Queenyprinxex:



Done

Thanks love

maynation:



Thanks love

Aunt and madam... You guys are going about the voting the wrong way just quoting and mentioning ' ObehiD ' ain't complete without you also mentioning the story too....

Pls go back and check how i did mine.. I was the first person to Vote on the thread and I voted for...

ObehiD OF COURSE... !!!!

Dathypebruv:


Aunt and madam... You guys are going about the voting the wrong way just quoting and mentioning ' ObehiD ' ain't complete without you also mentioning the story too....

Pls go back and check how i did mine.. I was the first person to Vote on the thread and I voted for...

ObehiD OF COURSE... !!!!

Ohhh noted.

Let me go and edit my post.

maynation:


Ohhh noted.
Let me go and edit my post.

.

spixytinxy:
Pls all dose commenting should go and vote obehid, she really deserve it.https://www.nairaland.com/5505304/nairaland-literature-awards-year-2019
Cc
Utimategeneral
Cassbeat
barag
HotB
Phoenixchap
Ayshow6102
Smooth278
Tunjilomo
Fazemood
May nation
Olite93
Rynne
Decoderdgenius
Bluehaven
Aphrodite's
Geosilye
Peaceyw
Siralabai
Oroolorun
Niwdog
Miab
Dhehbor
Monalicious
Elyna
Lukfame
Ewawumi
Tuhnday
Damibiz
Queenitee
Hisgrace0000001
Cyber5
Hadampson
Popeshemoo
Mhistahrah
Ekopsparaayara
Moyeni
Correctguy101
Reallordzeus

done

obehid thanks for the update

maynation:

Voted


Lirusehn, Queenyprinxex, Prinx55555
Please come and help me vote for Obehid please.
You don't have to belong to this section to do this.

okay

maynation:


Voted



Lirusehn, Queenyprinxex, Prinx55555

Please come and help me vote for Obehid please.

You don't have to belong to this section to do this.

Done

Okay. Interesting. This is definitely going more than somewhere. I am waiting to see what you truly have in mind.

Sophian just reminds me of my ex boss, hardly does he trusts and is quick to call one a liar.

I am sorry Obehid if I hurt you by my straightforwardness it wasn't intensional. I have been and still remain a great fan of yours. I admire your talent and this has in some point in time made me attracted to you and I have in many times wished I could meet you in person to express my profound admiration for your skill.

I have carried you in my mind as a genius who has almost attained a level in literature where she ought to be recognized globally. Your finesse in literature is outstanding and I am sure that many here wish to be what you are and to reach the level you currently are yet can only wish.

I see your stories no longer as fictions but rather as a close to real life events that encompasses the true feelings derived from real life experiences. Obehid, I was in love with your other story it was truly magical and it was what I liked most about it. Magic.

Your tales cover beyond one aspect of life and that is majorly the reason most of us can't bear reading just one update. No matter how many words you post, they seem never enough.

I wish to see you maintain and even surpass this level of expertise in literature that is why I can't bear to see your characters especially the protagonists losing their values in anyway in your works.

Pardon me for being hard on Nebud. I was hurt when you said you almost shed tears after reading my comment. I never intended to down your spirit in any way( I hope I didn't at all) . All I wanted to do was point out my little frustration toward our Host Nebud for its incapability especially in times where it is needed most.

Nebud shouldn't and doesn't have any right to make any one loss interest in your our work that was why I had to vent. (laughing)

As for abandoning ship, I can never do that unless the captain (You) quits, only then shall I say farewell to my fellow crew members who are sailing alongside in this sea of literature.

I am with you for a long time. I am committed to my job ( that is reading, analyzing and commenting with questions on every updates)

I hope that we can push this work to a height where the world will summon Obehid to decorate her with an award for international recognition which she truly deserves.

This been said I still and will always admire you . So fret not as you still gat your able reader here.

Thank you for your tireless efforts and may God grant your more insights and strength. Amen

Yours sincerely fazemood

BTW you have my vote

spixytinxy:
Pls all dose commenting should go and vote obehid, she really deserve it.https://www.nairaland.com/5505304/nairaland-literature-awards-year-2019
Cc
Utimategeneral
Cassbeat
barag
HotB
Phoenixchap
Ayshow6102
Smooth278
Tunjilomo
Fazemood
May nation
Olite93
Rynne
Decoderdgenius
Bluehaven
Aphrodite's
Geosilye
Peaceyw
Siralabai
Oroolorun
Niwdog
Miab
Dhehbor
Monalicious
Elyna
Lukfame
Ewawumi
Tuhnday
Damibiz
Queenitee
Hisgrace0000001
Cyber5
Hadampson
Popeshemoo
Mhistahrah
Ekopsparaayara
Moyeni
Correctguy101
Reallordzeus

I've voted days ago!!! Thanks for reminding the others

Great write-up Fazemood, you might just have a talent for writing who knows... Maybe it's something you can explore when u have some time... God bless

Thank you lirusehn queenyprinxex and prinx55555 for honoring my mentions. daalu

Smooth278:
Great write-up Fazemood, you might just have a talent for writing who knows... Maybe it's something you can explore when u have some time... God bless

I am flattered. Thanks

Fazemood:
Sophian just reminds me of my ex boss, hardly does he trusts and is quick to call one a liar.

