One year before armad set out...

"Armad, you shouldn't use that Sword again." His mother said. She sat on the edge of the bed, caressing his hair. It was midnight and Armad had just come back from training with his grandpa.

"No matter how powerful a Sword is you can surpass it with your Djinn magic. You don't have to be a Sword Master just because your sister was one. You keep losing your lifespan for nothing. You will not use it again."

"It's okay. I get it." Armad said. He inherited the Sword from his sister five years ago. He'd been training it ever since, but it was still at level one. And he kept burning his lifespan whenever he used it. Armad could have chosen another path but that Sword was the only thing he had of his sister.

Hidaya, what should I do? I can't master your Yellow Dance.

"When I was born, the honey locust outside became permanently yellow. All its foliage and seeds never changed color again. My sister named the Sword after the yellow foliage of the honey locust. Because. Of. Me." Armad said.

His mother nodded. "I know, but you have to stop using it."

***

Back on the ring, Armad felt the searing pain of the ice penetrating his body. The world slowly faded away. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. Tyren's voice sounded like he was miles away. Things would be different if he'd his Miyura. He would just replicate Tyren's longevity and used it to kill him. He still had the Dance of Uncertainty but that would need life energy. The last time he checked he had none.

I have to win.

That was the last coherent thought in his head. He had to win; he had to live until his mom was safe again. He wouldn't die before his mom was safe and sound.

He was trapped in the ice so he couldn't conjure or weave the signs. If he summoned the Sword without the full incantation he would lose years of his lifespan, which would be at least... ten percent of his original lifespan. For my mom...

You have activated Yellow Dance.

+100 to all attributes.

Cost: 1yr/minute

Limitations: none.

NB: Attributes effect will remain as long as the sword is active.

He called the forbidden Sword Dance. It raised all his attributes by one hundred, but in exchange, it would take one year of his life every minute. In other words, he would age one year every minute. The Sword was actually a modification of the original Wilberforce Dance passed down in the family.

A yellowish lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere and struck the ice binding Armad.

Tyren turned around in shock. His ice was gone. And there was a yellow lightning bolt revolving above Armad. No, that isn't a lightning bolt, it's.. wait, is that a Sword?

Before Tyren could differentiate whether it was a sword or a bolt, the sky had cleared and his cloud had disappeared. It was now clearly a Sword; two meters tall and one foot wide. Its steel was dark yellow, like the autumn yellow foliage of the honey locust. There was a star revolving at the tip of the sword. The longevity coming from this star was completely out of Armad's league. The feeling was indescribable even for the commentator. It felt like the death that awaited you at the end of your lifespan.

Asifu who had been paying a close attention to Armad all this time shot to his feet in awe. That Sword... isn't that the Wilberforce Sword?

Uznu Urúrú grimaced. He'd also come to the same conclusion. He retrieved the glowing magic lamp in his pocket. It was just like when it sensed the book.

Both the book and the sword have Wilberforce's will. That confirms it. It's, after all, Saif Iqra. Uznu Urúrú thought.

Armad cared less about all the things that were happening. He grabbed the sword and lunged forward.

Tyren summoned an even larger cloud, which transforrmed into three ice cubes. They surrounded Armad and then transformed into statues of Tyren. Tyren made another gesture, and the statues turned into clones with flesh and blood. Each looked and dressed exactly like him.

He made another gesture, together with the clones. Each clone breathed a sea of cloud which transformed into water, lightning and ice. The first clone attacked Armad from behind, the other two attacked from the sides and Tyren attacked from the front. Armad was completely surrounded.

Armad swung his sword. The star floating above the tip glowed and danced. The distance between them was roughly four meters but Armad slashed at Tyren. He knew his sword wouldn't reach, but he still slashed. The same yellow lightning (but in a sword form) escaped from the sword and attacked Tyren.

The audience were scared out of their minds.

"That Armad... He can't possibly be below one hundred years. That Sword Dance... what exactly is it? How is it even possible? I have never seen a sword flying."

Whereas others were more impressed by Tyren.

"That Cloud Djinn... Is that an Ifrit? It has already begun manifesting. Those clones.. Don't tell me we are witnessing a soul magic?!"

"No, that Djinn isn't an Ifrit, it looks more like a Lucifer."

"No, I don't think so. Just because it's dark doesn't mean it's a Lucifer. I am sure that Djinn is a Marid. Besides, only the First Worlders and the old Wilberforces can tame those archaic Djinns."

The commonest Djinns were the Red, White and Black Djinns. They had the ability to manipulate nature energy and, in extension, become immortal by extending their lifespan. They also had super strength, super speed and super senses. All of these could be transferred to their master. Their names carried the prefix 'R', 'W' or 'B', depending on their first initial. Just like Aish's R'Taurin.

But some Djinns were born with an additional ability, and when a mage tamed them they would gain that same ability in form of a Classification. These Djinns were of two types: Marid and Rauhan. Their abilities were mostly from the basic five elements: water, fire, earth, lightning and wind.

An even more powerful class was Ifrit. These Djinns could control rarer elements or the basic elements but on a different level.

The last and almost extinct class was Lucifer. The Djinns in this class were legends. Few people remembered their abilities. Both the Lucifers and Ifrits were categorized as archaic because of how old they were. It was widely believed you would become an immortal if you tamed them, and that only the First Worlders had them.