Ashira was ablur, cutting through the interior of the planet ship of house Kairos, she knew it like the back of her hand, she had spent most of her days when she wasn’t on Tartarus running around the inside, dodging her teachers and guards to explore. Now though, she marched with ascenders bathed in the aspect of the titan, not infused within them but hovering around them like a second layer of protection. Her realm suffused the area, cleansing the ship with the aspect of her beloved while her forest of acid and venom burned at the creatures.

She could feel the aspect of her mother and father, the two primordials who had successfully locked out Azaels’ forces from the interior of the ship, sacrificing the outside as the vessel made its way deeper into the system of the titan blade. Shooting ahead, ruler ranked aspect burning like a bonfire, she carved the creatures one by one, her Chimera senses adapting to every move, every swing they made. She saw no signs of her fledgling clan, those who had sworn allegiance to her, fearing the worst as she knew deep down that either they were dead or cut off from her.

She would deal with that later, they had their own families and friends to look after, same as she did, and as reached the inner sanctum of the ship, where she felt the weight of her father and mother’s aspect, she added hers to it, crushing the remaining creatures in a vice-like grip, hails of attacks coming from behind her to crash into the large abominations in front. They were grotesque, an amalgamation of parts as if hastily fused like a child’s nightmare and given an accursed semblance to life.

The chaotic pathway behind them swirled as the giant doors to the great throne room of the primordials of house Kairos opened, unleashing the true forces of house Kairos. Eogan the green, large bow in hand as a giant tree manifested behind him drew his string, a burning arrow blossoming to life. Behind him in green robes were the plantsmen, ascenders sworn to Wukong himself, attacks slamming into the creatures with the aspect of the great sage, pressure crushing them to the ground.

The lead creature, an octopus-looking thing with sharp black oily scythes for tentacles gave a great bellow, more creatures pouring from the pathway in their hundreds. Ashira growled, raising her blade up as she gathered aspects, both hers and Moyo in preparation to attack the pathway when a loud horn bellowed from the inner chambers, and out came Malia chainer, leader of the wardens, garbed in their grey cloaks as seals after seals slammed into the pathway. It ate up rapidly, no match against the pure aspect of chaos, but it stemmed the tides, giving Malia enough time to crash into the lead creature that melted to goo before reforming away.

She nodded once at Ashira before her chains grew a life of their own and started lashing in every direction, coated with the aspect of Kairos himself. Master Vardant with an actual rack of blades, and other exotic weapons appeared next, a large flag floating behind him, ever the banner bearer of house Kairos. Hand outstretched, he began to mutter as a green burning armor insignia appeared over every head of the forces of house Kairos, empowering them and doing its best to give what little resistance it could against the powers of chaos.

Ashira was within their midst as she felt more forces of house titan blade manifest as well, ascenders from the legions, titan order, and even refugees that had taken up weapons. All these were made possible by Moyo, and they were here to save the millions upon millions of refugees kept hidden in the spatial pockets around the ship. Aserite crystals holding the aspect of the titan were planted, adding more pressure to the creatures as the masters and rulers of house Kairos and Titan Blade went to work. It was bloody, brutal, gory, and she heard the screams of the dying as well as the snarls of the creatures, but soon enough it was over, the aspect of chaos burning away into oblivion itself, the pathway cracking and shattering into pieces as Ashira knelt in exhaustion.

Then the three primordials were there, everyone going to their knees in the face of such overwhelming power. While some might grumble asking where they were during the battle, most masters and rulers knew the truth, were it not for the primordials, they would have all been dead by now. They held back the pathways of chaos from multiplying to ridiculous levels, allowing the masters and their vassals to do their work, ensuring that everyone had a fighting chance despite their numbers being cut down, but such was the way of the Archailect.

She panted, feeling the arms of Wukong wrap around her.

“My goddaughter, a ruler!” he exclaimed.

Eogan nodded at her, the masters’ eyes scanning across the room for more threats, but the aspect of the titan held true. Tiamat and Kairos turned as one as they felt the system shudder.

“he’s finally here,” Tiamat said.

Ashira’s eyes were as wide as saucers, all the ascenders in the room shuddering as they felt the pressure. Azael had brought his planet realm, chaos clashing with titan aspect as space wobbled and stretched from the two aspects clashing together. Its shadow stretched across space and time as Ashira felt her chest grow cold, Kairos stood tall, his living armor taking form around his body as her mother summoned her arcane class creatures as well. Forged from her blood and flesh and infused with the essence and bloodline of creatures she had bred to ruler rank.

