TWO MONTHS AFTER THE GIFT DAY

Nostalgia rode the royal horse-drawn carriage. She went north, far away from the capital. Around her were a thousand guards and many maids. Even the seven head maids of the palace sat in the carriage with her, taking care of her every need.

They continued at an even pace until they reached a rocky mountain.

"We are here, princess," a maid carefully said as they stopped in front of the mountain.

Nostalgia silently stared at the mountain through the carriage window for a long moment before she sighed and stepped out of the carriage. The maids quickly spread out mats for her to walk on. And the rest of the servants lead the way, while the guards secured the perimeter around them.

At the base of this mountain, there was a cave in which nothing could be seen but darkness. In the middle of the darkness was a young man sitting cross-legged in front of a floating stone.

Occasionally, lightning flashes from the young man's body would illuminate the cave and reveal the young man's white robe.

Nostalgia went directly to this cave. When she arrived, she found Inara guarding the entrance of the cave.

"Welcome, my lady," the boy greeted.

She nodded but didn't speak. Instead, she ordered her guards to erect a tent outside the cave and offer prayers to the Great Sword for the safety of the young man inside the cave.

The young man in the cave had his eyes closed but he was aware of everything going on around him. He could even make a rough outline of Nostalgia from her pol. When she got close enough, he opened his eyes a little and smiled before closing his eyes again and returning to his secluded meditation.

***

After a week

***

Nostalgia was still sitting in front of the cave. Her eyes fixed on the entrance of the cave with devotion.

It had been a week now since she arrived. Yet, the young man inside the cave hadn't come out of the cave. No food or water had been served to him throughout the week, which made her worry about his wellbeing. Too bad the meditation session couldn't be interrupted or else everything would be in vain.

***

After another week

***

Another week had passed and this young man did not come out from the cave. Nostalgia didn't leave either.

A day later, something profound happened around noon. The sun began to dim. It went into the clouds and disappeared. Day turned into night. And the night spread beyond the mountain range to the whole world.

The servants there began to shout, terrified they had been attacked, but Nostalgia, who was aware of what was happening, commanded them to calm down.

All of a sudden, the sun began to rise again from the west. It wasn't the usual glowing white orb, but red like a meteor.

The world fell into pandemonium. This Sun was no stranger. Everyone in the lower worlds knew what it meant. It signified a new Contract Bend. The same Contract Bend that gave the five jinzidal Kings the ability to own elemental domains and rule over the lands with no equals. Now, what did the appearance of the red sun mean? It meant someone else besides the Kings was also stepping onto the same stage of possessing their elemental domain?

The red sun continued to rise until it reached the middle of the sky. Then it shone brightly in the direction of the dark cave in which the young man was secluded in mediation.

It remained like that for a couple of hours before suddenly disappearing and everything became dark again. The world was a mess.

Meanwhile, somewhere in this darkness, near the island of Pseudo-Ururu, three people weren't affected by these changes at all if their casual walk was any indication. They were Ikenga O. Bayajidda and his companions, Kana and Daddara. They were discussing matters of pol and longevity as they headed directly to the secluded island where Ururu trained its youths.

Kana raised his head and looked at the sky with a frown. He'd been waiting for some explanation from Ikenga but it seemed his master wasn't going to talk about it. "Red sun, huh? I heard it indicates the appearance of a new Contract Bend. Is my information correct?"

Ikenga burst into laughter. He'd noticed the two had been disturbed a bit by what was happening. Perhaps, it was time to say something about it. "I see, even you have a sense of humor, Kana. Contract Bend? That's what ordinary people say. But this is by no means the technique of Contract. Let's just say, I'll explain everything to you in due time, including the first person to have ever used the red sun technique."

Kana smiled and nodded. "My lord, you once told me his story? Isn't he the second King of Men, Eyrion?"

Ikenga paused for a moment before finally saying, "Yes, that's right. But do you know that this red sun is nothing but his left eye? I'll tell you a little bit about how Eyrion removed his left eye and replaced it with a glowing sun to share his elemental magic with others. The current contract bond that's being used by the jinzidal Kings is created by copying the bond Eyrion used to share his elemental magic. Don't forget Armad has somehow inherited Eyrion's ability to change his body into lightning. Then, would it be any surprise if he also learn how to share his lightning element like Eyrion?" Ikenga smiled. He wasn't disturbed at all. "Let's go to this island and kill some Ururu. If we are lucky, we can find the spirit of another Heir of Wilberforce roaming the island."

***

On the nearby island of Pseudo-Ururu, countless children were being taught by teachers from the first world. Amid the teaching sessions, they saw the sun disappear and then be replaced by a red sun. Then the red sun disappeared and it was dark all over again. The signs were clear to them - their enemies were making a move.

Prayers were immediately offered as protection from the enemy.

The teacher raised his hands in prayer. "Enemies of Ururu, enemies of peace, enemies of the first world, we seek the protection of Ashura from you."

The children immediately responded with similar prayers. "Enemies of Ururu, enemies of peace, enemies of the first world, we seek the protection of Ashura from you."

