Chapter 17

Ibaeran now stood in front of the warrior from the west who was now severely injured and covered in bandages at the arena gates as he was about to leave before he did, she wanted talk to him and apologize for being the cause of his many injuries.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean…” Ibaeran sentence was cut short by the warrior saying, “If fire does not say sorry after burning then why should a warrior say sorry after fighting”.

The warrior then placed his hand on Ibaeran’s neck where the mark of the Su Baera was.

“It was an honor fighting you Su Baera, I’m sure you will be the one to free us all from the Uha Tamunarans,” said the warrior.

Ibaeran did not know what to say upon hearing what the warrior said so she stood there in silence.

A group of Uha Tamunarans then came to take the warrior back to the Nation of the West.

“It’s time for me to leave” said the warrior with a smile on his face.

“I may have not won and kept the promise I made but at least now I can rest in peace knowing that the next Su Baera has been found and she is as good of a warrior as she is beautiful” said the warrior as smiled at Ibaeran once more before leaving with the Uha Tamunarans.

After the warrior left another group of Uha Tamunarans made their way to Ibaeran.

The Uha Tamunarans that approached Ibaeran were none other than the king and his royal guards.

Ibaeran upon seeing the king could not help but feel intimidated and afraid at the same.

Ibaeran knew that even if half of the stories she heard about the king was true then he had the power to turn her dust right where she stood with nothing than a mere thought, such power would make any warrior shake and crumble down with fear even an Uha Tamunaran.

The king walked with footsteps that made the ground shake with each step taken which he made Ibaeran felt even more afraid as he approached her.

“What is your name girl?” asked the king with a stern and restrict voice.

“I-Ibaeran” Ibaeran hesitate to speak as her fear made her mouth shake and hard to control.

“Hmm” said the king as he began to examine with his eye.

Ibaeran didn’t look like much to the king in fact she looked lesser than the other warriors that fought in the tournament before her with no features of her standing out to make her seem like a strong warrior.

The king upon examine could not find any trace of her being a warrior through her physical appears, she seemed like an ordinary girl to his naked eyes and he would be convinced she was if he had not witness her defeat the best warriors from the Nations of west, east and north including an Uha Tamunaran.

She may not look like it but the king was able recognize her strength as a true warrior.

The king then noticed the mark on Ibaeran’s neck and then smiled.

“Finally, after searching for, you for all these I finally found you Su Baera,” said the king.

Ibaeran could not help but feel uneasy by the way the king spoke to her.

The king then turned to his royal guards and said, “Ready my private sky ship, I and this Ibaeran will leave at once to retrieve the wings of the Su Baera”.

The guards nodded their heads before leaving to prepare the ship for the king and Ibaeran.

Ibaeran just stood there a bit shocked and confused wondering why the king would want to come with her himself to retrieve the wings.

“Come girl,” said the king.

Ibaeran did not wish to respect the king by refusing to follow him and so she did even though it made her feel incredibly uneasy and uncomfortable by it.

The king took her to his private sky ship which was far big than other sky ships and made of gold.

It truly was a sight to behold as its size alone was similar to that of a small city.

Ibaeran was astonished and amazed beyond belief upon seeing the gigantic flying beast that was the king’s private sky ship.

The king then entered the sky ship with Ibaeran following from behind.

Ibaeran was shocked to see the inside was the ship appeared to be much0 larger than the outside with thousands of doors that led to a different room in the ship.

The ship had everything from a full stock kitchen where the finest of the Uha Tamunaran cooks were busy makes meals so sweet and delicious that the aroma from the made Ibaeran’s stomach growl and her fill with saliva, rooms were the various staffs liked the guards, maids and cooks who worked in the ship sleep in, different bedrooms which was meant for anyone who accompanied the king on his sky ship and finally the king’s room which was by far the most magnificent and elegant than any other room in the ship with a door made of solid gold and encrusted with diamonds and different kinds of crystal.

One of the most incredible things Ibaeran noticed about the ship was that it was not powered by any slave but rather a strange engine which was far too complete for Ibaeran or any other person apart from the Uha Tamunarans that built it to understand how it works

The king gave Ibaeran one of the rooms in the ship so she could rest, telling her she is going to need all the strength she could muster if she was to calm the steel wings of the Su Baera.

The king also called an Uha Tamunaran what possessed the ability to heal to heal Ibaeran of all her wounds.

Ibaeran was shocked and confused, wondering why he so was concerned about her, he even told all the staff he had on the ship to attended to her, giving her whatever she may need.

