Moyo folded his arms, smirking silently as Annika stared at his blade floating at his side, infact, they all did in what they assumed to be a subtle manner. He felt the uneasiness coming from Oro, the blade choosing to gleam as if like a peacock, and it almost brought a true smile to his face. what really caused him to sigh were the three Shieldborne who stood so close to him that he could read the etched engravings carved into the back of their armor. It was an oath, an oath sworn to Josh and to Moyo, that all he’d see was their backs in battle, ensuring they always faced the enemy head on.

He drew his sight from them, extending it to the entire planet, relenting from taking it to the next planet, aware of what he’d sense. He could do that now, he could scan the entire system if he wanted, he just knew what he’d find and it stoked the rage within him that he’d been trying to simmer. Just ahead, with the planet now cleansed of the touch of chaos, the bastion had opened up, broken but barely functioning vessels burning to life on is orders. He couldn’t tarry here, not when the entire system and galaxy at large was at risk of a full-scale invasion. T brought the disturbing question of what was happening all around. Was Gaia still standing?, Tartarus?, the empire of Altair?.

He felt Ashira grip his fingers locked in hers tighter, drawing his attention to hers, he could see it, see her core, saw its strength and knew just what to do to push her to the rank of an ancient, but he doubted she’d want that. She had always been strong-willed, always wanted to do things her own way, and he loved her for that. She stared at him, lemon green eyes glowing,

“Ibere is safe” she said softly.

“What?” he asked.

“You have that look in your eyes, the one that shows you’re bothered about everyone and everything” she replied.

“understatement” he thought lightly.

He gave a light smile, glancing at Ahib who knelt beside him, even as the light vessel that carried them shot at full speed. Behind him, like swarms of locusts were the ascenders of five cohorts, deployed en masse, promethean battlesuits flying at both sides of him as well as Ashas, Ija battle tanks rumbled at full speed behind, Moyo honestly thought they were overkill. He spoke to the Runebearer.

“You don’t have to keep kneeling” he said, a bit irritated.

“you’re an aether blessed, the second in existence” Ahib replied, as if it explained it all.

Moyo rolled his eyes.

“Idris, short summary of what’s happening in the Archailect” he asked.

“we’re fucked” Idris replied as Moyo snorted.

“Did that blade talk a few minutes ago?” Annika asked again, for what Moyo was assuming was the tenth time.

“Yes it did Annika, Idris?, slightly longer summary please” he asked again.

“We lost at dire, we got pushed out, we ran like the abyss was literally behind us and we made it to Ibere just as Shola got your message” he said.

Moyo nodded, he heard the gaps between the words, knew something more had happened, but he didn’t push it, not with the way Ashira tensed beside him. Watching as they descended into the bastion where all its forces had assembled, preparing to board their vessels for the renewed invasion. Walking down, he turned to Ahib.

“Any reason why chaos is clamping down hard on the constructs?” he asked.

“Best guess is that if feels the schism between the supreme Liakya and her other siblings, divide and conquer” the Runebearer replied.

Moyo nodded.

“I thought as much” he said, walking towards the android ruler who bowed at the waist to him.

The messenger gave a curt nod, and Moyo could care less, greetings were formalities as far as he was concerned. He turned to their forces.

“How far are we from the domain world of Iteq?” he asked.

“The great primordial doesn’t own a domain world, he rules from his great vessel, the alpha, large enough to contain a planet” the ruler replied.

That explains why Azael said they wouldn’t catch up to them, with a constantly moving vessel, it would be hard to pinpoint their location.

“I can track down Ernesh, the harbinger of the great one is with him” the messenger added.

Moyo wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle the harbinger or deck him right in the jaw, but he reserved it for later. He turned to the ruler.

“How many worlds do you have in this system, that remains standing?” he asked.

“Last relay signals came from five where pockets of resistance fighters still fought, last burst was thirty minutes ago, we haven’t received any since then” the ruler said.

“And you want these worlds intact?” Idris asked.

Moyo applauded the thinking of his champion mentally, retaking each world would cause a loss in strength and manpower, something he could just go in, extract the last remaining fighters and have the Defiance unleash lances of destruction on it. The ruler nodded.

“With the fall of the empire, should we need to bring our people home, these worlds are all we have” the ruler said.

“By the end of this war, we’d be lucky to have half the Archailect intact” Ahib replied.

Moyo paused.

“The Archailect’s always expanding, right?” he asked the Runebearer who nodded.

Ahib turned to the messenger who paused and then nodded as well.

“It does, at least two galaxies per century, enough tributes to keep things fresh” he replied.

Moyo didn’t like the term, his face conveying that fact clearly, still, he understood.

“And is that still in effect?’ he asked.

The messenger shook his head.

“No, not since the system itself has stagnated, no more ascensions, no more expansion, all power is being funneled to the defense of the Archailect itself” he said.

“And this defense is taking place where?” Idris asked.

