Summit

In the sky above Bintan, a large man stood with dark wings, his eyes closed. His mission had been to find the supposed prince of Wize and kill him. Although the Sulten of Jubai was not sure the information about the prince being alive was true, he still sent one of his strongest men to deal with the prince. Jirbad had not found the prince he was searching for, but he did find someone he was suspicious of. The altercation he witnessed when Kin fought Meliesse and Hana was his proof that the boy he currently set his gaze upon was not just an ordinary person. His gaze couldn't decipher sound, but he could read the lips of those he watched and make out some of what they were saying. With what he was able to decipher, he was twenty percent sure the boy was the prince of Wize. Although it didn't matter if the boy wasn't—he'd just kill him anyway and go on to find the real prince, if he was still alive.

Jirbad's gaze stalked Kin and Jamila throughout their ventures in the tunnel. It was dark and filled with cobwebs, but the youths managed to navigate until they finally found an exit. Once he saw them exit, he began his descent. The tunnel brought them right outside, close to the Northern gates of Bintan, but away from prying eyes.

"Uh, finally! We are out of that insect-infested tunnel," Jamila said in triumph after they exited the tunnel.

Kin was not bothered, though. He couldn't care less about the insects in the tunnel. He had dealt with worse than insect-infested tunnels.

He calmly exited the tunnel and looked around to see if no one was waiting for them, as Jamila was busy basking in the sunlight. Kin looked around and noticed they were in an abandoned mine. The northern part of Wize was filled with mines, so it wasn't a surprise that there was an abandoned one here.

"We have to keep moving," Kin said, interrupting Jamila's joyful bask.

"You know, you might think you are the prince of Wize, but don't think you can order me around," Jamila said.

Earlier, when Kin had told her he had the blood of the scum prince running through his veins, she had dismissed Kin as a delusional boy who wished he was more than just a slave.

"If you are the prince of Wize, then I'm the Phoenix Queen," Jamila said.

"You can believe whatever you want to believe, Lady Jamila. It won't change the fact that I'm Kin, son of King Ken," Kin explained and started walking away. According to the map Rashid gave him, they would need to make their way northeast toward the valley of cones and make their way to the fates hidden past Lyokis, in the whispering mountains.

"How can you be the prince?" Jamila asked. "You look nothing like him. Prince Kin is a fat, distasteful..."

"Pig," Kin said, cutting her off. "I know exactly how I was before. It wasn't fun the first time I heard someone call me that, and it isn't fun now either," Kin replied.

"But you are not fat now, neither are you distasteful. Your hair is not as it was before, so forgive me if I'm not buying the fact that YOU ARE THE PRINCE."

"Alright then, I'm not the prince. It's not as if that title does anything but puts a target on my back, so, can we go now, my lady?"

"So you really are the prince?" Jamila said again.

"I think we just established that I'm not, so please don't let anyone hear you call me that. Otherwise, I'll leave you and save myself," Kin replied.

"You know, I did think you looked familiar to the prince at one point. Turns out you've been him all along," Jamila said in excitement.

Kin could only sigh as the young lady didn't seem to be listening to what he was saying. He decided to ignore her and keep walking.

"We need steeds to travel. Going on foot will be too much for the lady," Kin thought.

As they were walking, Ashell sensed a massive presence approaching their location.

"STAND BACK, KIN!" Ashell warned as he grabbed Jamila and took a step back.

Jirbad landed in front of them, and Kin opened his eyes wide the moment he set his gaze on the man. Jirbad stood close to seven feet tall, very large and muscular. Kin didn't need anyone to tell him one punch from this person would send him to his grave. But, his muscles and large build were not what caused Kin to want to run away as far as possible. It was the wings sprouting out from the man's back. The dark and ominous wings, each wing was quite large, and as if that wasn't scary enough, they were each filled with different forms and shapes of eyes. The winged man stood in front of Kin and Jamila with his arms folded.

Kin looked at the man and knew he was staring at a member of the Yaya Household of Jubai. They were part of those who supported Jai and betrayed his father.

On one hand, Kin was angry at them for their treacherous act and wanted nothing but to destroy the man in front of him. On the other hand, his instincts were telling him to drop every notion of revenge and run because he was no match for the man in front of him.

"Stay calm, Kin. You can't possibly win if you fight him, but we can escape if you play your cards right," Ashell explained.

Kin bit his lip in frustration.

"I know," he replied.

After a few seconds of silence, Jirbad spoke.

"You must be Prince Kin," he said.

"Who?" Kin asked. "Are you referring to me, Lord?" he said in a submissive tone.

"Yes, you," Jirbad said. "Are you the prince of Wize?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," Kin replied.

Jirbad looked at him for a while before smiling.

"You're lying," Jirbad said. "What happened to you? You look different. You could have fooled someone else, but you can't fool me," Jirbad said.

"But I'm not lying, my Lord. My name is Ashin, the servant of Lady Jamila here. How can I compare to the noble prince?"

Jirbad ignored Kin's words and drew his sword from behind him.

Kin tried to convince Jirbad that he wasn't who he was looking for, but he seemed to be failing miserably.

"Kin, you have to get ready to fight, now!"

"What?" Kin asked.

"That wing of his is a blessing of Horus. This particular wing is his oculus Wing, the wings with many eyes, each having different uses and abilities. The moment he asked you about your identity and you replied, he already knew you were lying."

"How did you know?" Kin asked.

"Because one of those eyes on his wings closed after you replied to his question. That might be how it works," Ashell said.

"Damn it," Kin said and summoned his sword.