The strange extra dimensional space was filled with only two people now. Mane's figure was nowhere to be found. In the end the boy was so excited with everything he earned that he had left without finding out what a Supreme was. Ananse's blurred figure and Indra's aloof form were all that occupied the place. They stood side by side as they gazed at nothing in particular.
"Why do I have to protect the Brute King" after nearly ten minutes, Indra lost his patience? He broke the silence, choosing to ask Ananse the question that had been bothering him. Mane had been cast out of Indra's realm less than twenty minutes ago. Ananse had finished her business with him. She left the writing of his recommendation letter to his parents. Although they weren't Stakes for the God King Academy, they were still alumni of the prestigious academy. Their recommendations would be accepted. She also had Indra write a joint recommendation letter for Frederick and Selina to attend King's Crown Academy. She had passed the letter to Mane right before he left. It was stored in his mind space and would be retrievable once he exited. As for how he would let his parents know about his newfound knowledge concerning the God Academies, Ananse didn't care. As long as he didn't reveal their meeting, she cared very little for what his explanation would be. He wouldn't be worthy of being a scholar if he couldn't figure out how to deal with something so simple.
Ananse's blurred figure made it impossible for Indra to truly see her expression, so he couldn't tell what she was thinking. All he could do was look at her intently, waiting for her to give him the answer that he sought.
"The war with the Dark God has already began. The Eastern Empire is already his." Ananse sidestepped the question like it was a landmine, choosing to provide information on something else instead.
"How is that possible" Indra questioned in disbelief? He had been monitoring the movements of the Dark God since he arrived on this planet, and he hadn't noticed anything like that. Although mortals couldn't hope to stand against a god, there would still be signs of a war of Seth decided to take over an empire.
"He accomplished this a few weeks ago. I don't know how he did it so silently. Maybe if I was there in person I would be able to help out more. The bottom line is that Seth has somehow managed to take absolute control of the Eastern Empire. He would target the other empires next. My guess is that he would try to tame another empire before starting an all-out war." Ananse grimly stated.
To gods, mortals were like chess pieces, placed in this position today, and tossed aside for their own benefits tomorrow. It didn't matter if you were a king, a queen, a bishop, or a knight. To a god, you were all pawns regardless of the strength you possessed or your birth. Since Seth was trying to conquer the planet without destroying the inhabitants- a rare act in the god society by the way- he wouldn't be directly involved in the fight. The only logical thing to do was to conquer another empire and then start a war.
"But this is Seth we are talking about. You can never know what that one is truly thinking" Ananse's melodious voice had a hint of fatigue in it. The actions of the Dark God were hard to predict even for someone like her.
"One thing is for certain though: whatever method he used to control the Eastern Empire isn't an easy thing to replicate. That is why I am certain that he can at most do it one more time." Ananse finally delivered some bright information.
"You can leave the Northern Empire aside. To control that imperial family is dangerous. They may have fallen, but their ancestors' blood runs through their veins. Trying to mind control them, even for a god, is impossible. The backlash would rather drive Seth senile" Ananse explained.
"I think you look down on the Dark God" Indra was puzzled by her words. As part of their deal, he was meant to observe the Northern Empire's imperial family. So he had been doing that as well, but he hadn't seen anything special about them. Their abilities were rare, but he didn't see the big fuss about that. If the Dark God had found a way to mind control others without being an extremely powerful Spiritual God, how could a motley crew of pseudo spiritualists be able to stop him.
"Don't look down on that family. Their ancestors were Spiritual Gods. In their prime, Ascenders could only hope to be accepted as servants in their clan. Not that the current descendants know about this." Ananse easily dismissed Indra's scorn of the Northern Empire's imperial family. Anyone who didn't know the true history of Zandor was free to think she was overestimating its people, but she knew that she wasn't. And to her, that was good enough.