“I’m not at liberty to divulge” the messenger replied.

Moyo had half the mind to ‘gently’ coerce the messenger into spilling, but he refrained.

“Then the brigade?, everyone?” he asked.

“All gone towards this defense” the messenger said.

“Leaving the entire Archailect undefended” marcel said, the lord of the diablos speaking up for the first time in a while.

“Then our work is cut short for us” Moyo said grimly.

Turning to the messenger again, he spoke.

“I need the last known location of the domain ship of Iteq, I’ll need to get there in time before he gets killed by Azael” Moyo said.

“You mean we, right?” Annika said, raised eyebrow.

Moyo noticed the five ascenders around her, no doubt from the sect of the stormcallers, he shook his head.

“They won’t be expecting me, not when I intend to hit quick and fast” he said.

“Meaning a quick light attack” Aldric, captain of the Shieldborne said.

Moyo glanced at them.

“I’m going into the Nethervoid, it’s not a place for diamonds, not now when the walls between reality and chaos itself is thinning” he explained.

“Then we will die to clear the path for you” Loren Steelwrath, second captain of the Shieldborne said.

He could see it in their gaze, in the way they stood, they would broker no argument, but still, Moyo wasn’t comfortable with this level of blind loyalty. He nodded, lips pursed, turning to Idris.

“You lead the legion; you strike hard and fast on every world you can rescue along the way” he said.

“Shola” he called out.

A lance of light came from the Defiance above, Shola, his stellar sentient appeared, eyes glowing as she knelt before him.

“Lord titan blade” she said with a repressed shudder.

Moyo smiled.

“you’ve done well, thank you for getting them safely home” he said.

He felt her shoulders loosen like a heavy burden had been lifted from her, glancing at him with grateful eyes.

“And yet, I have more work for you” he continued.

“Your wish is my command lord” she said, eyes glowing,

“By my command, you’re free to unleash your entire arsenal, my core is yours to draw from” he commanded.

Shola shuddered as even above the planet, the Defiance glowed with power, a bonfire amidst the endless darkness. She nodded with a smile.

“They will taste death by my hand” she said.

Moyo nodded, turning to his cohort lords, Vaughn, Marcel, Amiya, Lucina and the quiet fern, five masters who stared at him.

“I have no right to ask this of you, but please, lend the androids our help, let us retake this galaxy from the hand of Azael and its chaos kin” he said.

“He says it like we’ll get a better job somewhere else” marcel said with a snort.

“We give you our promise, lord Moyo” Lucina added.

Vaugn, fern and Amiya nodded, and Moyo let his power flow through them, through his link with his legion as every ascender within the legion felt the boons of the titan grow stronger within them, empowering them, giving them the resistance they’d need against chaos itself. The masters were another matter, literally burning with his power, Idris taking a deep breath as his eyes lit up, gripping Obalọkẹ tighter. He spoke.

“As of this moment, we fight not just for ourselves, but for all those we can save, I’m sorry our reunion has been cut short” he started.

Oro flowed into his hand, gripping the blade tight as it burned with his power.

“But we have a galaxy to save, fight hard, fight true, and let us meet at the zenith of this conflict, for the Archailect!” he shouted.

A thunderous roar replied him, Moyo watching as carrier vessels descended from the cohort flagships above, ferrying them back to their respective ships, the war had begun.

Ω

Moyo opened a pathway to the Nethervoid, stepping through along with the three commanders of his Shieldborne, their weapons, both blasters and blades singing with his aspect, a temporary measure till he could forge better ones for them later. Ashira was at his side, as well as Ahib who had insisted to accompany him as well into the now broken realm. Where there was once peace and tranquility, its very fabric twisted and turned, some parts were dry and brittle, others were looking like an oily painting.

He could feel them all, staring at him, waiting for the right moment to strike, Ashira at his side burned with her aspect the path of the Chimera empowering her. Blade in hand, she pulsed with the same strength of a ruler, confident in her abilities, Moyo only hoped it would be enough for what they were about to face. he could feel them, watching as they were about to pounce. He spoke to his Shieldborne, whose armor burned with his aspect, fire licking their very frames, the three captains who were ready to lay their lives down for him.

“Be ready” he whispered.

The first malevolence to manifest took an Aetherblaster shot to its form, concentrated power of aether and the aspect of the titan in one shot. It exploded with flames wreathing its form, its searing death throes, a warning to its kindred that the true enemy had come, and he had come ready. Moyo was there, his aspect tearing out of him with little restraint, actively burning the walls of the Nethervoid, healing and cleansing, scourging and banishing the forces of chaos.

They were not a major threat, not to him, not with their strength so focused elsewhere and reduced that he had to deal with the chaff of their forces. To his Shieldborne and Ashira, they were true adversaries, and so Moyo let them prove themselves, let them get acclimated to the enemies they faced. The Shieldborne stood in a triangular pattern around him, realms interlayered as they blasted and slashed at whatever came for them with methodical lethal silence. No overly display of skills, no flamboyant moves, jut simple brutal hack and black, they left that for Ashira.

