I Am Mane Harbinger: XII

"Follow my lead and support me whenever there is an opening," Odin commanded Mane and the young Supreme nodded his head in understanding. He had no weapons here – not like they would work brilliantly against the Origin King – so his fists were his sole reliance. Besides, he doubted that it would come to that. He swiftly cast a few leases on Odin, hoping that they would be of some assistance.

"Celeritas"

"Viribus"

"Vitae"

"Oh? This is pretty neat." Odin nodded his head with pleasure upon receiving Mane's consent and the blessing of his Leases. It was only now that Mane remembered that he was a Spiritual King. His boosts were significant. Odin gently stretched his neck and then without any hesitation he shot forward, his body moving through the Mind Scape like a specter of darkness that sought to crush its king's life.

*Wuu*

Wherever Odin traveled the red light of the Origin King gave way for his golden light. And soon there was no distinction between the two forces with each claiming equal share of this space.

"Odin!"

The Origin King's rage was insatiable at this point. Right now only the blood of the beings before him will calm his ancient soul. While addicted to screaming out Odin's name, it wasn't an act of longing nor was it an act of love but of frustration and the desire to pummel the Origin God of Asgard into the ground.

*Boom*

The Origin King took off as well. His movements weren't as silent or as graceful as Odin's. They were full of savagery and the urge to dominate. With every step a loud boom followed and the Mind Scape trembled. Mane couldn't help but wonder if the Origin King cared about the state of his Mind Scape seeing the damage it was taking. Though that mattered little. Both legends were as swift as the wind and in next to no time, they were almost upon each other.

The Origin King pulled back his arms and gathered power into his fists. An ash glow symbolizing the authority of Space engulfed his right arm as the Edict within his Mind Scape was summoned to the Origin King's side. His left arm took on a color that Mane was very familiar with. For it was the color that symbolized time – grey. With space at his right hand and time at his left, the Origin King cut a powerful figure; one no one would be willing to face in battle. Well, nobody but Odin.

Odin held on to his staff – Gungnir turned staff – and filled it with power. The golden light of the Chief Weapon engulfed Odin as well and granted him power that wasn't any less than the Origin King's. Not wanting to be outdone and definitely not wanting to be accused of taking his opponent lightly, the Asgardian King resorted to a glow Mane was very familiar with. And Mane knew instantly which part of his family Odin was from. For a black aura that was as ominous as the depths of Helheim itself rose up and concealed Odin within it. With its appearance Odin's power grew and became much more deadly. Yet the most fascinating thing was that the golden light of Gungnir didn't disappear. It merged with the black aura as the two contrasting colors complemented each other in ways Mane had never seen before.

Without any hesitation Odin smashed his staff towards the Origin King with ferocity and bloodlust that wasn't characteristic of the grace he had been showing till now. Mane's eyes glowed faintly as True Eyes were summoned, much to his relief. He waited patiently for an opening. For in a battle of this caliber, his strength wasn't enough to lead it.

"Is this how Abe felt whenever I forced him to play second fiddle to me?" A thought not at all appropriate for this moment flashed through Mane's mind as he weighed the options placed before him. Without any hesitation he too summoned his power and activated his Glows and his Breaths.

True Flames

Basileus

Brimstone

Takeover

Feeling the familiar dark aura engulfing him and seeing his flames turn blue, Mane was somehow reassured. His eyes flashed brightly as his red hair reminded him of the consequences of failing. There could be no margin for error.

*Boom*

The two kings crashed into each other, causing a massive explosion to go off in the Mind Scape.

"They are evenly matched," Mane mumbled.

For though there was a great amount of dust, True Eyes saw through it all. Neither Odin nor the Origin King was backing down. Each was swift and fierce, and though their styles differed, they seemed to be cancelling each other out. With his eyes Mane could see that the two kings were trading blows at a very fast rate. The speed of their strikes was beyond what Mane could assess. For even with True Eyes Mane couldn't see the direction of their strikes, neither could he tell how many were traded per second! Mane could understand Odin cancelling out the Origin King's space skills because someone who could travel dimensions was definitely someone who understood the laws of Space to a great degree. And he could sense and see the Space elements cloaking both Odin and the Origin King. What confused him however, was that Odin was able to rebuff the Origin King's time skills. True Eyes captured the time elements flocking to the Origin King and the Origin King only. So how was Odin able to resist the laws of time?

"It's that robe!" Mane's eyes lit up in realization as understanding dawned upon him. Through his eyes he could see that whenever the Origin King activated his time laws, the robe Odin wore faintly flickered. The time laws were not cancelled out, but they didn't affect Odin! That robe was definitely a precious artefact. And for it to be able to resist the Origin King so easily, it certainly wasn't weak.

"I need an opening," Mane gritted his teeth in frustration after a few minutes. The fight was definitely eye opening and he had reaped a lot of benefits. His belly full of Space and Time Laws devoured from the Origin King was the greatest evidence of his gains. But he couldn't stand there watching forever. Suddenly, the Origin King faltered.