I am sorry Obehid if I hurt you by my straightforwardness it wasn't intensional. I have been and still remain a great fan of yours. I admire your talent and this has in some point in time made me attracted to you and I have in many times wished I could meet you in person to express my profound admiration for your skill.

I have carried you in my mind as a genius who has almost attained a level in literature where she ought to be recognized globally. Your finesse in literature is outstanding and I am sure that many here wish to be what you are and to reach the level you currently are yet can only wish.

I see your stories no longer as fictions but rather as a close to real life events that encompasses the true feelings derived from real life experiences. Obehid, I was in love with your other story it was truly magical and it was what I liked most about it. Magic.

Your tales cover beyond one aspect of life and that is majorly the reason most of us can't bear reading just one update. No matter how many words you post, they seem never enough.

I wish to see you maintain and even surpass this level of expertise in literature that is why I can't bear to see your characters especially the protagonists losing their values in anyway in your works.

Pardon me for being hard on Nebud. I was hurt when you said you almost shed tears after reading my comment. I never intended to down your spirit in any way( I hope I didn't at all) . All I wanted to do was point out my little frustration toward our Host Nebud for its incapability especially in times where it is needed most.

Nebud shouldn't and doesn't have any right to make any one loss interest in your our work that was why I had to vent. (laughing)

As for abandoning ship, I can never do that unless the captain (You) quits, only then shall I say farewell to my fellow crew members who are sailing alongside in this sea of literature.

I am with you for a long time. I am committed to my job ( that is reading, analyzing and commenting with questions on every updates)

I hope that we can push this work to a height where the world will summon Obehid to decorate her with an award for international recognition which she truly deserves.

This been said I still and will always admire you . So fret not as you still gat your able reader here.

Thank you for your tireless efforts and may God grant your more insights and strength. Amen

Yours sincerely fazemood

He writes! Quite interesting...

To:

OluwabuqqyYOLO, spixytinxy, maynation, Rynne, Queenyprinxex, Dathypebruv, ayshow6102, lirusehn, prinx55555, Fazemood, Smooth278, and all others who voted for me,

I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU Thank you so much for voting for me, I really appreciate it

@phoenixchap as in, well more coming soon

@HotB You are really seeing somethings with your destiny theory, but let me not say too much . I agree though, it might be spectral understanding that you've received, haha. Thank you so much for your kind words

@barag thank you for reading and allowing me to change your Wednesdays and Saturdays

@OluwabuqqyYOLO THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I'm sooo glad that you're still enjoying this sturvs and spreading your enjoyment

@cassbeat HAHAHA, my NL musician

@Ultimategeneral thank you, thank you. More coming soon and I hope it keeps you glued too '

@spixytinxy thank you for blowing my trumpet

@maynation you're even inviting outside people to vote, chai, thank you oh!

@Rynne thanks for the vote!

@Queenyprinxex thank you! Now that you're here, if you like fantasy works, you can give this a try

@Dathypebruv[b] thank you of course!!! [/b]

@ayshow6102 thank you for voting and thank you for reading

@lirusehn thank you for the vote!

@tunjilomo I agree, this should go more than somewhere. I cannot wait for you to see what I have in mind

@Fazemood You know I love the straightforwardness, I like hearing your true feelings about the story, good and bad. What made me sad was the thought that you were leaving because the story stopped holding interest for you. I'm very happy to hear that that is not the case! I'm happy you vented. I think my protagonists are actually the weakest characters in my stories, that's one of my shortcomings, and that's something I have to work on. Like Osezele, for example, from the feedback I got, a lot of people didn't like her in the first two books, they only started to in the In-between. So, anyway, I'm happy that you've pointed out Nebud's shortcomings. I definitely don't want to push people away by having a weak central character. That being said, there is more to Nebud than meets the eye. I'd forgotten that before, but I'm starting to remember. I hope soon enough I'll be able to show it, better. Thank you for sticking around, I appreciate it! In fact, I'm thinking that I'm going to need a new character in the future, this character just occurred to me so it's still going to be a looong time before it appears, but it's a character that will be around for a while and (spoiler alert) will make an appearance in the next marked book I'm going to write (the Reckoning). Anyway, as a thank you to you, for you steady following, I have decided to name that character after you, so that you will be part of the marked series (wherever it goes, and I hope it goes far). Thank you!!!

@Smooth278 thank you for your vote!

Part 22
---------

“Nebud!”

I was starting to feel delirious. Perhaps it was the white fumes, although, practical thought told me that I could not have inhaled enough of the fumes to feel as heedless as I currently did. I stopped walking and began to run.

“Nebud!” Yakubo’s voice faded to the background. I could tell that it was now following me, by the distance which I heard in the sound. I did not care, I kept going, running towards those white fumes.

I recalled the soldier from the feast. “Involved in much more pleasurable exploits.” It had said, when I asked where the Kaiser was.

I kept going. My feet ran before my brain could stitch all the pieces together into a favorable picture. In some part of my mind, I knew what I was doing, where I was going, and what I intended to do when I reached there. But all I had was an overall picture, a high-level view of what I intended to do. The details were yet to be worked out. As I ran in the direction of the white fumes, I let my brain work out what I would do next.

