Armad had bathed but his problem was clothes. The clothes on his body were still torn. Surely a person with such a strong pol should not walk around with it.

He was sitting on the edge of the stream when his attention was drawn to the ring in his hand. He looked at the ring curiously. Why would she give him that?

He thought about using it and then suddenly a small window appeared just above the ring. It expanded slowly until it reached enough size that he could enter. He couldn't see anything inside except the blazing light so he debated about entering.

After some thought, he activated his pol and stepped inside the door.

Armad found himself in another landscape. Everything there was glittering. There were two doors in front of him, one on the right and the other on the left. Armad was written boldly on top of one door and top of the other was Nostalgia. Each door was open but surprisingly he was unable to see the contents inside. When he looked inside all he saw was light.

Armad decided to enter the door with his name on it. He went straight to the door and pushed it open. He found himself in a room full of shelves. Each one carried something special on it.

The first shelf had clothing. Expensive dresses that could be worn in the city and out in the field. All smelling nice.

On another shelf were swords, spears, clubs, and other special weapons. Then on another, he saw bottles of various medicines, and food and drink.

Another thing that surprised him was a horse lazing around in the room.

After seeing everything, Armad realized that Nostalgia had long wanted to do this... to give him the ring because what he saw there wasn't a plan for one night, and she didn't even know he would be at the slave auction.

Armad sighed. He didn't think of her even once ever since what happened with the dordor, but it seemed to not be the case with her.

He put on new clothes and picked up apples to fill his stomach. Then he went to the horse.

The horse bent down obediently, whereupon Armad sat on its back.

Suddenly, Armad felt as if he heard the horse's thoughts and as if he could talk to it.

"What's your name?" Armad asked.

The horse responded to him without opening its mouth.

"My name is Ubbaru."

Armad heard the horse's voice like a collective neigh. At first, he was nervous but soon adapted to it. And he ordered the horse to get out of the room.

The horse walked out of the room and stood in front of the two doors. Armad looked at the door with Nostalgia on it for several seconds before he ordered Ubbaru to leave the dimension of the ring.

They appeared outside the door and the door disappeared. A bag full of apples and grapes was in his hand. His robe was new and expensive like a noble. Then, as usual, Armad got a piece of clothing and tied it around his head where he used to have a miyura. Ubbaru was a white horse with broad shoulders and long legs.

Armad picked up an apple and threw it in his mouth before heading for the road. He had no intention of stopping until he reached a town. There he would stop and ask about his location. He would take his bearing from there and look for the third world. It all had to be done in less than a month.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ubbaru neighed and stretched its long, white legs forward with a high speed. Armad noticed that the world around him was blurred by the speed of the horse but he wasn't bothered by the wind at all despite the speed. He was also able to see what was in front of him before approaching it. There was no other way to measure Ubbaru's speed but it was certainly a big deal.

About five hours after the start of the journey, Armad had crossed at least five forests. Nothing stopped him and all the wild beasts he met seemed unable to see him or Ubbaru. It went on like that for another hour before he spotted a small house in the distance.

He asked Ubbaru to stop when he got to the house. They soon arrived at the house where Ubbaru stopped so suddenly that Armad thought he would fall. But he remained attached to the horse as if he'd been strapped to it.

He heard voices coming from the house and a smile came over his face. He would finally find his location.

He pushed open the door which was already half open and went inside. The first thing he noticed was a line of tables where people sat. Most were drinking and only a few were eating. Then from the other side, an old man was waving his hand at him and asking him, "welcome, sir, what would you like today, food or alcohol?"

It was the kind of place where travelers would eat and drink. Usually built on the road and not far from a city or village.

Armad nodded at the old man. "Thank you. I just want water."

The old man nodded and pointed Armad to a seat. He was soon approached by a girl wearing a long dress with the third-world emblem on it. Armad smiled at her and after she served the water he asked her, "where is this place?"

The girl had missing front teeth that were only apparent when she smiled. It was so big that Armad's eyes went slightly wider in surprise. The girl realized this so she closed her mouth in embarrassment.

"Jari village," she managed to say.

"Eh?" Armad narrowed his in surprise. Although he didn't travel much as a child, he believed that the village she mentioned was close to his village, a few days away maybe. Suddenly, a great deal of joy filled his heart. He was going to see his mother.

"Thank you. How much does the water cost?"

The girl shook her head, "No, you don't have to pay. Water is free."

Armad was about to speak when he saw the door of the house slammed open and he heard the rugged voice of a man speaking from the outside, "this horse belongs to me now! And if you are strong enough you can come and take it by force."

The man had ninety years to his belt and behind him was a group of strong men that ranged from thirty to fifty years. They stood beside Ubbaru and prepared to take it if the owner didn't talk.

The whole place was silent but Armad just smiled and then straightened up and headed for the door. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him back. He turned to see the cute little girl with missing teeth. The girl shook her head, telling him not to go. She pointed at her missing teeth and then at the robbers, implying that they were the ones that removed her teeth.

Armad felt pity for the girl because he was convinced that the old bartender wasn't her father. Children like her were often seen wandering around in search of work and shelter after their parents were sold as slaves. Many of them would die before the age of twenty. Such children were one of the reasons why he hated the jinzidal.

"What's your name?" Armad knelt in front of her and asked.

The girl replied nervously, "Asha." Then she lowered her voice in fear and told Armad something only he could hear.

Armed stood up and headed for the robbers.

The man with ninety-one years was their leader. He clenched his hands and a fireball appeared on it. He couldn't see Armad's pol but it was clear Armad was also a Bender so he didn't want to take any chances. The others laughed provocatively and drew their swords.

All that changed when Armad appeared before them.

"The Great Cold!" Armad murmured.

The gray ice appeared and surrounded the robbers, instantly immobilizing them from the knee to the foot. Their eyes widened in awe as they stood still. Who would have thought that there would be someone in the village who could use the Great Cold? Armad looked at the leader and then turned to Asha and asked, "Is this him?"

She nodded in fear.

Armad backhanded the man's teeth and shattered them. All the teeth fell to the ground. The man released a weak, desperate cry before he fell.

"From now on," Armad said. His voice carried a lot of power that forced everyone to listen. "This place is under my protection. Whoever touches it, touches me."

Armad then smiled at Asha before riding his horse away. His next stop would be at Babara's.

Ubbaru ran increasingly faster. Soon they were in the same forest where Armad had met Babara years ago. It was there that Armad said goodbye to his mother and went out to seek treatment for her several years ago. It was there that Babara promised him that if he found Triple Factor he would cure his mother's ailment. It was also there that Armad left his native land for the world with only fifty-one years but now he'd returned with a thousand. Would Babara cure his mother despite not being able to find Triple Factor?