Nusi ran after Armad, trying to stop him from touching the green smoke, but he was already in the smoke by the time she took her second step.

Since she couldn't save him, she tried to make a U-turn so she wouldn't fall into the same trap as well. But she was already too fast and too close to the warded area. She couldn't stop her momentum in time and eventually, her right foot went into the smoke.

She closed her eyes in frustration, asking herself, 'why? Why risk my safety on this boy who doesn't value his life?'

She had been working so hard for this most of her adult life. Why risk it? And now even her life was on the line. All because of her niceties.

She should have been angry and annoyed with the stranger, but she wasn't. She was angry with herself. Who would have thought that this would be the end of Nusi Djinn?

When her foot touched the smoke, a strong wind pulled her body into the smoke. Negrinki was heavier than air, so most of it floated closer to the ground, making its effects stronger toward the ground. So Nusi tried as much as she could to avoid touching the ground. But that wasn't an option for her. By the time she opened her eyes, she was two feet above the ground.

She just closed them again, waiting for the inevitable excruciating pain, but it never came. Instead, she felt her body floating in the air, clutched by warm hands. She opened her eyes to take a look at her surrounding.

Armad held her in his arms. She turned her head and looked at the greenish soil beneath her, and then at the smoke surrounding them, it didn't hurt at all. Armad appeared to be in better shape than he ever be.

Seeing how confused she was, Armad smiled at her. Then he walked further into the smoke, holding her in his arms so her feet didn't touch the ground.

Whenever Armad put his feet on the ground, the green in the smoke around them would glow intensely until all the red dots in it disappeared. It didn't hurt. And Armad didn't seem to be struggling at all.

The shock in her heart turned to fear, and her eyes trembled.

'What's going on? The smoke doesn't hurt him. It accepts him.'

She clenched her fist and bit her tongue.

'I am not dreaming. Did the Daikirin mark him?'

Armad

When Armad stepped into the restricted area, it felt like stepping on coal. Severe pain engulfed his body, and his legs shook. At that moment, the statue moved its shoulder so fast that you would miss it when you blinked. The wind around it blew, and the smoke around it shifted.

Armad couldn't explain what he saw, or how the incident had taken place, but he could swear that at that moment there was a 'command'. A command that neither the dead nor the living could disobey.

Armad didn't know exactly what was in the command, but it stopped the pain. He regained his senses and saw Nusi tripping into the smoke. He caught her and walked into the smoke with her in his arms. Everywhere he set his feet on, the smoke would disappear. Like that, he headed out.

He told her what happened to him and she told him what it felt like when she lunged into the smoke. At that moment, Armad realized only he could see the smoke disappearing around him. Nusi couldn't see it at all. From what she said, the smoke was getting more green around him. In other words, the smoke was treating them differently. Armad narrowed his eyes. What a strange thing!

They finally came to the end of the smoke. Armad placed Nusi on the ground outside the warded area and arranged for them a place to sit.

The land behind the smoke was different. It had trees and grasses. There was even a small forest in the distance.

Núsi hid her surprise and swallowed her questions. Armad couldn't be ordinary, that much she knew. He was hiding his name and possibly many other things. But she was no one to judge. Every person had the right to their secrets.

Interestingly, Armad seemed to have no idea how special he was. All the more reason she didn't want to bother him with questions. But there was one thing she must ask.

"Thank you for helping me out," she said. "I never expected to pass so easily even with the apple. Although, there's something I must inquire about.

"I heard your story and your determination to seek Triple Factor. I told you a little about the dangers, but it didn't seem to change your mind. You aren't a fool, so from what I told you and what you already know, you must have realized you don't stand a chance, not now. You don't have the strength to find Triple Factor now."

She paused for a moment seeing Armad frowning. He didn't like it, she thought. But she was mistaken. Armad frowned because she nailed it.

''I live in Mikironomada," she went on, ignoring his frown. "I have been living there for a long time now, and I know people in the city. So if you want I can take you with me and provide you with the necessary assistance at least until you get your bearing."

Armad wasted no time in accepting the offer. That's exactly what he was looking for. Besides, he didn't know anyone else there, and he had no money.

After coming to an agreement, Armad and Nusi rested there for two days. They pitched a small tent in the open area and slept in it.

Nusi didn't speak much, but that didn't stop Armad from asking questions about the country of Mikironomada, and how the Bend society worked there.

First, he was in the fifth world not the fourth like he expected. The guardian sent him to the fourth world. So either the issue he had had in the green world had changed his course and sent him to the fifth world instead, or Nostalgia and her siblings picked him up from the fourth world and brought him to the fifth world, or maybe it was the Wilberforce Sword Dance. But that last one was unlikely. Yes, the Bend could teleport him to unseen places but never to such distance.

Be it the fourth or the fifth, his mission remained the same. Especially since no one knew where Triple Factor was. The man could be in the fifth world. Hell, he could even be next to him and he wouldn't know. His mother admitted that the man wasn't in the third world, but she didn't know where he was.

Sighed.

On the third day, they tied a saddle on a mule they had captured on the first day and entered the forest ahead, heading east.

They took more than a week passing through the forest. The trip was uneventful. Every animal they came across ran away as soon as it saw them.

They arrived at a small village after several days. Although there was an entrance gate in the village, the entrances and exits weren't manned. So they didn't go through any checking. Núsi led them to a mud house near the center of the village.

'An inn for men and women' was written at the top of the entrance.

"I rested here three years ago. The drink is good. Let's spend the night here. Tomorrow, we will...'' She paused and turned around with a slight frown.

Armad stood a couple of meters behind her, his face looking at the wall ahead, but his eyes were closed. He was trying to open them with both hands but failing. It was like the eyes were glued together with something.

She turned around quickly and ran back to him. Her eyes followed Armad's face to see what he was looking at on the wall. The only thing there was a piece of paper posted on the wall. It was written and signed by King Dul'Ururu. Every person in the fifth world knew about that paper.

It was a document containing the rewards to be given to anyone who captured Triple Factor or provided any information that helped in his capture.

Dul'Ururu went further and explained how to identify the man. And he signed at the bottom of the paper just to show its authenticity.