Ibaeran felt strange, she had spent her whole life fearing the Uha Tamunarans and now for some strange reason the king of the Uha Tamunarans had order his Uha Tamunaran workers to attend to her like she was the master and they were her slaves.

Ibaeran still couldn’t believe it, she spoke to the Uha Tamunarans in the ship and they bowed down their heads and spoke to her with humility and humble voices which contrasted the harsh and rude way they spoke to her and the other humans normally.

Soon night came and Ibaeran found herself, unable to sleep.

The idea of Uha Tamunarans obeying her and the king showing so much concern for her made her feel uneasy.

The king was an Uha Tamunaran other Uha Tamunaran’s feared, with power that could not be matched by any other Uha Tamunaran in the land, he was the king of the monsters known as the Uha Tamunarans so why would he show so much concern towards her.

Ibaeran’s head filled with all kind of thoughts as she wondered why the king was treating her so well.

Her thoughts prevented her from sleeping and soon she found herself roaming the empty halls in the ship.

All the Uha Tamunarans that worked on the ship were fast asleep so the halls were empty and filled with nothing but silence.

The silence filled Ibaeran’s mind with worry and fearful thoughts about the king and what he might planning to do with her.

She continued to roam the halls thinking about the king and what he was planning when she made her way to the balcony.

Once there she saw the king who stood at the balcony’s edge looking like he was lost in deep thought.

Ibaeran upon seeing him felt her entire body fill up with fear as her heart raced fast, beating faster than it had ever beaten before.

Ibaeran was about to leave, fearing what the king might do if he sees her but before she could turn around and walk away the king said, “I know you are here girl, I can smell you and hear your heart racing from inside your chest”.

Ibaeran stood there in shock upon hearing what the king said.

The king did not even need to turn around to look at her to know she was standing right behind him.

“Heightened senses, a power I acquired over the years,” said the king.

Ibaeran just stood there not knowing what to do and unable to stop herself from shivering and shaking with fear.

“Come girl, stand next me,’ said the king.

Ibaeran, even though she felt a great deal of fear towards the king agreed to go and stand next to him in balcony.

“The sky is beautiful tonight don’t you think” said the king as he gazed up in the night sky.

Ibaeran could not help but wonder what was going on in the mind of the king; the way he spoke to her and approached her was not at all how she thought the king of the Uha Tamunarans would treat someone like her.

The king was feared by all, human and Uha Tamunarans alike and at very moment he was speaking to Ibaeran casual way, almost as though they were equals.

Ibaeran did not understand why the king was treating her in such a manner and she could not stop herself from wondering why.

“You are probably wondering why I’m treating you this way, treating you with respect when I am the king of the Uha Tamunarans, the very thing you and your people kind fears the most,” said the king.

Ibaeran then looked at him and wondered if he was some kind of mind reader as he just guessed the exact thing that was bothering her.

“I’m not a fool, girl; I know you and your kind fear me the most out of all the Uha Tamunarans. It’s actually quite adorable how you tried to hide your fear from me” said the king before chuckling a little.

“You knew I was afraid of you” said Ibaeran, a bit shocked to hear that the king knew along that she was scared of him.

“Please, I could smell your fear a mile away and the fact that you tried to hide it just increased the odor of your fear,” said the king.

Ibaeran stood still for a few moments and just watched the king; he looked happy and delighted with the fact that she was scared of him.

The fact that the king of the Uha Tamunarans derived some kind of sick pleasure from her fear made her feel sick inside her stomach but it also made her fear him even more.

“What do you want from me?” asked Ibaeran with fear in her eyes, seeing no point in hiding it if already he knew she was scared of him.

“With you, nothing but with the power you will soon possess, oh I have a few plans. I have been waiting for years for the next Su Baera to be found so I can use him or in this case her to retrieve the Dumo Stone and claim the ultimate power,” said the king.

“Ultimate power?” said Ibaeran confused, unable to understand what the king was referring to as the ultimate power.

The king just smiled at her upon seeing the confused look on her face.

“Don’t think too much of it, girl. When tomorrow comes you will be taken to the steel wings of the Su Baera and once you claim the power of the Su Baera you will be able to bring the Dumo stone to me and free all your people in the process” said the king with a sinister on his face which sent chills down Ibaeran’s spine as she looked at him.

“You should go back to your room and rest girl, tomorrow is a big day, not just for you but for your people. You’ll need all the strength you can mutter,” said the king

“Yes” was all Ibaeran could say while her entire body shuck uncontrollably out of fear of the king before she left.

