"What do you know truly know about Seth?" Instead of immediately saying what he wanted to say, Butler Fin asked Ray his very own question. "I know what everyone else does", Ray wrinkled his brows and replied. He wasn't sure what Butler Fin was doing, but they had been close long enough for him to understand what Fin was implying. It was very likely the one who had watched him grow into a man knew much more than most people did. Every ascender worth his salt knew about the Dark God Seth. Call it 'Common Knowledge 101' if you will. Everyone knew the parents of Seth- Geb and Nut. And all were aware that his brother was Osiris. Though it was this very same brother that Seth had gruesomely murdered several millions of years ago. Although he didn't truly murder him, choosing to rather destroy his body and seal him, it was still a cruel act, one that accurately described the soul of the Dark God Seth.
"If that is all you know, then you know nothing." Fin shook his head at Ray's reply. He wasn't satisfied his the Brute King's knowledge. "Seth is the God of Darkness of the 4th heaven, yet his power is so strong that many generally consider him as the true god of the dark arts. It is believed that many dark gods obtain their power from the Dark Sword, and this belief is sound, its logic anything but misplaced. Seth is an exception though. Unlike the others, his power is darkness in its purest form. His power wasn't given to him by the dark sword, but comprehended on his own."
Butler Fin's words caused Ray to look at him in astonishment. The young god didn't bother to ask questions like, 'Are you certain', or make statements like, 'How is that possible?' To him, the mere thought of these things was a show of mistrust towards Fin. As he always said, if Fin didn't know something, then no one else did. The implication of Fin's words were severe. The darkness attribute was not an easy attribute to master. In fact, even the sheer difficulty of mastering a skill of this unique attribute was indescribable. It was as difficult as trying to master lightning without any bloodline help. For instance in Ray's case, the Brute King had such great control over lightning because he was born with affinity towards the destructive element. This was a gift he got for being his father's son. But darkness was different. Even though darkness and lightning were generally considered under the same umbrella in terms of power, darkness was much rarer than lightning. The negative effect that darkness had on most of those who used it led to a small number of people being able to truly master the element. Most of those who attempted to gain the approval of this eccentric element grew mad before they could even get far in their comprehension. This was one of the reasons why Ray was so worried that Mane had unlocked a darkness glow. None of Mane's true blood relatives had such a glow, at least none of those who were alive had such a glow anymore. It was highly likely that the unpredictable element had reached out to the Supreme all on its own. The less likely option was that this glow his son had unlocked was actually from a predecessor. Ray knew that there were such being with ties to the darkness attribute from his side of the family, but he also knew that they were long dead. He hoped that the less likely option was the right one. If not, and the darkness element truly reached out to his son on its own volition, then the prophecy the gods feared- the one he and his wife adamantly rejected- may very well be true.
Most of those who had managed to adopt darkness as their own had done so through the help of the Dark Sword. This artefact wasn't just tied to darkness- it was darkness. If someone else was able to comprehend darkness on their own then it meant…
"Yes, your thoughts are accurate. Seth is a being one can consider to be on the same level as the Dark Sword. Of course, this is a theory. We cannot really know if it is true." It was almost as though Butler Fin could read Ray's mind, for he knew exactly what the man was thinking. Ray didn't seem surprised by the man's comment. It wasn't because he believed that Butler Fin knew everything. He did, by the way, as I have said a million times already. It was because the older god knew him so well that he could tell his emotions and his thoughts from his expressions. It was an ability that even his wife envied. As she had said so manty times already, 'I should be the one to know what you're thinking all the time and not Fin'.
If what they were thinking was true, then just like the Dark Sword, Seth could also allow others to use the power of darkness in his name. Many gods had the ability to allow their followers use their elements in their name. But this was mostly due to the fact that most elements were docile and non-violent in nature. Elements like lightning and darkness were difficult to control, much less pass on to another. It took those at the peak to do something of that nature. Thor could do this, and so could Zeus. Although Ray could also do this, he hadn't quite mastered it. For so long many had ignored the threat of the darkness element. Although the Dark Sword was a threat, it was a containable one. But Seth was different. The Dark Sword was an artefact so it needed a medium. Until it found a suitable host it would forever be a containable threat. Seth had no such restrictions. In a sense, he was the one true God of Darkness, the first of his kind and possibly the last. For there was no way Seth would allow another like himself share in the power of darkness. His cruelty would not allow that.
"Seth wasn't always like this you know", Butler Fin sighed as he reminisced. "What do you mean?" Ray wondered. He knew his mentor was old, but he didn't think he was so old that he knew the origins of the dark god.
"Initially Seth was a kind and gentle boy. But like every child out there, he sought for attention from his parents and all who were near. He didn't get any. Everyone was more focused on his brother. His brother Osiris was better looking, more outspoken unlike the withdrawn Seth, and was regarded as the smarter. They weren't wrong about Osiris' looks and his eloquence with the written word, but they were wrong about his intelligence. They assumed him to be the smarter since he was the livelier of the two. What they didn't know was that Seth was very similar to Mane. His intelligence and talent were outstanding."
Ray was very surprised by Butler Fin's words. Although he had never heard this story before, his surprise was birthed from Fin's assumption that Seth was similar to Mane. Mane was a Supreme! His intelligence and talent were out of this world. No, that was inaccurate. They were currently in Zandor. Any child from the higher realms would have talent out of this world. The more apt description would be that Mane's gifts were out of this universe! If Seth was so similar to him, it made so much more sense that he was able to become the god of darkness. And as usual Ray didn't doubt his mentor. There were times he would ask, 'Are you sure?', but it wasn't because of distrust. It was more of a way to get himself to accept the most unbelievable of information. Although Ray was thinking, his thought process took less than two seconds. He quickly tuned his mind back into the ongoing conversation.
"Years of neglect took its toll. Seth believed that he was the one supposed to get all the attention his brother was getting. Yet his introverted nature didn't allow him to voice it out. I suspect that was when darkness reached out to him. It felt his despair, saw his gifts that no one else had, and sought this prized possession for itself. It wanted to control Seth. When Osiris was chosen as ruler over their race, Seth snapped. He finally allowed darkness to take hold of him, giving the obscure element what it wanted. He grew stronger and eventually killed his brother. But even darkness underestimated the ability of Seth. Instead of gaining control over him as it wished, it found itself subject to the prodigy rather, a slave to the one it wanted to enslave. And so Seth became the God of Darkness."
Butler Fin finally ended his story. There was a relieved smile on Ray's face. Initially he had some doubts as to why Fin was telling him all this. The older god usually kept a lot of things from him. But once the story ended, he understood.
"Your son would be fine" Butler Fin gently orated. Ray nodded his head believingly. His mentor and teacher had told him all this so that he wouldn't worry excessively about his son. His teacher wanted him to know that people with Mane's level of intelligence and skill like Seth had broken free from the hold of darkness. Although it was highly likely that the unpredictable element had learned from its mistake and would be more difficult to defeat, Ray had hope. He had faith. His son was a Supreme, an entity above Seth in so many ways. If the forces of darkness thought they could corrode him, they were very wrong.