"What is a Weapon Master?" Mane asked, unfamiliar with the new term.
"They were a race capable of mastering any weapon they held in less than a second. No weapon was outside their jurisdiction – not even Soul Weapons"
Mane was impressed by the strength of this race. For their power was similar to another. They reminded Mane of…
"The Origin King. Are they related to that psychopath?"
"No. But the artefact that formed their world and gave them their strength was part of the Origin King." Odin replied, explaining why Weapon Masters had the power of the Origin King.
"That makes sense. So if she was that strong, how did she die?" Mane wondered. From his experience, strong people were difficult to kill. And for Odin to proclaim his grandmother as a person of power, she was most likely not inferior to the Allfather!
"She didn't" Odin stated plainly, like he was reciting a children's poem. Of course his emotions were not shared by his descendant who had his mouth wide open in shock. It took Mane several seconds to regain his bearings. Once he did only one word escaped his mouth
"How?"
"I am not sure why she left Ray. But she is alive. She wasn't irresponsible like Ray's father though. She contacted Butler Fin and asked him to care for Ray in her absence." Odin replied nonchalantly.
"So Butler Fin knows. Does my father know that his mother lives?" Mane wondered.
"No. He cannot find out just yet." Odin shook his head and advised Mane to hold his tongue when it came to offloading such information to his father.
"Why not?" Mane wondered. "Dad will be thrilled to hear that his mother is still alive."
"And he will stop at nothing to find her," Odin interrupted.
"What's wrong with that?" Mane asked, not seeing the downside of it.
"He needs to focus on keeping you alive. A mind scattered by several worries is one that cannot discern the anomalies in situations nor see the evidences of chaos. And I need him to be in top form to make sure you are safe. There can and should be no distractions."
"So Grandmother is a distraction?" Mane frowned and said. He wasn't pleased with the way his Great Grandfather saw the issue.
"Yes," Odin nodded without any hesitation. "But for now she is a distraction for you and you alone."
"Meaning?" Mane queried.
"Meaning she is in the Dreamscape. I don't know where she is in particular, but she is here. So is your uncle – her brother." Odin revealed another secret to Mane and confounded the young Supreme once again. How many secrets were contained in one man, Mane wondered as his mind shook off the news he wasn't expecting to hear.
"What are they doing in this realm? And how did they get here?" Mane sighed after shaking off his stunned silence. While he wanted to find them, he knew that to do so will be very difficult. Not only was the Dreamscape a vast universe, it was filled with powers he currently couldn't handle. And he had to be wary of the Supreme of this universe. For someone who could unite a universe was not to be taken lightly. And who knew the number of forces under her and their strength.
"Searching for a way to restore their world. They need to resurrect Kerith. As for the how, I brought them here." Odin revealed to Mane.
"Why would you do that?" Mane asked.
From just this interaction with Odin Mane understood what kind of person his Great Grandfather was. The older man may love like every other person, but unlike many others he was able to make rational decisions without involving his emotions. Mane didn't believe that Odin helped his grandmother because of kindness. There was something else involved.
"Because I had to correct my wrongs. But most importantly, they are important allies. You will need all the strength you can get when the time is right. And Weapon Masters are a powerful force to be reckoned with."
"There it is," Mane naturally brushed aside the first part of Odin's speech and focused on the latter part. While he was a bit weirded out that most of the answers revolved around him, he left that inquiry for last. Then he moved on to questions that had to do with the now.
"How did you know I needed help?"
"I didn't," Odin replied. Mane furrowed his brows at the older man, waiting for clarification.
"I left a piece of my soul in you when you were born, hoping that you will never have to use it. Unfortunately it came to this. From the moment you were trapped in the illusion, my soul was alerted. I bid my time until I could actually help before manifesting myself"
"I see," Mane nodded his head at the explanation. For it made sense.
"Like Cronos. Though that means unlike Cronos, you are alive." Mane noted. Cronos could leave his entire soul in Mane because his body was no more. Since Odin couldn't do that, it meant he was alive.
"Yes," Odin nodded his head, not at all surprised to hear that Cronos was living inside the boy.
"How long have you known about Cronos?" Mane obviously mentioned Cronos to see where Odin stood. And as he expected, the older man was unruffled by the information. Mane wanted to use this opportunity to learn more. But the answer he got was outside his expectation.
"I was the one who put him there – at his behest of course." Odin responded calmly, his current state of mind not shared by his descendent. For Mane's mind was a mess.
"You put him there?! Do you know how much harm he has caused me?!" Mane screamed as his eyes grew cold.
His masters had warned him about Cronos. They too had lost their bodies so were technically dead. But they always kept him safe. And they warned him not to trust Cronos even a little bit. How could he not be unsettled after hearing that his own maternal great grandfather had been one of the master minders behind Cronos's reappearance? All this while Mane and his masters thought that Cronos had somehow broken the boundaries of time into smithereens and had his way with it. But it seemed they were inaccurate in their guess.
"What harm has he caused you exactly?" Odin asked, perplexed.
"Rampages I cannot control. Rage I cannot hold back. That is what he has brought to me!" Mane seethed.