"You sound like you know much about this planet. Why is this place so important anyway?" Indra was very curious about this. The Dark Sword had several avatars in many planets, but in none of them had it planned such a grand move. And in none of them, had the Dark Sword sought the help of one of its allies- the Dark God. It was clear that the Dark Sword was interested in this planet. And although the Dark God was its ally, just like the other gods that had aligned with the interests of the Dark Sword, it had no control over him. So for the Dark God to be here meant that he was truly interested in this planet as well. And just like Ananse, he was an ancient god that had lived for a very long time. They certainly knew something about this world that many others didn't know. Like, why was it covered by a barrier? And why was its World Will injured and weak? There were a lot of things that just didn't seem to fit.
"It is important, that's all you have to know. What you want to know would put you in more danger than you would be able to handle." Ananse sounded sad and exhausted. And Indra was a taken aback by her words. He was a powerful Battle God. There was little in this universe that could threaten him, with the exception of powerful Origin Artefacts and Origin Battle Gods. He was a bit skeptical about her words. But his skepticism lasted only a few seconds when he remembered who she was and the legends that surrounded this seemingly insignificant goddess.
"Oh, and before I forget, you are also responsible for Mane's friends" Ananse gave him another task without caring about his thoughts on the matter. Indra's lips twitched in annoyance at her words. He wasn't a babysitter. Why would he have to be responsible for a whole group of kids when he was having a hard time just dealing with the movements of the Dark God Seth?
"Don't make that face" Ananse comforted in her lovely voice. "Did you really think that the friends of the Supreme would be ordinary? Remember, destiny has a way of pulling great people towards each other. Either they are drawn to one another as friends, or they are tied by bonds of hatred." Ananse piously announced.
"His friends are special" Indra asked? He had assessed Mane's friends, and they seemed to have pretty average talent. It was special in Zandor, but that was where their genius ended. There was no way they would be able to accompany Mane on his journey like the boy wanted- or so he thought. He had assumed that Mane was very childish- which was no surprise because he was a child- for thinking that they could travel the universe with him. But Ananse seemed to disagree with his thoughts.
"They are. The legacy of the Twin Gods that has been hidden in the Neces Wielding Academy is meant for the twin boys that accompany Mane. Abelard has very high talent for scholar wielding. And if he focuses on that alone, he would surpass Mane in the scholar path. Frederick and Selina are close to their second awakening and would become major talents soon. I reckon it would happen for both of them in the next few weeks." Ananse explained calmly.
If Mane was still here, he would be ecstatic with what he was hearing. His friends weren't average at all. And although Indra wasn't Mane, his surprise couldn't be hidden. He knew of the legacy hidden in the Wielding Academy. Ray and Alexis had inherited a small portion of that legacy and had grown tremendously in a few years. If the twins were destined for this legacy, then their achievements were bound to be nothing short of impressive.
If Frederick and Selina were able to awaken their dormant energy, then they would become like Mane's alchemist friend, possessing talent that rivalled that of the scions of major god clans, and even Celestials. Abelard's news in retrospect, wasn't all that shocking, considering that Ananse had already mentioned it earlier.
'The only one I can't see through is that boy Aegeus. His sealed energy is several times stronger than the others. Yet I see no way for him to awaken it. If only he could, he would be of great help to the Supreme' Ananse thought silently to herself. That was the one thing she was keeping from Indra. Since Indra found it impossible to spy on Mane when he was at home, he didn't know that Mane had accepted Aegeus as a disciple, but he did know that the little boy trekked from his home to Mane's every week. That alone was enough to notice the boy. He had passed on the information of the boy to Ananse, who was surprised to see a huge influx of sealed energy greater than anything she had ever witnessed, in the boy. But she didn't tell Indra. It wasn't something he could help with after all. Even she was clueless, and very few things in the universe could render her abilities useless.
"When you are done settling down the others, train Aegeus" Ananse commanded Indra like he was her lackey. And before he could say anything she added, "Don't ask". Indra frowned hearing her words. For someone making a lot of requests of him, she sure was secretive. But he knew better than to question the goddess who was behind the Great Divide in the 5th Heaven.
'Although I can't see through him, I have a hunch that he wouldn't be average. I hope that my hunch is right.' Ananse thought to herself.
"I really didn't want him to go to God King" Ananse mumbled silently, but it was loud enough for Indra to hear. Indra understood her concerns, but he didn't think it was that bad, and so he asked her, "Why do you push so strongly against his decision"?