Chapter 3

That galactic mass of armour and blades came into view, as that haze of smoke, dust and clouds cleared away, that storm of lightning and dark clouds trailing it from behind, diminishing the size of Novic's fleet into an army of ants. Grinning down upon his long known adversary, the being cladded in dark armour stared at the destruction which his entrance had created. Closing his eyes, he took it all in, satisfied with the impression he had made, it was too real to be true; he had returned.

Hypernox stood on his left shoulder and behind him stood Equivax, a form of bronze armour, donning an embroidered cape, watching from the bow of the Aegis. Hypernox jerked his head upwards, his beak tearing open giving that steelsplitting screech, which rang high into the cosmic skies. His master placed his thumb on his index finger, creating an enflamed tiny sphere..

   "You were right Hypernox, he wasn't expecting us." His master said, still wearing his imposing grin. He flicked the flaring sphere into the air, which Hypernox caught with his beak. Crushing it, he took it into his system, screeching once again to the skies, reenergized by that ball of fire.

   "That's your treat, and you'll get more after we trash out this power drunk mug."

   "His temper seems to have worsened since the last time I saw him." Equivax joked, a characteristic that went against his stern nature and armoured face.

   "Yes he has," The master replied, "but I won't give him the chance to vent his pent-up frustration."

   The master stared to his right palm, a flaring compass of intersecting geometric shapes ignited, the intensity flowing to the southeastern end of the compass. Magnifying itself, another set of intersecting geometric shapes arose, creating a strange series of astral coordinates.

   "You know your place Equivax," The master said, "let's get over with this and pay a surprise visit to our next host."

   "With pleasure." Equivax replied, fraying into the air his being reintergrated within the command center, taking on the virtual helm within this space of gyrating astral structures.

   Making one last survey, studying the heliobattlements, he was amused at Novic for bringing himself so low as to take a solar city which he was far superior to in terms of technology and cosmic might. But the master knew there was more to the Zark's action than just acquiring a new territory. For Zark Novic, every action had it's long term motive, a mystery which he - the master - was going to delve deep into later. For now he just wanted to enjoy the long lost thrill of thwarting his enemy's plans.

   It had been a good start for Novic, Hypernox's master reasoned, amused by the hidden irony behind all this chaos. Why wouldn't he just patiently beseige the city, he thought, but no, they had evolved overtime, creating savage weapons which could inflict cracks upon galactic battlements, sending them falling in minutes. So a solar shield was just a cut match between a knife and a lad of butter; a grand show of power. It would have indeed been an exhilarating sight the watch, and Hypernox's master was disappointed that he had missed it all. Ironically, he still wouldn't have let Novic get a starlight closer to this city, if he had arrived in time. But he took delight in beholding the frustrated tantrum of the Zark as he seethed, knowing that his plans had been thwarted just at the moment of actualizing them.

   "It seems Zark Novic didn't tell our spectators the entire truth," the master said to Hypernox who cooed in amusement.

   "He could bring down cosmic battlements falling in the wink of an eye, but there is one wall which he can never break," the master continued, "and that wall is Kied."

   Hypernox screeched high to the cosmic skies, the marmoreal waves of this astral plain flaring into a monstrous storm of tidal waves, brewing typhoons of enflamed lightning, affirmating his master's statement.

   Zark Novic grabbed his helmet, tearing it off his face, he slammed his ears shut with both palms, blocking that earsplitting  sound of Hypernox's screech. Even the sound of that chicken was more annoying than Kied's calm poise and voice. So calm and serene it sounded as though it was a dove chirping away, but Novic had known too well that within that calm voice, were turbulent waves of destruction that could wipe out even the toughest cosmic lord. But who was Kied anyway ? Who did he think he was ? The apex of some astral warrior?

   It was a stupid idea anyway, attacking a solar-city with an army the size of his. But he had taken precautions sensing the foreboding, he wanted to make sure that if this child every came back - something he never thought would be possible - he would be prepared to send him into eternity. Unfortunately, it was a wasted effort, with more than half his fleet gone, Novic was enraged, he could feel those cosmic storms raging within him. How powerful was Kied anyway ? He was crushed a season ago, and this day wouldn't be different from the past.

   Staring into the distance Novic growled fiercely, irritated by the crafty grin Kied always wore. One day he'd thrust his dagger through him, and it'll be through no other place than that grinning mouth of his.

   Stretching his palm forward, those concentric circles flared once again, unleashing his cosmic beasts from their galactic bondage. He could feel them resonate his venom and anger in their high pitched roars. Kied wasn't just a familiar face to them, it was also a familiar name, a name which they had longed to bring to its end, a name that they had hungered to defeat into inexistence; into a state where it'll never be remembered.

   "Destroy Kied !" Novic yelled, his cosmic beasts charging towards the ever smiling Kied.

   "Hypernox, doesn't Novic ever learn," Kied gave a mocking sigh, "that fury in battle never pays."

   Hypernox responded with his high-pitched screech.

   "You're right," Kied remarked, staring into his flaring palms, "since he never gets tired of learning the same lessons, we'll keep playing by the same rules. He isn't the only one who knows how to stagnate, but my stagnation is volatile."

   Kied's eyes glistened, lifting his bowed head his gaze confronting the attacking army of cosmic beasts.

   Those five massive circles possessing flaring surfaces, their cores branded with triangular and quadrilateral structures, resonating the flare from within Kied's turbulent and energetic being emerged, taking their places around him, he was armour donned, battle ready and blades steady, patiently waiting for the grand hour to fade into a clash of blades.

   Kied felt the epistemic energy within bolt to the very tips of his dendrites; to the very edge of his mind and soul, making him attain a peak of cosmic cadencies, striking like an astral typhoon.

   The circles whirled through the distance, searing through space and time, making the expanse shatter into marmoreal shards, flaring slivers of a turbulent state of energetic storms. In harmony they cut through that army o cosmic beasts, a sight to behold of clashing cadencies. It was rhythm in enflamed lustres, the lyrical clash of lightning.