High brother Zeph ash rain sat within his chambers deep underground, the flow of his ash realm made manifest flowing around him from the surface, providing information as to the movements of every piece he had topside, as well as the absurdly powerful presence he had stoked.

He had been caught offguard.

When Rohan had described the presence of the titan as that of a being close to primordial rank and then some, he had simply attributed it to the first brother and leader being cautious, now though, he had seen the truth, that titan blade was something else. No master should have such power, hell, the bodies of masters shouldn’t even be able to wield the obscene amount of power he had felt coming from him. Added to the fact that he had felt the astonishing veneration and something so potent, the abyss literally trembled around the titan blade.

He shook himself off his revere, watching the miniature form of the planet topside play out in front of him, he spoke.

“squads five and six, activate binding array, retr-“

A flash of power cut him off, Zeph stifling a curse before watching the black ash pieces crumble into nothing after the flash of power. A presence manifesting behind him drew his attention, almost as a presence also in black stepped out to block the path of the being manifesting as well.

“My oh my” a sultry voice said,

“Was that another force extinguished?, things aren’t going according to plans, are they?” the female presence said as she manifested.

Robes made of literal blood, black inky eyes staring from a pale white face, alluring body filled with red vein-like lines all over and a floating smiling caricature of a doll right next to her, she paused at the figure of a brother of the undying hands blocking her path, two short knives in hand and a silky shadowy creature at his side also.

“Are you going to tell your lacky to move?, or should I turn him to gore?” she asked.

Zeph didn’t turn, eyes still glued to the miniature forms.

“What are you doing here Lirien Darkheart?” he asked softly.

“Checking up on our commander of course, can’t have you dying early due to a stray strike of the anathema now can we?” she replied.

“Speaking of which, how are those masters of yours?, those left alive I mean” she asked.

Zeph could envision the horrific smile currently etched on her face, her pitiable attempts at goading him, trying to see the lengths he would rage to, a pity he still needed her anyways. He adjusted a piece, mentally sending a command to the said team, the oath of binding the elites swore to him holding sway over their forces. The masters, fellow brothers and sisters of the cult who had received the blessings of Rohan and had seen their existences forcibly pushed to master rank; and who he had used in his initial volley against the titan blade.

Of the four, three were left critically injured, one completely obliterated along with his entire force when the titan uttered what Zeph knew well enough to be an edict. The strength those attacks had carried, the double-edged attack the titan had sent hurling back to their lines had left Zeph speechless for a second. He had accounted for the titan pulling out some obscene move, but so casually?, it had left him wondering what sort of machinations the primordials had been imbuing into the child.

He sighed out loud, turning to face the master ranked mage as well as lieutenant of the Bloodfiend mage, eyeing her as true to his words, a large maniacal grin stretched from ear to ear.

“KNEEL” he commanded.

The Darkheart crashed to her knees in an instant, pressure weighing down on her, the brother of the cult retreating with a nod of thanks from Zeph. Turning his attention to her, he eyed her for a second, aware that every second he wasted was more time for the titan and his forces to tear through his forces. Then again, he had a near infinite access to troops, thousands upon thousands pouring through the gaseous abyssal energies that made up the planet, bearing down on wherever the forces of the titan ran to.

No doubt, the titan and his masters would soon run out of steam, one simply couldn’t keep fighting for an eternity. Soon enough, slips would begin to happen, a stab here, a hit there, and with the elites and the rest of their forces keeping the primordials busy in the void above as well as the powerful runic circle bestowed upon him by lord Araman himself, the planet was a walking trap for the titan blade. That left him dealing with the errant lieutenants given to him by the elites, one of such being the mage with dreams way above her station.

He stared at her as she growled softly, knowing better than to try to dispel the command, her lord, Gorefang, had placed her directly under his control, his words were law as long as they remained on the planet. In as much as it revulsed him, even as he quashed the lustful aura emanating from her body that sought to cloud his senses, he used two fingers to raise her head up. He spoke.

“You were ordered to stand vigil over a quadrant, do you think this is a joke?” he asked.