I passed the hallway which led to the gym. I found it intriguing that they called that area a gym. The ‘gym’ was where the scourge was, it was where I had been taken the first time that I had been in this Castle. Sophian had had me scourged there. As I ran, my mind replayed images of the lash falling against my chest. I still had those scars on me. They would forever mar me, forever show what I had endured at the hands of another uspec. My skin was disfigured, bent in unseemly folds that still caused other uspecs discomfort when they stared at it. I wondered if that would ever end. Would I forever be grotesque?

I kept going. The fumes were so light. They left a trail for me, marking the way towards their source. I followed that trail, my heart pounding, my mind a mix of insanity and logical thoughts.

I was running past the hall now. It was in this hall that Arexon had been sentenced to the scourge only minutes ago. There was a voice in my head reminding me to feel guilty, telling me that I had harmed another friend, just as I had harmed Marcinus. I was just as responsible for Arexon’s fate as the uspec who had sentenced it to the scourge. I felt no guilt. There was only ecstasy, and extremely delightful anticipation, a quickening in my heart. I felt no guilt for Arexon or for Marcinus. I did not know if Arexon would survive the scourge, but at that moment, I did not care. All I cared for, was myself, and the bliss that was about to be mine.

“Nebud! You have lost your mind.” I heard Yakubo’s voice close behind me. It had decided to follow me then. “Nebud!” It screamed. “Stop!” It yelled. Its voice was breathy, it panted as it screamed. I could tell from that voice that the uspec was having trouble keeping up with me. For some reason, its cries for me to stop only served to spur me on. I ran faster than I had ever run before. I ran as if I was being chased. How could I explain to Yakubo, what awaited me in those fumes? It was victory! I screamed within my mind. The sweet victory of seeing a foe vanquished.

I ran.

“Stop Nebud! You are going to the Kaiser’s suite. They will kill you.”

Yakubo sounded out of breath. For some reason I found myself smiling at its words. The fumes were thicker here. They led me to a hard fog wall. Suddenly the fumes disappeared. I found my mind reeling. Where were the fumes? The Kaiser’s suite was behind the hard fog, which meant that the fumes could not possibly have drifted out through them.

Six chiefs stood on guard in front of the hard fog wall leading into the Kaiser’s suite. I recognized one of those guards as the one who had told me that the Kaiser was Involved in much more pleasurable exploits. It was not until I stopped in front of them, my faculties returning to me, that I realized just how fast I had been running. I bent with my hands on my knees and panted as I struggled to catch my breath.

“What are you doing here?” One of the chiefs asked.

I could not speak. I was too out of breath to talk. I did not understand what had happened to me. I did not know what had caused my delirium. It was obviously not a result of the white fumes. I kept panting.

Yakubo appeared beside me. Its pose matched my own, as it too tried to catch its breath. Yakubo’s presence there seemed to have alarmed the guards, because they were reaching for their weapons now.

“The commander!” I yelled, once I could speak. My voice sounded much breathier than Yakubo’s had. “The commander escaped! It must have removed its appearance with its hidden pansophy, because we were escorting it to the scourge under the imperial one’s command, and then it swerved, running in this direction, before it vanished.”

Yakubo’s wide eyes turned to stare at me. Luckily, the other soldiers’ attentions were fixed on me.

“This direction?”

“Yes.” I said, my voice still wheezy.

“Without appearance?”

I nodded, opting not to speak. I rose then, standing to my full height. The vigor of my panting had greatly reduced.

“It has the key!” one of the soldier’s yelled.

“Well, open it!” another snapped.

One of the chief’s pulled out a key from its belt and stuck it into the hard fog, the hard fog softened, and white fumes, drifted out. I knew the moment that the lust hit the soldiers.

“Let us go.” One of them said.

“It may not have gone in.” I added.

“You three go in, we’ll look around.” They separated.

I followed the three going into the suite. Before they could turn around, I reached for my dagger, and pulled out my sword. I threw my dagger into the back of one of their neck’s, and my sword into the other. They both fell.

Red fog appeared around me. It encircled me, moving closer and closer towards me. The last soldier had brought out the fog as soon as it saw the other two fall. It was going to kill me with the fog.

I heard a loud bang. The sound of that bang was followed by the disappearance of the fog.

Yakubo ran in with its sword drawn. The other soldier attacked. I ran over to the two uspecs I’d killed, and retrieved my weapons from them. I was starting to feel the effects of the lust.

Yakubo’s sword clashed against the other soldier’s. The form had been returned to the fog, so I did not have to worry about the fight been heard outside of the hallway. I thought of the Kaiser, but knew that it would hear nothing, not with the lust it inhaled.

I felt the ecstasy.

Yakubo tripped over itself. It was starting to feel the effects of the lust too. I lifted my dagger and threw it at the other soldier. My aim was off. My dagger missed the uspec and clashed against the hard fog behind it. The sound distracted the uspec long enough for Yakubo to thrust out with its sword, and push its sword into the uspec’s pubis, right between its legs. The uspec fell.

Yakubo pulled its sword out, as I walked to retrieve my dagger. Yakubo struggled to rise. It was unsteady on its feet. It smiled widely. “What is this bliss?” it asked, supporting itself by leaning on the wall.

I felt the ecstasy, but it was nothing compared to the first time that I had felt this. I was still in control of my faculties. I placed my bloodied sword and dagger, back into their sheaths in my belt, and reached for the blue liquid vial, grateful that it was still there. I had not known that I would ever need to use it again, but I was glad that I had not thought to remove it from my belt.

