Babara has already seated Armad in the middle of an exotic rune, in an attempt to awaken his unique Bend. Armad sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, surrounded by a beam of purple light.
Time went on. Armad was barely conscious and he could see little but the light. And just like that, the runes ate the sand around him, digging a hole like a well, and Armad collapsed inside. Yet, he didn't open his eyes. The runes turned to lightning and consumed him, slowly.
Armad sat there, unmoving. It was as if he wasn't aware his body was burning. His legs were the first to be consumed in the lightning, then his torso, then his arms, neck, and head. He was turned into ash inside the well but he didn't so much as cough. Babara sat outside the well, making no attempt to stop the process.
The flash of lightning and thunder didn't stop there. Eventually, they turned red and the lightning expanded upward until it touched the sky, turning into a thunderstorm. The sky roared as if it were going to rain. Yet, Babara didn't move.
Soon, it turned into a torrential downpour with a thunderstorm every five seconds. The water and thunder melted the snow that filled the prison.
For the next three days, the ice melted and the water evaporated. The prison became clear. Beneath the many sheets of snow were huge igneous rocks that were perforated into caves. They were reminiscent of the extinct giant empire that used to live in the rocky mountains.
Creatures wearing the skins of wild animals flowed out of the caves at a speed so fast that they were just a blur. In a blink, more than three thousand creatures had appeared there and surrounded Babara where he sat. Armad and Babara seemed to have woken up a sleeping beast.
The faces of these creatures were covered with the thick white lion skin but that did little to hide the intense hatred rising from their eyes. Some kind of war-like feeling was coming from them, making them look like the gladiators of the First Dawn.
As if in rhythm, they lined up and approached Babara, carefully but aggressively. There was no doubt to their ill-intent.
Yet, Babara didn't move. His eyes were full of faith and trust in the Bend Armad would awaken.
Meanwhile, the ashes in the well began to accumulate. A thunderstorm hit the well and burned all the water inside it. Nothing was left inside but the ashes.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The ashes then transformed into a human figure, which then transformed into a young man. The young man made a terrifying roar that caused all the creatures to retreat away from Babara. Then the heavy footsteps of a giant beast emerged from the well. A young man appeared out of the well with nothing on his body but dust.
In response, Babara opened his eyes and bowed down in submission. The creatures could also feel the power coming from the young man but they weren't intimidated by it. They divided themselves into three groups. The first group raised their hands in the air to create fireballs. The second group opened their mouths and breathed out molten rock, the heat of which ignited even the fireballs. The third group produced black water balls that looked like the gastric fluid of a dordor.
They all rallied and launched their attacks on the young man, ignoring Babara. Babara jumped forward to defend him, but he raised his hand and stopped him. Babara frowned at the gesture. Surely even the powerful Benders of the First Dawn would be frightened by the barrage. For if you looked at the sky, you would see a thousand fireballs, along with a thousand molten rocks, and a thousand black balls of fluid that looked like death itself. And the first thing that would come to your mind was these attacks were meant to destroy a city; not just one person.
The young man didn't budge though, nor did he move a finger. He stood there and let everything hit him. A frightening boom rang and dust rose. It was so chaotic that it could be heard and seen from a thousand miles away.
Babara screamed in anger and plunged into the chaos to save the young man. But he then felt a pol he hadn't felt before in his life. For one, it didn't feel like a dying man. For another, it wasn't human. The fortune-teller slowed down a little, hesitating. Then the pol hit him again, causing him to collapse and fall to the ground on his knees. He trembled in fear as he tried to comprehend it.
But despite feeling the same thing, these creatures didn't hesitate to further plan an attack. This round was even deadlier than the one before it as each of them tripled their efforts.
Meanwhile, the dust settled and the young man became apparent. He was by no means the Armad Babara knew. He was lightning. But unlike the lightning that surrounded people when they used lightning armor, this lightning seemed to come from inside his body. It was his muscle and blood. You could even say his body was completely turned into a flash of lightning.
The young man pulled out a spear that had sunk into his chest. But there was no blood or flesh on it. He'd become lightning and lightning had become him. The young man raised his hand and looked at the flash of lightning that now made the hand. Then he turned it back to the flesh and blood he was used to. Then the rest of his body went back to normal as well. He was Armad Wilberforce.
Having seen this, Babara fell further on his knees. "I reaffirm my allegiance to the Heir of Wilberforce."
Surprisingly, these creatures removed the skin covering their faces and they appeared as humans. Then they fell on the ground greeting and pledging allegiance.
"WE WELCOME THE HEIR OF WILBERFORCE, THE SUCCESSOR OF KING EYRIYON, THE SUCCESSOR OF KING ALDAIMA the first. Forgive us for our disobedience, we deserve to die!"
At that moment, anyone could feel the power awakening in Armad.