I Am Mane Harbinger: VI

Mane was unaware of the enemy he had chosen to make. For he was currently occupied with Ancestor Fire.

*Boom*

The two went back and forth and destroyed almost every street in the city. Ancestor Fire was truly an Ancient. For her physique allowed her to survive blows which would have killed the regular Elemental. But even she couldn't hold Mane back for long. Splintering Fist had already broken one of her arms and had rendered her half-crippled. Added to Mane' incessant barrage, she was soon down.

"You were a worthy opponent," Mane looked down on the fallen Ancestor Fire with great respect. Although he hadn't fought with his full strength, her fire control was strong. She was probably the best Mane had seen when it came to handling flames, with the exception of his father. Even Sunflower's understanding paled greatly in comparison to Ancestor Fire's.

"Kill me," Ancestor Fire wheezed with great exhaustion. Much of her internal organs had been crushed and unfortunately, her lungs were included in the thrashing. It was a great burden to breath, much less speak. Were it not for Edict nourishing her body, she would have died.

"Huh?" Mane looked at Ancestor Fire like a sane man would an insane man. And then he walked away, much to Ancestor Fire's surprise.

"I never planned to kill anyone," Mane's voice travelled to her ears when he was several meters away from her.

"Well, with the exception of Ancestor Origin. That old man has to die." Mane added before his killing intent ballooned like a great lake. Even Mane didn't know why he had such a strong urge to kill Ancestor Origin. He just felt that the man needed to die.

"Look out!" Suddenly Mane heard the anxious voice of Cronos ring from within his Soul Space. And Mane himself felt his senses pinging loudly in alarm. As great sense of danger befell him, and he felt death approaching.

"Absolute Darkness" Mane swiftly activated his darkness glow and jumped out of the way. His feet moved with the speed of light itself as he retreated from whatever sought his head.

*Rip*

A huge black hole appeared right where Mane stood before, proving that his decision to escape had been the right one. It appeared out of thin air and sucked in everything it could find, pulling debris and dust into its gaping mouth and turning them into fragments of nothingness. Mane's decision to activate Absolute Darkness proved to be the right one. For several large slabs of stone flew through him and into the black hole.

"What power is this?" Mane wondered as he secretly sighed in relief. He may be strong enough to resist many things right now. But that certainly wasn't one of the things he could handle.

"Good instincts"

A voice Mane knew all too well resounded from within a portal outside the range of the black hole and while Mane thought it unbelievable that a person could summon that thing, the identity of the man was what caught him off guard.

"Origin?"

Mane was stunned when Ancestor Origin walked through the portal and landed only a few meters away from him. With a simple wave of his hand, the aged ancestor dissolved the black hole and calm returned to the street. His clothes had been destroyed, leaving him in only his inner armor, but for some reason he looked more majestic this way. However, what drew Mane's attention was the Ancestor's eyes.

"Those eyes," Mane felt his soul tremble when he looked into Ancestor Origin's eyes.

The formerly grey orbs were now shades of red and black! The danger he felt came from those eyes and the tremble of his soul was exactly because of those eyes. And then in quick sequence, the words of Ananse and his mother flashed past his mind. For after Ananse told him of those eyes, his mother had clarified some things.

"Unlike what most scholars think, Origin King divided his power into two: The Eyes of Destruction and True Eyes. True Eyes contained the Origin King's ability to see all things and control time. And Eyes of Destruction was the husk of the Origin King's fighting power and his ability to control space. The Eyes of Destruction are so dangerous that even a Supreme would be in danger when they come face to face with one who wields it well."

"People have said the Eyes of Destruction are more powerful than True Eyes. They are wrong and right. True Eyes was never meant as a power of destruction. It is more of an auxiliary or complimentary power. However when mastered it can be a great weapon. Eyes of Destruction on the other hand contains the true power of the Origin King. One could say that by gaining the Eyes of Destruction, one becomes the successor of the Origin King. And that's why it is more dangerous to possess those eyes than True Eyes."

"Because the Origin King's soul resides in the Eyes of Destruction."

"Exactly. One who possesses the Eyes of Destruction can easily be taken over by the Origin King and lose themselves."

"How can I guard against those eyes? What do they look like?"

"Well, no one really knows. After all, it is said that anyone who has seen the Eyes of Destruction has died to it. The only exception was the 1st Supreme. But even she died after her battle with the Wielder of those eyes. You don't have to worry about that though Mane. Wielders of the Eyes of Destruction seldom appear in an era. And when they do they search for the holder of True Eyes, seeking to complete themselves. For legend says that the only way to protect yourself from the Origin King is to gather True Eyes too. But I think that's a lie the Origin King cooked up so that his successors would be more vulnerable. After all, why would his own power be a hindrance to him?"

Alexis had consoled her son at the time, not knowing that he was exactly the person who should be wary of the Eyes of Destruction since he had True Eyes.

"Eyes of Destruction," Mane mumbled as his flashback ended and Ancestor Origin's expression grew brighter. The oldest ancestor looked at Mane with appreciation and a bit of curiosity and asked,

"How do you know about my eyes?"

Ancestor Origin took a small step forward. His aura was still as it was from before and didn't feel particularly threatening. But Mane could feel that all his power was concentrated in those eyes.

