The war seemed to have come to an end. Most parts of the Crimson land was desolate, devoid of life. The powerful ones who had gone to fight Ochieng' and his companions ended up dying miserably. So long as Ochieng' was around, his gifted companions became nemesis of the Black Fiends.
"Huuh." Ratong' exhaled before asking worriedly, "We have finished them off, but where is Ochieng'?"
Too engrossed in the battle, most of them did not see Ochieng' disappear. It was at this moment did they realised that he was not with then and they all began to worry.
Puh!
They were looking around to see any traces of the young man when the sound of someone spurting something came from a certain point of the battlefield. Turning towards that direction, they saw blood flowing from Kuru Kureri's mouth. His eyes were already red and bulges of veins filled his entire face.
"You all should not worry about me. This is a time I knew would come sooner or later, let us meet in the land our ancestors are found." With a forced smile, he said.
"Kuru!" Okeyo called out, running towards his friend. The old man fell on his arms as he wrestled with death.
"You cannot die here brother, stay strong." Okeyo cried.
"Worry not Okeyo. Living for all that time has given me a taste of all things this world can give. We do not know where Ochieng' will go to after this, just protect Keniya with your powers. It's the least I can ask of you."
"But Kuru..."
Okeyo wanted to say something but before he did, he saw his friend tilting his neck to the side and losing his soul. He had died. The air was filled with sadness thereafter for some time as tears flowed from everyone's eyes.
"He must have used too much of his strength. He served mankind well, after we find Ochieng', we'll take him to the Halls of Righteousness so that he is given a proper burial, after all, he was an Ordainer at some point." Wiping off his tears, Okeyo said.
The others agreed with him. They also agreed that they would take the lions tribe head and Mang'weya to their homeland and give them a proper burial.
"I feel that he is in that direction." Ratong' lifted its left wing to point towards a certain direction once the sad atmosphere was alleviated.
Carrying the three bodies magically, Okeyo alongside the others walked towards Ochieng's direction.
Apeleka was ahead of everyone. If there was anything she needed right now, it was the embrace of that young man. This was especially after she almost died a few moments ago. The place was not far from where they were. As soon as she arrived, she saw her man kneeling on the ground with his head lifted and his eyes looking intently at the sky. Five bodies were surrounding him and they were glowing beautifully.
There was a peculiar thing happening though. White energy resembling water vapour came from the five men and headed towards Ochieng'. As that happened, the bodies lost their glow and they were becoming brown in color. This continued until the bodies turned to dust. By this time, all the six humans and four beasts were standing nearby. However, none of them got closer to Ochieng' for fear of the unknown.
Boom!
There was a booming sound before Ochieng' was completely surrounded by a mysterious shell that had the seven colors of the rainbow. It shook like a heartbeat. Soon, the shell broke and out of it came Ochieng'. Their was nothing different from him if one looked but in real sense, he had gained all the powers of the Inscrutable Horse. He turned towards his companions but before he said anything, a thunderous voice filled the air.
"You came to the world I built with my own hands, destroyed my people and even killed my most beloved friends. I cannot come to this land but trust me, you are not going to live to see the sunset."
"It's too early to talk about my death. Let's have a dwell first." Ochieng' scoffed.
The others were still trying hard to comprehend what was happening when white wings appeared on Ochieng's back. He stomped his feet on the ground before he floated in the air.
"Let me end this once and for all. We are going to see each other when it is over." Ochieng' nodded to his people before he ascended towards the sky at a speed so fast that his companions failed to catch his movements.
...
After Ochieng' pierced through the heavens, he found himself hovering over a beautiful palace hidden within green vegetation. Servants walked from here to there with serious faces with large paces. Some were seated holding their chins as if something serious had happened.
"The seven companions of our master went to the lower realms only to be killed. Master has been angered by this and he is destroying everything in the palace. How can we stop him?"
Ochieng' was wondering how to start when he heard a hoarse voice coming from a certain direction. Turning his head towards over, he saw two men standing across each other. One was old while the other seemed to be in his fifties. The way they dressed and the aura they exuded just showed that they were men of higher positions in this place.
"He is here. That idiot is here!"
Ochieng' was still making plans on what to do next when he heard a familiar voice coming from the depths of the palace.