Once Ibaeran was gone the king closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and once he let go, he sensed a familiar presence standing behind him.

“Niyanlafu, it’s been a very long time since we’ve spoke old friend” said the king without even turning his back to see who stood behind him.

The person standing behind the king was none other than the monster that warned the governor of the south about Ibaeran and the threat she would pose if she became the Su Baera.

The monster stood behind the king in his human like form.

“Hello Datubo” greeted the monster to the king.

“Why are you here?” asked the king.

“To warn you about the Su Baera,” said the monster.

“Hmm, do you mean the girl” asked the king.

“Yes” said the monster.

The king just smiled before saying, “don’t worry old friend, I crushed the Su Baera that came before her and I plan on doing the same to the next after she helps me achieve my goals”.

“You still haven’t changed Datubo, even after acquiring so much power you still seek more,” said the monster.

“Have you forgotten the first lesson you taught me, there is no such thing as too much power” said Datubo.

“Yes, but I also taught you power is an overwhelming thing to control, if you are not strong enough to control it, it will…” the monster was silenced by Datubo grabbing by his neck.

Datubo then rose up his other arm and crushed it in to a tight fist which glowed violet as it filled up with his raw power.

“I have reduced entire armies to dust with a single blow; my power is so great that my fellow Uha Tamunaran fear me. I and I alone rule supreme as king of the Uha Tamunarans, no one dares to stand against me and no one ever will and I can handle any and every kind of power,” said the king.

“The power you possess is now clouding you mind and filling it with pride, the most dangerous quality as man can possess” said the monster before he a wave of dark energy flowed out of his body and hit the king, causing the king to let go of the monster.

Then darkness sipped out of the monster’s body and wrapped itself around the king, holding him in place.

The king struggled, summoning all the strength and power he could mutter but it was no use as the darkness that held on him was too strong for him and his power.

“Look at you Datubo, because of the little power you’ve gained over the years you think you are invincible but you are far weaker than you realize,” said the monster.

“Let me go Niyanlafu, I am king of the Uha Tamunarans and you will not disrespect me like this,” said the king.

“You may be king of the Uha Tamunaran but you do not rule over me, I serve a being form more powerful than you and every single Uha Tamunaran you rule over. The queen of chaos is my master, she rules over the realm of disorder and chaos, the source of all chaos. The combined power of you and the Uha Tamunarans you rule over is nothing more than a small speck of dust when compared to the vast infinite power she possesses. And I as her servant possess power that greatly surpass your own” said the monster before he snapped his fingers and then wave of pain flowed through the king’s body causing him to scream and shout out in tremendous pain.

“I could kill you know, right here, right now but…” said the monster before snapping his finger and free the king from the pain he inflicted upon him.

“I didn’t come here for that,” said monster.

The darkness then retreated back in to the monster’s body, freeing the king.

“I came here to warn you about the girl, she is more dangerous than you realize,” said the monster.

“How so?” asked the king.

“My master informs me that if that girl is given the chance, she would be able to surpass the power and strength of the Su Baeras that came before her, growing beyond even you in both power and strength,” said the monster.

The king’s eyes widened with shock and a little bit of fear upon hearing what the monster said.

The monster upon seeing the worry and fear filled look the king’s face smiled.

“You are right to worry, that girl has the potential to destroy everything you worked so hard to build. I suggest you take immediate action,” said the monster.

“No, you’re lying” said the king, refusing to believe that something as significant, weak and pathetic as girl from one of the four nations of man could grow to be more powerful than him.

“And why would I lie to you” asked the monster.

“Because you know what I’m planning and the power I would acquire if I am successful. You know the power would greatly surpass you and your master, that’s why you are here, to try and stop me from acquiring the ultimate power,” said the king.

The monster just closed his eyes and nodded his head in disappointed.

“Oh Datubo, how the mighty have fallen, I am disappointed to have once been your teacher, I revealed to you, the secrets to acquiring great power and now that you have the power you made the one mistake, I warned you not to make, you let the power control you,” said the monster.

Then a cloud of darkness appeared around the monster, slowly consuming him but before the darkness could fully engulf the monster within itself the monster opened its mouth to say one last thing to the king, “great pride always comes before a great fall”.

The monster with those words said then disappeared in the darkness that consumed him.

The darkness blew away as the cold night air blew and the monster was nowhere to be seen.

The king sighed deeply with the monster’s final words still echoing in his heart, “Pride always comes before a great fall”.