Armad's sixth birthday

Hidaya and Jidaime

Hidaya glared at the Djinn floating in the air above her. "Do you know why Urúrú becomes the most powerful clan in this era? It's because they don't rely on Djinns. Their strength can't be suppressed by any enchantment, Pharaoh or not. They rely on themselves and the Gift in their black eyes. I want Armad to depend on himself and his Gift, not some egocentric Djinn."

The Djinn furrowed his bushy brows and he returned the glare for the first time. "Are you looking down on me? Even you use your Djinn, why would you deny your brother the benefit of having a Djinn?"

Hidaya sighed softly. "I am not looking down on you, Ji-daime, you are an Ifrit and a Prince. I just believe in my brother more than you. I want my brother to master his Miyura rather than depending on any external help. So, I will lock you up for now to prevent my brother from accessing your magic."

These simple words sent chills down Ji-daime's spine. He took a step back and tried to run. But, with a flick of a finger, Hidaya sent layers of enchantments to bind him.

Ji-daime remained locked up since that day. He hadn't talk to Armad until today.

***

Inside the arena, one of the commanders accompanying Uznu came forward to take Armad.

"Stop. Put him down." Uznu suddenly changed his mind. The commander looked confused but he did as he was told.

Uznu appeared next to Armad and put his hand on his chest. A pitch black mist entered Armad's body.

***

Meanwhile, inside Armad's soul realm, Armad was debating on the pros and cons of releasing the Djinn when he saw the pitch black mist entering the dimension.

"What is that...?"

Jidaime cut him off. "It's now or never. You either set me free or you lose me and your Djinn magic.. And your class." The fear in his voice was palpable.

Armad widened his eyes in shock. The calm and arrogant Djinn had suddenly turned into a scared little girl. "Tell me what's going on?"

"That bastard Uznu Ururu is trying to change the configuration of my constraint. I don't know how but he's using those retched eyes to see us. He has seen everything. You have less than thirty seconds before that black mist gets to us. Decide now."

Jidaime shook violently. He was terrified out of his mind. Armad knew some of the things the Djinn said weren't true; it was in their nature to lie. A Djinn would feel compel to put a lie or two in every ten sentences. But, in his current situation, the Djinn seemed to be his last resort of escaping alive.

"My Natural Limit is 1000 years, how much years will you give to get free?" Armad said. He'd decided to set Ji-daime free but he would get something in return.

Natural Limit was the maximum longevity any mage could have based on their soul realm. The Djinn, the Hidden Scabbard and the magic lamp would take the majority of the soul realm, and the rest would determine your Natural Limit.

"I'll give you one percent. Period."

"One percent? You know this is the only time you can give me your longevity, right? Ten percent. I won't settle for less." Armad stumped his foot on the ground to stress his point.

"Really? It has now come down to extortion. How the hell do you expect me to give you one hundred years? You are crazy. You are definitely crazy."

"Am I? The mist is coming." Armad trembled inside. He would likely have to come down to five percent or less...

"Okay okay, bastard, you win. Ge' me out."

Yes! Armad cheered inside. He already had sixty-six years. His progress to level 100 was certain.

Every mage has a one time access to his Djinn's longevity.

Are you sure you want to initiate access? Y/N?

Armad hit yes.

Access granted.

Initializing complete. Transfer in progress.

0.1%...

After making sure the deal was done, he tore the chains apart. They were surprisingly easy to break.

Ji-daime roared. He stretched his hands out. The long-awaited day had come. But first, he needed to kill Uznu Urúrú to prevent the black mist from locking him up again.

"One more thing, Armad, I lied about your class. You'll still have it even if I ain't here."

"WHAT?!"

Jidaime nodded, so excited to think straight. "Hoho.. A Djinn needs a lie or two to survive a day." He laughed for five seconds more before he calmed down. "Lemme take the bastard outside first. Are you coming?"

The Djinn didn't wait for an answer. He literally dragged Armad (Armad's soul) out of the soul realm and returned it to his body currently in front of Uznu Urúrú.

Jidaime appeared in the arena. For a second, it looked like he was the only one present, due to his sheer size. He held a hammer that was fully two hundred meters wide. The arena became contaminated with a potent Djinn magic that made breathing difficult.

The five commanders accompanying Uznu surrounded Jidaime and attacked. Jidaime struck with his unearthly hammer. The hammer shredded the five commanders to pieces, and it proceeded to attack Uznu with a full momentum.

Uznu was startled for a second before he quickly bit his finger and put his blood in his black eyes. Another black smoke flowed out of his eyes. "By the power of my eyes and the will of the Unity, I order you stand down." He chanted.

Black chains fell from the sky and strangled Jidaime. The chains gave no energy but when they touched Ji-daime, he lost all his strength in an instant. He stopped in place, unable to move a finger. Uznu activsted the full power of his five thousand years longevity. He summoned a distinctly black sword and lunged forward.

"If you kill me, my tribe will hunt you down. We have signed a memorandum with Kuyuru Urúrú; we aren't allowed to kill each other..." Jidaime trembled. Uznu wasn't even listening to him. He had to act quickly. The chains were one thousand times more powerful than any Pharaoh but they wouldn't hold out for long.

He slashed the Djinn in half with his black blade. Ji-daime let out a terrifying screech. His body writhed on the ground as he slowly liquefied to lava. The lava dried up and returned to ashes.

"If you still honor the memorandum you wouldn't have attacked me. I can defend myself in front of the Lord King." Uznu said, cleaning the blueish blood on his sword. He picked Armad and disappeared from the arena.

From the side, emperor Déniz Iluru and his aides have been protecting the unconscious audience from any stray attack. Iluru summoned the best mind mages in the city to control the immediate commotion that followed. The Jinzidal was concluded on the background of an impending 'natural disaster'. A day would be appointed for honoring the winners, but the slaves would immediately go to the winning countries.

Emperor Iluru filed a complaint to the First World about Uznu's actions, and requested immediate compensation for everything.

That was how the annual Jinzidal came to an end.