Ahmed: What is this? Am I inside the conscience of darkness? Am I dead? Oh no, I can't move my body, and what about this terrible pain? I feel like my body has been torn to pieces.
"Suddenly, he began to hear Osama's voice: Wake up, wake up!"
Ahmed: Oh, what is this warm feeling? He opened his eyes and saw Osama treating him.
Osama: You finally woke up.
Ahmed: What happened? Why are we in this dreadful room?
Osama: After you protected me and the black wave disappeared, you fell face down and half the army didn't die. Badir came, carried me and you quickly, and we hid in this building until you recover and regain your strength to escape.
Ahmed: Where is Badir?
Osama: He's in the hallway guarding us.
Ahmed: He never slacks off.
"The sound of fingers snapping" and a person appeared from nowhere, wearing a black crow mask, dressed in a formal suit with a classic round watch and huge black wings.
He started clapping: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Allow me to introduce myself; I am the Plague Leader. "He pulled out a book from his coat."
Plague Leader: Let me see this year's group; they seem promising. Let's see, hmm... He began flipping through the book. The Plague Leader continued, aha, I found it! The highest raid by knights on my village; they managed to kill 10 of my soldiers. Congratulations, you have broken the record by a large margin. I haven't seen people with your strength in a while. I'm sorry, but I will kill all of you here.
"Osama quickly pulled out his sword, but the Plague Leader easily parried it with just his wing."
"Badir came rushing from the hallway and struck the Plague Leader, but he disappeared and turned into black feathers, appearing elsewhere."
Plague Leader: Nice, the attacking type and the defending type. How delightful. I haven't had a worthy opponent to fight in a long time. It's a wonderful evening.
"Osama and Badir started attacking him frantically, but to no avail; everything they struck turned into feathers and he appeared in a different location."
Ahmed thought: I have no strength left, and I can't borrow any powers. All I have left is an attack with 8% power. If I don't use it wisely, everything will end. The Blue Dragon hasn't spoken to me in three years. What should I do?
"At that moment, Badir released the black fog to create a chance to escape."
Ahmed thought: Wait, Badir and Osama are using the properties of their dragons. The Fog Dragon and the Gold Dragon, while I'm using the aura of my blue dragon without any special traits—just an aura like the aura of the White Dragon for the knights.
"And Ahmed heard a voice in his head, entering his conscious mind, and the Blue Dragon appeared before Ahmed again."
Ahmed: Listen, I need to use your properties.
Blue Dragon: Looking at Ahmed with contempt: You know you took my sword without my permission, and who are you to ask for my help?
Ahmed: I will do anything you want. I can't evolve without the properties of the dragon.
Blue Dragon: Hmm. I don't like defective chess pieces, but there will be one condition, just like in cliché fairy tales. It's a contract about something; whenever I ask you for it, you will fulfill it.
Ahmed: You know I have no choice but to agree.
Blue Dragon: Oh, you didn't hesitate for a second. "The Blue Dragon breathed dark blue flames onto Ahmed."
Ahmed: What is this?
Blue Dragon: This is my blue flame ability. Gather your blue aura and feel it like it's a burning fire. You always used a pale cold fire. Ignite the flames, imagine the dark blue aura as my fire. Feel its heat, and let it invade your entire body.
"And Ahmed awakened."
"Ahmed gathered all the aura with the sword and used the remaining 8% with the sword, heading towards the Plague Leader."
Plague Leader: Oh, an eager young man. He's the weakest of them.
"Ahmed charged, and his sword ignited in a dark blue hue."
Ahmed: blue flame !
"But Ahmed's strength gave out before he could strike and he fell face down, unconscious."
Plague Leader: Ha ha ha, I expected something more entertaining than this.
"And there was one final blue spark falling from Ahmed's sword that landed on the Plague Leader's wing. It reacted powerfully and ignited, and blue flames began to engulf the Plague Leader."
Plague Leader: How splendid you are, but unfortunately, I am resistant to fire, and the sword can disassemble and reassemble my body whenever I wish.
The Plague Leader felt a strange sensation, began to scream, writhe, and say: It hurts! Just like that, it's the same fire. What is this? It's the same pain. Who are you, damn you?
"And the Plague Leader disappeared, and suddenly his army came pouring in through the door in hordes."
"Osama began to break the back wall with his sword…"
Osama: Badir, take Ahmed and escape. I'll hold them off for a bit, and I'll catch up with you.
"The soldiers gathered at the door, and Osama held his sword with both hands to prevent them from entering."
"And Badir took Ahmed and rushed out, and when he emerged, he was shocked by the sight. All the soldiers who had entered the city were killed and torn to pieces. Osama came rushing."
Osama: This is not the time for shock; don't stop. Run! The whole army is behind us.
"And Osama ran, seeing Badir behind him."
Osama: What's wrong with you?
Badir: He's heavy; I can't escape quickly while carrying him. Oh, Osama, take him! I'll hold them off for a bit.