Armad, sitting near Suwainah Ururu, didn't join the prayers, of course. No one could see him except her. He raised his head and looked at the red sun with a smile. He knew the time for him to return to his master was fast approaching.

***

Back in the fourth world, the young man walked out of the cave. He was Armad Wilberforce. Surprisingly, instead of white or brown, his left eye had turned red. When he appeared, all the people there stared at him in amazement.

Nostalgia ran up to him and covered his face with her veil. She quickly led him to the royal carriage and the entourage set out for Jekis.

On their way, Armad spoke for the first time since his seclusion two months ago. "My wife?"

Nostalgia smiled and said, "We aren't bonded yet, hm?"

Armad giggled. "It's only a week away. It will happen if you just close your eyes for a long enough time."

She smiled but didn't argue.

They continued their love talk for about an hour before Nostalgia turned serious.

"Arbil, have you found what you are looking for?"

Armad stared at her with wide eyes. He felt happy and excited about her word choice. The word 'ARBIL' was from the Aldurish dialect and it meant 'husband'. It was the first time she called him by that name.

"Stop looking at me like that. It feels like..." She stopped mid-sentence as his gaze intensified.

Armad placed his right hand on her left shoulder and he moved closer to her face, laughing. "It feels like what? Say it!"

"No, I'm not saying it."

"Then I'll just do something nasty to you right now that will make you speak. I will count three."

Nostalgia rolled her eyes in embarrassment and smiled. "Stop, I'll tell you. But first, tell me what happened in the cave for two months."

Armad put his hand on his face and closed his eyes as he thought about it for a long moment before finally saying, "Ehh... well, I'll tell you what happened." He sighed and then regrettably said, "I didn't find anything."

Nostalgia blinked in confusion before saying, "Is... Is that right? All that suffering..." Her voice trembled and suddenly tears flowed from her eyes without her even realizing it.

When Armad saw her tears, he felt confused and angry about himself. Why must he make her cry? It hurt. He explained hurriedly, "I have developed a variant Contract bond. And I have chosen you as my agent. The meditation was successful. I didn't suffer for nothing."

Armad put his hand on her forehead, a light emanating from his left eye entered her left eye. Suddenly, Nostalgia felt cold in her entire body and she trembled uncontrollably. Then her left eye began to glow as Armad's had done. After a while, both their eyes returned to normal. As it happened, a new knowledge appeared in her mind. She could now use and even give lightning elements to others through the bond Armad created.

"Sorry, I didn't seek your permission. When I was in seclusion, I have been given the option of choosing one person who can use my contract and I chose you."

Nostalgia was just silent. Armad's soul was different from that of other people. The technique of Contract was made between man and djinn, and both the man and djinn could give the contracted element to humans. Well, since Armad had no djinn and he created his Contract variant, then it wasn't surprising if he could choose another person who could also use and spread his elemental magic.

"I hope to be the one you can be proud of." Her tone was submissive. She looked away while saying it.

Armad teased her for a while before he was tired and fell asleep.

After they arrived at the palace, Spoon and Ilias were the first to greet them. But because Armad was asleep, Inara had to tell them what happened.

Armad barely got up, ate, cleaned himself up, and went back to sleep. Nostalgia watched him for a long while before she left to search for Inara, Ilias, and Spoon.

When she entered their room, the trio stood up respectfully. But she waved her hand and insisted that that wasn't necessary.

She said, "You all know about Armad's ideology of abolishing the slave trade. As his friends, I hope you are with him on this."

They all nodded without a second thought. Their parents were sold to slavery and that was the reason they became street children in the first place. How could they not support Armad? The only reason why they'd been silent about it was that they had no choice. Up until the moment, prince Niyashi found them, they'd been barely keeping themselves alive. And even then, they couldn't stand against the power that was the slave trade. So they had no choice but to give it up.

"I want to make him an army of a hundred strong Benders with the same ideology. People who will accept him as their leader and may die for him if need be. I know seven people who have this same ideology in this city. There are others in nearby cities and mountain ranges, but you will have to find them for me. That's why I'm here."

***

Meanwhile, in the underground empire of King Deniz Iluru, a large meeting was convened to discuss Armad. Nowadays, news traveled fast by way of spies and ayrid communication. King Deniz had been made aware of Armad developing a lightning Contract. And the blood-red sun appeared a month after that as if to confirm it. So the King gathered all his soldiers and his only son, Deniz Bizaya, to discuss how to address the issue. It was something they could no longer ignore.

Commander Deniz Kalhari started the meeting by saying, "We own lightning, everyone knows that. Indeed, we'll become a laughingstock when news spreads about a child having another lightning Contract."

"It shouldn't have been possible," a commander with a dark expression said. "Are we even sure it's a Contract Bend?"

"Geraiya, do you think his Majesty will call us for an emergency meeting if it's not? Besides, it doesn't matter whether it's a contract or not. Our spies said he can share lightning with other people, and that's something we can't afford. We won't be losing just face if we allow him to live."

The King cleared his throat and everyone fell silent. He said, "We don't know how it happened but that doesn't matter now. We must eliminate any threat to our empire. This boy Armad must die. I don't care how you do it."