Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 446: CDXLVI. The Author

Continuing to observe the details, he noticed that above the gem that represented the Crystal of Fire, there was another kind of planet, with rays that sprung up around its surface. 

"Wait... this means that... the source of energy from which the Crystal of Fire draws its power is... the Sun! The real Sun! How the fuck is that possible?! It was destroyed a long time ago!" 

"I knew you'd get there on your own... you look like a smart guy, Dag from Earth. However, what you have discovered is not properly correct: the Crystal of Fire does not draw its power from the Sun... it is the Sun!" 

The faces of the three warriors in front of him became instantly confused before Dag once again said: "what?!" 

"I don't know how it's possible, but inside the red gem you own, there's a fragment of what you Earthlings called Sun. It's written down here" Kranus said again, pointing to a line in the text of the page next to the image and translating its meaning aloud.

"And so it was done... on the most brutal day of days... during which a fragment of the Great Star that bore life, was stolen and secured without the knowledge of commanders and advisers... and it is in the Crystal that that flame lies... which is not the result of the explosion, but is the 'Sun' itself."

"And this inscription? This one over the Crystal! Can you confirm that this is the same gem that is embedded in the Giantbane, the weapon forged by Weland?" Dag asked, who still couldn't sit back and stay calm.

Kranus nodded, confirming the young Master's doubt.

Dag immediately detached his axe from the belt and placed it on the table, trying to notice some details he had never seen.

The ice wizard approached him, admiring the magnificence of the weapon and contemplating its virtues.

Right in its center of gravity, between the handle and the beginning of the triangle-shaped blade, which widened outward, there was the metal head of the deer, complete with horns that adorned part of the weapon.

"Its eyes. The gem is in its eyes" Dag said, pointing to Kranus the source of Giantbane's power, blindly trusting his judgment after that incredible explanation.

Egill and Reidar approached the table to help their Warchief locate some small details he may have missed in the past. 

Kranus approached the deer's head, noting that the Crystal of Fire, in reality, had not been divided into two smaller crystals, but was still a single piece, embedded under the metal structure that constituted the animal's face, explicitly requested by Brann.

"This, once again, changes everything. How did Weland create this gem through the Soul Fusion process, imprisoning the soul of an innocent young man inside of it and creating the Crystal of Fire instead? There's something wrong, the two stories can't coincide. Someone didn't tell me the truth... who's behind all this? Who moves the threads of the misadventures I'm experiencing? I took over the Red Executioner, then I bring it to Weland and let him modify it, forging the Giantbane, but... the whole process was so... so natural, so easy" Dag said, thinking aloud as he looked at his weapon on the table.

"Easy?" Reidar asked, referring to their battle against Weland, who for one tried to kill them.

"Don't get me wrong, of course it wasn't easy! We had to defeat a God and hundreds of other different enemies to get that far... but what I'm saying is... that since I was a child, I have always felt compelled to take that axe and find out more about Brann, as if my fate had already been written. It can't be a coincidence, I can't believe it! Who could have studied all this? Who could have considered every event, every detail that led me to discover the truth about a relic I already own?!" Dag continued, looking into Egill's eyes, who for the first time did not know what to answer.

"The fact that you already have it in your hands is a very important thing, boy. Imagine if the Crystal of Fire had fallen into the wrong hands... imagine if someone else had known about its power and lost it forever... we would have lost the only chance we have of defeating the Frostsinners!" Kranus replied, after being careful with Dag's outburst, trying to interpret every single word of his.

Dag did not answer and continued to browse the book, in search of other answers, under the eyes of Kranus, who allowed him to consult the ancient text without objecting.

"An author... this book must have an author, right? Who is he?! Where do I find his name?" the young Master asked the mage.

"There isn't one, boy. The author is unknown and it seems that this book has no other copy. As you can see, it's written entirely by hand and whoever wrote it, it doesn't seem to be an academic... I can tell you this because his writing style and the way he wrote some letters are very different from the usual, I'll show you what I'm talking about" Kranus continued, taking a random book from his bookshelf, opening it, and resting it next to the first.

At that point, Egill approached Dag and personally checked whether the Giants of Ymir chief's statement was true, comparing the two writing styles.

"Actually, uppercase letters and even some types of words are completely different between the two books. This one that speaks of the Crystal of Fire, in particular, seems written by an inexperienced author... look here, Dag... there are words that have been deleted and rewritten as if the writer did not know the language very well. They're trivial spelling mistakes" the Master of Healing exclaimed, who in a matter of seconds made a careful analysis of the text and managed to get all those details.

"He is an enemy of the Xis" Dag said, without contextualizing his statement.