Both living up to the nightmarish image known across the Archailect, the ship trembled as the titan aspect raged stronger for a second, everyone feeling the presence of the titan as he blazed past them.

“We go to him, that world must fall to stop Azael here and now,” Typhon said.

Ashira nodded, this was a battle for ancients and primordials, she would only hold them back.

“And we leave the ship to you, millions of lives are in your hands, daughter of the great maw,” Tiamat said, her voice echoing with a thousand shrieks.

Wukong stretched his hand, a golden staff manifesting from his vault, the pressure of the weapon filling the whole room as they opened a pathway, staring into the void of space where battles raged all around them, aspects flared and died as much as techniques flew around. The three primordials went through, sealing the pathway behind them as all eyes turned to Ashira, fists tightened, and she turned to Eogan and the other masters.

“let’s get this ship to the other side of the system, we’ll be needed more than here” she commanded as they moved into action.

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

Moyo felt Ibere below him become shrouded, whatever games Martha was playing, he wasn’t comfortable this time, but he couldn’t shake off that feeling that something was wrong down there. It was why he left Idris and some of the new Shieldborne behind, with his champion down there, whatever force would think of sneaking past his defenses would have to think again. Oro in hand, he watched the giant planet tear through the fabric of reality as pathways opened up behind him, Kairos, Tiamat, and Wukong stepping through.

He nodded at them.

“It is good to see you all alive,” he said.

“can’t say we’ll live to see the end,” Altair said as he stepped out of a pathway, eyes burning.

“The Thousandblades who went from ancient to primordial in the span of a war, a true genius,” Tiamat said as Altair bowed a little.

“You humble me, lady Tiamat” he replied.

Wukong snorted.

“we’re about to go up against the reincarnation of chaos itself, a Chaosborne, good thing he hasn’t assimilated the abyss,” the sage said.

Kairos turned to Moyo.

“Speaking of, who’s facing off against Araman?” he asked.

“Ajax and my forces” Moyo muttered.

The entire team of primordials went quiet as more and more pathways opened up behind them, Viaris, the slumbering sands, along with a host of other ancients as well as Ernesh and Iteq stepped through. Viaris spoke.

“You trust the omega blade?, still?” he asked softly.

Moyo raised Oro as he began burning with aspect, the other primordials doing the same.

“He serves a purpose for now, and when that’s done, we can bring up the issues of his loyalty,” he said.

“I agree, now, we have to stop chaos,” Altair said.

Moyo heard the tone, he knew this discussion was far from over, and he was fine with that. With a flick of his mind, he sent his aspect across the entire primordials around.

“It is true, transcendent” Kairos whispered.

Moyo felt them absorb his aspect, infusing it with theirs temporarily as they burned hotter.

“Let us send him back to where he belongs” Moyo growled as they moved.

It was like space stretched, Oro coming down as black circular runes shot from the planet, crashing against his attack. It cracked, barely holding on before the attacks of the other primordials landed and shattered it, giving them access to the planet itself. They were hurtling through the skies, aspect wrapped tightly around them as the shrieks of madness, the true knowledge of chaos attempted to seep into their very beings.

It was a contest of wills, and the primordials were made of pure-tempered steel, their wills unflinching and unbending, their authorities etched into reality itself. They cemented and imposed their wills around them, keeping the chaos at bay as they landed on the oily black tar world. Black lightning ran through the skies and in the distance stood the hordes, true chaos beings, not the shadowy creatures they had been fighting. Moyo stood wordlessly, pointing his blade to the black mountain in the distance.

“he’s there” he whispered.

The cry of a phoenix broke through the air as Raye tore through a pathway, Thorian, the diamond king on her back as he jumped off, landing next to them. It was left unsaid, but the pressure was more on the ancients than the primordials, but both ascenders have climbed to the peak of power in the Archailect, they would either polish their wills and souls here, or they would die. Moyo moved forward, watching as a lumbering form clad in black armor and holding a long pole with a blade on it stepped forward to meet him.

He took a deep breath.

“Apophis” he called out.

The form chuckled.

“Am I that predictable?” it replied.

“Apophis?” Viaris asked.

The manifestation of chaos itself turned its head to the primordials.

“You're in the presence of the true supreme being, KNEEL” it commanded.

The ancients crashed to their knees before Moyo could interfere, eyes wide as they watched the primordials struggle under the sheer weight of power.

