565 I Am Mane Harbinger: XI

Mane nodded his head like a stringed puppet, his dull eyes suggesting that he was not himself. His hand reached out for the Eyes of Destruction, their red glow a dangerous beast that called to him, pulling him into their selfish embrace. As Mane's hand grew nearer, the red light grew brighter, and the shadow behind the eyes gained a more visible presence. A red robe hugged the shadow gently as it slowly gained its features.

The only parts exposed by the robe were the hands, feet and head. The first to become visible were the hands. Soon the feet followed. And then the facial features of the shadow were revealed. If Mane could see the person he would have been stunned. For this was Ancestor Origin! This was his true soul! Cronos and Mane were right. There was no way the Origin King should have been so weak. And that was because he wasn't! Everything was nothing but an elaborately planned ruse!

"Yes kid. Touch it."

Great excitement could be felt from the soul of the Origin King as Mane's hands approached the Eyes of Destruction. A wide, crazed smile thinned out his aged lips as his eyes gleamed with great expectation. And once Mane's hand was about a few inches away, that expectation ballooned into wild joy. But that joy was short lived. For when Mane had almost touched the red light, a powerful golden beam of light exploded from within his soul and pushed back the red light. Behind Mane appeared a golden spear with a presence so magnificent that even the sun would have to take a cue from it. With the authority of a King this spear denied Mane's soul the right to move any further. For this was the Spirit of Gungnir!

"You dare!" the Origin King screamed as a powerful pressure, one much greater than what Mane could produce; and of such superior vastness that even Gungnir's spirit shook temporarily, filled this place. The spear of the Asgardian God King trembled under the pressure, yet it didn't retrieve its golden light. Rather, its light grew stronger.

"You foolish artefact! You shall bow to me!" The Origin King screamed with great anger. And his emotions were expressed in his power. For the red light produced by the Eyes of Destruction grew more pronounced, covering the entirety of his Mind Scape! Like a 'suctorial' mouth it pulled at Mane and threatened to swallow him whole. And though Gungnir was powerful, even this King Weapon faltered under the mighty power of the one with authority over all artefacts.

"It shall do no such thing," a majestic voice that seemed to come from the depths of Mane' soul responded to the Origin King's earlier outburst. And a man donning a black robe appeared right next to the young Supreme.

His lone eye flashed with the understanding of the myriad realms; his shoulders the perch of two ravens that looked haughtily upon the world with the gazes of kings – not that of mere birds. Once he appeared Gungnir stopped trembling. Its pain ended and its confidence was restored. It was an ancient weapon itself and could resist the Origin King. But it could only do that much. Without its emperor to guide it; without its wielder caressing its handle and stroking its ego, it would still be vulnerable. It wasn't anymore. With a gentle slink it descended into the man's hands like a joyful lamb seeking the embrace of its shepherd. And once it was settled, its golden light grew stronger.

"Odin!" the Origin King screamed in rage. That's right. The new entrant was Odin himself.

"You aren't supposed to be here," the Origin King gritted his teeth in frustration and said. He looked at Mane's finger which was stuck midair with great exasperation. He was so close!

"Neither are you," Odin stated plainly and gently tapped the ground with his foot. An aura befitting of a king pushed back at the Origin King's power, vying for the authority of his very soul.

"Don't interfere," the Origin King warned with a slight amount of caution.

While he may have stood upon the perch of the True Universe for much of the ancient times, he knew a few names. Cronos, Odin, Ra, Nuwa and Pangu were amongst the few gods and goddesses he took note of. For their talent and wit made them worthy of his attention. And while they had not been strong enough to go against him, neither had they been qualified to become gods at the time for they hadn't come into themselves, he kept his guard up when it came to those few. So imagine his anger when a man that shouldn't be here, had somehow appeared here! Even worse he seemed to be trancing his plans!

"Hello Origin King," Odin had a passive look on his face. His eyes though glued to the Origin King, were not focused on the oldest artefact in existence. Rather they went through him and latched onto something that wasn't even here.

"Get out of my way brat!" the Origin King screamed. He was probably the only one who could call Odin a brat. His wrath was so great that it caused his Mind Scape to quake. It produced a tremble so tumultuous that Mane lost his footing and fell. However, Odin reached out and caught the boy.

"I should allow you to hurt my descendent? You must think I am afraid of you." Odin frowned and gently tapped Mane's forehead. Although he seemed calm, there was a great rage bubbling within him. This was his descendent! He wasn't to be touched!

"Oh? That explains his great talent." Ancestor Origin was surprised by the revelation. Finally some things started to make sense and he understood why Mane smelt like a god. And he knew why the boy smelled of a dimension traveler. He wasn't of this world!

"But he is mine now," the Origin King declared as his power solidified and declared its supremacy over his Mind Scape. This place was his to command!

"Is that right?" Odin stated dully as his own power pushed back against the Origin King's. And no matter how hard the King of Artefacts tried, he couldn't breach the King of Asgard's defenses!

"What is going on?" Mane's eyelids fluttered open immediately Odin touched his forehead. And the conversation the two monarchs were having disoriented him.

