Praven intercepted them before they reached the stairwell that led back up into the town
He rushed up to Aethernus Vhal with something heavy on his frame. The large sharp-pointed object was covered in thick gray cloth. Two other Knights of various elements, one an [Earthen Knight] and the other a [Bright Knight], followed at a distance. Maintaining Praven’s flanks without crowding his. Their eyes scanned the area around the outside of the Archive as though the Breach Spark would spew monsters out in front of them.
Aethernus Vhal stepped forward as he let the mana of the weapon roll off of it and touch upon his body.
The giant’s armor did good to cover him, but it did very little to truly blunt his senses and ability to detect all forms of energies around him.
Whatever weapon was under that gray cloth was powerful in ways he wasn’t used to.
More to experiment on. This new energy is fascinating.
Praven grunted and strained as he dropped the tip of the blade toward the ground. It crashed and dug deep as though it weighed a ton. “The Warden said to get you something worthy of your hands. We’ve only got one thing close.”
Aethernus Vhal waved and all three knights stepped back far enough for him to get practice swings.
Inodius guided Anna a distance away as well to protect her. She did not argue with him.
On the other hand, Aethernus Vhal carefully unwrapped the large blade for even his standards. Exposing a what looked like a massive butchers cleaver that came to a triangular point. The metal looked old, but not worn and rusted. Yet, that had not been what stood out the most to Aethernus Vhal. He reached out for it and grabbed the thick hilt and the sword came to life.
It flashed a bright blue for a second before it faded back into the dull dreary meteoric metal it looked like.
He took a deep breath as he let the waves of intent role off the thing.
Pulses of red hot wrath and indignation.
Aethernus Vhal could hear the way everyone reacted to the blade awakening to his touch, yet he ignored it all. He allowed himself a moment of peace and comfort within the familiar sensation of battles upon the Warp. Endless slogs that were driven by things no human or mana assisted individual from this world could ever claim to have entertained. None of these people could understand what he knew and had accepted.
Wrath for the chaos and ruination of vast worlds of trillions by Warp and Chaos hands.
Indignation that they tried to fight back.
He expected them to line up and bare their necks for the eventual execution he would bring upon them. That was destiny. That was fate when he landed amongst their filth and degenerate ilk. Death upon those that dared wage war against humanity. Let destruction, wrought by his blade, find them whence they reside.
Aethernus Vhal would arrive one day whether they were ready or not.
And when he did…
Someone screamed. Aethernus Vhal turned away from the blade and found every single person within sight upon their knees. Many on their faces unconscious as well.
He had allowed himself a moment of release. What the enemy would feel when they gazed upon his form in battle.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
What that False Deity, and others like it that he killed, had felt when he stood over it.
His aura vanished when he ordered it to.
The entire town gasped for air and refuge from what he had released upon them. Aethernus Vhal could sense Mira and the Warden’s gaze from a distance. He could feel the Breach Spark tremble and threaten to pop and release its cargo upon the world before he got there. Aethernus Vhal could not have that. “Anna. Come to me.”
“Y-Yes?” she ran up to him.
“You will not follow. First contact shall not be a place you should find yourself–”
He could feel her shoulders tighten and her expression scrunching up like she had eaten something sour.
Aethernus Vhal did not look at her when he spoke. Instead he picked up the large meteor blade and put it high up to see its reflection against the blue of the sky. “You will take the evacuation routes and rally points as you are told to do so. Have you seen many Breachs?”
“I’ve only seen a few, but none have gotten this far in. Our Breach hasn’t opened in my life time though. But…” Anna paused for a moment. She considered her words for a brief moment before finally finding some courage and speaking up without hesitation. “I don’t want to hide like everyone else. I want to part of the fight. Slay a thousand Breach monsters. Carve a path and my name into their myths and legends. Hold the line where it needs to be held! I want to be someone like you.”
He understood what she was experiencing, though it was a fleeting idea within his mind.
Once upon a time he had been young. Millennium ago he had been smaller, weaker, inexperienced, and without the resolve to wage this Endless War. He had seen armies enter massive ships that would port upon battleships that could not enter orbit due to their size. He had seen legends walk amongst the masses as they came back triumphantly. He also witnessed the broken forms of pyrrhic victory as well.
Never defeat though.
Defeat meant death of everyone and anyone behind them.
“To hold the line before you are ready is to commit to negligence and incompetence. Holding a line is not only done with blades.”
Anna’s eyes widened. She stammered as she tried to figure a counterpoint, yet failed to.
His words sounded like rebuke.
That was intentional on Aethernus Vhal’s part. He wanted her to be driven into motivation whether she like it or not. That was how the greatest forces for Humanity were created. They faced the truth of their weakness for a time, swearing vengeance and eventual retribution one day. Anna would have her time. But that time would only come when she was prepared, otherwise her death would come without rhyme or reason.
She gulped audibly. “Yes, Sir.”
Aethernus Vhal watched her walk away, guided by Inodius and one of the knights.
In the meantime, he used his newly acquired [Mythical Analyze] once more to see a visible translation of what he had experienced.
[Mythical Analyze] Activated
Analysis defenses ignored…
Do you wish to alert target of your [Mythical Analyze] skill on item?
Item - Sword of the Fallen Fell Titan
(A+ Tier) Item -
Meteor’s Fell Cleave - Domain of the Fell Titan - Fell Flames of Doom - Spirit of the Enraged Fell Titan
The fell titan? Wonder what that could possibly mean?
It couldn’t possibly be what he expected it to be. Titans were hundred of meters tall. This little blade would not fit the size of a toothpick within one of their hands.
Titan had to mean something else here.
It was just more for Aethernus Vhal to note down for later exploration. He swung the blade and it screamed with rage. Each swing only made it more wrathful and angry beyond understanding. He could use this for his own benefit, though not for to long. Anger was a tool, whatever happened to this titan had consumed it further than it should have allowed.
“You comfortable with the blade?” Praven asked.
Aethernus Vhal nodded.
“An unidentified sword,” Praven said. “Recovered from an old cave system to the far north when the Warden was there for an expedition. It’s too heavy for most of us to use properly. It was kept as a vault piece. The Warden authorised your wielding of this weapon.”
Aethernus Vhal turned toward Praven. He knew this to be nothing but a test. Many a weaker man would have been eaten alive by the anger. “You kept a weapon you could not wield.”
“We keep what we can. We use what we must.”
Aethernus Vhal understood the doctrine. He had lived it on worlds where men fought with scrap against monsters that measured cities as meals.
“Come. We have Warp things to kill.” Aethernus Vhal took off in the general direction of the Breach Spark. Fully intent on reaching it before it broke so he could see how it worked and what mechanism kept it open. Study so he could eventually walk through it and execute whatever was on the other side for endangering humanity. He would enjoy every moment thoroughly.
“Warp?” Praven asked, but was ignored as he and the last knight rushed to keep up.
