38 Negus

As they walked through the gardens, Osiris looked ready to talk sternly to Enora. Vivian could only hope that the talk would go well. Lylian sneered and turned to leave the garden altogether.

The next afternoon, the ladies were blessed with the rarity of seeing their husband two nights in a row. Only their hearts felt a bit stifled. The atmosphere around the man was highly oppressive until Isis walked in carrying her son. In but an instant, the dreary atmosphere vanished. None of these women were dumb; they knew who Osiris was here to see!

When the young Lord saw his father, he abandoned his mother and shot to the Lord's side like an arrow. Jody's big, sapphire eyes stared at his father with an unwavering gaze that belied the innocence of his questions.

"Dad, I've been thinking. So mana is like origin power fused with life force, right? Also, true essence fuses with life force to create life essence. What's the difference between mana and life essence? And what if you mixed origin power with life essence? What would that be?" he asked, slightly pausing to collect his wits.

"Origin mana, a purer form. This is something that's beyond your understanding. Origin is energy from the First Sky, where all energy originates. It's incredibly volatile when ignited, abstruse without ignition, and uncontrollable unless refined," Osiris rubbed his chin briefly as he paused for thought before continuing his answer. "Honestly, son, mana is everything with life; you come from mana and return to it. Just like energy can never be destroyed, it takes on a new form. Even I don't know how exactly energy is created. One thing is for certain: everything comes from mana and returns to it in the end."

"So then..." Jody's eyes grew wider than usual as he listened intently to what his pops was saying. "If we rise above the sky and return to this Origin Sky... would that be reincarnation?"

Osiris smiled broadly at Jody's question, which was identical to one Osiris had asked countless times before when he was little. Being with this son of his made him forget all his woes.

"I used to wonder that too when I was your age or...mn, maybe a little older, but no matter how many years have passed by or how much smarter I get, I still don't have an exact answer for you. Technically, the Fate Truth is what facilitates reincarnation for heroes. However, we do know some things about life origin."

Here, Osiris pauses to pull out a huge book titled 'The Science of Life Origin.'

Given its vast size and weighty appearance, this must have been based on some ancient text. Jody also noticed his father retrieved this book out of thin air. He made a mental note to address this later.

"Active life origin power, or mana, is sometimes called qi, ki, or force depending upon the designation of its use and effect on matter. It can produce, assimilate, and destroy, respectively."

'Ki assimilates matter? Holy shit…and did he say ki twice?' Inwardly, Jody was terrified by these words; this already subverted everything that existed as a weapon in his past life... well, everything except that huge cannon-like gun that blasted himself into infinity and beyond with a single beam of light.

Could that weapon have utilized the power of mana? Jody felt the possibility of this being true was high.

"The unique trait of origin power is its ability to fuse with everything, perfectly recreating them from within itself. Laws are a manifestation of mana that possesses its own authority. Authority is...a bit more difficult to explain, so less of that. Mana becomes even more powerful as one's life form evolves," Osiris explained.

"Humans are so powerful!" Jody marveled aloud.

He thought that the humans of his past world couldn't compare.

"Young pup, do you believe that we are human?" Osiris suddenly asked his son.

Jody was stunned. Speechless even. Weren't they human? Was he missing something? Was he a fish? A bird? A plane?

Seeing the dazed and confused expression on his son's face, the Lord was feeling quite relieved. This brat was rather childlike, after all. Osiris was more convinced by the day that the boy had been born Fallen. However, being Fallen didn't necessarily mean being possessed. If some knowledgeable soul possessed his son, why would he need to act like he thought everyone was human?

"Dad, why wouldn't we be human beings? What are humans if not us?" Jody couldn't help but ask once he regained himself.

"Beings? An interesting way to phrase it," Osiris mused with interest. He thought about his words briefly before saying, "We are not of a different race from humans. If one were to label what type of 'being' we all are, it would be called heroic beings. We are members of the hero race. Humans, elves, dwarves, winged, and us honored negus are all just sub-races under the hero race. Even though dwarves can be considered descended from the goblin race as well, and negus were the first heroes."

Kamila gasped in amazement, and Jody was gobsmacked to hear these facts.

Goblin plus human makes Dwarf? Who was responsible for this equation?!

While Jody had a mid-infant crisis, their dad easily unloaded more facts about life onto their shoulders.

Humans did not create the Sage Path. This credit went to the ancestors of the elves and negus. What humans created was the saint path; however, this was also in collaboration with the ancient negus. Very few humans are born with an Origin Body, so human Sages can be considered rare. The ancient elves are the opposite; they are almost all born with Sage bodies, but not many are compatible with pure energy.

Due to this, they are unable to practice humanity's Saint Path…

Jody's ancestors, the negus, are the progenitors of both the Saint and the Sage Paths. They are known for their trademark brown skin, magic, voodoo, and physical superiority.

"All the sub-races needed us negus to survive in the beginning. Some would argue that we are the only True Hero, but this is foolishness. Still, this is why, regardless of elves or humans, the other heroes all hate us for our might and versatility. Can you two repeat that?"

Josiah repeated what he had just learned verbatim.

Lord Osiris nodded in appreciation. Kamila tried to replicate Jody's attempt but started rambling nonsense halfway through. The Lord felt this was already a welcome improvement from this rascal little princess.

The Lord rubbed his chin. Her little brother was an excellent source of motivation for her. If only Horus were still on this continent, Osiris would retrieve his son even if he had to visit another Ward.

Rodinia was simply too far, though.

The air at the table was still and heavy. A few days ago, when the Lord was teaching his two children in the garden, there had been moments of laughter as they all discussed different concepts together. But now, everyone was fixated on the Lord's words. Osiris seemed perfectly fine at the moment, but all the adults understood how dark his mood had been since his talk with Enora, who hadn't even been present recently.

All of the present ladies were leaning in, their faces illuminated by the light of the candelabra on the table. The atmosphere seemed almost reverent as Lord Osiris explained Worldly True Essence to his young pupils.

"Worldly True Essence is the heavenly energy that originated from the Third Sky of the Ennead," he said solemnly. "It is matter itself, a type of primary energy that humans have been able to study for eons - it is key to stepping onto the path of Truth. Humans may have spent even more time studying true essence than our ancestors."

Kamila's cheeks flushed red from anticipation as her father explained that this energy is found at the core of every planet and heroes can use it to understand truth. Kamila had no idea what that meant, but apparently, she could understand it easier as a negus.

So why didn't this feel easy?