Lirien said nothing, still staring at him with hate filled eyes.

“You call him the anathema, to us, mortals I mean, not you sick abominations, he’s merely some overgrown master who’s been biting more than he can chew” he continued.

“And yet, for some bizarre reason, your kins alike do not take him as seriously, knowing that his power has the ability to do what even the primordials can’t, at least not conveniently, it speaks to the foolishness of you, your elites and I dare say, your lords as well” he said.

Lirien growled in blind anger, he nodded, flicking his hand as he blasted her backwards, turning back to the miniature forms.

“The titan comes for you, do this right, and you’ll live, underestimate him the same way you did his masters within your clone bodies aboard the carnage striders and see why you involuntarily call him the anathema” he said.

“Now, get out of my sight” he commanded.

He watched as she pushed against the command, pitting her considerable power against the command and the shriek of agony she let out as the oath bit into her. Disappearing in an explosion of blood, he sighed to himself, too many useless pieces, left to himself, the plan would be moving as usual. However, he needed them for what he had planned, and with lord Araman’s assurances that he had his blessings, he was prepared to make do with them.

With his concentration now back on the board, he whispered to himself.

“Come titan blade” he said,

∞

Moyo and his hand immediately sequestered themselves within a hollow crevice in the ground, feeling its depth, they had laid low, watching as hordes of creatures ran overhead, some with their powers as low as silver and even bronze rank, and some, moving with the titanic steps of rulers. From what they gathered, these were the ‘named ones’, creatures within the abyss that had grown so powerful, they now commanded untold thousands, acting as lesser lords within the infinite expanse that was the abyss. They had all answered the calls of the abyssal lords though, some out of greed for what they could obtain, some out of the quest to obtain more power, some for the need to gorge themselves on soft mortal flesh, but most came out of pure fear of the lords.

As Moyo was getting to understand, hierarchy within the abyss was a bit confusing, some named ones working hand in hand with the elites of the abyssal lords, some wanting nothing to do with said elites, some depriving immense joy in hunting their fellow abyssal creatures in cannibalistic joy, most came out of pure fear.

It had worked in getting the majority of the powers of the abyss together, the supposed tier 6 elites and named ones converging before the named ones decided to carve fiefdoms for themselves within the planet that seemed to stretch on for infinity. All these, Moyo had learnt from the tier threes that camped oddly enough above them, the soldiers or as Moyo and the rest seemingly just learnt, the Dreadguards. Glancing at Ashira who gripped her blade tight, staring above, he calmly nodded to Idris who nodded back.

Stuck within the underground caverns, Idris had taken to sharpening his spear, knowing well enough that sooner or later, they’d have to resurface as they head for their first target, the first of the pyramid like structures. Moyo spoke softly, even as the Dreadguards passed by, moving along with the rest of their forces.

“Is anything we know about the abyssal beings even remotely correct?” he asked.

“I’m learning about these facts for the first time as well, no records have stated anything about category three’s being called Dreadguards or even about these named ones.” She replied.

“If all these are true, then that means the brigade or jades were keeping things from us even when we’re at war” she said darkly.

“What else is new?’ Idris said snorting.

“The brigade for all their pompous show of being a cohesive unit seem to be burdened down by what every other powerful corporation experiences as well, withholding vital info for the supposed safety of everyone else” he continued.

“I don’t see how withholding the true names of the abyssal creatures seem to hurt anyone” Ashira asked.

“True, but the knowledge of powerful entities on the same power level as elites but not sworn to any abyssal lords is indeed a terrifying prospect, it could be something I see the jades try to stamp out quietly in coordination with the brigade members” Moyo explained.

Ashira grunted.

“With our full strengths, we could be done with one of the pyramids by now” she said.

“But we’ll never know how they work, what sort of powers run them and how to counter them” Moyo replied.

“Sneaking in isn’t exactly easy as well” Idris said.

“True, but it’s fun” Moyo said with a grin.

Ashira rolled her eyes as she stood up, glancing above.

“they’re gone” she replied.

“Good, then we move again” Moyo replied.

