Moyo stood on the wreckage of a metal construct, its sheer scale rivalling large battle tanks from Gaia and then some. All around him, the entire planet burned, what remained of it anyways, melted mithril littered the landscape for as far as his eyes could see, and that was oddly enough, the entire planet. His chest ached with the sparseness of the aether in the air and he so much wanted to infuse the planet with some, he was an aether blessed now, he could do things like that. Something instinctual told him it would wreak a heavy toll on his temporary form, seeing as he barely held it together with his willpower.

The titan, or the old one, hadn’t explained to him that without his rune, the sum of his entire existence in the Archailect, he couldn’t maintain a body in the mortal realm for long. Of course, this was because he had transcended the parameters for an average ascender, ancients and above were the only ones privy to this evolution, their ascendance outside of the ‘norms’ of the Archailect. It meant they had imprinted on the Archailect, their ‘echo’ was now another interwoven piece of tapestry in the fabric of reality.

All around him, damaged and struggling androids made their way to the final fortification behind him, Moyo feeling the power of Liakya coming from it, but it was more diluted. He supposed he could thank the messenger who floated next to him for that, the angelic being glaring at him even as Moyo ignored him completely, even the ruler who was at his side as well fidgeting. Something was odd about the planet, no, the entire galaxy, something he couldn’t put his finger on, like a vital part of a puzzle had been lost. He frowned again, glancing at the void in the distance, the starless skies that had been stripped of its atmosphere, good thing the populace were only construct beings.

The sun had been killed, nothing illuminated the entire system he was in, perpetual darkness save for the bastion that glowed with the power of the supreme being behind him, and even at that, it was only on this world. It chilled him, that out of the numerous worlds in this system, only one had light, only one served as a beacon of hope for whatever poor souls were still fighting on in those lost darkened worlds as well. And all of this had happened due to Azael, the grim, the one whose forces were gathering to attack again, gathering their strength even as Moyo held them back with his aspect flames that surrounded the area for as far as the eyes could see.

Oro floating at his side, he turned to the ruler, the muscular android made of mithril who wielded a poleaxe. Moyo didn’t think it possible for a machine to look so drained and tired, but the ruler tried putting on a brave face, even as Moyo saw through him. Blinking away his incessant Hud that he still refused to open, he spoke.

“Are you the one in charge here?” he asked, even when he knew the answer already.

He felt the messenger tense beside him at the insult, the ruler glancing at the messenger nervously, he spoke, his voice baritone with a mechanical undertone.

"No lord titan blade, the venerable messenger of the supreme being is" he replied respectfully.

“Oh?’ Moyo said, glancing at the messenger.

“What are you?” the messenger asked bluntly.

Moyo eyed the being, nursing the thought of plucking its feathers one by one, no love lost between himself and the supreme of constructs. He ignored the question, asking his.

“What happened while I was gone?, how are the brigade not here, the jades as well?” he asked.

“Lady Liakya demands to know- “

“I could care less what your boss wants” Moyo cut in, even as the messengers eyes widened and the ruler made a sound like some mechanical part of him developed some fault.

“You dare- “

Moyo tuned him out, turning to the ruler.

“You, speak” he said.

The messenger was caught in a confusing position, something the ruler could understand, Moyo was something else, something different and obscenely powerful. The ruler glanced at the messenger for a brief second before deciding Moyo was a bigger threat and then speaking.

“Lord Ernesh consecrated our domains” he replied.

Moyo frowned.

“Explain that to me like I’m a child” Moyo said.

“The lord harbinger consecrated our realm solely to the aspect of the great construct mother, Liakya, therefore fusing all galaxies of the supreme being into one” the ruler explained.

Moyo paused.

“that’s not possible, you can’t fuse galaxies, they’d probably implode or something” he replied.

He was pretty sure that was the end of a galaxy, when they clashed, the ruler shrugged.

“I have no understanding of how those things work, perhaps the venerable messenger can illuminate us?” the ruler asked hopefully.

“Feather boy is on time out” he said before the messenger could talk.

“You dare- “

“DAKE” Moyo commanded, fighting his power that attempted to explode out of him.

He really needed his rune and right now.

The messenger became mute, eyes wide, terrified despite its attempt to hide it from him. With his new knowledge of aether, he realized commands came easier when spoken in a language he was more at ease with, and to him, that was his mother tongue, the Yoruba language. He had used the word for silence, and he felt the very aspect of Liakya along with his bend to his will. The supreme beings’ aspect was also a part of aether, he was the aether blessed, things like this were now easy as speaking for him.

It would only get better when he solidified his form now that he was in the material realm, but with the ruler now terrified of him, something he hadn’t imagining happening in his life, he was useless to him, Moyo didn’t even know his name. he took a deep breath to steady himself, aware that should his willpower slip a little and he lost cohesion, his physical form would disperse, and he doubted he could manifest back in the same place again.

Opening his eyes, he spoke, first to the messenger.

“look” he started.

