Mane opened his eyes after five minutes. As the marvelous state he had gouged himself in wore off, his false state of elemental harmony was broken. The water he sat in was quickly evaporated, and the temperature of the room increased sharply. A few cracks appeared on the bathtub, as it creaked and threatened to fall apart. Luckily, Mane shook himself out of his dazed state quite quickly, and the flames that were close to causing havoc, died out.
"What was that?" he wondered. That miraculous state was addictive, and he craved for it once more. But even though he didn't know what had happened, he knew that it wasn't a common occurrence, and it would be difficult to experience something like that again.
"I know you know what that was. Will you tell me?" Mane asked his masters. He didn't pick out anyone in particular, choosing to throw the question to the crowd.
"Just do a spirit scan kid" 6th said in disdain. He couldn't believe a spiritualist was asking them such a question. Mane blushed at the 6th's reply, though the redness on his checks disappeared as quickly as they had made their presence known. If he could, he would pummel his 6th master into the ground. And when he was done, he would sit on him with a satisfactory smirk. Alas, that wasn't possible, for even if he was strong enough to do such a thing, he wouldn't have a way to get to the one hidden in the 6th mountain. At least, he didn't have a way just yet. So far all he knew was that the key to breaking their seals was to understand the riddles they gave him. But Mane's instincts screamed at him constantly, begging him to abstain from making known what his exceptional brain had deduced over the years. He was certain that answering those riddles wouldn't give him the results he sought. So he chose to remain silent.
"Spirit Scan"
NAME: Mane
AGE: 11
HEALTH POINTS: 4000/4000
RACE: Supreme
BLOODLINE: Mixed (Olympian, Norse GodKing, ???)
BLOODLINE RANK: Improbable
LEVEL: Earth Stage 1 (Level 51.25)
POWER LEVEL: 470,250
WIELDER TYPE: Multi Wielder (Body Wielder; Energy Wielder; Spiritualist)
SPECIALTY: Strength; Intelligence; Speed
GLOWS: Takeover; Aftershock; Endless Wave; Basileus; Son of Lightning; Absolute Darkness; *Brimstone
BREATH: Self-time Acceleration; True Flames; The Dark Times; *Self-time Control
After resting for a while, Mane's health was fully recovered. His regeneration ability was indeed impressive. Even more impressive was that this ability did not manifest as a skill. If it did one day, his healing speed would be monstrous. But Mane wasn't interested in his vitality. He was drawn in by the new breath. He focused on it and said,
"Spirit Scan: Category- Breath; Expound Self-time Control"
Once his words ended a more comprehensive explanation of his new skill was presented before his eyes.
BREATH: *Self-time Control- An ability envied by the gods. The bread and butter of time gods and ascenders. Allows one to control their bodily functions and activities to the microscopic level. User is able to tap into a false elemental harmony at the peak of this state. Difficult to master. User is only at the initial stage.
Caution: User best refrain from suing this skill until he attains the peak of the heavenly realm or higher (Body wielding must also reach this level).
Mane was astounded by what he saw. This skill was like a cheat. It basically allowed him to halt his injuries and keep fighting on. But it seemed that for now he couldn't use it in its entirety. And he didn't truly understand it in its fullness. He would have to thoroughly study this skill, for it was highly useful. Luckily for him, he also had a time expert on his side. He was certain that 9th was conversant with this skill. After all, the description stated that it was the bread and butter of time ascenders. And 9th was one, and a pretty awesome one at that. Mane knew that even without asking him formerly, his master would spare nothing to teach him. What drew his attention from the little he had been told was the phrase; false elemental harmony at the peak of this state.
"What is false elemental harmony?" he wondered. This time, his masters did answer, for there was a limit to a spirit scan.
"It is a unique state. It is usually attributed to luck, but it is craved for by all elemental wielders. It is basically the ability to use two or more elements in perfect harmony. Fire doesn't scorch the earth; water doesn't extinguish flames; air doesn't take out a flicker of fire. It is a strange state, one that isn't thoroughly understood. And even stranger than the skill itself, is the ability to master it. But from what I know, every Supreme did unlock this skill. Yet none of them were able to achieve this state with more than two elements- the first Supreme was no exception, neither was the one before you. In fact, in all of history, only one person has been able to use three elements masterfully in this state. And it is because of her that we realised that it could be done with more than two elements." 6th's explanation was as thorough as it was lengthy. But for the first time in a long while, Mane didn't mind his blabbering. And why would he? He was being given very valuable information. He would be a fool to shut his master up.
"How many elements did I access in mine?" Mane asked. He couldn't tell what has happening in that ethereal state. But he was positive that his masters who see everything that goes on around him witnessed this state.
"Four- air, fire, earth, water" 6th answered. Mane was startled by the revelation. He was expecting to be told he was no different from his predecessors. After all, from what he had gathered form 6th's explanation, the one who did go beyond two elements wasn't a Supreme. Supremes had a wide arsenal of abilities, and with destiny on their side they were always able to access this sought after state. But their luck ended there. Till date they had all been recorded as masters of elemental harmony, but they were limited to only two elements. He was wrong in thinking he wasn't any different. Although he asked his question concerning the number of elements, what he really wanted to know was the elements he had attained the state in. To think he had even broken the record was surprising.
"Don't get too happy just yet. It is just a false state. You haven't yet reached the real elemental harmony. Besides, you are only capable of tapping into this power when you use self-time control. It seems that you were able to control even your elemental affinity in your dazed state, hence the reason you poked your head into elemental harmony. So you must first master self-time control, before you can use this false state. And that is going to take a few years at least. And when you finally break open the door you only just unlocked, you will need to do much more to comprehend the true state. We won't be much help however, because none of us achieved true elemental harmony." 6th explained
"True elemental harmony? That means that some of you did unlock the false state?" Mane noticed that there was a hole in the 6th's words, not like the blabbermouth was hiding it anyway.
"Not some- just two of us. 6th and 9th are the only ones with experience." 2nd answered. Now Mane was truly surprised. To think that 6th was part of the only two amongst his masters with the talent and luck to unlock such a skill. It wasn't a surprise that 9th had this skill. After all, from the description of self-time control, as long as one reached its peak, they would be capable of accessing the false elemental harmony. It was the 6th who surprised him. It seems his masters weren't joking when they told him that 6th's talent was among the top in the universe. Even in their group he was no pushover. It's just that his master didn't have the demeanor of an elder when he spoke to Mane, so the little boy had unconsciously been taking him for granted. At least, now he knew who to consult when he mastered self-time control. As for true elemental harmony, he would worry about how to achieve it when he crossed the bridge that was its false state.
"I should get out. I have been here for quite a while." Mane mumbled, and his masters agreed. There was no water in the tub, so there was no need for him to be sitting around aimlessly. Since he was already dry after using his flames, he proceeded to wear his clothes and left the bathroom.