Crawling out of the cavern, cores shrouded to silver rank, the three ascenders bounded across the wide expanse with silver ranked speed, dodging foes they could easily annihilate and pushing ever closer to the pyramid. It stood in the distance, made of the same glowing dark rock like the very ground they stood on, except they were carved with runes so vile and dark that they twisted reality around them. Hundreds of thousands of abyssal creatures rampaged, killed, hooted and did all sorts of obscene things at the bottom, stretching for miles.

Moyo stared from the shadows at the top of the pyramid where figures stood, three in number, one sitting and staring at the hordes of monsters, its face almost fish like in structure, another shrouded by swaths of clothes while the third was a bent figure resting on what looked like a bone gotten from some large creature. They stood like gods among their lesser ilk’s, no doubt part of the fabled nameless ones, sent to watch over the structure. It made Moyo wonder just where the members of the cult of the undying hands were.

With his core slowly unshrouding to diamond rank, he gripped Gegun, turning to Ashira.

“Draw their attentions to my position, the two of you sneak closer to the pyramid” he whispered.

“And what?, leave you to face the thousands of hordes and three nameless ones?” Ashira asked incredulously.

“At your full strength, I’d have no issue with this” Idris said.

“But with the most of your powers locked away, you’d be fighting at a disadvantage” the titan fist said.

Moyo smiled.

“You rarely saw me fight as a diamond, did you?” he asked Idris.

“He was a beast” Ashira replied rolling her eyes.

“So, you’re saying he’s not fighting at a disadvantage?” Idris asked.

“More like it’s closer to a fair fight” she said.

“Good, we’re at an agreement, Idris, find what’s powering that forsaken structure, purify it with my aspect and get out before it implodes upon itself” Moyo said.

Idris nodded.

“Ashira, go wild, keep the creatures off him” he said as she nodded.

“Good, then operation use Moyo as bait is a go” he said with a smile.

“You know, most people who get chosen as bait aren’t too keen or happy to be used so” Idris said raising one eyebrow.

Moyo simply grinned harder.

∞

Moyo stepped out of the dark crevice, walking closer to the hordes, churning his core as he powered up, blazing in a column of purple fire, his intent and aspect burning the very abyss around him. Screeches of roar reverberated around him in anger, the three figures above snapping their attentions to him, their perceptions settling on him before flashing away as if scalded. He watched the untold numbers begin rumbling down on him in a wave of abyssal destruction. The titan took one step forward, raised Gegun as the forces of the abyss ranking from tier one to five were about to descend on him.

“DESTROY” he commanded and swung his blade.

Gegun reaped them in untold hundreds, the burning blade of dark green and purple fire ran through the creatures like dry paper in flames, the attack lighting them up just as quickly as they got close, Moyo expanding his sage’s sight and Shango’s resonance in preparation of the incoming attack, and like clockwork, he felt the nameless ones appear around him, but he frowned.

Two came, one didn’t fall for the trick.

∞

Zeph felt the display shake with the explosive power from the titan.

“Piece 1 and 2, move, 3, stay behind, Lirien, move” he commanded.

And with a pulse of power, he activated a small construct in his hands, hearing pulses of replies as he nodded to himself, standing up, the trap was walking nicely, it was time he introduced himself.

∞

Moyo deflected an attack from the first nameless one, the humanoid fish creature that summoned creatures with pure abyssal essence, oddly shaped things that swirled around him, striking out in an attempt to take a bite from his body. Gegun was always there at every turn, cutting through the creatures, dispelling them in time to pit his strength against the second nameless, the old looking one with a decaying face but maniacal grin, wielding the bone that Moyo now knew to wield unholy amount of strength.

It was nothing his titan’s might couldn’t handle, even without his mantle and titan body summoned together, he would rather go all out than underestimate them. Of course, assuming these were aetheric attacks, then Shango's resonance would had gone wild, absorbing and redirecting the attacks, but here, he got to enjoy something he had not in a long time, testing his sword skills. The fish shifted backwards, muttering in a gruttal tone as Moyo felt a presence begin to manifest around the creature and the two hooks it called a weapon.