“ENOUGH!” Moyo roared, his voice thundering, his aspect flashing through the chaos-soaked world, releasing his comrades.

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“You are nothing but a fragment of a fragment, useless in the grand scheme of things, working through proxies as you hope to get the runes of the abyss before you assault the true home of the supreme beings” Moyo mocked.

Apophis chuckled.

“Indeed, an abyssal prime playing at being a supreme being, and yet, he simply can’t get past a broken warrior subverted by the transcendent of cosmic aspect,” Apophis said as he mused, twirling his blade.

"Where is Azael?” Moyo growled.

Apophis chuckled, about to talk when a staff tore through the position he stood a fraction of a second, the sage moving. Moyo bit back a curse, joining the fight, Oro flashing as he brought everything to bear in the battle. The ground quaked with each move of the primordials, Thorian, in the thick of it, arms and legs flashing as they all brought their aspects to bear on Apophis. The lord of chaos, empowered by his literal realm ran circles around them, taking attacks that would obliterate entire planets in the blink of an eye and striking back.

The aspect of the titan was there, purifying the primordials and ancients, removing whatever hold Apophis was trying to place on them. Still, something bit at Moyo, the entire battle felt wrong, like it was planned. Of course, it was planned, Azaels planned to remove the last obstacle blocking his path to the citadel, but even with that, Moyo couldn’t help but feel that this was all part of the plan, to hold them here. He watched as Typhon and Tiamat clashed with Apophis, finally cracking his armor as he roared in rage.

“Is this all the fabled primordials of the Archailect can do?” he said, goading them.”

From above came a crash of pure golden power, sand sharpened to edges thin enough to slice cleanly through a planet, crashing onto Apophis as Moyo shot towards the mountain. A pulse of chaotic energy crashed into him, Moyo planting his feet as he stared in rage at the mountain, a blasphemy to him.

He was the mountain.

He raised Oro, gathering power again into it as he spoke.

“Da pa da!” the command, the edict, one he had used so many a times that it was now a part of his very being shot from him and into reality, cracking power.

Except this world was made entirely of chaos, reality hadn’t managed to find a purchase, but with the prime aspect within him, Moyo sealed space around the planet, golden and purple fire burning like a column of light. He heard the roar of rage coming from Apophis behind him as the entity exploded, sacrificing his body in an attempt to stop the titan, Moyo paid it no heed, his body, will and soul were protected, and it would take more than that to stop him.

He swung Oro, the blade screaming in rage along with him as the attack shot for the mountain, crashing into a barrier to reveal a little figure behind it.

“Azael!” Altair called out as a large vault opened up above the Thousandblades.

All manner of legendary and rare weapons shot out, mostly blades, but everything the Thousandblades had either collected or forged shot for the figure. The reaper manifested, silvery white bones garbed in a tattered tunic that reminded Moyo oddly of Ajax, a scythe in hand and the other hand stretched out to stabilize the chaotic defense barrier. The attack of the titan blade crashed into the shield, along with the attack of the Thousandblades as well, the barrier cracking. Azael turned to Moyo.

“Titan blade, even now, you think you can defy fate,” he said.

“Your entire Archailect, reduced to a single system or two, your worlds left in ashes and reclaimed by its rightful owner, chaos, a new dawn in which you firmly refuse to submit” Azael completed.

“How can there be a new dawn when there is no light to illuminate it?” Wukong rumbled as he grew to giant proportions, swinging his large staff down on the mountain with his full rage.

It crashed on another barrier, Azael laughing.

“You all, mere ants scratching at the surface of true power, even the one child you’ve placed your hope in, wielding a power he has absolutely no control over,” he said.

“See that’s the difference between you and I” Moyo growled.

With a breath, he left Oro within the barrier, giving space for Altair who gripped the blade and spoke.

“PART” he commanded,

The sheer power shot Altair backward, the primordial rolling as the barrier shattered the same moment Azael swung his scythe.

Pure Aserite covered Moyos' body as Oro flew to block the attack, shooting Moyo directly into the path of the mountain, crashing into it as he swung his fists, bringing his entire strength to bear on it. The attack echoed in both the material realm and in reality itself, the planet shuddering as Moyo contested not just with Azael, but with Apophis himself. He was a burning inferno, standing amid an oily tsunami of chaotic power, and yet, he burned, burned brighter than he had ever before.

His entire will, his entire mind, bent towards one gaol as he spoke.

“SHATTER!” he commanded.

