Lotes lay on her hind legs in her draconic form, eyes shut as she shuddered, beside her stood Ishum, true messenger of fire and aether, and right in front of her lay Lucirion, aether blessed, laying on his back and panting slowly, eyes staring into the fiery skies of the transcendent realms,

“Is it me, or are your flames looking a bit weaker?” the aether blessed asked,

Lotes cracked open an eye, staring at the child whose very aspect embodied the principles and will of aether itself, her prodigy and in some sense, her disciple. Ishum shifted uncomfortably, eyes straying to the other body that laid unconscious right next to him,

The titan blade,

She sat up, eyes burning as a veil of her aspect cocooned the child, protecting him from the volatile energies of the transcendent realm, for it was strong enough to tear apart any being still with a physical body. Lucirion was an anomaly anyways, his very body had been reforged from the rune of aether itself, hence he was half transcendent, it was why he had the power to go toe to toe with the strongest of primordials for fun. The titan blade however, was something else entirely, and Lotes knew that.

Just staring at his body, she could see just how strong he was, his very strength bordering on touching the actual rune of strength itself, in other words, the attainment of sage’s might,

“And he isn’t even a ruler yet” she thought with a chuckle,

It wasn’t that she feared the transcendent realm destroying his body, oh no, she feared just what sort of strength he could attain if he evolved while in her realm and his very physical existence couldn’t handle it, after all, he was still technically a master, even if he didn’t play by the rules of the archailect any longer. She noticed Lucirion turning to her, an eyebrow raised,

“Something funny?’ he asked,

Lotes sighed at the petulant manner in which the aether blessed spoke to her,

“You do know I could end your existence before you so much as blink, right?’ she asked him,

“and miss me bothering you every time?, you wish” he replied sticking his tongue out at her,

Ishum growled as he took a step, then Lucirion cracked open one eye to stare at the messenger of flames and Ishum stopped dead on his track, frozen in fear. The very presence of the aether blessed bore down on him like an avalanche and the messenger blanched, Lotes tsked,

“Lucirion” she said in warning,

Lucirion sighed, nodding and apologizing to Ishum who nodded; however, his message had been passed through and Lotes was pretty sure Ishum wouldn’t be seeking to test his mettle against the aether blessed anytime soon. Lucirion sat up, all traces of mirth wiped from his face,

“What was that…...thing?” he asked silently,

Lotes frowned,

“The great enemy” she replied,

The aether blessed stood up, shaking his head as his robes began to stitch itself back to an extent, signs of damage that refused to repair itself evident on it,

“The lords of the abyss are great foes, Rohan, the avatar of the abyss itself is getting close, the abyss itself is our great foe, whatever that…presence was, it was something else, something….” Lucirion said, looking for the right word,

“Different?, like the titan blade?” Lotes asked,

Lucirion paused, eyes wide as he glanced at the prone body of the titan on the ground and then back to Lotes,

“Are they related?” he asked quietly,

The dragon with a body of burning flame aether shrugged, golden eyes staring away from Lucirion,

“In a way” she replied,

Lucirion attempted to talk again when she raised one claw,

“Shush child, they come” she said,

Lucirion paused, nodded and walked next to the body of the titan blade and crouched, Lotes nodding satisfactorily, it was why she trusted the aether blessed with secrets, his unshakeable faith in her. Five beings began to materialize and Lotes shifted, unspoken words going to Ishum and Lucirion who went on guard. A crystal being appeared right next to Ishum, in its hand a crystal blade glowing with a spectrum of colors and its edge driving deep for the body of the titan, Ishum’s blade crashed into it, his fist smashing into the face of the messenger like being and watching as it shattered into a thousand fragments, each piece blasted away.

Lucirion moved, snapping his fingers as barrier after barrier forged with pure aether close to that of Lotes settled around he and the titan blade, just in time for a silver blade that could split anything to oblivion. The blade crashed into it and shattered, it’s wielder, another messenger with silver skin and carrying the weight of edge aspect so sharp, Lotes glanced at the messenger who froze, her power sealing its movements, it was her realm after all. Then a ship so big, it defied the senses of even the aether blessed materialized, it’s weapons honing in on the spot where the titan blade lay, Lucirion cursing as he prepared to weather the attack,

“ENOUGH!” Lotes roared as the transcendent realm rippled with pure power, crushing every attack used or even the thought as the ship crumpled in on itself, becoming a female messenger,

Five messengers stood in front of Lotes who burned with anger,

“you dare come into my realm with malicious purpose?, all of you?” she snarled,

The messenger that had wielded the silver sword pointed at the titan blade,

“What is he?” he asked quietly,

“are you so petulant as to possess the body of your messenger to come see me?, afraid of my wrath perhaps, Alastor?” Lotes asked,

She glanced at the rest of them as well,

“That goes for the rest of you all as well” she said, rage still dripping from her voice,

The crystalline messenger stepped forwards,

“The strands of fate have been burnt and unraveled, events or even possibilities of events have been scrubbed clean, just what is this…child and why have you hidden him from our sight for so long?” the female being asked,