Mane could still remember that day he first experienced the rage of a Titan. He was in class, back at the Wielding Academy and had only been saved from going into a murderous rampage by his masters who pulled him out of the void. And he could remember the second time as well. That time his masters struggled to replicate the feats of the first, and Mane ended up causing much harm. Abe and the others tried to keep the knowledge of his actions away from him, thinking that he couldn't remember. But he remembered – all of it. He wouldn't allow himself to forget. All that was because of Cronos. And though the Selfish Titan King had blessed Mane with Devour, the young Supreme hadn't forgotten the hold Cronos had on him.
"That wasn't him," Odin sighed.
"What do you mean?" Mane asked.
He could sense that there was something much more complex at play; something that not even his masters were aware of. Odin had a slightly complicated look on his face. He struggled for a second or two before ultimately saying what was to be said.
"Cronos is there to contain that power – not unleash it"
"What?" Mane was stunned. Cronos wasn't the cause of the chaos that threatened to drown him each time he raged?
"He is protecting me?" Mane couldn't believe what he was hearing. How was the Selfish Titan King a protector?
"In a sense, he is." Odin stared at the sky above with a forlorn expression on his face. And then he went on to explain the missing details.
"When you were born, Cronos was long dead. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I came across his soul in one of my travels. Well, he actually found me. Apparently he had attached his soul to his artefact – the Clock of Eternity – and baited a few explorers who sought strength into coming after it. But he had installed several traps for the unsuspecting intruders. All this he did just to find a suitable host. The traps Cronos had put in place were meant to eliminate all those with weak bodies since due to his robust soul, any weak body would have broken down immediately upon inhabiting it. Luckily for Cronos, an explorer who was a strong Body Wielder took the bait. So Cronos destroyed his soul and claimed the explorer's empty body. Then he came looking for me."
Now this part Mane could easily believe and did. It sounded like something Cronos would do. It was selfish and manipulative and all together 'Cronosy'.
"But he did all that because of you"
"Me?" Mane was doubtful. What did he have to do with any of this?
"Yes, it sounds unbelievable but he did that because of you. You may not know this, but your birth caused a lot of controversy. For the prophecies about you were unkind, and many gods feared for their lives. Having some level of authority over time, what we found out on the day of your birth Cronos did several centuries before he died. And he made preparations to be of help to you."
"There were prophecies about me?" While Mane knew that there was a reason the gods detested him, he always assumed it was because of his identity as a person born to conquer the True Universe. Hearing that there were prophecies, and not just any prophecies – but prophecies that told of an evil that was him – was news to the young Supreme.
"Of course. There are prophecies concerning each Supreme. Though for some reason yours didn't come on time." Odin replied. And without giving Mane any time to digest the news he went on.
"Anyway, Cronos tethered himself to your soul. But he anchored himself deep within you, and made himself the gateway between you and that dark power. He has been keeping it under control all this while – at a cost."
"What cost?" Mane gritted his teeth and asked. He didn't need to ask Odin about this 'dark power' to understand that it was born of him. All this while he had been blaming the wrong person.
"His soul," Odin replied, and Mane's heart grew cold. Gods could die.
Demons could die. Goddesses could fall. But each of them could preserve their souls. The soul was too valuable to lose. And losing it meant losing any chance of ever coming back. But Cronos was doing exactly that. Mane was silent. There was nothing he could think of or say. Odin didn't mind his silence. He continued speaking. The Allfather hadn't forgotten that they didn't have all day.
"You didn't possibly think that you were able to resist the void because you were getting stronger, did you? Each second; each minute; each hour of the day he is suppressing that power. As a result his soul is getting weaker. If he was at full strength, he would have sensed that you were trapped in an illusion instead of being trapped in it together with you. He was my peer after all. But he cannot protect you for long. He will exhaust his soul at a point."
"This power – how can I destroy it?" Man balled his fists in frustration. Nobody would be calm after learning that they were subject to another power. Mane didn't want to be a slave to this power and he wanted to do away with it.
"Destroy it? Who said anything about destroying it?" Odin smiled and said.
"What would you have me do then?" Mane frowned.
"Control it," Odin replied simply.
"How?" Mane asked.
"The 7thshall be chaotic. A power he cannot control will consume him and threaten the universe and all that is in it. Can he bridle this power? Or will he be bridled by it?"
"A prophecy?" Mane asked.
"Yes," Odin replied.
"It still doesn't give me an answer," Mane frowned.
"Why don't you ask the one whose entire life revolved around controlling his own rage. Besides, no one capable of escaping the Dark Realm is common." Odin stated and stood up with a grunt.
"Cronos?" Mane furrowed his brows.
"Indeed. Time is up little Mane. I must leave." Odin patted his shoulders, and the unwilling duo – Huginn and Muninn – abandoned the flames of the Supreme and returned to their Lord. But that wasn't before they rubbed their beaks against Mane affectionately, letting the young Supreme know that they appreciated the meal.
"Alright. There is one last thing I want to know though." Mane stood up as well. That pull from before was back. And he could feel his soul returning to his body. He needed to be quick.
"Do you know Uncle Jake?"