Who would have known that I would have cause to be grateful to Manus?

With the vial in my hand, I walked back towards Yakubo. The uspec’s ecstasy was plain on its face. I uncorked the vial and then drank half of its contents. Then, I forced Yakubo’s head backwards and poured the other half into its mouth. It did not even to try to stop me.

The liquid had an odd metallic taste, almost like the taste of blood, but different. It was more sour than blood, and had a mild fruity tang to it. As soon as I swallowed it, I felt the ecstasy fade away.

It took longer for Yakubo’s sanity to return.

Yakubo’s smile slowly faded. As soon as its sanity returned, it looked around the hallway, at the bodies on the floor, and lifted its sword. It pointed the sharp end of its sword against my throat.

“I should kill you.” Yakubo said. It took one more look at the bodies, and then it pulled its sword away. “We will be killed for this.” It stated sadly. “But we will be in good company. Perhaps it is what I deserve for what I did to the commander.”

“Come.” I said to the uspec. “We have no time for this.”

Yakubo appeared uncertain. “What was that I felt?”

“Lust.” I replied.

“Lust.” Yakubo repeated the word wistfully.

From the pleasure in the white fumes which I had felt before drinking the blue liquid, I could tell that the lust was close to a climax. It was obvious where the lust was coming from. I followed that trail, leaving Yakubo to decide whether or not it would follow me.

Once I got there, I pushed the curtains open.

There was only one lounging bed in this room.

The imps lay on a mat in the middle of the room, their pelvises joined as they made lust. There was another imp on that mat. That imp sat. There were no pious ones in the room, no other uspecs save the one laying on the sole lounging bed. The lack of pious ones told me that the imp sitting on the mat had to have pansophy. It required one with pansophy to transfer the lust into the white fumes. Sophila knew of imps with pansophy then.

The imps cried out. Their cries were followed by a hoarse groan from Sophila, as it climaxed.

I knew that I would never get another opportunity. I ran towards the uspec, pulled my sword out of my sheath and swiped at its neck.

My heart was racing, it was beating faster than it ever had before. My head spun with the implications if I failed. There was no coming back from this. I would be killed.

I felt the spray of blood on my face.

I heard the screams of surprise.

The first thing I saw through the haze of blood, was the imp screaming. It was hard to see through all the blood. One imp screamed, while another reached for that imp’s head, rose it up, and slammed it down hard against the ground. The screaming stopped.

Another imp was running towards me. It had to be the imp with pansophy. The two who had made lust still lay on the mat, one unconscious, the other staring with wide sockets at me.

I swung my cutlass aimlessly.

“Master!” I heard the imp yell. “You killed my master!”

I swung again.

There was a loud ringing sound in my head. I saw the Kaiser’s head on the floor. I saw the eyes staring up at me. I knew that I had indeed done it, that I had beheaded the Kaiser of Chiboga. But it seemed too surreal to focus on. I could not believe it, not yet.

There was another loud thud. The imp continued running towards me, but its head was no longer on its body. Instead of running to me, it tripped over the lounging bed, where the bottom half of the Kaiser’s body still lay. I knew that with the imp’s head severed, it would not be able to see. Its ability to move would depend on how well skilled it was in pansophy. If it was very well skilled, it could grow its hearing and other lifeforces and use them to navigate. The imp’s headless body fell to the ground. It went on hands and knees crawling around the room. It appeared disoriented.

“Jacob? Ned?” The voice was familiar.

I wiped away the blood on my face. It took me some time, but I was finally able to see clearly.

“Okun!” I yelled. I recognized the imp. That was why the voice was so familiar. “Get okun!” I yelled frantically at it.

The imp frowned at us. I jumped to my feet and ran back to the hallway to retrieve the vial. I grabbed it, and the cork, and ran back to the room. I only had minutes before Sophila’s eye would lose functionality. I had to retrieve it.

When I returned to the room, the imp knelt by Sophila’s body with a bowl of okun. I grabbed the bowl, took it to the head, and rinsed out the vial.

“What are you doing Nebud?” Yakubo asked. I saw it coming towards me, and felt its presence when it knelt by me.

I pulled out one of my scales and scooped out Sophila’s center eye. I put that eye into the okun-filled vial. Then, I took a deep breath, corked the vial and placed it into my belt. The eye did not look any different. I could only hope that it was not dead. I scooped out the rest of the uspec’s outer eyes, and placed them in the bowl of okun.

I pushed that bowl over to Yakubo. “Our journey ends here, my friend.”

Yakubo looked at the bowl with the eyes in it, before looking at Sophila’s head, and then looking at me. “We killed Sophila.” It said, its voice filled with shock. Then a slow smile crept onto its face. “We killed Sophila!” it yelled. “We killed Sophila!” it cried.

“That is you!” The imp ran over to us. To our surprise, it pulled Yakubo into its arms and hugged it. Yakubo stared shocked at me, over the imp’s body. “I knew that you would come back for me Jacob. I knew it.”

“Take the imp, and the eyes, and go. Keep the eyes in the okun, the okun keeps the life in the eyes. You can also surround it with fog, any of the five souls of the spectrums really, but it must be immersed in it. Take the eyes you need and sell the rest, or sell them all. You will be wealthy either ways.” I placed my hand on Yakubo’s shoulder. “You saved my life Yakubo. I will never forget it. Take the imp, and the eyes, and run as far away from this burg as you can.”

