Samir collapsed on the exotic carpet-covered floor of his private tent with the worst headache of his life. His nose bled as did his ears and eyes and everything---absolutely everything hurt.

Yet, as overwhelming as the pain was, it was nothing compared to the fear that plagued him.

Fear of the Old Man.

Paku the Falcon. The Cut-throat leader of the Phantoms.

Their minds had only briefly touched, but he'd immediately understood how out of his depth he was. He’d only caught brief glimpses of who the Falcon was, and it left him damn near paralyzed.

Cold sweat poured down his back. What he’d seen would’ve been enough to drive anyone mad.

The man was a butcher. It was only by sheer luck that he’d managed to wrest control back from him.

But while he was fighting for his life—his men told him he’d done something truly peculiar. He’d killed the Koi fish.

Naturally, he’d have done that eventually, anyway, but the fact that he hadn’t even remembered it happening was disconcerting, to say the least.

It might’ve been possible that the Old man somehow controlled him…

‘No…no. I'm in control here,' he breathed.

Besides, the Old man had sent a team here to rescue the fish, not destroy the world. It made absolutely no sense.

Yet, he was on edge anyway.

While his mind was raw, the moment he recovered he’d organized the survivors into a tight-knit formation, with him at the center, safe and sound, while he recovered and considered his options.

‘I think it's high time I struck out on my own and hunted the dog down by myself once and for all.’

With the sky blood-red, he was working with a rapidly accelerated timeline. Things would be going to absolute shit very soon. And the sooner he could move onto World Two, the better.

He was starting to mentally give out orders to his army to prepare to march when the sky changed color again.

He numbly stared at the blue sky for the longest time, partially convinced his mind was playing tricks on him, before he ordered his men to beef up his security before they started their march.

'How...is this even possible?' he thought, nervously biting his remaining thumb. 'This fucking world. It's one bullshit after another. It's probably that Old man isn't it?"

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They marched long into the night, and when they made camp, he called for all the Generals and picked their brains for strategies for accomplishing his goal as quickly as possible.

They were going all out, using war balloons, delivery eagles, tanks, and everything within their reach. If Mark was in the Earth Kingdom, they were going to find him and Samir was going to kill him, and finally put this business to rest.

Sleep did not come to Samir that night. The sense of foreboding he had since the episode with the Old man only grew by the second.

At this point, he was convinced the Paku had somehow set him up. Even though it should’ve been impossible, he'd managed to revive the Koi fish. But why go through the trouble of killing it only to revive it again? It didn't make any sense.

He was missing something, and Samir feared he had somehow found himself at the center of whatever twisted game the Old man was playing. ‘Leave the fuck out of it,’ he thought as he turned in his bed.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Samir scrambled out of bed, knocking over stool and table stocked with meats, fruits, and all manner of delectable foods.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Before him stood the shimmering projection of the Patriarch of the Air Nation. The man that even the Firelord feared. He nearly pissed his pants.

He let out a mental yell. ‘Guards! Get in here right now!’

“They cannot hear you,” the old man said. “They are all either dead or too far away.”

Samir felt like he’d been drenched in cold water. He put up a brave face nonetheless. Upon close inspection, he realized that the Old man seemed tired. Sections of his spiritual form seemed to be leaking some type of bluish, golden light that evaporated and meshed into the atmosphere. The fight must’ve taken a toll on him then. He could still win. 'I’ve pushed you back before. I can do it again.'

The old man seemed unphased as he steadily floated closer. Seeing his threat did not work, Samir gritted his teeth and let out the full blast of three rare techniques. Telepathy carried his voice, hypnosis his intent, and charm his presence.

'KNEEL!'

A wave of power rippled out of him. It was like nothing he’d ever seen or experienced. It was like he’d stepped into another tier of power, and a system notification confirmed it.

[You’ve unlocked Chi-Bending through your sheer force of will and desperation.]

[Congratulation! You’ve been awarded 3 Stat points for your accomplishment.]

Yet, despite the recognition from the system, the Old man had not even flinched at the attack. He simply powered on. Samir quickly distributed his remaining stat into Mind, and let out an even more powerful mental scream.

“STOP!”

But the man didn’t. Samir paled as he stepped back, genuinely baffled. 'How is this possible?'

“You’ve only merely stepped on the path,” the man said as he finally caught up to him. “I’ve mastered it.”

Samir rallied his spirit one more time and sent out a torrent of flame with his sole arm. The old man didn’t blink, simply stretching out his hand until it touched Samir’s chest. The latter gasped with fear as his chi suddenly guttered out, and he crumpled to the floor.

Samir’s death flashed before his eyes as his mind went on overdrive.

‘Please, don’t do this. My Lord, they’ll reward you. I’ve come too far to lose it all.’

The Old man paused as he went down on one knee and looked him deep in the eyes.

“You may not have realized it. But I touched your mind when you touched mine, and I know everything. You see our world as make-believe, disposable. A playground to gather power. You are sorely mistaken.”

Samir swallowed. ‘Please, my Lord can get you whatever you want. A new body, more power, hell, she’ll even throw in a system! All you have to do is ask.’

"Why would I want a different body,” he said, slowly reaching out, “when the perfect one is right in front of me.”

Samir screamed, and his words shattered. Before the last fragments of his mind faded, he saw a red glowing screen.

[Lord Champion has been corrupted. Initiating countermeasures.]