Mane looked confused for a second as he tried to recollect his latest memories. And soon they flooded his mind and drowned his senses. And he knew: he had almost fallen for the ploy of the Origin King! The ancient artefact was not as dumb nor as naïve as he and Cronos thought. In fact, he was craftier than anything Mane had ever dealt with! The sneaky old crook had made a false soul and used it to deceive him. In fact, he had deceived even Cronos. And both had fallen for it!

"You saved me," Mane pushed himself out of Odin's bosom with eyes that sought the answer to many questions. There was caution within those eyes. Yes, there was. But more than that there was doubt. For Mane felt great familiarity from the man next to him. And this familiarity extended to the crows perched upon the man's shoulders as well. It was almost like he knew them. However, Mane was confident that he didn't.

Mane was quick with his observations. So he swiftly recognised Gungnir. And when he saw the spear settled so calmly within Odin's hands he was stunned. He tried to sense its emotions and realised it wasn't truly calm. It was excited! And weapons only grew excited when…

"They are held by their wielders," Mane mumbled as understanding filled his bright mind. He looked at Odin with a complex expression.

Spirit of Gungnir

A Glow that had been awakened when he needed power most. It was given as a gift and Mane knew it. Seeing the gift giver caused many complex emotions to fill his heart and several questions to litter his mind.

"I will answer your questions after. Right now, there is something else we must do." Odin could sense that Mane had a lot of enquiries. And the boy deserved to know what he sought. But now was not the time. Right now Mane needed to understand his situation.

"We are trapped in an illusion," Odin stated without much emotion. With a gentle tap to Gungnir the fearsome spear transformed into a harmless staff. But even then, Mane could feel the strength of the Chief Soul Weapon.

"An illusion?" Mane was stunned by the sudden revelation. He thought the Origin King had somehow hypnotized him. How did it become an illusion?

"Yes," Odin nodded and then turned to face Mane like there wasn't an enemy seething right in front of him.

"Didn't you feel that the fight had ended too easily? Did you not feel the oddities of the situation?" Odin asked sternly.

"I did," Mane confessed. He had indeed felt some strangeness in the situation. But he had chalked it off to the naivety of the Origin King. Was he wrong?

"He isn't just old. The Origin King is wise. If he wasn't, Order and Chaos would have never bowed to him. And the gods would have never been suppressed."

This was the man who read the Book of Order and wielded the Flames of Chaos! How was he normal? How could he be done in so easily?

While it was true that during the time of the Origin King the gods were not anywhere near their true strength, it was to the Origin King's credit that it was so. He limited resources available to gods and goddesses alike and kept the races under a tight leash. He claimed he never interfered with the affairs of the universe during his reign, but that was woefully inaccurate. While he never did directly influence the affairs of the universe, he controlled it like a puppet master, directing events in every way he pleased. How could such a schemer; how could such a deep thinker; how could such a ruler be naïve? How could such a man be foolish? Unless everything Mane saw wasn't real.

"So how long have I been trapped?" Mane sighed and asked. He understood that it was his extreme confidence in himself that led to such a situation. His pride had finally caused him some trouble. And it was about time it did. He needed the lesson. And while he wasn't sure of what was happening, he could sense that Odin knew it all.

"He planted the seed in you the moment he met you. Then he trapped you the moment you left the barrier."

Odin's reply was as great stunner to Mane. Of all the times he had considered, he never thought it had been so far back. Everything was false? His talk with Dan? His meeting with the twins? Convincing the other ancestors? Fighting Ancestor Fire and discovering her secrets? Sending out Aurora and Crystal? Kissing Sunflower? Everything was false? Everything?

"Wake up Mane. Now isn't the time to be lost." Odin gently patted Mane's shoulder and said.

This was something many didn't know about the Eyes of Destruction. For no one knew that the Origin King's greatest strength wasn't his time or space manipulation, neither was it his strong physique as an artefact. It was his ability to bend the minds of others to do his bidding by trapping them in illusions. And it was a power that belonged to only the Eyes of Destruction. The reason why it remained unknown was if people knew of it, they would guard against it. Odin didn't know this before – not until Mimir revealed it to him.

"Besides, everything you saw in the illusion truly happened. Just that you – all of you – were controlled by the Origin King to make it happen just as you saw it. They weren't conscious actions. However, the last part of it – your fight with this old coot – was falsified. You two are currently outside Amalgamation. But your fight hasn't started yet. You need to escape this hole."

"Odin!" the Origin King screamed as the Eyes of Destruction floating midair miniaturized and inserted themselves into his eye sockets.

An awe inspiring evil that was so strong that it gave the feeling of being unconquerable was unleashed the moment those pupils fell within the Origin King's eye sockets. And the last face Mane had seen before entering this Mind Scape was complete. However, with that crown on his head, the Origin King's power seemed to have increased a few fold.

"Huginn, Muninn. I am tired of seeing this man's face. An old relic he is, yet he seeks the bones of the young and envies the talents of the new. Shall we drive him out? What sayeth thee?"

*Croak*

*Croak*

Huginn and Muninn croaked with great displeasure and with a mighty flap of their wings they ascended into the sky of the Origin King's Mind Scape to survey the land they were bent on conquering. Soon, they will deem it as theirs.