‘I’m not here to mess with whatever you have going on, but the Archailect threw me here, or your boss, or one of the other supreme beings, I could care less, but I see defenseless people and I’ll do my best to protect them, cause frankly, you can’t do much against chaos, or can you?” he asked.

The messenger shook his head vehemently.

“that’s what I thought” Moyo muttered.

Turning to the ruler he spoke.

“You and feathers over there, retreat to the bastion, what is the situation of supplies?’ he asked.

“we’re running low on aether batteries for the weapons, we don’t need sustenance like food or liquid, but we use the aspect of Liakya to recharge, and since its being rationed to keep the bastion running, we’re growing weak” the ruler said.

Moyo sighed, tat explained the tired look of the ruler.

“Has it always been that way?” he asked.

“No, we once used raw aether to power ourselves, those of us that were pure constructs anyways, and since it’s in short supply, we use them for our weapons” the ruler completed.

Moyo cursed silently, releasing the messenger from his command who fluttered nervously.

“Ernesh, where is he?” he growled.

“The harbinger lord and the primordial Iteq are situated at the last planet, it’s our headquarters and cut off from us” the ruler said.

So that was what Azael meant when he said he couldn’t reach them both in time, probably a load of chao monsters from here to that place. He nodded, telling them to go.

“Evacuation is almost complete, we are at ninety percent” the ruler said.

“Those creatures won’t wait for you” Moyo said, using Oro to gesture at where his flames were dimming, his power waning as it took more and more for him to maintain his form. The ruler stared into the distance.

“How long can your protection hold lord?” he asked.

“a few minutes, not more than five to be honest” Moyo replied.

“Then we shall prepare for your arrival, I assume you’re staying here to slow them down?” the messenger asked, in a more polite tone.

Moyo nodded absentmindedly, his eyes on the monsters of nightmare who were testing the barrier of fire, smoky forms pawing at it as shrills and shrieks came from their midst. He watched them break into groups of black smoke, ever since his arrival, their formerly oily forms reduced to smoke due to his presence. These groups began to change into different horrible forms, amalgamations of creatures he couldn’t even begin to describe, and the worse part was, to the average ascender, it was like staring at their worst nightmares come to life.

Even as they struggled back to the dome behind him, natural instincts warned them not to glance behind them at the creatures, and Moyo applauded their sense of survival, he was fine though. Gripping Oro tighter as the blade hummed with anticipation, he watched the messenger lift the ruler, together they became a blur in the distance as they shot towards the bastion. Moyo began gradually shrinking the barrier of flames to conserve energy to maintain his form, his mantle adorning his body as he calculated where he would be needed the most. No forces flowed in from the west and east any longer, meaning they were either dead or beyond his help.

It pained him to admit it, but that was reality, he couldn’t do anything yet, not until the Defiance got here. Hopping down from the destroyed vessel, he swung Oro experimentally, feeling its perfect weight settle in his hand, the creature bayed and howled, their voices distorting reality and the moment he passed the line of ascenders fleeing, he shrunk the barrier practically behind himself, the monsters attacking all at once. The first to reach him was nothing but ash before it even realized it, along with the next three, Oro reaping them from existence all together, preventing them from returning to their aspect.

Then he was moving, a practical blur within the lines, his very form burning to the touch as they sought to smother him with their presence. Like a wave they came for him, from all corners, Moyo’s body dancing to some unsung tune as he became the very manifestation of pure destruction. Slash and parry, his eyes saw all, every move, every feint, every attempt they made to dim his ever-blazing aspect, he saw it all. They were weak, powerless in the face of his power, but they were legion, and they knew it. For every one he killed, a hundred took its place, Moyo’s ring of fire now surrounding him alone as whatever ascender was caught outside of it or the bastion would be nothing but an oily mess of decayed parts on the ground.

They knew he had to maintain his form, and so they pressured him to explode with power, to vent his aspect and obliterate the amount he could to lose cohesion. Reality empowered him, emboldened him, but there was so much it could do without him releasing the leash he held on the power. Still, he fought on, his mantle sapping more of his power, Oro reaping and reaping, its flames burning them as they screamed in pure agony, the blade cutting them off from their aspect. He fought till he was surrounded by heaps of ashes, it was in the air, it was around him, smoldering soot from the creatures he killed, his eyes flicking around.

He didn’t notice when the ship broke through the planet, no, he did, but he couldn’t relent, not when his flames was so close to his body now, barely holding on, but he spoke.

“TO ME”

The great warship, the stellar sentient vessel, his steed and flagship unleashed hell down on the planet, bathing everywhere white as if a nuclear blast had detonated. Reality wobbled and then welcomed the power. It was his, his aspect, the true aspect of the titan, and it cleansed the world of all impurities, nothing but ash remained. The Defiance shadowed the planet, reducing it to nothing but a small moon in the face of a true giant planet that it rivalled in size. From on high dropped multiple figures, like lances of light, they dropped in a circle around him, first came three Shieldborne, Aetherblasters up and ready to fire, runic defensive constructs layered on top of each other, piece by piece.

