Mane stood right before the door to Lam's room and knocked softly. Soon he heard movements from inside the room and it didn't take long for the door to be opened.
"Oh Mane. It's you." Lam smiled once he saw who was at the door and ushered Mane in. Mane smiled and obliged. He knew why Lam didn't ask for who it was before he opened the door, and why his friend didn't just ask him to come in. That was because he felt another presence in the room. This other presence was Lam's sister, Lily.
"Hey Lily," Mane greeted the younger twin and sat on the only chair available in the room.
"Hi," Lily smiled gleefully and looked at Mane with sparkling eyes. In her eyes were hints of appreciation and praise, no doubt as a result of the fight she had just witnessed.
"It's good both of you are here. Saves me the trouble of speaking to you individually." Mane was quick to get to the point. They didn't have much time to prepare and he didn't want to let Vital Orange and Black Hand wait for them for too long. They were older than him and were his seniors, so it would be rude to keep them waiting.
"Why? What's wrong?" Lam realised that Mane wasn't here for chats and giggles and asked. Lily also grew a tad more serious when she noticed that Mane was here to discuss something important.
"Remember what I told you at the fireplace the other time?" Mane turned to Lam and asked. Lam looked surprised for a while, but he quickly nodded his head.
"What did you discuss?" Lily asked curiously. She didn't know what the two boys were talking about.
"About a day ago, Mane told me that he had a special ability that made it possible to transfer power to another person. He decided that once we got to Asher City he would help me get stronger through this method. And then he would teach me how to use my new power." Lam was the one to answer. He had a complicated look on his face as he spoke.
"What? You can do something like that?" Lily asked with a stunned expression. And who could blame her? What Mane was saying was far beyond anything the twins had ever heard of before. It didn't seem possible, and it had never been recorded before.
"It has something to do with where I come from. I can't say anything more than that." Mane quickly waved his arms and said to stop Lily from asking any intrusive questions.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Mane asked curiously seeing the complicated look on Lam's face.
"If it would affect you in any way…" Lam started. Mane smiled when he heard his friend's words. He thought Lam was thinking about a serious issue. He didn't realise that his friend was only concerned for his wellbeing. He knew that Lam was eager to get stronger, but he didn't think that his friend was willing to give up such an opportunity if it was going to be detrimental to Mane's strength or health.
"I know what you are worried about, but that won't happen. In fact, I'm planning to infuse strength into both you and Lily." Mane interrupted with a smile.
"What? I'm also included?" Lily asked with a stunned expression. Unlike her brother, there was no pressure on her to be strong. It wasn't because she was a girl. After all, the Predator with an uncommon title, Steel Fist, who officiated the previous round of the Grand Tourney was a woman. Lily felt no pressure to get stronger because of her nature. She hated conflicts and was kind to a fault. She didn't see herself fighting anyone, so she didn't see why she needed strength.
"I know what you are thinking," Mane lifted his hand to stop Lily from saying what she was about to say. This was because he could already guess what she wanted to say. She was more likely to say that she didn't want to get any power because she didn't plan to use it.
"I know you don't like violence, but you need to have the power to protect yourself. You cannot always be the damsel we have to protect. Remember the Red Heaven Bandits?" Mane asked.
Lily and Lam nodded their heads with somber expressions on their faces. Of course they remembered those bandits. That was the first time either of them had seen so much chaos or experienced the cruelty of a battlefield.
"There are people like that all over the world; people who have strength and use it for the wrong purpose. Take the Young Lord Tucker was serving before as another example. If I and Ivor were absent, what do you think would have happened?" Mane tried to convince Lily of the benefits of having her own power to rely on.
Lily quickly grew pale when she recalled the arrogant look on the face of Young Master Twain when he gestured for her to be brought away forcefully.
"Elder Fan wouldn't be around forever, and you need power to protect yourself. Plus with power, you can also help others who don't have the power to help themselves." Mane argued. It seemed that his final few words were effective, for Lily balled her fists with a resolute expression on her face. Then she slowly nodded her head.
"Good. Oh and the tricks you wanted me to teach you can only be learned when you gain the strange energy I would impart into you later on." Mane added.
Lily looked confused for a moment, but her eyes grew bright when she recalled that Mane had promised to guide her down the path of Scholars. She nodded her head eagerly as Lam looked at the two of them with confusion in his eyes since he had no idea what they were talking about.
"So when do we start?" Lam asked.
"Soon. I need to extract the energy first." Mane explained.
"How?" Lily asked as she tilted her head slightly.
"From Magical Beasts. We need to go to Asher City's Enchanted Forest. So get ready to leave in the next few minutes"
****************************************
It had been only a few seconds since Mane left Lam's room. Lily had rushed to her room which was only next door to change. Since it was late afternoon, it was a bit cold. She had to grab something more appropriate to withstand the cold weather outside. Lam was also getting ready.
