"Have they left?" Ray stood before Mane's bed and gazed upon the serene figure that lay on it. That figure was the owner of the room, Mane. His expression as he slept was peaceful. The anxiety that had built up during his battle with the Master seemed to have taken its toll – or had it?
"They have" Butler Fin closed the door to Mane's room and walked to Ray's side. He also turned to look at the sleeping Mane.
"I see. Tell me, what did you tell Mane? For him to have suggested Systema to Aegeus, you must have said something" Ray suddenly asked.
"You mean about Aegeus? All I did was tell him that I can sense an enormous amount of power hidden in that little boy's body" Butler Fin smiled and said.
"Oh? It's that impressive?" Ray furrowed his brows in doubt.
"It is. I advised Mane to find a way to awaken the boy for the second time, but that would be too difficult" Butler Fin sighed when he spoke of a Second Awakening. It was rare than Mane had two friends who had experienced a Second Awakening because even in the entire universe, it was an improbability. But the young Supreme wasn't satisfied with having only two of his friends awaken a second time. He wanted more.
"And his talent with outer energy is outstanding" Butler Fin added. It was true. Mane noticed that Aegeus didn't have any talent with inner energy, so he let him switch to outer energy, just to test the waters for a while; and the results were astonishing. Aegeus was so talented with outer energy, that it took him less time, compared to Mane, to reach the peak of the mortal realm in body wielding! And his progress could not be explained. It was similar to how Frederick's comprehension of the Law of Creation, which allowed him to create and dismantle any artefact, couldn't be explained.
"There is something strange about those brothers. One of these days I have to see their parents and understand what is hidden in their bloodline" Butler Fin thought to himself.
"So that's why Mane wants him to go to Systema?" Ray finally understood his son's actions. As long as Aegeus passed the test, he would naturally undergo a Second Awakening, or at the very least, he would be given a clue as to how to achieve a Second Awakening.
"It's not just for him. The others would benefit as well. For some strange reason, every person on Zandor has some hidden energy signature in them. Some are just more intense than others, like that boy Aegeus. His energy signature is about ten times more than average. I'm guessing that as long as the conditions are right, they can all experience a Second Awakening" Butler Fin dragged a chair to Mane's bedside and sat closer to the boy.
"You are right. The concept of a Second Awakening was just that – a concept. But here on Zandor, it is actually a possibility. What secrets does this tiny planet hold?" Ray rubbed his chin in thought as he mumbled. He joined his mentor and sat right beside his son. Second Awakenings were just theories, without any substantial evidence. It was a theory developed by the 6th Supreme, the one known as the Abandoner; but after several millions of years, no one had ever seen it happen or experienced it. So most had forgotten about it, or had rubbished it. For some, it was the one thing the brilliant 6th Supreme got wrong. For others who believed in the perfect intelligence of the 6th Supreme, there was no way it was false. It just hadn't happened yet.
The theory of Second Awakenings stated that, for some individuals with very powerful bloodlines, it was impossible for their bloodlines to awaken all at once or fully due to the strain it would place on their bodies. So, a part of the bloodline would awaken first, and the other part would follow after some conditions have been met. But the problem was, the conditions that had to be met were never specified by the 6th Supreme, so people disregarded this theory.
"Do you think he knew?" Ray suddenly asked
"The 6th Supreme?" Butler Fin said.
"Yes. You knew him after all" Ray stated and turned to face his mentor
"I did, but we weren't close. However, he didn't strike me as one who would develop half-baked ideas. He always had a reason for his actions, and more often than not, he was proven right. So I think he did. It's just that he may have realized that the conditions for powerful bloodlines to experience a Second Awakening, and thus awaken fully, differed from person to person"
"You may be right. Although he is called the Abandoner, he was indeed one of the greatest scholars our universe has ever seen" Ray placed his legs on Mane's bed and said
"But it is strange to think that even Mane went through a Second Awakening. I thought he experienced a full awakening the first time" Ray sighed.
"He did. Although his lightning was largely dormant, it was still there. But its purity shows that he did experience a Second Awakening. There's only one thing that could cause this" Butler Fin stated
"A Chief Soul Weapon" Ray confidently stated.
"Indeed. That's the only thing that could have pushed his lightning to such high purity levels. It must be what awakened Alexis' part of the bloodline and forced a merge between your lightning and hers in Mane's body" Butler Fin analysed
"I didn't think they would succeed so quickly" Ray smiled. He knew of the efforts both his family and Alexis' family were putting in to get Mane a Chief Soul Weapon before he turned 15. But the materials that were needed for the weapon were so rare that Ray doubted that they would succeed even if they were given a million years. Who would have thought that they had succeeded, and even built it so quickly?
"Me neither. Even I was surprised by their efficiency. But now, Mane would possibly be out for a long time" Butler Fin mumbled and gazed at the sleeping boy.
"Yes. He may sleep for months, or maybe years. Hopefully, he'd wake up in time for the God Academy admissions." Ray stretched and said
"You aren't hoping he'd wake up earlier so that he would spearhead the war? You are a god. Unless it's a personal vendetta, you aren't allowed to use your abilities against mortals" Butler Fin furrowed his brows and reminded Ray.
"I know. I'm not a fool. But if worse comes to worst, I'd just move their families (Abe and the others) from this planet until we can reclaim it. In retrospect, the God Academies are much more important" Ray stated expressionlessly. If any Zandorian had been here, their blood would have ran cold. Ray didn't express any emotion as he talked about the fate of the entire planet. For him, only the God Academy admissions were important.
"You have a point" But Butler Fin didn't care about that. He agreed with Ray.
"I wonder how strong he'd be when he wakes up" Ray smiled as a stream of lightning covered Mane's body. It disappeared after lingering for only a few seconds. The bed was clearly made up of some very resilient materials, for it remained undamaged by the lightning. It had been like this since last night. Every few minutes, lightning would envelop Mane's body and then disappear after a few seconds. The lightning tempered his body and increased his strength – both his body wielding and energy wielding abilities. Unfortunately, his spiritualist and scholar abilities couldn't be trained this way, and would have to wait until he awakened.
"Tempering lightning and an Olympian Surge all at once. If he isn't at least a high level Heaven Realmer when he awakens, in both body and energy wielding, then I would be surprised" Ray laughed.
"Indeed. Although I do wonder about the kind of test he's experiencing in the dreamscape."