The earth quaked as their swords met. The rest of the battlefield was swept clean by the resultant cyclone. Only the two Kings, Niyashi, Nostalgia, Hasanu, and Armad remained.

Despite its thinness, Heeda's sword was heavy and an equal match to the eight swords used by Bihanzin.

Hidaya glanced at the barely conscious Armad and then turned to Bihanzin. She said, "It wasn't you Triple Factor was referring to."

Bihanzin laughed, shaking his eight heads. A chorus of eight voices said, "I KNOW your plans, Black Flame. But it was my father who carved the throne that now sits at the first world. And it's me who'll sit on the throne.

"Kuyurussa'ayi, Dumaƙisu, Dul'Ururu, Amraikugyu, Triple Factor, Taidara, Zaikid, Maikiro'Abbas, Han'ibal, Fati Bayajiyadda, all the leaders of the world must bow to me when I Bend the Three-Blooded."

"And you think the Order of Sammai will just let you do that?" Asked Heeda.

"Heeda," Daljari interrupted them in fury. "I respect your status as a Mistress of pol. But this is a fight that has nothing to do with you. It's between me and the Dark Orphan."

"It has everything to do with me, old man Dalja. Bihanzin is trying to suck away your soul. He intends to suck Nostalgia's and Niyashi's as well. Your three souls will allow him to Bend the Three-Blooded. A new Bend will be created. I don't know how he came about it, but that was the technique that was used against my grandfather Eyrion. Only Triple Factor and I know about it."

Daljari opened his mouth to make a reply when Bihanzin interrupted.

"Arrogance was what killed Eyrion and it is what is going to get you killed, Heeda. All of you Wilberforce and Ururu has been the same ever since the First Dawn. You think you're better than everyone because you're born with Eyes. You think seeing the future and sucking people's pol made you special." Bihanzin sighed exasperatedly. "That Bastard that was born at the Dawn of the world stole this Bend from Shishirui and passed it off as his own. I shall soon show you and Ururu that your eyes mean nothing in front of me."

"You called Commander Triple Factor a bastard?!" Heeda was enraged to the point she looked startled. "He's the purest man from the First Dawn to date. Even Ururu respects him. You have called upon yourself a certain death."

Bihanzin chuckled and pointed at Nostalgia. Dark-purple light engulfed the princess and then quickly expanded to surround Daljari and Niyashi. Then it circulated back to Bihanzin. Daljari tried to extract himself from it but to no avail.

"What is this?!" The King turned to Heeda in panic.

"It's the Three-Blooded technique that gave birth to pol at the beginning of all civilization." Heeda sounded more like reciting a scripture than answering his questions. "The three types of blood recognized are the tribes of Uzzus, Nara, and Rafiya.

"The Uzzus don't age.

"The Nara reincarnate.

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"And the Rafiya are the only ones who can inter-marry with the Nara and Uzzus to create another pure-blooded. You're a Rafiyan. You gave birth to Nazara, who's purely Uzzus blood after you married his mother from the Uzzus. With others, Nazara could never have been born with Uzzus blood.

"Nostalgia is a Nara. The Wilberforce can tell a Nara since our pol smell the same. It's mostly the design of the years in our cores that varies. If they've reincarnated, we can use a simple skin contact to know what happened in their previous lives. We have had this connection since the beginning. Bihanzin should have known I will recognize her the moment I saw her."

"So, are you saying she's not Bihanzin's daughter?" Daljari was dumbfounded. Despite all his age-long investigation on Bihanzin, he still missed valuable information like this. And if Bihanzin had been targeting the three of them, then that could only mean one thing: a hundred years ago, Bihanzin went to Rafiya and became the Dark Orphan on purpose. He wanted to investigate the Rafiyan royal blood and he did.

"Exactly." Heeda nodded. "She is the reincarnation of Lasina Nightingale Nara, daughter of Aldaima Wilberforce. And I don't think Bihanzin is here to save her. What baffles me is how Bihanzin found her. Lasina was killed by her father for having black eyes. Zaikid buried her. The professor would know if she's reincarnated since Aldaima had specifically bound their souls. The King wanted someone to help his daughter when she reincarnates."

"There is only one Bend that can undo the soul connection between Zaikid and Nostalgia..." Hidaya paused, attracting a chuckle from Bihanzin. She stared at him for a moment before she shook her head. "You are not that worthy, Bihanzin. Don't think too highly of yourself."

Daljari saw her hesitation and wasn't convinced. He asked, "What is it?"

Hidaya turned to Daljari and calmly said, "You don't have to worry. I'll not allow Bihanzin to complete the ritual. Even if it means killing you, your son, and my brother's wife. Armad will just have to forgive me."

As if telling her she couldn't do that, the ravens flying above surrounded Bihanzin's three targets: Nostalgia, Niyashi, and Daljari.

Hidaya smiled and shook her head with a sigh. "Even if you've been alive for so long, even if you've been preparing for countless years, you still don't know the meaning of pol. Do you think mere ravens of death can stop me? Even if you are the Prince of the Unknown that fought Triple Factor at the beginning of the First Dawn, you're nothing in front of me. Among the living, only three people can save you today."

At that moment, Armad woke up from his drowsiness. He was still too weak and couldn't be of much help.

'Ha, why is it so quiet?' He looked around him and didn't see anyone nearby. Then he saw a herd of ravens cycling around a couple of people several meters away. Bihanzin was there. Hasanu was there. And Hidaya was also there. There were some people he couldn't see because of the ravens blocking him. Then his brain registered the information and his eyes quickly turned to the woman.

"H...Hidaya?" He couldn't dare believe it was her.

But Hidaya turned around and smiled at him. It was the same heartwarming smile he remembered. She was real. But when... how?

Hidaya turned and faced Bihanzin.

Armad frowned. He knew a battle formation when he saw one. Hidaya faced against Bihanzin, not with him. 'Are they fighting? What happened after I lost consciousness? Where is Nostalgia?'

Armad felt a sudden pressure weigh down on him.

Hidaya made a few hand gestures and opened a portal above Bihanzin. It was wide enough to engulf the man.

Bihanzin didn't hesitate. He took several steps to leave the area under the portal and quickly said, "Knowing you will go this far, I spent several decades preparing for you. I sought Amraikugyu's dying message and found out about the secret that made Ururu kill him. Your little brother helped me a lot with translating it. For your information, for two hours, I told the entire world about it. Even as we speak, protests are being held throughout the hemispheres. And don't forget your brother has just killed an Ashura king. Ururu will descend to restore order. And you know what that means, don't you?"

"I know you are a very dangerous person, Heeda. Although I wasn't sure you'd come, I was fully prepared for you.

"Now you have to choose the enemy, Ururu or Bihanzin?"