rebellion that much.” He said,

With a chuckle that sounded self-depreciating, he continued,

“However, enough of the sad news, I’m sure Mrs. Martha and the rest of you know now about the incoming calamity. And while I cannot speak of it, the rules of the archailect as it seems has allowed me to speak of what happens when you eventually crossover to expert. I will say this, ensure our advocates are ready in all aspects for the calamity, for we’ll need every single expert we can get” he said,

“At the realm of expert, it is broken into 5 ranks. Iron, bronze, silver, gold and diamond. Unlike the previous ascensions, these are considered the true beginning of ascension. So, I would implore you, expert isn’t the stage to slack off, the mountain has gotten bigger and our journey has increased”

“At iron rank, you’re an average expert, it was what I was back on the planet. However, when you reach the limit of iron, level 190 to be exact, you will undergo what is known as a core manifestation. This is where your cores break and you get the chance to mold it into whatever form you believe suits you best, please take your time to think on this very well, it is irreversible.”

Moyo drank water from a cup, went silent for a few seconds, rubbed his face wearily and continued,

“Apologies, it’s been a rough day. Once you undergo your core manifestation, you enter another realm of power, here you begin to absorb the essence and aether of whatever creature you kill in its entirety, and I’ve left behind a note of all my findings on the matter. Another issue is the merging of your willpower and authority, please, the sooner you begin the better, again, I’ve left the process in the note I compiled. I have reasons to believe this information would be available once the world has overcome the calamity” he said,

“I will leave it to you all, should you decide to share this information with the world, as I’m not back home and unaware of the situation of things. However, I would say one thing that I want the world to know, the glorious empire had an expert even when I was back on earth, a dragon or rather, a human who discovered the path of a dragon, helped by a house in the greater archailect.” He said frowning,

“I wished I was back home to crush the bastard, half the issues we faced was due to his very presence, however you all do not have the power to face him yet. Ascend to expert, cross over to bronze, unlock your core manifestation and merge your willpower and authority into one single form, gain your mantles and fuse them with your aura to gain its complete form” Moyo said and then stared hard at them,

“Then unleash hell on this expert, make him pay for what he did to the world and to us, I wish I could get back as soon as the tournament is over, but things are happening that I can’t control, but I would do my best to come back home, to you all, to Annika” he said,

“So, I leave you on this note, with these words of encouragement. Even if ascension would become slow, and dungeons of higher rank would begin to spawn faster than you can handle, look to me. I, the titan blade, silver ranker of level 305, wielder of dominion and Ashe and the owner of an evolved skill set along with attributes over 5000 would come to your aid whenever you need it the most” he said,

“We didn’t falter when we were accosted on all sides, our world, our culture, our existence would not be threatened. And while we’ll be given the choice to rename our planet after the calamity, I leave you all to give it a name that would unite all of humanity” he finished,

“Oh, and also, I’ve got some vault that has a physical presence In Bastion, it said my private quarters and only those who trust me in entirety can enter. I left a gift for Annika, hoping she forgives this man for his negligence, I love you my storm bringer” he said as the message closed,

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

The video died as the room elapsed in silence, Mrs. Martha staring at all their faces as she sipped from her tea again,

“My storm bringer” Idris said as everyone roared out in laughter, Idris falling to the ground in uncontrollable fits of laughter, Julius, the vice commander of the storm bringers suddenly having a need to wipe his glasses clean as he avoided the face of his blushing leader.

When it eventually died down, Mrs. Martha spoke,

“So, that’s it, the question is how do we move forward?” she said,

“Lock down the continent, weed out the spies from the other factions and begin to go through the notes the titan blade left us, we begin this willpower and authority fusion training immediately for our advocates” Mr. Boyle said,

“My thoughts exactly” Mrs. Martha replied,

“Give our allied factions a bit of info, chalk it up to the library we got, let them prepare, but keep the info about the dragon a secret, we cannot let it become aware of our knowledge of its existence” Samantha said,

“Agreed again, any other thing?” Mrs. Martha said,

“I would like to go check his room for the vault” Annika whispered,

Everyone heard the seriousness in her voice, the thought of if she trusted him completely unspoken but audible,

Mrs. Martha nodded as Annika left, the room devolved into whispers as plans were laid out, the vice leaders participating also. When she returned, a silver spear in hand, Mr. Boyle marveled at it,

“The artwork the power it holds, it is a weapon fit for a god, or in this instance his storm bringer” he said as Annika smiled a little,

“Just say yes to the man, this is quite a proposal gift” Ayo said,

Annika sputtered as Ayo chuckled,

“He left a recording in the vault, apparently it has no affinity and different trials by masters and rulers to unlock it had failed, stating it needs a true awakening” Annika said,

“We will try our best to figure it out” Boyle promised,

“Clan titan blade, hear me” Mrs. Martha said as they turned to her,

“Our leader and patriarch, lord Moyosore titan blade has left us with a mandate, in his benevolence he has given us the key to the future. It is left to us to blaze our path forward. From this moment I hereby initiate the lockdown protocol, my spiders have been rounding up the spies and the force field created by sect leader Boyle of the hammer of Ogun will hereby be put into effect as of 12 am tonight” she said,

“For the glory of the clan and our patriarch, we will not fail, to the titan blade” she said,

“To the titan blade!” the voices in the hall replied in a roar.