Moyo manifested back on Defiance through a pathway, Oro floating calmly at his side. Idris and the rest of his crew turned to him, Ashira narrowing her eyes.

“Problem?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Araman, he’s bringing his forces here, we’ll be facing an invasion soon enough” he replied.

It took a few minutes for his words to settle with them as a tirade of questions began to pour from them, Moyo raised a hand, calming them.

“let’s just say I’ve set him back a few days, probably weeks if I got him good, right now we need to know where the Archailect stands as a whole” he replied.

“We're in orbit around Ibere, a transport vessel is coming to pick you up lord Moyo,” Urne said.

Moyo nodded.

“Good, everyone disembarks, Iteq, Ernesh, you’re with me as well” he ordered.

The two android powers nodded silently, no doubt feeling the raw aspect of the titan around them. He could see the ships coming, large, opulent but deadly construct of a vessel flew closer to the ship, coming straight from Ibere. It was like a pebble next to the Defiance, large in the grand scheme of things but nothing next to his flagship. The moment it opened up, he was greeted with the sight of Martha, Boyle, Ayo, and Samantha, all the leaders of his clan assembled in one spot. It was a reunion long overdue, one of hugs and cheers, laughter and joy, but most of all to Moyo, it was a reassurance that all was well with his forces.

He stepped into the vessel, the primordial, harbinger turn ancient, and the rest of his leadership crew aboard the Defiance with him. Martha held his hand as she squeezed it tight.

“It is good to see you alive again,” she said softly,

Moyo nodded,

“Good to be back, what did I miss?” he asked,

The entire vessel became silent, the awkward type that looked like they had done something either too well or badly. He watched Samantha and Ayo exchange diamond coins, snickering to themselves as Boyle chuckled, Martha rolled her eyes. Moyo folded his hands, watching as Ashira glanced at him with worry.

“We fell upon something of an opportunity,” Martha said.

“Oh?, then why do Ayo and Annika look like they’re betting on something again?’ he replied.

Martha gave a light smile.

“Depends on how you view the opportunity,” she said.

Moyo raised an eyebrow at the answer.

“Before you do anything drastic,” Ashira said cutting in.

“Please realize two things,” she said,

“And they would be?” he asked, racking his mind about what they could possibly be hiding from him.

“The first is that there are millions if not hundreds of millions down there that have looked forward to your return, don’t blow a fuse in front of them,” she said.

“Why would I- “

“The second, is that without him, we might have died when Araman chased us from his system,” she said cutting into him.

Moyo paused.

“Why would I want to hurt anyone that I owe a big favor?” he asked confused.

“Keep that mindset when you see him,” Martha said, her tone near doubtful.

Moyo shook his head.

“Any news from our allies?” he asked.

“House Thousandblades, Kairos, and the others we’re affiliated with report no incursions in their sectors of the cosmos. We’re watching Gaia as well, plus you have a meeting with all the factions back on Gaia, I could bring them over as well” Martha reported.

“Please do so, time is of the essence if we’re to stop whatever the reaper of chaos is about to unleash” he replied softly.

“Ibere is at full defensive capability, plus you around, we have nothing to fear,” Boyle said.

Moyo winced.

“Ibere was never my problem, right now, this system is the best place for protection, Araman and Azael know that” he replied.

“This place and the last citadel,” Ahib said.

Moyo raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk about that in front of the average ascenders?” he asked.

Ahib shrugged.

“Hardly matters right now, not when there’s no one left to protect the Archailect as a whole apart from the few primordials that have stayed behind” the ruler said.

“Last citadel?” Martha asked.

Moyo turned to the Runebearer who nodded.

“It is known as the main nexus point, the true nexus point, gates to the ethereal realm, source of life, and many other names,” Ahib said.

“In essence, it’s where the system that runs the Archailect resides?” Ayo asked.

“Indeed, and it is the reapers’ main goal” he responded.

“What about Araman?” Annika asked.

“The pseudo prime abyssal lord has only been after one thing, to carve a spot for him and his abominations within the Archailect, and he’s after me for the rune of decay” Moyo replied.

“You still have that with you?” Ernesh asked.

Moyo nodded.

“Safest place to keep it is with me” he responded.

“Then Araman would drown your worlds in an invasion force so powerful it would rival that of the Archailect at the beginning of this war,” Iteq said.

“That explains my visions,” Martha said as Moyo glanced at her, eyes searching.

She nodded at him calmly, she’d explain later.

“So why have our ascensions been halted?” Ayo asked.

“Because the last citadel has withdrawn most of the powers of the Archailect, it did so to bolster itself against the imminent attack of the reaper” Ahib replied.

“Moyo seemed to deal with the reaper though,” Ashira said.

Moyo shook his head.

“That was a fraction, a pinch of his strength, that wasn’t even his true body, I could feel it when we fought” Moyo responded.

“Plus look at it this way, the powers of the Archailect are spread out among several powerful ascenders” he continued.

“Primordials, harbingers, ancients and rulers, Azael is the only focal point of chaos, he and Ajax,” Moyo said, ending the last part with a growl.

He noticed they all exchanged glances.

