"In front of the Great King of Reapers, my intelligence is hardly something to boast about," Mane was quick to evade the arrow of praise that was freely given by one of the most powerful beings in the Allverse. For the man Mane had initially thought was a guard for the Watchers was actually the one being strong enough to face off against all three Watchers with no assistance!
"How did you discover my identity?" the eyes of the Reaper were rich with confusion. With but a thought the mountainous pressure that sought to destroy Aurora disappeared. The one who was responsible for Aurora's predicament and relief at the same time was now focused on Mane and Mane only. As for the others, he did ignore. Although Aurora was someone that had escaped the clutches of death so many times that the Reaper was inclined to take her soul, for it was his right, right now Mane was much more interesting to him than some Wraith that was only at the level of a False Ascender. He didn't bother denying Mane's claims because there was no need to. After all, in the Allverse, there were few who could contend with him.
"Several factors helped with that," Mane stated. "The first was your aura. I felt that it was a bit too strong for a mere gatekeeper. And when I met the Watchers I became convinced that you really were no gatekeeper."
When Mane met the Watchers, he didn't really think much of them at first. At least that was until he angered them and drew their wrath towards himself. And during that moment, as he struggled to weather that storm, he experienced the auras of the Watchers for himself. It was at that point that he realised something.
The Watchers were strong – immeasurably so. They were much stronger than anything Mane had ever come into contact with – with the exception of their 'gatekeeper'. That's right. The collective auras of all three Watchers was comparable to the aura of the one Mane initially thought was a mere gatekeeper! That discovery had led to the birth of deeper thoughts within Mane's sharp mind as he sought to comprehend why that was so. But there wasn't much time then to comprehend such a mystery. After all, he hadn't come here for such a purpose. But once his breakthrough was over, this thought which had been put on hold was birthed once more.
"The second clue was more of a thought that a clue," Mane took a deep breath before continuing. "It is said that the Watchers keep their eyes on everything that happens in the Allverse, but the Reaper keeps his eye on the Watchers. What better way is there to keep an eye on the Watchers than being there physically?"
Everyone knew of the Reaper, but few knew of the Watchers. And even with those who knew of the Reaper, few knew his true purpose. To most the Reaper was nothing but a collector of souls. But that was only a half-truth. The Reaper himself didn't need to go out to collect souls. He had trillions of minions to do that for him. Every minion was born from the soul of the Reaper however. So in a way, he was indeed collecting souls. But the Reaper's true purpose lay outside soul collection. Soul collection was but a way the Reaper kept his strength. For since he was a True Spirit, much like the Wraith, he needed souls to keep growing stronger. At his level, the amount of power he could gain was minimal, but it did help him maintain his strength at its peak. And with chaos thriving in every part of the Allverse, the Reaper was nourished every second.
As to why his strength had to be maintained at its peak constantly, the answer lay with the Watchers. The Reaper's main mission, according to what those who knew of the Watchers speculated, was to keep an eye on the Watchers. Many gods believed that the Creator had beseeched the Reaper to keep the Watchers in check lest they entertain thoughts of ruling over the Allverse. As to whether this was true or not, Mane did not know. But that was what he had. So he worked with it. But since the second clue was only a thought that had grown to become a tree, Mane moved on to the next clue.
"The third clue was centered on Hildegarde, my fairy," Mane stated, much to Hildegarde's shock.
"Me?" Hildegarde pointed at herself with a dumbfounded expression on her lovely face.
"Yes, you," Mane nodded. The Reaper silently watched Mane as he explained how he reached the conclusion of his identity, feeling that the new Supreme of the True Universe was indeed very interesting.
Feeling that he still had the Reaper's attention, Mane went on with his explanation.
"I thought it was odd that Ashera could see through your cloak of invisibility, yet none of those we had faced could. And that included Crystal, who is a Spirit Queen and Aurora, who is a True Spirit. Even with Crystal's Spirit Ears lost, she should have been able to sense you, yet she didn't. Aurora as well, even shackled, should have seen you. It was the same with the Watchers. At first I thought that they were ignoring you because they found you beneath their status, so much so that they couldn't be bothered to acknowledge you. But I was wrong. When I incurred their wrath and they bore down on me, you were on my shoulder, yet you remained unaffected by their power. Why?"