“I hid nothing from you all Vazyra, you all were just engrossed in your selfish games to see what was just in front of you” Lotes replied,

“lies” the female android looking messenger hissed as Hud’s sprang to life around her,

“Every step of the way, your touch in his growth was evident now that we know what to look for, are you seeking to unbalance the great game?” she asked,

“You know Liakya, out of all our siblings, you’re the most annoying of them all, all you see are simply moves to make, you care for nothing but your own existence, do not make me come for your domain little one” Lotes said,

The messenger of the supreme being of technology bunched her fists together in rage,

“You still haven’t given us a response” a large messenger with gauntlets that were planets themselves spoke,

“And you will get one if only you all hadn’t acted like pesky ancients and primordials” Lotes said, exasperated,

This was why she hated dealing with her siblings, all they saw were deceit and moves to make in their comical great game, Lotes cared for only one thing, the continued existence of the archailect or life as she knew it, any other thing were useless to her. She turned to Lucirion who nodded and stood straight, walking to her front, Ishum taking his place next to the titan blade, all eyes of the messengers turned to the aether blessed who walked with stone cold gaze to the front,

“His name, is Moyosore titan blade, a master with the powers of a primordial” he said,

The beings paused with the exception of Alastor’s host who stared on, already aware of that revelation, Lotes idly wondered why the edge hadn’t revealed that piece of info to the rest of his siblings, but knowing him, he had an angle he was playing. The rest though began speaking in astonishment, shocked by what they had heard,

“Another primordial, one with such strength as a master, has the archailect itself begun to malfunction?” Liakya asked,

“Whatever the case maybe, Lotes hid it from us, and were it not for chaos encroaching into the archailect, this ……being, would had become one of her strongest allies, a rule of the great game she broke” Draulr accused,

“I broke no such rules, you all had the chance to go for the child, you did no such thing” Lotes replied,

“The rules state that every new galaxy brought into the archailect will be open to our agents to pick out favored ones, you all ignored the galaxy known as the milky way for you said they were weak” she spat,

“Be that as it may, this child somehow killed a lord of the abyss, and again, somehow absorbed the rune of mutation, he has the power of chaos in him, he cannot exist” Alastor said, idly picking the nails of his messenger’s body,

“I don’t see you sending your servants to hunt down the omega blade” Lotes replied,

“The omega blade serves a purpose, he goes after the lords of the abyss, when his usefulness is done, he will be eradicated” Liakya replied,

Lotes chuckled,

“again, your sights are blinded to short term goals, you think the omega blade acquired his powers by himself?, a greater game is afoot siblings, one we are losing much to my shame” Lotes growled,

“No game is bigger than ours” Filvux said as her messenger, a male one carrying a shield that was the culmination of all runic barriers in front of his frame,

“That is where you are wrong dear sister” she said,

She tapped one claw into the ground, her message passed to the rest of her siblings, within it were the true fact of their true foe. Left to her, she would had kept it a secret till the very end, but again, the titan blade had caught her off guard, his breaking of reality and drawing the attention of the great chaos serpent had pushed her time table forward. Her siblings froze, eyes wide,

“What is this blasphemy?” Draulr growled,

“To even suggest we weren’t the first to exist, it is sacrilege” Vazyra said,

“And I could care less about your ego, that is the truth, and now that you know, the great enemy knows as well, our time as well as its time grows short, things are coming to a head” Lotes said,

“So that’s why you sought the child, you wanted to protect yourself from whatever happens, ensuring your survival while the rest of us perish” Liakya snarled,

Lotes blinked in utter disbelief, Alastor shaking his head, she took a deep breath to calm herself,

“One more word from you, and I’ll destroy your messenger’s body, good luck making another one anytime soon" she snarled,

Liakya wisely kept shut,

“I kept him a secret because we were not to interfere in his growth too much” she said as Alastor snorted,

“Too late for that eldest, and now that we have?’ he asked,

“It matters little at this stage, a new era is coming, one of bloodshed and our interference will be needed soon, this is simply me expending the turn we got from when the serpent sought to snatch the child” she said,

“So that wasn’t the child breaking reality?” Draulr asked, a hint of disappointment in his voice,

“No, he is strong, but he hasn’t reached that stage just yet” she replied,

“But wait, if he’s our card, and the rules of the game states that the other side must have a card, then…” Filvux said as it dawned on them,

“Indeed, now you understand” Lotes replied,

For once, Lotes saw the speechlessness of her siblings and she savored the moment,

“I do not envy his fate” Alastor muttered,

“Neither do I, but it is one he will carry” Draulr replied,

Lotes nodded in satisfaction,

“Now that you all know, time grows short, I have to return him to the physical realm and his bonded world” she said,

“a mere master with a bonded world, even the words sound ludicrous to my ears” Liakya muttered,

“Be that as it may, the child absorbed the rune of decay, right?” Alastor asked,

Lotes nodded,

“Indeed, he now has total immunity from that aspect of the abyss itself” she replied,

“Meaning we only need stir his fate in the direction of the other lords” Liakya said with glee,

Lotes rolled her eyes,

“We can all sense your glee to see him die Liakya, but no, knowing the titan blade, he would eventually meet them sooner than later” Alastor said,

“Already, the forces of the archailect have pushed them back to the last system of Araman himself, as soon as they consolidate their gains, they will launch their attack” Lotes said,

“And our foe would launch his as well, wouldn’t he?” Alastor asked,

Lotes nodded silently,

Alastor sighed,

“Then we have no choice than to help the child now that we can” the being of edges said,

Stepping forwards, he appeared next to the body of the titan blade, tapping his skull.

