"I do," Mane had to admit that it was very impressive that Keira and Komfo Anokye possessed such rich veins of God Killing Energy. Yes, that's right – God Killing Energy.
God Killing Energy was a theoretical type of energy before – until a few millions of years ago. That was actually when the first god fell to mortals due to the combined efforts a few Scholars and some Energy Wielders. That was when God Killing Energy was first discovered. This energy was one that was neither Edict nor Chaos. And it wasn't tangible like the former two to be used in a fight. However, it carried great suppressive effect. God Killing aura was a kind of aura that manifested when a person consumed the Godhead of a god. And the only way to do that was by killing a god. Once a god was killed, that gods Godhead automatically latched on to the one who killed that god and formed the God Killing aura around them. This aura allowed the God Killer to have a natural suppression over other gods they faced. And this suppression worked on mortals too. And this restricted the amount of power either group could display when faced against such a foe.
Mane reaped this aura when he killed Shiva. But it wasn't as strong as what he felt from Keira and Komfo Anokye. Clearly, the two had killed many gods. For their God Killing aura was much stronger than his! Now on to a little history; the moment the first god was killed.
It was one of the most important moments in the annals of the history books. For it was this event that caused the gods to grow weary of Scholars and made mortals aware that the gods weren't invincible creatures after all. Not only did it greatly inform every race of the vulnerability of the gods, it also limited the actions of the gods somewhat. For their formerly brazen actions were replaced by some hint of caution and regard. And for a time, the activity of the gods were reduced somewhat. However, when the news of what it took to become a Scholar reached the ears of the gods after they had done extensive investigations, they regained their boldness. Finding out that it wasn't so easy to become a Scholar made the gods a little more brazen, and they swept through the Universe with the intention of weeding out every Scholar Emperor/Empress. And soon the already thin vein of Scholars were uprooted from the Universe. Since then, many had attempted to rekindle the flames of the old path. And some had succeeded. But even for Scholars, few could actually stand up to the gods since their forte wasn't battle. And even fewer people were willing to join hands with them for their fear of the wrath of the gods.
When Mane killed Shiva, he felt the energy of the god seep into his bones and nourish him. And this wasn't due to Devour. The strength Mane had devoured from Shiva remained stored within him. He had promised to pass on the power of the god of destruction and would make sure that he did exactly that. There had to be a new Shiva. For Mane felt the balance of the True Universe tilt slightly when he killed Shiva.
That was what was special about the gods. Once they ascended to Godhood they were recorded by the Universe Will and their presence became integral to the Universe's balance. Mane couldn't help but wonder how the war on Keira had negatively impacted the Universe. Certainly, killing so many gods would have been catastrophic.
"What became of the universe in the time so many gods were lost?" Mane couldn't help but ask. He needed to know this. For he foresaw that he would kill many gods in his lifetime. He needed to know what his actions would lead to.
"Well, the worlds they controlled were destroyed and their power lost for all eternity. The True Universe grew weaker for it." Komfo Anokye answered nonchalantly, but Mane couldn't help but feel a great chill consume his spirit.
Worlds were destroyed!
How was he to kill gods when he knew that their deaths would cause such chaos?
"I wouldn't worry about that so much if I were you. There is time to figure out a solution." Komfo Anokye stated plainly. He didn't seem that concerned about the entire situation. Keira frowned slightly when she heard her brother's words. She flashed him a stern look, and the one known as Basileus immediately folded and revealed to Mane what he wasn't planning to say.
"There was such chaos because we killed those gods with 'unconventional' means. Scholars don't have to worry about that. Well, Scholar Emperors and Empresses do not have to worry about that. When one reaches such a level, one can easily offset the damage that a god's death does to the universe. Of course Scholar Kings and Queens are also unique in this sense. But unlike Scholar Emperors and Empresses, they can only offset about half the damage that occurs. So instead of a world being destroyed in its entirety, famines and other disasters will be prevalent."
Mane was actually grateful for this information. It caused his heart much comfort to hear this. When he killed Shiva he used the power of Chaos in all its purity, and that was why the damage was so huge. It would have different if he had used his Scholar power. Now he had another goal. He must break into the Scholar Emperor Realm!
"Can I get back to my story now?" Komfo Anokye asked and Mane nodded his head. He wanted to – no, he needed to – hear more.
"Kerith was a special weapon. Apparently it was made with the combined efforts of the Origin King and a few other powerful Origin Divine Artefacts in a bid to create something that could bestow any power and take any power. And they got exactly what they wanted. Kerith could awaken any hidden power. And it was the same Kerith that took away the immortality of the gods and hindered their Godsparks. If it wasn't because they were so much weaker than they were meant to be, we wouldn't have killed so many."
Mane nodded in understanding. His granduncle's words made much sense. In the end, gods were still gods. And it was difficult to believe that so many were felled by just two people.
"However, Kerith had a huge flaw. The Origin King discarded Kerith because he regarded it a failure. You see, he wanted something that could suppress the power of one as strong as himself. After all, there was no need to fear one weaker than himself."
"So it only worked on weaker gods?" Mane interrupted. But Komfo Anokye didn't mind.
"Yes. Powerful gods were unaffected by Kerith. Otherwise the story would have ended very differently."
Mane was impressed by what he was hearing. No matter the flaws Kerith had, it was a very useful tool. And he wondered what happened to it.
"So, what happened to Kerith? The gods obviously didn't acquire their target. If they did, the True Universe would be very different from what it is now." Mane wasn't a fool. The Dark God resorted to a different tool to try and awaken those he subjugated and the gods had been silent for long. If they had Kerith, things would be very different.
"It was lost. The load it had to bear handling so many gods was too much for it, and it scattered into several fragments and filled the universe – well, universes to be precise."
"What do you mean? You are saying that it broke through the dimensional barrier and escaped into multiple universes?" Mane was stunned by what he was hearing. Kerith was more impressive than he thought!
"That is exactly what I am saying," Komfo Anokye smiled and said. "Why do you think we are here?" he added.
"You mean…" Mane stuttered in shock.
"Yes Mane. There is a fragment of Kerith here."