“Alright, what are you keeping from me?” he asked.

Ashira moved to talk when Martha spoke.

“we’ve captured Rohan,” she said.

“You did?” he and Ashira blurted at the same time.

Ernesh’s eyes were bulged, Iteq lapsed into silence, Moyo turned fully to Martha.

“You caught Rohan?, the Rohan?, the Rohan of the undying cult?” he asked for clarification.

“Not sure another Rohan is wandering around causing havoc” Martha replied.

“that’s impossible,” Ernesh said with gritted teeth.

“Why is that?” Martha asked.

“Because he also wields the aspect of chaos” Ernesh replied.

Moyo turned to Martha in alarm.

“he’s down there?” he asked, ready to split open a pathway.

She gripped his hand, nodding as she glanced at Ernesh.

“We know, let’s just say we’ve acquired a specialist to deal with him, that, and Josh helped as well,” she said.

“Josh?, he’s a master, what’s a master to do against Rohan?” Moyo asked incredulously.

“a master with your aspect, I want you to remember that,” she said raising one finger up.

He turned to Ashira.

“he’s the one who saved you guys?” he asked.

Annika snorted.

“Not until hell freezes over,” she said.

Moyo was all levels of confused, but he felt the ship rapidly reducing its descent, and heard the roar of the crowd. He turned to Martha.

“Seriously? a crowd?’ he asked.

“The people want to see you, they’ll feel safer with your actual presence,” she said.

“Plus, it’s being broadcasted all across our planets as well as Gaia, do put up a show” she finished.

“I will burn with the power of the titan blade,” Oro said at his side.

All attentions were drawn to the blade, Ayo saying what most of them were thinking.

“Did that blade just talk?” she asked.

Ω

Ajax stood with folded arms, more like floating a few meters behind the millions that had traveled all the way to the palace.

Alright, a mile behind.

Brooding in silence, he had seen Martha take along the heads of the clan in a ship that even he had to admit would cost millions of diamond coins to purchase. It was custom made from what he’d heard, the master and patriarch of the hammers of Ogun, one of the core clans of the house creating it. All guns and sharp edges, it was the type of craft Ajax would love, a pity it was coated in gold, too extravagant for him.

He tried to take his mind off the fact that Moyo was on that ship that was rapidly descending, holding back his surprise at the raw power he felt from him, a power that rivaled if not surpassed the primordials and ranked up there with Lucirion and Eses herself. He felt the chaotic aspect within his body quake, shrinking deeper and deeper from the mere presence of the titan blade. Moyo had grown, in his usual bizarre manner into something that stood at the peak of the Archailect, so far removed from even himself.

Of course, he was becoming something else, something bizarre himself in his own way, watching as the aspect of Eses and chaos began to melt together on a fundamental level. It had loosened when the presence of the titan blade had entered the system, like the chaotic aspect couldn’t bear to be seen. He tapped one finger lightly on his arm, staring towards the palace platform where Josh, the Valoris of the Shieldborne stood in rigid silence, eyes flickering about as hundreds who were in front gaped in awe at a master.

The kid had trained like a possessed being, throwing everything into the brutal regimen Ajax had dragged him into for the few days they had been together. Requisitioning an entire man-made island that one of the mages of the Hexenblades had made for them, Ajax had brutally broken down everything the kid knew about fighting. It hadn’t been easy, seeing Moyo in every brutal move the kid took, the titan truly attempting to mold them in his image, and that had been his mistake.

They weren’t Moyo, they couldn’t tank blows from ascenders superior to them and shrug it off like having a bad day, and so blindly charging into battle was not a promising action in the long run. It had been fun though, to actually show them what a true sword master and once prodigy could do, mostly Josh though, and a few promising members of the Shieldborne he had brought along. Most ran away when they noticed the regimen and how brutal he’d put them through, but few stayed anyway, out of the near hundred, twenty remained, and they were spread through the crowd, hunting for any sort of assassin or the likes.

He had refrained from telling them that nothing short of Azael or Araman could come close to putting a dent in Moyo’s skin, but he knew it would fall on deaf ears. He had seen the fervor with which Josh had renewed his training, pushing his students as well in some misplaced assumption that he had failed Moyo. Still, it was nice seeing the Valoris with a renewed sense of purpose, and knowing how much restraint it had taken the kid to stay on the ground while the rest went to welcome Moyo home. Their eyes met from so far away, Josh giving him a slight nod as Ajax replied in kind, eyes turning back to the ship that had descended fully.

Perhaps he should move further backward, the next continent maybe.

Ω

The moment the ship landed and its doors opened up softly, Moyo was met with a roar of such strength that he felt the very ship vibrate with its strength. Smaller vessels landed with the rest of the cohort commanders of the legion as well, stepping out at either side of the ship. He stepped out, Oro raised, the blade burning so brightly with his aspect that when he almost faltered as he sensed the two presences, it was masked so quickly that he doubted anyone noticed it.

Martha did though, and she whispered softly.

“Calm, he means no harm,” she said.

