It took a while for Mane to gather himself. But once he did, his gaze turned cold. His eyes flashed with animosity as the events of the recent past forced themselves into his brain once again. And the silhouette that dominated that memory was Odin!
The King of Asgard had had planted a piece of his soul into Mane's in order to help him when the time called for such a thing. Mane was grateful for the man's help. Besides, Odin had revealed lot of things to Mane; things that Mane had no solutions to. But now Mane didn't know what to think of the man.
Was a piece of Odin's soul left behind because he loved Mane and wanted to protect him; or was it so because Odin wanted to keep an eye on him?
Why was he in the Dreamscape? Was he supposed to be here this quickly or did Odin want him to conquer this Universe? After all, although the fairies were in charge of the tests, Asgard owned the plane that acted as a border between the two Universes. It was them who actually held power. Now Mane couldn't help but wonder if he was a pawn of Asgard.
"Do not think too much about it kid," Cronos's voice was what sought to comfort the young boy once again.
"Whether you are a pawn or not, once you are strong enough, you can take the place of the King." Cronos revealed the heart of a conqueror when he said this. He may be nothing but a soul right now, however he was still as dominating as he was when he was alive.
"You are right," Mane nodded his head in agreement. It was indeed so. Right now he was still weak. He wasn't strong enough to be taken seriously by all the gods. But that would change once he was strong enough to take them all on. Once he reached such a stage, they will be the ones to play his game. They will become his pawns!
"Is there anything else that you need?" Komfo Anokye asked; but he wasn't being sincere; for the older man didn't look the least bit interested in anything else Mane had to say.
"Nope," Mane answered simply and then turned to ask Keira if it was okay to se Matriarch Ruth now.
"You can speak to her now. She has wanted to meet you for so long." Keira gently gave Mane permission. She felt a great warmth in her heart from Mane's words. For the young boy didn't need her permission for anything. He only asked to bring her joy; to allow her a sense of belonging in his life. And she appreciated it greatly.
"You don't need my permission?" Komfo Anokye asked with a raised brow. For Mane passed right by him once Keira had given her permission.
"Nope," Mane answered swiftly without even turning back, much to Keira's amusement and Komfo Anokye's annoyance.
"It seems he is just as sly as you are," Keira chuckled.
"How can he be like me? I am much better!" Komfo Anokye stated dismissively, forgetting that Mane was so similar to him that the two shared a Glow that appeared only once in a few generations.
"Do you think we put a bit too much pressure on him?" Keira asked once Mane's silhouette disappeared into the horizon. Her laughter was no more and her joy was suppressed. Her longing eyes were swiftly replaced with orbs dripping with worry. She had just reunited with her grandson and she feared that they put a bit too much pressure on him by telling him all the things that they had.
"Oh now she thinks we shouldn't have told him anything," Komfo Anokye mocked. He was the one who didn't want to say anything. Now the person who had urged him to keep nothing hidden from the boy was asking if they had done a bit too much by telling him all the things that they had.
"I am serious brother," Keira smiled bitterly as she spoke. Of course she knew that if she had listened to her brother and gone along with his usual antics, none of the things they were worried about would have been an issue. But how could she say no to her grandson; especially when she was trying her best to make up for the time she had lost?
"Oh she is serious," Komfo Anokye explained exaggeratedly, much to his sister's ire. Although she looked calm, the one feared as Basileus knew that the calm he saw was nothing but the surface of an icy cool lake. Although everything looked calm on the surface, the depths were to be greatly feared for they were an accumulation of countless years of cold and danger.
"Fine," Komfo Anokye shrugged in surrender.
"I don't think we told him that much," he revealed his thoughts. "We didn't tell him the secret to Basileus. We hid from him the true origins of all the races that inhabit this world. And we definitely didn't tell him that Ancestor Origin is still alive. Or does he even know know that we were the ones who placed Cronos in his soul? That he must find out for himself. So you see, we didn't tell him as much as you think we did."
If Mane were to be here, he would have smacked Komfo Anokye into the ground as hard as he could. Even if his ability wasn't great enough to achieve such an effect, Mane would have loved to try. All the things the older gentleman had kept hidden were actually very important. The secret to Kerith's destruction was not as vital as knowing that Ancestor Origin was still alive. After all, the former was history whilst the latter was danger. However, it wasn't like Komfo Anokye had forced Mane to ask the questions that he had. And it was important to learn about one's origins anyway.
"Will he be okay?" Keira worried.
As her eyes traversed the horizon and pierced the clouds, she sought the council of the one whose power filled the clouds with lightning; the one who had stolen her heart all those years ago. It was in times like these that she missed that fighting maniac. He was so different from herself and her brother. The two used their brains more than they resorted to using their abilities. Why work hard, when you could work smart? But he wasn't like that. He believed that as long as his fists were large enough to cover the skies, the earth would tremble and all that he sought will remain his.
Komfo Anokye replied and then as if remembering something he smacked his lips and said, "Oh and we definitely didn't tell him that the Asgardians were the chief culprits in destroying our world. We didn't let the poor boy know that the woman his father married is the child of the one who personally split Kerith in half!"