Chapter 5: City of Giants

As he appeared outside, sunlight blinded him for a while before it slowly dimmed. He found himself in a barren land.

Unlike the green world, there was no sign of life here, and everything reeked of loneliness. In the distance, he could see two mountains. They were big he couldn't see their ends from where he stood. In-between the two mountains, there was a city gate. He could see cobwebs covering the gates of the city and some parts of the mountains.

It couldn't have seen any visitors in decades if the cobweb was that thick and extensive, Armad thought.

He walked to the two mountains. Arriving at the gate, he cleared the cobwebs with his sword. Unlike how he had expected, the gates were open. He just pushed them with one hand and they swung wide open.

Armad took a step back, hesitating. According to the paper guide, there would be a river with black water somewhere in the city. A boat from there would take him to the fourth world. After a short debate, he stepped inside.

As soon as he took the first step inside the city, his body shook in fear. He quickly tried to withdraw back and flee, regretting ever setting foot inside, but the soil beneath his feet went up to his ankle and buried his legs inside. He was forced to stay and face the monstrosity in front of him.

A fleet of giants, real giants, clad in complete body armor stood in front of him. They stood in ten rows; each row having around ninety to one hundred giants. Their eyes were wide open, filled with hatred and rage as they silently stared at the sky as if staring at the enemies living in the worlds above them. It was like they were just preparing for war, and if it weren't for the cobwebs covering their bodies, Armad wouldn't have guessed otherwise.

The level of fear he felt when he looked at the giants was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

There was something else. A man's voice coming from inside the city. It sounded cold and ethereal, with so much power that Armad felt a primal instinct to kneel.

The voice went on:

"I, Bayajidda, son of Alma'ata, son of Djinn, son of Oduduwa, son of Ikenga, son of Harun, son of Masarayulu, I swear by the creator of the King, I will not stop fighting you, Ururu of the abyss.

"Even if the cursed pol in your eyes stopped me from walking the earth, I'll fight you where I stand.

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"Even if the retched pol in your eyes breaks my hands and legs, I will fight you with my tongue.

"Even if the forsaken pol in your eyes stopped me from speaking, I will fight you with my heart.

"And even if your black eyes killed my soul, I will still fight you in death."

When the voice mentioned that last statement it fell silent for a moment before it concluded with one final sentence.

"Ururu, you are responsible for all the carnage in the world."

By now, Armad had fallen on his knees, bleeding profusely from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

He was barely conscious. The last thought in his mind before he lost consciousness was: 'this is just a voice of one man, but it almost killed me by just listening to it. What will happen if the man himself is to stand before me?' Armad bit his tongue and shook his head in defiance. 'I'm still weak. I should Bend harder. If not, I'll not survive in a world where people like him

live.'

What Armad didn't know was the voice he heard had been repeating the same thing he heard for the past ninety-nine years. It had never missed a day, and no being had ever set foot inside the city ever since it started speaking, except for him.

Another thing Armad didn't know was that every time the voice finished speaking, the city would be set on fire. The voice released too much energy which charged the air, and the only way to dissipate the excess energy was to set the air on fire.

Even now, that was what happened. As soon as the voice stopped, the air heated up.

At the same moment, two massive, red scorpions with human legs and the height of a young elephant, appeared in front of Armad. They were none other than the guardians of the city.

They sensed Armad the moment he entered, but for some reason, they chose not to appear until after he was unconscious.

After standing there for a while, the two transformed into humans, wearing the forgotten robes of the First Dawn. Each robe was voluminous and extravagant, thick and rough, with the same light brown color that resembled desert sand. They also had the same pointed hat that was now only worn by people at least 200 years old.

The man standing by the right looked at the other man for several seconds before he spoke in a calm voice. "He has Wilberforce blood in him. We shouldn't kill him because of the relationship between lord Amraikugyu and Wilberforce the third." He paused and continued to look at the other man as if waiting for a response.

The other man bent down and dipped his finger in the blood on Armad's shirt. He stared at the blood for a while as if reading a novel. After what seemed like forever, he looked at the other man who spoke first. "What you said is true," he said. "But it isn't right to save him either."

The two nodded at each other as if agreeing with their conclusions before they disappeared without a trace. They were never there.

By now, half the city was burning. Shortly after, Armad's clothes caught fire and soon his skin was melting. Then the paper he received from the guardian gave a popping sound, as if an egg was broken, and caught fire. It burned to a crisp in a few seconds.

Armad laid there unconscious, his body literally on fire, and the paper that had the incantations that were supposed to get him out of the dungeon and to the fourth world where he hoped to find the Triple Factor was gone. If he was asked about it, he would agree he was in the worst possible situation.