Worthy of being called ruler ranked attacks, the abyss roiled with its approval, empowering it, the hooks gleaming. Moyo moved before it could finish, step of Ogun and he was behind the fish in a blink, Gegun coming down with all the master ranked force he had gathered upon unshrouding his core. The bone from the maniacal nameless one was there, attempting to halt it. Gegun empowered with titan’s might crushed the bone, releasing a wail of wraith like creatures in a burst of power.

The nameless one shrieked, the titan blasted backwards, watching as the fish nameless completed its spell, large glowing creatures appearing in the air. And then the hooks were flying, spinning through the air with deadly speed as they came for him, Moyo dancing across them with speed to equal their deadly nature. The moment he felt three more presences coming for him, locking unto his body and attempting to hold him down, he unleashed his Ashe.

“BREAK!” he commanded,

The abyss quaked with the command, fighting back from the imposter, but all it could manage was reduce the potency, the commands weakening enough for Moyo to forcibly shatter them with his body, vaulting backwards as one of the hooks sliced him. He could feel whatever was in the hooks begin to worm its way into his body from the nick it had made, shocked that something found a way to pass through both his mantle and titan’s body.

His aspect burnt it though, the semi sentient attack screaming as it was obliterated from creation in its entirety. Landing to see two figures in dark robes, bodies lines with runes that made Moyo’s gaze darken. He knew that power from anywhere, it had left him helpless back when he was a diamond, that state of fear that he promised himself to never feel again.

“Araman” he said darkly.

“Close, we are his gift to you” one of the dark figures said.

“Be glad, for the lord of destruction himself has deigned you worthy to die by his power” the second figure said.

The moment they moved, Oshosi's ferocity screamed at him to dodge, he did without a second thought, a combination of Ogun’s step and his innate master ranked speed teleported him miles away from where their combined attacks tore through in a flash of black light. Moyo stared in horror at its handwork, the fish nameless had been obliterated from existence, the old maniacal nameless cursing in a tongue Moyo didn’t understand.

One of the robed figures slapped the nameless in a blur, its body exploding with such force, its bones tore into the abyssal creatures around them. The floating last figure laughed in a loud voice, raising her hands up as the weird floating looking white painted face at her side that continually leaked blood opened its mouth in a shriek. Around Moyo came forms from the abyss itself, each burning with the power of a different lord of the abyss, it seemed they had decided to take him seriously now.

Each burning with the strength of a ruler, each with weapons that literally leaked aspect, they surrounded him.

“So this was the trap?” he asked.

Together, abyssal creatures and the two robed figures spoke, their powers in unison.

“DIE!”

The abyss quaked, the very world thundered and thousands of abyssal creatures died in a flash, Moyo though, felt the attack slam into him like a train, felt it attempt to dig into his core, into his very existence and his eyes widened. Within him though, the prime aspect that blazed like the sun burned with a ferocity, the sea of Ashe and aspect thundered and Moyo’s entire existence rung with one combined edict.

“DA PA DA!”

The area around them thundered with the edict, the abyss burned, the very skies burned purple and for miles, even from space, the power burned bright like a flash of comet. When it was gone, Moyo still stood, his body smoking from the amount of power he had expended, but what surprised him the most was the glob of pure darkness that surrounded the entire force arrayed before him, slowly receding to reveal the figures still alive, staring at him with burning gazes.

“I told you “ a figure said as he manifested from the blowing ash in the air.

“This is to be your tomb, your end, we know you titan blade, anathema, and we’ve come prepared” the figure said.

A tall black robed man with a staff in hand, pure aspect buffering from the man, aspect of Araman himself, Moyo chuckled though, infusing aspect into his mantle, titan body manifesting again, eyes burning with power as he summoned dominion.

“Now it’s a fair fight” he replied.

If the man was shocked by the reply, he gave no inclination, merely pointing one finger at the titan blade.

“Kill him” he commanded,

The forces attacked, the titan blade swinging his blades to meet them in battle as the planet quaked around them, both forces totally ignoring the two ascenders that made their way into the pyramid.