“But the war?”

“The war need not be a concern of yours.”

Yakubo stared at the imp in its arms. To my surprise, it clasped its arms around it, pulling the imp closer to it.

“Go Yakubo.” I advised, as I rose to my feet. “Get as far away from this Acropolis as you can. The war will start here and spread to other parts of the port. The further away from here you are, the safer you will be.”

Yakubo nodded at me.

I reached into my belt and pulled out the pouch of worth which I had gotten from winning Maraci’s bout. I placed it into Yakubo’s hand and curled its fingers around it.

Yakubo gaped at the pouch. “This is too much!” It exclaimed.

“It will be enough for you to establish yourself elsewhere. Be safe my friend.”

“What about you? Will you not come with us? You and Musa, come with us, we can make a life for ourselves, together.” Yakubo pleaded.

I shook my head. “Where I must go, I go alone. Take care of yourselves.” I walked towards the curtains.

“The founder’s grace be with you my friend!” Yakubo’s yell caught me as I walked out through the curtains.

I turned back around and stopped just long enough to see the uspec and imp, entwined in each other’s embrace. I found the embrace peculiar, but I could not begrudge the uspec its happiness. I walked out then.

The key was still in the hands of one of the soldier’s who’d walked through the hard fog first. I pried that key from the uspec’s hand, and walked back out. I placed it into the fog, waited for the fog to soften, then I threw the key back into the suite, in case Yakubo decided to leave via the same route.

I found the hallway in front of the Kaiser’s suite empty.

With a single purpose in my mind, I marched through the Castle. I had to kill Sophian. It was the only way that I would make it out of the port alive. I did not know what would happen to Arexon, but at that point, I could not let myself focus on that. It was either Sophian died, or I would. It would find out that I had been responsible for its progenitor’s death and it would ensure that I could not leave the port.

I no longer had an imp that could take away my appearance and make it possible for me to leave the port undetected.

I stopped.

It felt strange to acknowledge that Musa was gone. Musa had left me. It was gone. I could no longer rely on it. It had gone in search of its young master, it had abandoned me.

My resolve strengthened. I had no way of hiding my appearance. I could only leave this port if Sophian was not alive to stop me.

Part 23
--------

As I walked through the hallways, I thought of the battle that awaited me. I made the walk from the Kaiser’s suite to the North wing of the Castle in a much saner state of mind than I had been when I ran to the Kaiser’s suite. I thought of Sophila. Easy pickings, I thought with relish. I admitted to myself, that I had not thought long on the ramifications of ending Sophila’s life as I had done. The body was exposed, the eyes taken. How long will it take before the alarm was sounded? If I was lucky, the soldiers who had left in search of Arexon had no other key to the Kaiser’s suite.

I felt as though my luck must have run out. Maybe killing Sophila as I had done had been foolish. I had not thought of what I would do after, of how I would leave the Castle, or the port. And after I killed Sophian? What next? I planned to be long gone from the port when the alarm was raised, but what form of exit was there? The hangar was filled with soldiers readying for war. There were all sorts of soldiers in their armor, standing in that room, wondering if this day would be their last. How would I sneak past them?

I did not know. I could not even tell what would happen once Sophian was dead. The young Sophi would become Kaiser. It had not even grown old enough to form its outer eye sockets, how would it lead an army against the plenum? Perhaps if Arexon was around, if Arexon could be called on for help. But, thanks to me, Arexon was at the scourge. Or worst. Arexon could be dead.

I tried not to think of that. I realized then, how optimistic I was being. Certainly, I would kill Sophian. I had to. If I did not kill Sophian, I was dead. But Sophian had the full range of spectra. What chance did I have against one with spectra who knew how to use it? Yakubo had saved me from the soldier’s fog, in the Kaiser’s suite. I recalled the loud bang I had heard. That was the sound that associated spectra duels, when one uspec created a soul and another destroyed it. There would be no bangs when I faced off against Sophian.

I could not fight the feeling that I was not prepared. I was not prepared to do battle against Sophian, and its spectra. Again, I had that nagging thought that I should not have killed Sophila. It had all been too easy. Once the opportunity presented itself, how was I to resist it? I knew what lust would do to the uspec, having felt it myself. I knew the level of deliriousness that would take over it. I knew that it would be most mindless right at the climax. When the climax came, I’d seized my opportunity.

Four gurus stood in front of the hard fogs which guarded the suites in the North wing. They saluted me once they saw me. I marched to a halt in front of them, saluted and then pulled my hand down to my side.

“In clover.” I ordered.

The soldiers’ hands came down. They kept their gazes fixed straight ahead, none of their eyes met mine.

“I have news for the imperial one.” I said. “Straight from the Kaiser.”

“The imperial one is not in its suite, sirga.” One of the guards replied. “It sent us here from its office. It said that it desired solitude.”

Sophian was alone? Perhaps there was a way for me to kill it after all. I made sure that my face did not reveal my feelings towards the news that had been relayed to me. I nodded at the soldiers, made my best military turn, and then marched off. Sophian’s office was in the South wing.