The edict blanked him out for a few seconds, his body bearing the weight of such an edict but quaking as well. He might be transcendent, but he was dealing with the actual antithesis of reality itself and it took its toll. The mountain shattered, exploding like bombs as the planet blinked in and out of existence, Azael roaring in rage from where he fought all the primordials and ancients at once, Iteq and Ernesh, Typhon and Tiamat, Wukong and Viaris, Raye and Thorian as well as Altair.

It was a battle for existence, and with every blow they traded, the planet cracked more, titan aspect seeping in through the cracks as Moyo staggered to his feet, healing his body and soul all at once before returning to peak form in a few more seconds. The entire system was his domain, he was supreme here, and chaos had lost its hold on reality, even as Apophis and Azael struggled to hold the planet together. Moyo raised his hand up again, shutting his eyes as he prepared to work another edict of power.

“Protect me” he whispered to Oro.

“Till I die” the blade replied.

Grasping at his aspect that seeped into the planet, he spoke, drawing more and more, forcing it through the gap as he widened the entrance.

“RELEASE” he commanded.

The planet cracked like an egg even as Moyo sagged to his knees, feeling power rush out of him, coalescing together into a ball before exploding out, blowing apart the planet. Azael raged in pure anger, his hold on the system shattered as Moyo pointed in his direction.

“ERADICATE” he commanded again, falling to his hands as the weight of the power he had expended settled on him.

No matter his physique, his tenacity or endurance, even Oya’s boon that was mythical rank, laws were laws when using the commands of reality. However, his will was supreme, and the blade pierced through the skeletal chest of Azael, the reaper frozen as titan aspect began to eat him from the inside. Moyo felt the burning flames of Raye settle on him in a warm cloak, appreciating her effort to seemingly help him recover faster. He was on his feet in a second, walking towards a now kneeling Azael, grasping the blade as he stared into the eyes of the silent reaper.

“it’s over” he whispered.

Azael glanced around at the primordials.

“What?, no last words for me?” he croaked.

The primordials gave none, their silence ringing around, Azael sighed.

“Well, so much for the ending I desired,” he said as he snapped his fingers.

Moyo trusted his instincts in that second, blasting backward as Oro flew into his hand, Azael laughing as Moyo stared at the primordials, watching as his aspect barely held back the force of the chaotic blast even as it threw them into space, the voice of the reaper echoing around them.

“You thought it was going to be that easy?” he said as Moyo watched a large pathway open up in the distance, so close to Ibere.

From within it stared the true gaze of Apophis as he shouted.

“CLOSE YOUR EYES!” he thundered, the command blasting out to the entire system.

Some ascenders were slow and melted to nothing, simply fading away as Moyo struggled to contain the presence of Apophis even within his own domain. He felt thousands upon thousands die the moment the eyes manifested, the sheer power revealing itself to show that Moyo truly had been playing with a power he had no idea of. He felt Ibere rumble as a presence shot out of it, eyes wide as he stared at Rohan. It was impossible, Rohan was powerless, coreless, there was no way he could be here and now, but as he stared at the eyes of Rohan, he knew that Rohan was dead.

“Azael,” he said again.

Another impossibility, he had cast out the Chaosborne lord, it was impossible, that however, was not the end of his woes. What was in the hands of Rohan, bathed him in ice, a green rune stone, pulsing with the power of mutation, Moyos' mind a jumbled mess as his forces began to congregate, shouts passing around, commands being begged for and madness reigning around. The primordials were around him at that moment, stabilizing him.

“You put up quite the fight,” Azael said through the body of Rohan.

“But I warned you, you’re playing the game of supreme beings now, where are your Supremes?” he laughed as in the distance, another explosion shook the world.

“Ah, right on time,” Azael said as four more runes floated closer.

The complete set of runes from the abyss was swallowed into the pathway as Azael in Rohans' body turned to them, a blade in hand before slicing his own head off. The body of Rohan burned to ashes as Azaels’ voice still echoed, the runes floating into the pathway.

“When we are done with your precious citadel, we’re coming for you, o fabled titan blade, for now, go see what is left of your precious Ibere,” he said as the pathway closed behind him.

Moyo shot for the planet, crashing through the webs that were slowly unraveling as he crash-landed on his palace, tectonic blast blowing around. He froze, eyes wide, staring at the gory sight in front of him, blade falling from his hands.

“Martha” he whispered.

The headless body of the Shadowweaver sat on his throne, right next to the staked body of Idris, the champion of the titan, amidst a sea of torn parts.