"Your name," Mane didn't answer Ancestor Origin's question. Rather he began a soliloquy.

"Origin – a title that was given to you after you became an Ancestor. But was it really given? Or did you pick it yourself – Origin King?"

"How do you know that name? Who are you?" Ancestor Origin's expression grew ugly when he heard Mane's words and his already heightened killing intent somehow grew even stronger. His eyes were filled with venomous intent, and even Mane's aura shook momentarily. But it was only that – only a moment. And then his brain was back at it.

Why did Amalgamation side with Pazuzu? Was it really to save the citizens? What salvation was needed for a people whose barrier could even threaten the Demon God? But things would be different if Ancestor Origin's identity was different. What if Ancestor Origin was the Origin King? Now that would give him a real motive for seeking out Pazuzu.

Who was Pazuzu? He was a Demon God capable of breaching a barrier meant to hold gods. And he was the perfect ally.

"You knew all along that the Nature Barrier was an entrance to the main Dreamscape Universe" Mane accused Ancestor Origin with a strange gleam in his eyes. While his situation wasn't great, hearing that there might be a way to travel between universes without the aid of the fairies was great news.

"But you could never get past the Grim Reaper. You may have deceived the people of this world, but he would have seen right through you. He wouldn't allow an old soul that was his escape his clutches one more time. It would have been different if you were merely staying within Ancestor Origin's body. But that isn't the case. And you knew that the Grim Reaper would surely kill you."

"So you sought a solution: Give Pazuzu Elemental souls in exchange for passage through the gateway. You would give up your body and Pazuzu would have to accept you in himself. Since Pazuzu is a god you wouldn't be able to take over his mind so he wouldn't mind the company. And then when the time was right and you had escaped the Grim Reaper, you would inhabit a new body."

"But why would you want to leave the World of the Three Races? Simple: you want to return to the True Universe. That means that there must be a way to travel between universes out there. Why do you want to leave though? You are in a world in which you have power over a great race. So why the need for an escape? That I also know. Because you are highly ambitious. How could one who used to rule a universe be content with a planet? By returning to the True Universe you would find the inheritor of the True Eyes. And then you would be complete."

Every word that Mane spoke caused Ancestor Origin's expression to grow uglier. And his eyes flashed with intense hatred.

"You are brilliant indeed. Ashera chose well. I am indeed the Origin King" Ancestor Origin admitted with a smile. "And I believe that you have something of mine," he added with a cynical smile.

"'I like his eyes'. That was the first thing you said when you met me. You knew all along that I had True Eyes. Why wait when you could have killed me there and then?"

Mane recalled the first meeting between the two. And in doing so he recollected the strange behavior of the Origin King when they met. What he didn't understand was why the old man had allowed him to live for so long when he was much weaker then.

"Well…" Ancestor Origin was about to explain when he was stopped by the one who asked the question in the first place.

"Oh wait, never mind," Mane lifted his hand and rudely shut up the Origin King. "I know the answer," Mane waved his hand dismissively, much to the Origin King's annoyance. It was almost like he was bent on annoying the old man.

But Mane actually knew the reason. Initially the older man was unsure of Mane's abilities. As someone who knew Ashera and her strange skills, he reckoned that as her protégé, Mane knew a thing or two about her power. And he was wary of Mane's ability to escape. If he couldn't kill the boy because Ashera had in some way, prepared a defensive mechanism on him and the boy escaped to the Tower of the Hundred, there was no way he, the Origin King, would be able to get Mane back. For no one could breach the Tower – not even Pazuzu could do so without paying a huge price.

"Hehe. Must be annoying dealing with this kid." Within Mane's Soul Space, Cronos was seated on his throne enjoying the show outside. He had to admit that Mane had a way with words – and a way to throw the Origin King off.

"I wonder if he will summon you – considering the risks and all," Cronos's eyes gleamed brightly as he admired the weapons that stood at the center of the Soul Scape.

Occupying the opus magnum of Mane's Soul Space was Harch. And surrounding Harch were his armor and complimentary blades. Cronos's eyes flashed with a hint of greed as he watched the weapons. But he knew better than to attempt to wield them. Not only were they bound to Mane and Mane alone, as an Olympian even if he could use them, they would do little for him. He just liked them because he was a man drunk on power and would rather possess something he couldn't use than have another benefit from it.

While Harch was a powerful weapon, Cronos doubted that Mane would use it, considering his foe – the King of all Origin Divine Artefacts. As King the Origin King had an innate control over all artefacts and that was why he was so dangerous. Harch was still very young. Maybe in a few decades or centuries it would be able to resist the Origin King's control. But right now it was like a baby. Mane wouldn't want to risk losing it to the Origin King.

Cronos stared at the weapons for a short while before returning his attention to the happenings outside. He could feel Mane's Scholar energy increase following his accurate deductions. And the Titan God known for his selfishness couldn't help but chuckle at how easy Mane was finding it to grow in a path that perplexed many. However, there was a bit of nervousness within his countenance. For even Cronos in his prime had to be wary of the Origin King's return. The monster was in a different league of his own.

"The Origin King isn't like any other foe. While it is true that he is weakened, he is still the King of all Origin Divine Artefacts. How will you deal with him young Supreme? Or will your legend end prematurely?"

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