"Badir stood alone in front of this huge army…"
Badir: Come to me! Whoever wants to die, come face me.
The entire army stopped, and the Plague Leader's deputy appeared, known even among knights as the Bone Butcher. He stood 30 meters tall, had a massive build, and wielded a huge cleaver in his hands, known for his strength, akin to a rank of Monster Leader.
Badir: I have no choice but to use fast attacks. He's probably extremely strong, but I can outpace him.
"And Badir advanced, managing to dodge his strikes with speed, but in return, Badir's attacks didn't even cause a scratch."
Badir: I have to find a gap.
"And the cleaver came down heavily from above, but Badir dodged it and jumped to the height of the Butcher's face."
Badir: I found it! It's your eye! "The Black Blade!"
"But the Bone Butcher raised his hand and received the strike with his hand. Badir looked down and saw the axe lying on the ground."
Badir: Damn it. His other hand was meant to attack from the beginning; he knows I can't dodge it while in the air.
"And the Butcher slapped Badir with his massive hands and threw him away."
Badir: Lying in an alley: Damn it. Why am I doing all this? Wait, it seems I'm starting to take on Ziyad's traits.
"And a person crawled out from the shadows, dragging himself and walking on his feet, holding his belly."
Badir: You are the commander of the soldiers.
Commander: No time to talk, run. My injuries are severe; I will inevitably die. I will use every last ounce of my energy so you can escape.
"Badir stood on his feet."
Badir: This is impossible!
"And the Commander pushed Badir away, and he fell to the ground."
Commander: Look at yourself; you can't even stand against a man on the brink of death. Now go. And there's one more thing. I have a wife who is the most beautiful in the world. Please, tell the king about her so that the kingdom will take care of her after my death.
Badir: You have my word.
"The Commander stood before the Butcher, holding a broken sword, unleashed everything he had, and held out for half a minute before losing his life."
"Badir fled and reached Osama and Ahmed. They mounted horses and escaped, reaching the nearest village. They laid Ahmed beside them and Osama and Badir collapsed next to Ahmed."
After several hours, everyone awakened…
Osama: What should we do now? How can we liberate the village?
Badir: I think we could enlist one of the generals or leaders.
Ahmed: We can't fight; conflict is raging across the continent. There's no one to help us.
Osama: What about Ziyad and Fakhr? Maybe they're close by?
Badir: We can't rely on luck!
Ahmed: We need to devise a solid plan.
"The sound of fingers snapping."
"The Plague Leader appeared again, raising his hands to the sky."
Plague Leader: Surprise!
"He grabbed the three of their sword sheaths in preparation for battle."
Plague Leader: Wait, wait, I didn't come here to fight. I could have killed you easily back there. That was my intention until I saw that fire.
Ahmed: What exactly do you mean?
Plague Leader: As you know, I'm the strongest among the leaders, and my power wrestled with the power of one of the four generals. But I didn't want to become a general; all I was interested in was uncovering the secrets of this world.
Badir: Watch out Ahmed, he's trying to lure us with this talk!
Plague Leader: Hold on, what's in it for me? It's just that things are becoming more enjoyable, and I want to see where this will lead. This world holds many secrets that you still don't know about, youngsters. Monsters, humans, dragons, and the ongoing war; do you think it's all just coincidence?
Osama: Then explain to us what's going on.
Plague Leader: I have opened my mouth too much. Some things might be against you when you know them. You must discover things for yourselves to deserve this knowledge. But I will assist you with one thing, if you want to start your journey, go to the Circus of the Seven Jesters. That is the first piece of this puzzle...
(And then the Plague Leader disappeared.)
Ahmed: We need to change our plans; we will leave the plague village, we have no power there, and we will go to search for the Circus of the Jesters.
Badir: In any case, we couldn't have restored the village, let's go.
News spread everywhere; the plague city restoration had failed. All the battalion, even those who had fled at the beginning, were killed. The death toll was 624, and only 3 survivors!
Three weeks later, King Arthur came to the knights' house himself.
Osama: My lord, what is this unexpected visit?
King Arthur: Where are the others?
Osama: Oh, they're in their room.
"And King Arthur went and gathered the three together: Ahmed, Badir, Osama. Despair-filled looks dominated their faces, and they didn't utter a single word."
King Arthur: Well done.
(None of them replied a word, their faces toward the ground.)
King Arthur: I placed my hopes in you. So what now? Do you surrender after the first mission? Just because your companions died? Wake up, this is a battlefield, and anyone entering this arena should consider death as the first option. You did well and faced an entire army along with the Plague Leader and the Bone Butcher, and you emerged alive. No, that's not all; you wiped out half of their army. Look on the bright side; even if the entire populace and families of the dead despise you, in my eyes, you are heroes. And regarding the Circus, Ziyad and Pride have returned from the desert, and their report contained an ancient-looking circus filled with sand. But upon entering, they suffered a devastating defeat. It's time for revenge!
To be continued...