The Chimera was a force of nature, her blade held by her tail, a new development Moyo hadn’t see before as her aspect sheathed claws rend the creatures apart, the constantly changing shapes attempting to sink their claws, stingers and all other means of attack. Perhaps it was the presence of Moyo, a blazing inferno that pushed back the tides of creatures that came as a raging ocean around them, but she fought with the carefree nature she had always did. Her blade never stopped swinging, her claws ripping and her voice echoing around the boundaryless realm that was the Nethervoid.

With each step Moyo took, he reknitted the realm itself, his Shieldborne, a wall of pure wrath and determination, clearing the path for their lord. Moyo raised Oro up, the blade glowing in the dark.

“part” he commanded his Shieldborne.

In a seamless motion they did so, moving to the sides as they kept shooting, the creatures felt the resonance, they felt the power echo around the Nethervoid and they gave a shriek of rage and pain, pain they knew they’d be feeling soon. The blade came down with a swing, with a command that echoed through the Nethervoid.

“PARE!”

Disappear, vanish, begone, it meant a few things in his native language, but its intention was the same, he had grown tired of seeing them. His runic tattoos on his body lit up as the very Nethervoid itself caught fire, burning in an inferno of purple and gold, harmless to his forces but more than deadly to those of Azael. His Shieldborne kept firing, taking no chances that something could and would sneak up on them, they shouldn’t had bothered, Moyo could see all, he could feel all, where his aspect touched, it was his. He moved ahead of them, catching them offguard as he did so, his hand stretched outwards.

The Nethervoid made time obsolete, a day outside could as well be a year inside and the other way around, and as mindboggling as it was, its very concepts were laid out to Moyo, allowing him to gauge the distance and time between the first planet and the next. He spoke, a command to open the Nethervoid and release he and his forces into pure destruction. The ship was a behemoth of creation, at least the Defiance and half more, damaged and smoking, different figures fought at different fronts at the same time.

The moment his Shieldborne landed, they began firing away, Moyo swinging Oro as he delved into the battle, fiery aspect blasting in all directions, saving the army of diamond ranked androids that fought on all corners. He could feel the aspects of the primordial and the harbinger from deep within the craft, as well one other power that felt like a messenger but significantly more powerful. Ashira unleashed her realm of venom and acid, doing little to the creatures of chaos, but giving the defenders a slightly upper hand.

Cannon turrets belched out intent, mana and aether shots consecutively, doing their bests to push back the forces of chaos. Moyo zoomed in to the fortification ahead, the ship built like a series of kingdoms interposed on each other, and the first gate had a walking abomination hammering at it, large fists denting the gates that would soon cave in. he willed it and he was there, Oro cleanly relieving the head of the creature from its broad shoulders, the entire body melting to oily black sludge as the rest of its forces attacked him at once.

He felt nothing, his blade slicing through the air to an unknown melody even as he felt the general attention of the creatures shift to him. It meant Azael knew he was here, good, he’d had wanted it no other way. The creatures of chaos turned their attentions to him, assaults of chaotic aspects coming from all angles at once, rippling space. He saw the assault against the gates barring their entrance to the next kingdom being relieved as the android ascenders once again had the time to turn their weapons down on the creatures.

Moyo shot forwards, blade in hand, a trail of fire left for his allies to catch up to him as he was covered by inky darkness, the forces of Azael bearing down on him. Above, he felt Ashira as she switched to her bow, bathing the surrounding area with her aspect, Moyo sent a beam of fire skywards. Her arrows passed through it, carrying the flames of his path to begin detonation below, the creatures screaming in pain as they clashed with him, their barbed or serrated parts finding no leverage on his body.

He gave a laugh, a chuckle that grew within his chest as his eyes moved around, finding purchase as the creatures soon realized he was their death, trying to escape. His Shieldborne were suddenly around him, their weapons still bearing his flames, the aspect of the titan sheathing them as they fought with brutal rage, Aldric, Loren and Eric blasting and hacking. Moyo turned his gaze to the great gate, narrowing his eyes, and with one blast he was atop it, its defenses allowing him through with a thought.

It was made of aether after all.

He glanced at the commander, an android with six hands, holding both blades and projectile weapons, he realized they were only ten left, ten souls left on the defense of this wall, all diamonds, all battered and staring like they had seen something completely alien. He paused, waiting for his Shieldborne to catch up.

“please” the man Moyo assumed to be their commander said.

“Save us” the android man asked.

Moyo nodded, a smile on his face.

“Iteq?” he asked.

The diamond pointed to the distance, a column of chaotic energy had broken through the aegis protecting the highest kingdom, there Moyo saw more than felt the clashes of power, the wave of power that shook the ship. He turned to the diamond ranker.

“Hope comes” he said as he shot towards the position, his Shieldborne lobbing after him with diamond rank strength.