1833 A.A

Seventh world

Northern hemisphere

The city of Jíha.

Ikenga

He was born on Wednesday, 1833 in the northern city of Jiha. A few hours after his birth, his father, king Shísu O Bayajidda, brought a bowl of blood to his mother. His mother forced his mouth open and his father slowly emptied the bowl in his mouth.

"Did anyone see you when you killed her?" The woman asked.

The king shook his head and closed his eyes with a sigh. He looked resigned.

The woman put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, my king. Erin is both our friend, but she knew this would happen the moment she became Heir of Wilberforce. Let's use her sacrifice for good."

The king looked up with a sigh. "Erin was a loyal soldier. She..."

The woman put her finger over his mouth. "There is no going back now. It has already happened. The Heir of Wilberforce, Erin Wilberforce, is dead. Now our son is going to succeed her. And if you don't want her ghost to hunt our beloved son, you should stop thinking about her."

The king and his wife thought they'd buried it there and then. But four other people who had been in league with the Heir before he killed her found out about it. They needed the Heir to retrieve the book-sword from the Non-Touch dungeon for them. These people had been following the king ever since he killed Erin, trying to get the blood from him.

Now having failed at taking the blood, they went around the world looking for another way to bring the Book-sword out of the Non-Touch dungeon. Years passed but they found nothing. They finally decided to come back to Jiha and use Ikenga instead. The boy wasn't an actual Heir, but he drank the blood of one, so hopefully, he could take the book from the dungeon.

When they came back Ikenga was already a man. They tried to kidnap him but it didn't work. The boy's father almost killed them at one point. Having realized it was futile to try and kidnap the boy while his father was still alive, they secretly followed Ikenga, waiting for the day when the father would let his guard down. But that didn't happen.

It wasn't until 1851AA when war broke out between Ururu and Jiha that they got a chance again. The war resulted in the destruction of the city and the death of the boy's father.

They thought it was finally their time to shine. But Ikenga escaped them again. They didn't know how that happened.

Undaunted, they continued to search for Ikenga. Everywhere they went, they searched for him.

Ikenga stopped traveling and kept running from one hideout to another. But they chased him like the hunters they were.

One day while hunting the boy down, they came across a village. According to the villagers, a new Heir of Wilberforce had been found. And after a thorough investigation, the four men confirmed the words of the villagers. That was the first time they stopped chasing Ikenga and went after this new Heir.

A few days later, the tracking device they'd been using to find the Book-sword flashed green. It only gave green when the Book-sword was activated. They could feel the energy of the book coming from Khan, but the statues guarding the city wouldn't allow them to enter it, so they waited outside the borders of the country and watched the people going in or out. Thus they discovered Armad and the book the moment the former left the city.

But then something the four men didn't expect happened. As they hid on the island waiting for Armad to bring the book to them, Ikenga came for his vengeance. The destruction of his city irritated him and aroused his passion for war and resentment of his enemies. So when they stopped following him, he did his research and found out what was going on. And that was when he decided to come to the island to avenge what the four men had done to him.

An hour before Armad came to the island, four men waited on the island for him. They decided on how to rob him and take the book for themselves. After everyone had spoken their minds, their leader took a deep breath and nodded. "As you all said, killing him and seizing the book is not a difficult task. But you are all forgetting that in this book there is a power that can turn time back and unleash hell upon us. So, please, I won't take any risk of fighting as long as the book is in his hands. The best way is to lure him and take the book without using any Bend."

The group nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Ikenga was there to exert his vengeance on them. He waited patiently until he saw them getting distracted. And then he attacked. Now all five of them were missing. And they'd taken Armad's miyura with them.

***

Meanwhile, a frail old man sat in the middle of a desert located at the edge of the fifth world. The scorching heat of the sand didn't seem to bother him.

Surrounding him in a circular arch were tombs. The wind blew the sand causing sandstorms, but when the sand came close to the tombs, it would disperse. It seemed to be afraid of touching the tombs. As for the old man, his skin was dry and scaly due to the extreme heat and dehydration. Yet, he sounded strong as he recited incantations. From morning to noon to evening, the old man continued loudly. He even seemed to be enjoying it.

At midnight when the eighth-night moon appeared in the sky, the tombs absorbed the moonlight and formed a small orb of light at the center. The wind began to blow in circles around the orb of light, and the hot desert sands covered the entire circle and the tombs.

It calmed down after several seconds to reveal a young man in the middle of the circle. He was Ikenga O. Bayajidda, naked and without a pant.

He'd a slight frown on his face as he looked at the old man who had been sitting in the sand. "Kana, you didn't tell me that by walking through time I'll be leaving my clothes behind."

The old man called Kana bowed down obediently. "My Lord, forgive me for that, I have prepared this for you." He handed Ikenga a light shirt, along with a pair of white pants.

Ikenga put the clothes on and collected his bag of holding and sword from Kána. They headed for the underground world. The ancient city where the upcoming jinzidal competition would take place.

On their way, Kana looked at Ikenga inquisitively. "Now what's left, my lord? You have your revenge."

Ikenga cleared his voice. "I have thrown my enemies through space and time. I don't care where they are as long as they're dead. It's now time to take down Ururu. I'll first assemble a strong army that can stand against them. To do that, I need money. The fastest and easiest way to make money is through the slave trade. That's why I will compete in the jinzidal. I'll crush whoever stood against me."

What gall! At a time when everyone was afraid to say the name of the black-eyed demi-humans, this young man was planning how to fight them to avenge his murdered parents and fellow villagers.