Seeing that his time laws had no effect the King of Artefacts just stopped using them. The Eyes of Destruction flashed briefly as the grey glow of his left hand swiftly disappeared and was replaced by the ash of Space. Mane who had been waiting for his chance immediately jumped at this change. And he swiftly used his time laws. His eyes locked on to the Origin King's figure and without hesitation he cast a time skill.

"Time Share"

The Origin King's expression changed for the worse immediately Mane activated his skill. While he had been cautious of the spectating youth when the fight began, he had forgotten that this kid was still here as it wore on! And though he was quick to sense the danger headed his way, Odin was as smart enough to make it impossible for the Origin King to rebuff what was coming. And soon the Origin King's movements froze as he was forced to settle for Mane's speed and reaction time, which in a battle of this caliber, was unacceptable.

"Well done!"

Odin didn't miss this gift. The indefatigable god pushed his staff towards the Origin King with his murderous intent fully revealed. Gungnir abandoned its wooden form and took on its famed shape. Its golden tip pierced towards the Origin King with great precision. And without any suspense, Gungnir pierced through his heart.

*Poof*

The Origin King couldn't keep his blood in his body once it was pierced. But he wasn't one to accept his fate. He was as hard with himself as he was with anybody else. Once Time's Share's effects wore off the Origin King moved. And without a single grunt of pain he pushed himself deeper into Gungnir's grasp, effectively moving closer to Odin. Without any mercy he pushed his palms forward, his fingers deeply coated in Space Laws so strong that Mane could feel them from where he stood. And two black holes were formed on his fingertips.

*Wuu*

The black holes were like vacuum cleaners, sucking in every single law in the Mind Scape and reducing them to nothing. Odin's eyes flashed with appreciation and acknowledgement seeing the actions of his rival. Before he was King of Asgard he was a God of Battle and he did everything to win, even when some of those things questioned his morals and laws. Seeing the Origin King neglect his health just to take him down had Odin nodding in acknowledgement of the man. This was something he would do. After all, since the Origin King's heart had been pierced, he was basically dead. Taking down the enemy before falling was the greatest achievement of a warrior. But appreciation didn't equate foolishness. Odin wasn't just going to stand there and have his butt kicked. He too summoned his own space laws to counter the Origin King's.

*Boom*

The two ash lights collided, and soon it became apparent whose laws held greater weight. Although the stalemate lasted a few seconds, several more after Odin's power was pushed back. The King of Asgard had successfully nullified one black hole and had shaved a huge chunk of power from the other, but it still stood. And the seeker of his life descended upon him with great anger.

"Hahaha!" the Origin King laughed in pleasure seeing his black hole was about to manifest. But there was one here who had questions for Odin; questions that couldn't be answered if the Origin God was dead. And he made his presence felt once more.

"Reflexionem," Mane eyes were like bright blue pearls that sought out the truth in all things. In order to use Basileus at its best he retrieved True Eyes so that his bloodline would shine through. Having devoured so much space laws from the two warring kings Mane could have a greater influence.

"No!" the Origin King screamed as a film sheet of light appeared before Odin and accepted the black hole on his behalf.

The black hole sank into this light like a stone would in water, disappearing beyond the surface. Odin swiftly pulled out Gungnir and created some space between himself and the Origin King. His steps were as swift as Hermes's, and the one whose speed brought doubt to every god's mind would have been mesmerized by Odin's mimicry.

"Brat! I will – " the Origin King wrathful voice was unable to complete its mantra for no sooner had the black hole been swallowed than it was returned. And with a massive pull more than half of the Origin King's body was destroyed, leaving him in a worse state than before – when he had only Gungnir to worry about.

"Now," Odin commanded silently, his stolid voice like the decree of Edict itself. And a reply he did receive – not from Mane, but from beasts.

*Croak*

*Croak*

Huginn and Muninn had been silent all this while, offering nothing but their Omni vision to their Lord. But that wasn't their only purpose. Odin was a Scholar God. How could the creatures tethered to him be ordinary? The two birds descended upon the weakened Origin King, their figures blurry shadows Mane couldn't keep up with.

*Croak*

*Croak*

"Argh!" the Origin King finally screamed in pain.

When the black hole struck him he didn't scream. When he was pierced through by Gungnir, he didn't scream. This time however, his pain was unbearable. For the two dastardly creatures had swiftly pulled out his eyes and crushed them, leaving the Origin King as nothing but a husk of his former self.

"You must deliver the final blow in order to leave the illusion," Odin's voice traveled to Mane mind, penetrating every form of security the young Supreme had put in place. But Mane didn't care about that. Hardly had Odin's last sentence been said than the young Supreme sprang into action.

*Boom*

With a great leap Mane was already upon the Origin King. His eyes flashed with the intent to kill as his hair flowed in the wind. His arm was pulled so far back that it looked almost unnatural. Yet what Mane intended was natural. For death and life were natural laws; laws that Mane had comprehended in part.

"Augendae: Splintering Fist!" Mane bellowed as his fists, engulfed in fire and chaos – smashed the remnants of the Origin King apart.

*Bang*

And soon the young Supreme was watching the Origin King's dispersed blood like one would watch an exhibit.