As I walked along the hallway between the gym and the visiting lodge, I thought of the scourging, and how much I wanted to make Sophian pay for the pain that it had inflicted on me. I thought of all the days that I had spent dreaming of how slowly I would kill Sophian, of how I would make it pay for all that it had done to me. I had the presence of mind now, to admit that those had been fits of fancy. Now that the time had come, I would be happy for a simple death. If I could throw my dagger at Sophian from across the room, and have that dagger kill Sophian cleanly, that would be pleasing. Now I knew that my desire to leave this port with my life, far outweighed my desire to see Sophian writhing in pain. I was beginning to realize just how strong my survival instincts were.

I saw the entrance to the library on my left and I walked past it, wondering what had become of Arexon. The library reminded me of how foolishly I had let my guard down, and allowed Sophi to use its pansophy on me. That pansophy was the reason that Arexon was now in grave danger. I knew that I could not leave this port without ensuring that Arexon was safe. I would be coming back to the gym then, back to the scourge. I would kill every soldier that stood in my way. I would repay the debt that I owed Arexon.

This decision buoyed my confidence. I had to live for Arexon. I had to kill Sophian to ensure that Arexon lived. Sophian’s death was now more than just the means of my escape, it was also the means of Arexon’s survival.

The hard fog that led into the south wing was accessible by all soldiers stationed in the Castle. There was an okun in the south wing. The south wing was also where the soldier’s quarters were located. Soldiers serving the entire day in the Castle could eat here.

Sophian’s office was the first room in the south wing. It was cordoned off by a set of thick curtains. I recalled those curtains from my first visit to this Castle. That had been the day that I had been scourged. The day that I met Arexon. Weeks had passed since then, and so much had happened in that time. I pushed through those curtains and walked into the anteroom.

It was empty.

Everything about this room felt familiar. I remembered waking up here and thinking that Manus had been behind my abduction. The conversation I’d overhead sitting here, came back to me then. It all echoed in my head, and I stood in that spot, taking it all in.

How to kill one with spectra?

Take it by surprise. That was the only way. Sophian would never let me get close enough to pool out my sword and cut off its head. It was not under the influence of lust as Sophila had been. I would have just one chance. The moment I pulled open the second set of curtains, the ones that led to Sophian’s office, I would have to take my chance.

Dagger throw.

That was the only thing I could think of. It would have no emotions for me to manipulate. If I meant to take it by surprise, I had to throw my dagger at its neck. I pulled out my dagger, grasped the hilt in my hand, and headed for the curtains. I was only a few steps away from it, when I backed away.

My heart pounded in my chest. I would have one chance. One chance to throw this dagger, one chance to hit Sophian. If I failed, I was dead. The only time my throw had missed its target was moments ago, when I was under the influence of lust. I suffered from no such weaknesses now. I could throw the dagger and make it hit its target. I knew that. So why did I hesitate?

I took a deep breath and made my way back towards the curtains. The ends of the curtains fell all the way to the ground, so there was no fear of my feet being seen from the other side. It had to be done. I pushed aside my fear and took the last few steps to the curtains. I recalled that Sophian’s desk was to the left of where I stood. So, I positioned myself with my body facing that direction. I listened for sounds of Sophian pacing. I heard nothing. If I was wrong, I would have to turn around. Hopefully, Sophian would be too surprised to prepare for the attack.

In one move, I yanked one set of the curtains open, and threw my dagger.

I acted on instinct. The dagger was out of my hand before my eyes registered the uspec sitting on the desk, and identified that uspec as Sophian. I realized that I would have thrown the dagger at an empty chair in my heightened emotional state. But the chair was not empty. Sophian sat in it.

And it was my best dagger throw.

Time seemed to slow as I watched the dagger circle in the air. It went towards Sophian’s neck, right as I’d aimed it to. There was no callousness in the circling of the dagger, only a beautiful fluid motion, as it spun. Sophian’s gaze was on the open tomes before it. Its right hand rested on the table, and its left held a pen. It scribbled onto a sheet of paper, its focus completely on the task in front of it. It did not register my dagger until it was too late.

Sophian’s attention did not move to the dagger until the dagger was right in front of it. At that point, the uspec was already dead. The thrill of victory surged in me. I had killed them. I had killed my enemies, and it had been easy. I was victorious. I won against the line of the Kaisers of Chiboga.

The dagger stopped.

But there was no blood.

No loud thud followed. Sophian’s body did not fall onto the desk. It took me a while to realize that Sophian’s right hand was no longer on the desk. My eyes seemed to be unable to focus on Sophian’s fingers pinching the sharp end of my dagger.

No. I took a step back.

Sophian had caught the dagger. It had caught the dagger with its fingers. I had never seen skill like that. Never. How was such a thing possible?

Red fog encircled me before I could retreat.

I knew that I was dead as soon as the fog surrounded me.

“Come in chief.” Sophian ordered.

I had no choice. The fog began to move, and if I did not follow, it would move through me, taking my life with it. I do not know why I walked in. It was obvious that Sophian meant to kill me, so why did I give it the satisfaction of doing so at its own pace? Why did I not just let the fog pass through me and take my life with it?

I walked into the office and stopped when the fog stopped moving. It remained around me, a translucent barrier reminding me that I was dead.

“I am disappointed in you.” Sophian deadpanned. “We could have done great things together.”