“To you, I bestow the gift of Anshara, when you need it the most, it’ll be unleashed in you, hopefully you attain the rank of ruler soon enough” he said,

Lotes bowed in appreciation,

Filvux stepped forwards,

“To you, on your ascension to ruler, I bestow upon you the mantle of protection itself” she said,

A rune blazed to life on the body of the titan and vanished, seeping into his mantle, Lotes nodded again in appreciation. Draulr grinned,

“you know, I could take him to the world of my harbinger, a suitable place to-“he said, pausing as he saw the look Lotes gave him,

Sighing, he shook his head,

“Such powerful child and his skills wasted on a blade” he said as Alastor coughed,

“To you, I bestow my very might, unlocked when you reach ruler of course, can’t have you hitting with the force of a planet as a master now, can we?” Draulr chuckled,

Vazyra floated forwards, pointing to the child as a strand of rainbow thread floated and touched him,

“To you I give the peak of sage’s sight, use it well child” she said,

Lotes bowed continuously, then Liakya stepped forwards and Lotes tensed,

“oh do be calm, I can’t very well kill our only hope of defeating the great enemy now can i?” she growled,

She deposited a crystal into his cloth, Lotes raised an eye,

“it’s for his ship, he’s not an android I can upgrade now, can i?, weak fleshy thing he is” she grumbled and stepped backwards,

Lotes was left, her siblings waiting for her,

“Well?” Alastor asked,

“Well, what?” she asked innocently,

“Do spare us the suspense and let us see what you intend to bless the child with” Draulr grumbled,

She chuckled,

“I don’t need to, he’ll attain it soon enough, thanks to you all” she replied,

“Whatever games you’re playing eldest, I do not like it one bit” Liakya said,

“You don’t have to, you simply have to play your path” Lotes replied,

“We will be watching, eldest” Draulr said as he vanished,

Liakya simply blinked away, the rest following suit except for Alastor,

“Yes, brother?’ Lotes asked,

“The titan blade owes me a debt, I intend to collect soon, if that’s fine with you, eldest?” he asked,

“Ah, that explains your mild support for me” Lotes said nodding,

“And it just cost me an entire system of planets that Liakya would seek to take, not that she’d manage to, merely drawing my attention” Alastor replied,

Lotes chuckled,

“Your deal is with the child not me, so long as you do not endanger him” she said,

“we’re all in danger eldest” Alastor said vanishing,

Lucirion wobbled and crashed to his rear, panting softly, the aura in the area receding with the supreme beings vanishing,

“Are the harbingers going to be made aware?” he asked softly,

“No, not yet, and I expect you to seal your lips” Lotes warned,

Lucirion nodded, watching as she waved her hands and the body of the titan blade vanished back to the physical realm. Lucirion stood,

“Time to leave” he said,

“One more thing” Lotes said,

“No doubt, an enquiry would be put up to determine just how a master was able to take down a lord of the abyss, I need you to ensure those primordials don’t punish him too harshly” Lotes said,

Lucirion snorted,

“He is tied with Ashira Kairos, typhon and Tiamat have adopted him to their family, Eses is especially fond of him and Viaris considers him an ally, the worst he’d get is a pat on the back” he said,

“and the harbingers?, no doubt my siblings would attempt to get to him through them, then your jades?” Lotes asked,

“I assume you’ll handle Xerxes?” Lucirion asked,

Lotes nodded,

“Then I’ll handle my jades, they respect him anyway, Mardar especially seeing as he somehow unlocked the next stage in his advancement for him. He’ll be fine great mother” Lucirion said bowing,

Vanishing with a snap, Lotes sighed, Ishum standing straight,

“Subtly inform our contacts, prepare the forces, soon we will strike” she said,

Ishum saluted and flashed away in an explosion of fire, Lotes sat on her hunches and watched as the titan blade stirred through a probe she opened. She watched his body somehow grow stronger and his eyes, gold and purple flash open. She had left out a little detail from her siblings though,

The prime aspect,

Its power had been unleashed through his body and existence, and with their gifts, well, she grinned, watching as the gaze of the titan somehow pierced the veil to hone in on her. She closed it, not before winking at the child who sat up and nodded once at her,

Good, she thought,

He understood although a little, just what had happened, and with that, Lotes, the great mother slept back on her hunches, idly thinking of just what sort of monster the titan blade and Ashira would create….