Mane was leaning against a wall a few rooms away from Lam's room. Since his senses were sharper, he didn't choose to wait outside Lam's door because Lily's room was right next to Lam's. Proper manners and courtesy dictated that he wasn't to peek on a lady changing her clothes. Although he wouldn't see anything, his heightened sense of hearing would pick up the sound of her changing and that was rude. So he chose to stand at a distance where he wouldn't hear a thing once he retracted his senses.
"I can't believe that your Enlightenment also increased your understanding of Devour," Hildegarde was on her usual spot – Mane's shoulder. She sighed and spoke with a bit of envy.
"Indeed. During that brief Enlightenment, I finally understood how to use Devour better. Now I know how to extract energy from living and dead creatures. Though due to the limitations of my strength, I can only extract Edict from the dead now." Mane nodded his head and spoke to Hildegarde using Lock-On. Although he was the only one in the hallway, he had to be cautious when talking of such a perverse skill. Although his Enlightenment had lasted several hours, Mane called it brief because according to historical texts, there were people who had spent several years in Enlightenment. There was actually a record of someone spending twenty years in the glow of Enlightenment. This person was an ordinary farmer with no power. Yet after his Enlightenment had ended, he was a peak Nobility Realmer! Mane didn't know if the texts were true or not, but if they were, then this person really hit the jackpot.
The benefits of Mane's Enlightenment weren't limited to only the merging of his inner and outer energy. The other thing he gained from it was his understanding of Devour. Devour was a skill handed to him by Cronos, the Selfish Titan King. And although Mane had been using it to wield and recover his abilities, he didn't understand much of it, especially the part about being able to use Devour to take Edict from both the living and the dead. Did the living die when Edict was forcefully extracted? Did they lose their strength entirely or was it only going to be a period of temporary weakness for them? The part about the dead was equally confusing. Did Mane have to kill the people himself to be able to extract Edict? There were a lot of questions that Mane didn't know the answer to. He wanted to experiment when he had the chance, and he probably should have when he met scum like the Red Heaven Bandits because they were the perfect guinea pigs for so many unknowns. Yet in his muddled state he had forgotten to do so. Luckily for him, his Enlightenment provided answers.
Yes, Mane had to kill personally before being able to extract Edict. This was because Devour was a skill born from the Laws of Life and Death. Mane's Enlightenment had given him some insights into both laws and he understood that they were connected. Mane couldn't take from something that had already died. Since he was the bearer of the Law of Life and Death, he had to govern it. If he was to take from the dead, he had to be the one to pass the death sentence.
As for the living, Mane couldn't extract Edict from them just yet. His understanding of the Laws of Life and Death during his Enlightenment made him aware of the fact that if he was to take from the living, he may accidentally extract their souls as well and they would die. This was because he wasn't yet at a level where he could have perfect control over his power. Since Mane had promised not to kill indiscriminately, he had to avoid extracting from the living for now. Mane reckoned that he may be able to extract from the living without hurting them once he was past the Earth Realm. Since he was once an Earth Realmer, he knew that that level of power wouldn't be enough. But he didn't know if the Heaven Realm would be the wielding level he would have to attain before being able to extract Edict from the living.
"I can't believe that you now understand the Laws of Life and Death," Hildegarde grumbled. Both Laws were heavenly laws that would give anyone immense power. Understanding one was an impossible task, yet Mane understood both.
"My understanding is only at the rudimentary level. I need to master them before I can actually use them freely." Mane explained.
"Doesn't matter. Even the rudimentary level is enough for you to do so much with Devour." Hildegarde argued.
"Well that's true," Mane admitted. "Plus it also tells us more than that," he added.
"What?" Hildegarde asked curiously.
"It means that our information on Cronos isn't entirely accurate," Mane furrowed his brows and said.
"What do you mean?" Hildegarde still didn't get it.
"If he could so effortlessly grant me power that was born from the combination of the Laws of Life and Death, that means he isn't purely a god of time." Mane frowned and explained.
"That's true. And that would explain why he still has influence over you even though it was said that he died long ago!" Hildegarde exclaimed in understanding.
Mane nodded. His 9th master was a time wielder, and he had said once that for Cronos to be able to influence Mane even though he was dead meant that his understanding of time laws was far beyond anything the universe had ever seen. It was literally unreal. But what if Cronos wasn't relying on Time Laws. What if he wasn't truly dead? What if the Laws of Life and Death had been comprehended by the Selfish Titan King?
"Guess I'd have to think about that later," Mane shook his head.
"Yeah. Your friends are out. It's time to leave."
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The soul was a mysterious thing, and only a few people understood even a fraction of its power. And the space in which a soul resided in the body was even more difficult to discern. Deep within Mane's body, there was a vast space. This space was huge, and was like a universe itself. There was no light, only darkness. It was gloomy, and every other law was absent. It looked empty, yet it wasn't completely empty. For there was a lone throne in this dark space. Upon the throne sat a grandiose figure. Even with all his features obscured, the majesty of this figure could be felt. This figure remained as it was, unmoving and unfeeling, like one with no breath of life. Suddenly, the space shook as this figure chuckled in amusement.
"Interesting. He is once again taking a path similar to my own. Would he succeed this time? I wonder. Hahaha!"