They knelt, rigid in posture, as if not believing their eyes, trembling, but Moyo smiled, watching as the rest dropped as well. Idris smashed into the ground, his spear and shield, Obalọkẹ and Agbala Agbaye respectively burning with his power, and then came Annika, like the wrath of the gods of old, thunderclouds burning and shaking the air as she came down in a clap of thunder and strike of lightning, her Stormwardens with her. Ashira’s power filled the air, coating everything dark green as she descended in all her ruler ranked fury, eyes burning with power, blade in her hands. She dropped next to him, cupping his face, Moyo swallowing nervously,

“Hi guys” he said.

“Really?, hi guys?” Idris snorted.

Moyo tried to smile, attempted to when Ashira gripped his jaw tightly, her eyes glowing.

“You die on me again, and you better take me with you” she said softly.

Moyo had no tangible physical form, but he felt a chill run through his spine.

“noted” he said as he nodded.

She stared at him for a few seconds more before hugging him, shuddering lightly.

“Good to be back” he whispered.

The Shieldborne remained kneeling, Moyo glancing at Idris who no.ded gravely.

“Rise, you’ve done well” he said.

The first of them, a muscular figure clad in mithril and Aserite armor spoke.

“We swear, by your name and by the Valoris, that we will fall before you do, we will not rest till we get you back to Ibere, your words are our command” he uttered, the rest slamming their hands to their chest.

“Um, okay?” he answered, raising on eyebrow.

“You should see Josh” Annika muttered.

“Figured he’d come along with you guys” Moyo asked.

“Oh, he and- “Annika said pausing as Idris and Ashira shot her weird looks.

“Martha had something to deal with, refugees from the war and all that” Annika completed, as if correcting herself.

Moyo glanced between them all, fully aware that they were keeping something from him, he didn’t push it though, they had more than enough to deal with as it was. He felt his rune calling to him, turning to Ashira who presented the cannister to him, Moyo opening it as his rune and the rune of decay flew out. He grabbed his, using his willpower to slam the rune of decay back into the cannister, sealing it away. His rune submerged into his form, his body shuddering as he felt his body began to truly manifest wincing as he spoke.

“space” he muttered, wincing at the power that permeated him.

Again, he slammed his Hud shut, unwilling to see the long list of changes going on within his body. His entire team gave him a wide berth, even as he heard multiple ships appear over the planet, feeling his aspect emanating from them, the ships of the legion. Calming his mind as the changes cemented themselves within his body, reality echoing with his presence as the very planet itself began to heal, plant life growing all around him, the skies becoming clearer and clearer, an actual atmosphere forming. When he opened his eyes, he felt solid, grounded, and more powerful than ever.

Still, he left his Hud closed.

He saw the looks they were giving him, from shock, to awe, and his Shieldborne simply kneeling even as beams of light brought ascenders of the legion down with their weapons of war. Entire promethean battlesuits marching towards him, led by five masters of the five cohorts that had come. Ashira moved closer to him.

“You, you’re different” she murmured.

“And shinier” Annika added as they all nodded.

“Really?, that’s all you’re going to say?” Moyo asked.

Idris shrugged.

“Apart from some holy aura around you, that’s the best we can say, that and the instincts that’s telling us you could wipe us all out with a move” his champion said.

“Holy aura?” Moyo asked puzzled.

“Yes, the same aura I’ve felt from one person before” a voice Moyo was familiar with spoke from the coming forces.

Ahib, the ruler and android knelt close to him, as close as the Shieldborne allowed him, the three interjecting themselves between the Runebearer and Moyo. If Ahib was insulted by this, he gave no inclination, simply kneeling in silence, five masters dropping around him as they knelt.

“It brings me great happiness to see you alive lord” Vaughn said, the lord of the aegis cohort said.

“You look good boss man” marcel, lord of the diablos said with a wave as he knelt.

Lucina and Amiya followed suit, smiles on their faces as the entire cohorts gave a roar of joy, their faith renewed, Moyo could see it.

Literally.

His sight, the power of the aether blessed allowed him to see it all, it was a bit disconcerting but he could. Patting them even as he blinked away from the bewildered Shieldborne, he turned to Ahib.

“This other person, it’s Lucirion, isn’t it?” he asked.

“indeed” Ahib replied.

“What does this mean?” Idris asked.

“Aether blessed” Ashira said with wide eyes.

Moyo grimaced, nodding.

“I’m guessing Moyo somehow got himself more powerful despite dying off?” Annika asked.

Moyo rolled his eyes.

“it’s more than that” Ashira added immediately.

“And we’ll get to that” Moyo quickly said, cutting in.

“But right now, we have a lot of things to talk about and an entire galaxy double the size of a normal one to save, as well as a harbinger and a primordial” Moyo finished.

It took a minute for that to settle within them.

“And we have to be fast about it” a calm but deadly voice said as Oro floated up to his side.

It took another minute for that to settle with them.

“Did that blade just talk?” Annika said.