"Now tell me," Father continued, "what did you see in these dreams of yours?"
"There was a cobblestone path. I stood barefoot on it, and in the distance, I saw a woman. The harder I tried to focus on her, the more the edges of the world began to blur, melting like watercolours left out in the rain. She wore a dress of deep, rich blue that seemed to catch the golden light, but her face remained entirely obscured—a blank, constantly shifting canvas. She called out to me, but I was unable to reach her." I paused, trying to piece together the faint memories of the vision. "The one time I did reach her was when Hazkar was leading me. She spoke to me then. She wished we could truly meet instead of meeting the way we did in fleeting moments. I answered her, but they were not words I wanted to speak."
"It was me," Hazkar confessed from his prison. "I used you as a conduit to commune with Mother when I noticed you were a Diviner. The temple was the perfect place to perform the ritual. That was the first time I had spoken to Mother in a millennium."
There was resentment in me for being used as a tool, but I also understood him in a manner. My own desire to speak with my mother was reflected in his circumstances; how could I not understand his feelings then?
"I understand," Father finally spoke. "You have yet to give me reason to help your cause. I certainly will not perform a Samaritan's act, especially after knowing the intentions you had against myself and my daughter." The stern cadence of his voice left no room for arguments. I wished to support Hazkar, but I understood Father was being practical. Despite his sympathetic circumstances, Hazkar had been willing to sacrifice me for his pursuit.
Hazkar sighed. "Why did you come here? Treasure certainly is not the reason. You are a Godling; treasure like gold and silver has no meaning to you. What is it that you seek?"
Father smirked at his words. "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."
Hazkar nodded. "I understand. If you reunite me with my mother and vow to someday eliminate this mist if you cannot do so now, then I shall return myself to mortality and grant all my divinity to you."
It was shocking to see him humble himself so. A god giving up his divinity is no minor matter. He was essentially granting all he had been for thousands of years to Father, becoming the very mortal that prays to him.
Father considered it. "I accept," he said, taking his time.
"How do you wish to uphold this promise, young one? Blood Oath or a divine one?"
"A Blood Oath should do. Considering I am not completely divine, it should hold sway," Father reasoned.
"Yes, but once you do become divine, you will be ejected from the mortal plane. You will be free from the oath. How can I trust you to fulfil it then?" Hazkar asked, his suspicion bare.
"You cannot, but you have no other choice. Between the two of us, you have been the deceitful one. Expecting absolute honesty now would be hypocritical," Father answered flawlessly. "But my actions so far should prove that I have no sinister motives against you. That should be proof enough of my sincerity."
Hazkar let out a heavy breath. "I truly have no alternative. I accept your terms. My people are dead. My brother is dead. My mother is the only source keeping me alive. Once I have ensured her safety, I care not for life after."
Father nodded. "Hermione, release the runes," he commanded.
I complied, cutting my mana to the runes as the prison slowly lowered, fading out of existence. Hazkar was free once more.
He calmly strode forward, standing a couple of paces from us. "Let us begin," he said, before transforming his arm to its shell-like state and slashing his other palm as it began bleeding.
Father nodded, summoning a knife and slashing his own palm as blood seeped from it. Hazkar bent down, drawing a square rune formation with his blood, then stood up. Father followed suit, drawing a similar formation, but it was centred around the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.
"I, Zahken, Son of Mother Rhoyne, do hereby solemnly swear to grant my divinity to Harry the Godling, joining me in this Oath. For the Oath to take effect, Harry must help me reunite with my mother and purge the mist within his lifetime. So I swear. So mote it be."
The rune formation began glowing red as more of Hazkar's blood poured onto it.
"I, Aeternus Figulus Hadrianus, Son of James, do hereby solemnly swear to fulfil the terms of this Blood Oath as proposed. So I swear. So mote it be."
As soon as Father said his words, his own rune formation glowed before blood seeped from both formations to join at the center. It travelled further, blending into the other formation and forming half of each of them. Then, blood-red fire ignited before all of it vanished into thin air.
The Oath had been sealed.
"Hadrian, not Harry?" Hazkar asked.
Father chuckled. "I am known by both and have accepted both to be my names. The Oath agreed as well."
"Let us not delay further. How were you going to find your mother using Hermione?" Father asked.
"I would have put her to sleep. Eventually, she would have divined my mother again. From there, it is simply a matter of controlling her body to travel in Mother's direction. That can be ascertained by how strong and clear Chroyane grows in her dreamscape. Since I can read her mind, I would have navigated the mist using that approach. It would have done significant damage to her psyche the longer I stayed in there," he said, looking upon me apologetically.