It released the dagger, letting it fall onto its table. Something about the clanging of the metal against the hard surface appeared ominous.

“I do not lie chief.” Sophian stated. “And so,” it pushed its chair backwards and rose to its feet, “I will tell you this, you will die. You will not die soon, you will die now. Have you ever heard of fog poisoning?”

I nodded.

“Good. I could tell the fog to drift into your toe and poison you. If I do that, it will start by taking the life away from your toes, and then move to your legs, and then up your body, until finally, you are dead. I have heard that it is absolutely the worst way to die, because once the fog enters you, there is no remedy, no cure, and it takes its time working over you. It is excruciatingly painful. I could do that. Or I could tell the fog to kill you quickly. You’d be dead in under a second. No pain. Which would you prefer?”

I did not respond.

Sophian stood in front of me with its hands crossed behind its back. “Arexon took a special interest in you. I want to know why. I want to know why Arexon pleaded for your life, and why it delayed its stay in Aurelion to give you time to heal. Tell me why, and I will kill you quickly. Tell my why and tell me now. I will only ask once.”

I had read of fog poisoning. Scholars did agree that it was the worst way to die. There were remedies to other things which killed quickly, and if there were not, then there were ways to take away the pain. Not with fog. Once the fog entered your system, no form of magic worked on you. Neither emotions nor pansophy could be used to ease your pain. To those forms of magic, the fog in your body meant that there was already no life in you. It was a terrible death. It was the kind of death that I wished on Sophian. How ironic.

I kept quiet.

“So be it.” Sophian said.

It turned around and walked back to its chair. It had dismissed me from its mind. I only had to look at the fog to see why. A string of fog drifted towards me, making its way towards my big toe.

As the fog approached, I thought of all that would die without me. I thought of Musa and the heir to Lahooni it searched for. That search would prove futile. Perhaps it would learn years later that it was I, Nebud, who was the young master it sought. When it learnt that, would it also learn that I had been killed by Sophian? How would Musa take that news. It would never forgive itself for leaving me. I knew that. Why did I find no comfort in that? Even though the imp had abandoned me, I could not wish it ill. I could not wish for it to spend the rest of its eternal life with that guilt. I thought of Fajahromo. I would never kill that uspec, never get to bask in the joy of seeing the life draining from it. Perhaps Arexon was right all along, I was a fool. I’d been a fool to think that I could win, that a de trop irira from the slums could defeat a Chiboga imperial.

There are moments in your life which you know you will never forget, a thing that a person says, the smell of a place, the taste of a meal. For me, it would be the sound of a bang. The bang was so loud that I thought it would make me deaf. It was made even more conspicuous by the silence that followed it.

The fog was gone. Someone had removed it.

Sophian turned back around. It was standing by the side of its desk when it turned around and gaped at me. Again, I noticed the display of emotion on the uspec’s face. It looked frantically around the room, searching, I assumed, for my savior.

I searched for the same thing.

My eyes missed it at first.

I caught a flash of green as I glanced around the room. Then my brain made sense of this information and directed my eyes back towards the opposite side of the desk, across from where Sophian stood.

Arexon appeared.

Sophian’s eyes widened. It took a step back, and then another.
Had it been standing there the whole time? I wondered. I thought of the lie that I had made up to get the uspecs to leave their post in front of the Kaiser’s suite. Perhaps my lie had not been a lie after all. That was why the soldiers had not returned to their post by the time I left the suite. They had truly been searching for Arexon.

Sophian frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I have pansophy Sophian.” Arexon stated, drily, “do you really think that those soldiers could restrain me, even if they wanted to?”

“Traitor!” Sophian screamed.

Arexon shook its head. “I have never betrayed you Sophian, and I never will. Is it so hard to believe that I can be as true to my word as you are to yours?”

Sophian’s jaw clenched. Large globs of hail appeared in the air. Those pellets surrounded Arexon. I knew what Sophian meant to do, and whatever hope I’d had died in the face of Sophian’s spectra. Sophian had the full range of spectra while Arexon only had four outer eyes. It did not have the mejo eye or the hooni eye, which meant that it could use neither form of magic. The hail was a mejo magic. I had seen Marcinus burn a hovel down with that hail. Sophian could just as easily create an inferno and burn Arexon with it.

“Does my life truly hold so little value to you Sophian?”

“You are a serf!” Sophian spat out. “A traitorous serf. Your life holds no value to me.”

Arexon sighed. Another loud bang filled the room.

The hail went away.

I smiled.

Sophian gasped.

Arexon’s empty outer eye sockets changed appearance, revealing that there were actually eyes in those sockets. Arexon had the full range of spectra too! It had hidden the extent of its spectra, just as it had hidden its pansophy.

“What do you hope to achieve Arexon? You are already dead. My progenitor will kill you if anything happens to me.”

“Sophila is dead.” I stated.

Both Sophian and Arexon turned shocked faces to me.

“Liar!” Sophian screamed.

“I beheaded it while it was enjoying a lust climax. I have its center eye to prove it.”

Another fog appeared around me. Again, a bang sounded, and the fog was destroyed.

Sophian turned to Arexon. “Where is your gratitude? My progenitor kept you alive. We gave you command of our army. We made you something.”

“I was born an imperial Sophian, just as you were. You made me nothing but a serf.” Arexon replied.