Moyo begged to differ, he felt his aspect all around the planet coax the aether, empowering it, he could explode the aether around Ajax, blow him out of existence, it might hurt the surrounding area but it was nothing he wouldn’t fix in a second. Ashira gripped his hand tightly as she smiled.

“calm” she repeated.

Why did everyone keep telling him to be calm?.

He was calm, he could be calm and still wipe that betraying bastard off the face of his planet. The second presence he felt was so chained and restricted that he almost pitied him.

Almost.

Deep below the planet, it seemed Martha had carved out a secret prison, manned by members of the order who carried his boons with them. He came so close to burning the undying hand to nothingness, the chains that bound him burning with his essence as Rohan couldn’t even struggle in pure agony. He relented, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, stilling his raging heart, and opening it back, he raised one hand, the entire crowd growing silent as visual constructs floated through the air, broadcasting his image around for everyone to see.

He stepped forwards again, realizing he was standing on an extension of a golden platform that floated above the ground, within his palace. Towards his right stood a figure that had knelt the moment he had appeared, clad in the armor he had forged for him and without his signature hammer. Josh Mithril warden, Valoris of Shieldborne refused to meet his gaze. He sighed walking over and grabbing him by the shoulder, marveling at the restrained power he felt from his aspect.

It felt like it had been broken down and rebuilt slowly, it wasn’t a complete work yet, but what Moyo felt was enough to put any sane master who wasn’t comfortable in their own strength to rest. Josh met his gaze with a startle.

“Really?, I come back home and you won’t even greet me as brothers?’ he asked with a smile.

Josh gave a hesitant smile.

“Your Shieldborne did well, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he said softly.

He saw the weight within the eyes of Josh seemingly lessen, the Valoris nodding smartly and turning to the crowd. They watched in raptured silence, his every move, his every action as he left his blade floating at his side, a constant bonfire of aspect, a show of power. Hundreds of banners flew with insignias he wasn’t familiar with, vassal clans and even sects that had rallied under his banner, powerful ascenders that were it not for the calamity that befell the Archailect, be paragons of strength.

He spoke, his voice loud and clear.

“These are dangerous times” he started.

“The powers of the Archailect are scrambling to ensure life continues in the cosmos as a whole, the abyss has been let loose and a greater threat is about to besiege us,” he said.

He felt the stares of diamonds all around the planet, a few masters from different clans watching as well as they winced, he felt it all. Arms folded behind him, he continued.

“The one thing I won’t do, is to hide information or the nature of the threat,” he said.

“Yes, we are at war, yes we have an enemy so powerful that even rulers would have to do their best to survive”.

“And yet you wonder, I can see it in your gazes, the fear in your eyes, about the future of anything,” he said.

He gripped his blade now, letting his power blow out.

“My answer is simple, strength,” he said.

“Strength in numbers, strength in power, ascensions may have stopped but I promise you, for as much as there remain powers in the Archailect such as I, we will prevail” he thundered.

He felt the aether in the air respond to his will, growing stronger as the ascenders felt themselves grow empowered, eyes wide.

“We will fight for every inch of land and air they attack; we will burn their filth from the Archailect, this is our reality, and we are the monsters” he growled.

A loud roar echoed his response.

“So spread the word far and wide, Ibere, house titan blade will lead this charge, along with our fellow allies in the Archailect, it's time we hit back at the enemy,” he said,

“But our paths aren’t powerful enough!” a voice came from the crowd.

Moyo shook his head.

“No, all paths, all aspects are powerful enough, and it just needs a little something extra to push it,” he said with a smile as he let his aspect coat their bodies, feeling their powers blossom, not a rank over, but with a fundamental strength that shook them to their cores.

“Be strong, let them come, we will crush them, trust the brigade and the forces of the Archailect that are working, these times are hard, but the glorious times that will come after are one to look forward to” he finished, raising his blade high.

It shot a column of concentrated aspect fire skywards, turning the skies above purple and gold as they all screamed, his name.

“For the Archailect!” he roared.

They responded as well, and with that joyous mood, Moyo blinked away, the crowd roaring, hope in their very eyes. Martha sighed, Ashira slapped her face in exasperation and Samantha snapped her fingers.

“Alright, someone contact Alfonso, get the bets rolling!, we’re about to cash out big time!” she chuckled, rubbing her fingers together.

Ω

Ajax watched him, watch him speak with such power and strength that the very aether in the air bent to his every word, watched him burn aspect like they were iron coins with no value, watched his presence fully encompass the world, and watched him hone in on his presence with such rage that his mind quaked under his mere gaze. It took him a few seconds to get his orientation back, and during those moments, the entire attention of Moyo had left him alone, Ajax panting in shock.

This was Moyo?.

Was this what Martha had been trying to tell him?, to show him?, this was not the titan blade he remembered, and for once, he was grateful he hadn’t touched any of his allies. As Moyo vanished, Ajax felt every instinct in his body scream with danger, turning behind himself to see Moyo there, eyes alight.

It was like he was a mere acolyte again, facing down a bronze monster back in his world.

“Moyo- “he started.

He felt the blow land on his face, felt his skull crack despite the strength, and felt his body tearing through the air as his mind blanked out for a second.