"You went through all that? I am sorry I wasn't there to help you out. As for scum like Ivor, they deserve to die!" Dan's eyes flashed with great maliciousness when he mentioned Ivor's name. It was one thing for the large man to attack Mane, but he did all this behind a veil. Besides, betraying someone was a highly despicable act.
"Oh don't worry about Ivor. I took care of him." Mane shook his head and said.
"You killed him?" Dan asked with some surprise. Mane had just resurfaced from whatever rock he was under. How was it that he had already found and killed the one who betrayed him?
"No, I broke his spine. He wouldn't be capable of moving anywhere on his feet again." Mane's eyes were cold when he said this. And Dan felt a chill travel down his spine. He always sensed that Mane's heart was immune to the death of his enemies. But crippling someone in a world such as this one where strength was everything was cruel. And this was especially true for someone like Ivor who actually had power and had enjoyed several benefits because of that power.
"Enough about me," Mane's icy stare was swiftly replaced by his usual smile. "I can tell that you have grown much stronger now. You are actually a Noble?" Mane had been a bit surprised when he met Dan initially. For he could feel the power of his guardian, and it was greater than what he anticipated.
"Yeah. The manual you gave me is amazing. It healed my injuries and fortified my foundation in less than a few months. And then my strength started to rapidly soar. I am now very strong." Dan smiled in pride and said.
"Hehe," Mane chuckled. He wasn't expecting Dan to grow so quickly. Then again, the man had a great bloodline. His injuries and lack of a good foundation slowed him down somewhat, but once those obstacles had been taken away, he was able to grow as he was meant to.
"You are still not as strong as I am," Mane patted Dan's shoulder with a bit more strength that he ought to use and the Ancient Prince grimaced in pain. He couldn't see underneath his shirt, but he was almost certain that Mane's strike had left a bruise at the very least. It really hurt!
"Yeah there's no doubt about that," Dan admitted sullenly that Mane was indeed stronger than him. The pain that travelled down his shoulder was proof of this. And ignoring the truth was just arrogance.
"Dan, now that you know who you are, what are you going to do?" Mane erased the smile from his face when he asked this question. A person's identity was crucial to their purpose. For a long time Dan was lost for he didn't know what to do. And that was because he had no idea who he was. He did now.
"I don't know," Dan admitted.
It was nice to learn who he was and what his place was amongst his people, but he still wasn't sure he wanted to be part of them. After all, they were asking him to join a war that he knew very little about. The one he knew as Oracle was his mother. And this he had found out only a year ago. And when he did he struggled to accept a lot of things. After all, she left him without any explanation and with no guidance. But he had grown much calmer as time went on and came to accept her. However, accepting her was different from accepting his race. Accepting his race meant taking on a huge load of responsibility he didn't think he wanted – especially from a race that saw it fit to let him go initially. He did know their legends and he had embarked on some journeys to temper himself. For instance, he was looking for the Dark Spear. Whether that legend was true or not Dan didn't know, but he felt it was worth searching for the weapon.
"Maybe I can help," Mane eyes lit up when he heard Dan say he wasn't sure what he was going to do. He didn't ask Dan how he had found out about his heritage, or when; neither was our young Supreme interested in Dan's race's affairs. Just like Dan couldn't ask some questions because they fell under the area of reaching a bit too far, he couldn't ask some questions either – also for the same reason. But there was one thing he could offer.
"How so?" Dan wondered. Since Mane had grown so much and knew so much, maybe he indeed had a way.
"How about you join me?" Mane offered. What he was giving Dan was a place – a place by his side.
"What do you mean by 'join you'? Do you intend to take on all the races alone?" Dan asked with a somber expression on his face. While he admitted that Mane was talented, he felt that taking on the Three Great Races all on their own was a stupid idea. And he would dissuade the boy from making such a decision if that was what Mane was intending.
"Not exactly," Mane shook his head in denial.
He didn't plan to join any race, but he wasn't going to go against them. That wasn't his intention. He had no such eagerness to do such a thing because it made no sense to antagonize them. He did have a grudge with the Barbarian Race, but he didn't have plans to destroy the entire race – only those involved. As for his disinterest in antagonizing the three races, it wasn't because he was afraid of them. If any race went against him Mane wouldn't be afraid of putting them back in their place. He wasn't worried about them just yet because of the Demon God who was waiting to crush them all.
"Then what do you mean?" Dan asked for clarification, and Mane obliged.
"Have you heard of this name before – Pazuzu?" Mane asked.
"No," Dan scratched his head befuddled. He had never heard such a name before.
"I see," Mane mumbled. And then he went on to tell Dan everything he learned from Ashera concerning the Demon God Pazuzu, and the threat he posed to this world. Once he was done with his explanation, he sat back and waited for Dan to digest everything he had been told.
"How is that even possible? There were gods? And they were killed? And this Pazuzu, how is he so powerful that mere clone of the original can cause the Three Great Races so great a headache?" Dan kept mumbling to himself like a man who had lost his way; or a man who had lost his mind.
One couldn't blame him though. For what he was learning was too much to take in. Mane had accepted the news quite easily when he was told because he knew about gods before he came here. After all, although he wasn't sure what his purpose was, he knew that the gods of his realm would stand against him one day. But if he was a little surprised by what he learned that day in the tower, how much more Dan who had only learned about wielding two years ago and had only recently found out the truth about himself?
"Are you okay?" Mane asked with a bit of worry. It had been several minutes since his narration of the events of the past ended, but Dan still looked out of sorts. Although the handsome gentleman had stopped speaking to himself, he was eerily silent. And that was very much unlike Dan.
"It's a lot to take in. I cannot believe there was so much happening and I didn't know anything." Dan smiled bitterly to himself with his head in his hands. Just when he thought he had grown much closer to understanding the world, he found out that he was nowhere near the headline story.
"It is indeed fascinating. I am surprised that you believe me though. I thought it was going to take a lot more convincing to ensure you that what I spoke was the truth." Mane spoke.
"Well, I wish you were lying. But such a malevolent star is the only reason I can think of as to why the three races are living in peace with each other. Surely there are skirmishes here and there, but none of them want an all-out war. And usually enemies only do that to guard against something else. A lot of stuff are making sense now. Even the legend of the Dark Spear makes sense now." Dan sighed.
"What is the legend of the Dark Spear?" Mane asked curiously. For the first time since they started speaking, Dan said something the young Supreme didn't know.
"Oh it's a legend in my race about a weapon that can slay an evil force. The legend says that with that spear the Dark One who terrorizes the world can be slayed." Dan replied. His answer caused Mane's eyes to flash brightly with eager delight. Until now he had only heard about sealing Pazuzu, yet Dan was telling him about something that could kill him! How could Mane not be excited?
"Really?!"