Sophian sighed. “Very well, I will free you. I will replace the silver on your arms with gold. I will return Aboga to you. It will no longer be a forgotten kingdom annexed to Chiboga, it will be its own port, and you will be its Kaiser. We will be allies. You have my word.”

“You wanted to know why I fought for Nebud. Do you still want to know?” Arexon stated.

“It killed my progenitor…”

“Nebud, just like us, was born an imperial. Nebud is Calami’s offspring. The true heir to Lahooni.”

Sophian’s eyes widened. “You have been plotting against me from the start!” it yelled. Quicksand appeared underneath Sophian. A bang sounded and that quicksand disappeared before Sophian could teleport with it.

Sophian pulled out its sword and ran towards Arexon. Arexon pulled its sword out of its sheath. It deflected Sophian’s blows with an ease which made the fight border on hilarity. Arexon knocked Sophian’s sword out of its hand, and pierced its cutlass through Sophian’s neck. It pulled its bloodstained cutlass out from Sophian’s neck and watched as the uspec fell to the ground.

Sophian bled out.

The fight completed, Arexon returned its cutlass to its sheath, and walked over to the desk. I watched pensively, as the uspec picked up my dagger and brought it towards me. It held the hilt of the dagger, with the sharp end pointing out. For a second, as it approached me, its face an emotionless mask which bore a sickening resemblance to the uspec it had just slain, I feared that it meant to kill me.

Then it stopped in front of me and placed the dagger into the sheath in my belt.

“Gratitude sirga.” I said, after moments passed, and there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence filling the room.

Arexon’s gaze rose from the floor to my face. It still appeared emotionless. “You were right, Sophian was no friend of mine. Is Sophila truly dead?”

“Yes sirga.”

Arexon nodded. “Then you have what you came here for.” It stated flatly.

I wished for Arexon’s pain then. I wished that it did not have the emotion blockers to keep its pain hidden from me. If I could, I would have taken the pain away. Sophian did not deserve to be mourned by one as great as Arexon.

“Forgive me.” I said, “I did not mean to reveal your secret.”

Arexon was silent for a while. Its gaze was set on me, but I could tell that it was not really seeing me. “I know.” It replied. “Return to your suite Nebud. I will see you before you attempt to leave this port.”

Arexon’s gaze fixed on me. It was waiting for my response. Its last words were an order then. I nodded. “Yes sirga.”

It nodded.

Quicksand appeared underneath me. It sucked me in, teleporting me from the castle, to my empty suite in the civilian’s camp.

Musa was gone, and Arexon did not want me leaving just yet. I found that I had enough respect for the uspec to heed its order. I would not leave until it allowed me to. It was the least I could do for one who had done so much for me. I had wanted Sophila and Sophian dead. Now they were. Why did I not feel the thrill of victory which I expected to?

I pulled out the vial and reached for Sophila’s eye.

hands down this is the best update I've read so far.its twists and intrigue kept me glued to it, this update contained all I look out for in a story it's so facinating
You'll go places obehiD with your superior writing skills .
Waiting patiently for Wednesday

wow.. I like where this is going

Now am happy.. ObehiD, thanks for the wonderful update

obehi d this is beautiful, I'm already addicted. thanks for writing.

Wow, wat a long update, so musa has left without looking back, tot he would b d one to save nehbud. Thanks for this beautiful update, I know u r going places with this book.

obehiD:


@maynation you're even inviting outside people to vote, chai, thank you oh!

Lol. Anything to bring this home





Thanks for the long long long update.
Please come and marry my Dad

Oh my, Obehid. You are a wonder. This is so beautiful, and the suspensive mode really set my heart beating. Which is well, amazing.

@Obehid
I am actually a very lazy reader.
26 pages and counting, where would I start from?

Beautiful read.
Thanks obehid. You made me happy with this very long update.

Anybody who has been following this novella from the start would know that this is the best update ever.. Lengthy and satisfying... Gracias obehid... By the by I've voted for you...See u on Wednesday with something very intriguing perhaps a reunion with Musa..

obehiD:



@Fazemood You know I love the straightforwardness, I like hearing your true feelings about the story, good and bad. What made me sad was the thought that you were leaving because the story stopped holding interest for you. I'm very happy to hear that that is not the case! I'm happy you vented. I think my protagonists are actually the weakest characters in my stories, that's one of my shortcomings, and that's something I have to work on. Like Osezele, for example, from the feedback I got, a lot of people didn't like her in the first two books, they only started to in the In-between. So, anyway, I'm happy that you've pointed out Nebud's shortcomings. I definitely don't want to push people away by having a weak central character. That being said, there is more to Nebud than meets the eye. I'd forgotten that before, but I'm starting to remember. I hope soon enough I'll be able to show it, better. Thank you for sticking around, I appreciate it! In fact, I'm thinking that I'm going to need a new character in the future, this character just occurred to me so it's still going to be a looong time before it appears, but it's a character that will be around for a while and (spoiler alert) will make an appearance in the next marked book I'm going to write (the Reckoning). Anyway, as a thank you to you, for you steady following, I have decided to name that character after you, so that you will be part of the marked series (wherever it goes, and I hope it goes far). Thank you!!!

A character having my name? Wow I am honoured. in as much as my name sounds off and funny, I am happy anyways. Thanks dear