Mane's words certainly had Hildegarde blinking her cute eyes in confusion. He was right. All that he had said was accurate. She hadn't thought of it then because so much had happened that something like that seemed insignificant. But now that she did, she felt that those events couldn't possibly be linked to being unbelievably lucky. It seemed that there was someone protecting her at the time.
Aurora and Crystal were initially confused by Mane's words; however, they soon picked up on the fact that there was someone else here with them whom they couldn't see. And this interested them greatly. Well, it was more fascinating to Crystal than it was to Aurora who was still slightly terrified of the giant standing before them. How could she so quickly forget that this being had tried to kill her? And she couldn't even complain. For she had illegally escaped the hands of the Reaper's minions so many times that the Reaper had every right to claim her soul upon seeing her. Right now she wanted nothing more than to leave this place. She wouldn't be herself as long as the Reaper was around. But that would have to wait just a bit longer, for Mane wasn't done. And the Reaper had a question for the boy as well.
"You're saying you can sense my power around your fairy?" the Reaper asked with great surprise in his large eyes. Even the Watchers would have a hard time sensing something he wanted to keep hidden, much less a young Noble like Mane. Supreme or not, this was quite unbelievable.
"No," Mane shook his head in denial. There was no way his power had grown that much. "However, during my breakthrough I – emboldened and strengthened by the great elements and blessed by the many Universe Wills – was able to briefly catch a whiff of your aura around Hildegarde. And it all made sense."
"So you were lucky," the Reaper boomed.
"One might argue that luck is part of strength. Do you not agree, Great Reaper?" Mane wasn't moved by the Reaper's words. His senses could feel the tranquility in the aura of the Grim Reaper of the Allverse. And so he knew that the Reaper wasn't at all bothered by his words.
"Indeed. And the hands of fate seem to particularly fancy you, young Supreme. Your breakthrough caused quite a fuss you know? And I'm not speaking of the turmoil that occurred here, but the happenings of the other universes."
"The other universes were affected?" Mane had a stunned expression on his face after hearing the words of the Reaper. And why wouldn't he? He was of the impression that his breakthrough would be kept quite if he had it here, under the keen eyes of the Watchers. And that was one of the reasons he had sought them in the first place. But it seemed nothing had changed. And that meant that if the other universes had been affected, then surely the True Universe which was his birthplace, had been affected as well. This implied that the Universe Will he was trying to avoid also knew of his breakthrough. It had just chosen not to attend.
As for Crystal, Hildegarde and Aurora, they were just as surprised as Mane. To think that the effects of Mane's breakthrough stretched beyond the confines of this cage. Aurora just regarded the entire thing extraordinary. But Crystal and Hildegarde who were clearer on Mane's identity and the kind of people after him, knew this would only lead to a ton of trouble.
"Yes, the other universes were affected. Not only did several planets suffer the effects of the elemental turmoil, the many universe wills that did appear announced your name to all who live. In that regard, even the True Universe Will didn't slack. Everyone knows who you are now, Mane Harbinger."
The Reaper's words brought much anxiety to Mane's soul. For he knew the implications of the Reaper's words. The gods had been silent because he had been silent. They had been quiet because he had been quiet. They had been calm for he had been calm. But not anymore. Now that they knew of his breakthrough, they were sure to come after him speedily. However, the biggest threats weren't the gods, but the Supremes of the various universes. Mane was young and immature. But the same couldn't be said for the other Supremes.
The other Supremes belonged to the 6th Supreme's generation. And they were very much alive. The True Universe was powerful, and if the 6th Supreme was alive there was no doubt he would be amongst the strongest, if not the strongest, Supreme alive. But he wasn't. And though Mane had proven that he had vast potential, he was weaker than the Supremes. If they came after him, fearing that he could lord over them in the future, he would be in big trouble.
The Reaper looked down upon Mane with slight pity. But as one who could see fate itself, he knew the boy's end. And the pity was largely for those who would make the boy their enemy, and the boy's torturous journey. With a loud sigh the lips of the Grim Reaper parted, and he spoke these words onto Mane before blessing the young Supreme's escorts with cloaks of invisibility.
"Godspeed Mane Harbinger. You will surely need it."