Sandborn - Awakening of the Frozen Sand

[The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.] - Albert Schweitzer

"...personal?" Azar said, more like asking himself.

Why am I so angry? I thought I wasn't that affected by the fate of my descendants on this planet anymore. Am I just frustrated because I lost what Tora meant to me and I'm taking my anger out on this man? Or am I genuinely angry at him for hurting Mirha? Azar questioned himself.

"You got angry at me for saying that you are stupid, but how can you explain selling that black pearl for such a meaningless amount of money and even becoming the lackey of the Sarabians? I saw that the thought of you being double-crossed by them passed through your mind, but you chose to push it aside."

"Maybe that was your guardian angel trying to save your skin, and you just threw that thought to the back of your mind. Very smart, you want a reward for that? I mean more than making your tribe kneel before the Sarabians? What could be more rewarding than that, right?" Azar mocked.

"I didn't know what it was; I still don't know. So I had no use for it," Surumadur said in a low voice. "All I did was ensure that my people would have food on their tables. What is wrong with that? And I didn't become the Sarabians' lackey. I have no idea how you reached that conclusion."

"Nothing is wrong with selling something you have no use for or don't know its value. The problem is that you believed the Sarabians' cunning words and sold it to them directly. You could have made much more than what you received for it," Azar said.

"Do you know what the black pearl is?" Surumadur asked.

"No idea, but I can say for sure that it is something related to the spatial concept," Azar replied.

At his words, all three of them—Surumadur, Yusuf, and Hamsha—became all eyes and ears, waiting for him to continue on the subject. The spatial concept was something they had little understanding of, but they all knew it was extremely valuable.

"Anyway, by accepting to work exclusively for the Sarabi tribe, without as much as questioning the reasons behind the missions they give you, can you be called something other than a lackey?" Azar asked.

"We work for the highest bidder; we are mercenaries, not lackeys," Surumadur said.

"I know that's what they led you to believe, but the difference between a mercenary and a lackey is that mercenaries have freedom. In your relationship with the Sarabians, you do not have an opinion, you do not raise your head, and you treat them as sovereigns every time they send their people to you," Azar explained.

"The Sarabi tribe are our benefactors. They also have ties with the kingdom in the east, so all we do is treat them with respect," Surumadur said.

"Yeah, whatever. I don't even know why I entered into this conversation with you," Azar said, losing his interest. "I forbid you both to communicate in any way about the things that happened here, about me, and my friend. I also order you to never take any type of action against the Mirha tribe. From today onward, the Mirha tribe and the things related to them are outside your capability to interfere with in any way. Those orders of mine will remain active all your lives, even if I die."

[Mission Completed!]

Mission Name: Bloodline Protector

Description: Save Faira and the Mirha Tribe from the Calabi's Threat

Mission Grade: Unique

Rewards: Unlocking the gate for returning to the Vestral Plane

Hearing the notification ring inside his head, Azar felt relieved.

So I was right. By taking care of the head, the threat of the whole tribe vanishes. I don't have to kill them all, he thought.

"I will do as you say, but syed, you have to go and speak with the Sarabi to ensure the safety of the Mirha," Surumadur said, trying to send Azar after the Sarabi. He believed that only in that way would he escape the death punishment for failing to complete their mission. "The Sarabians will kill me and my men if we don't destroy the Mirha and are sure to find another way to do the job."

"How much time does it take to reach the Sarabi tribe from here?" Azar asked.

"Seven or eight days if the desert is peaceful," Hamsha replied.

"I'll send a clear message to them," Azar said. He didn't have enough time to reach the Sarabi before his five days of living expired and didn't want to remain trapped in this world for more then that. "Hamsha, you can remain here with the Calabi; your job is done."

"Does that mean I am no longer under your control?" Hamsha asked.

"No, it means you are free to do whatever you want, with the exception of disclosing any and all types of information about us or what you saw us doing, and hurting the Mirha tribe in any way," Azar corrected. "Put the guards to sleep and let's go," he said to Araumir.

After sending the guards into the dream world with one of his poisons, Araumir started to reverse the process and return the people back to the room inside Surumadur's house before he and Azar exited the settlement inside the shadow world. Back in the dark and quiet desert, the two emerged in the physical world from the shadow of a scorpion under the moonlight.

As soon as they came out, Araumir kicked the small creature away before opening his intricate, bluish-black wings and taking flight. Stopping on top of a dune, a safe distance away from the Calabi's patrols, he asked,

"How is it? Have you met the requirements of returning to the Vestral World?"

"Yes, I've completed the quest," Azar said. "However, I have to ask you something. I will return home now, but I want you to pay the Sarabi tribe a visit and settle things with them before joining me."

"So you're not going to just let the people of Mirha be attacked," Araumir remarked.

"I can let you stay here for a few more days to arrange things after all." Azar smiled.

"How much time do you have left?" Araumir asked.

"Let me check. Connect to the Void Archives, Astral Timer."

[Connecting to the Void Archives]

Astral Timer: 21:47:19

"I have less than a day," Azar said.

"Which, by what Hamsha said, is not enough for us to reach the Sarabi even with my speed," Araumir said. "Don't worry, I'll take care of them."

"Don't make a mess," Azar said. "Here, take my ring and give it to Faira or throw it somewhere if you don't want to make the journey back to Mirha. I've deactivated the defensive runes on it and removed my mental imprint, so everyone can use it."

"Are you sure?" Araumir asked.

"Yeah, I don't plan on returning to this world again," Azar replied.

"Alright, then I'll give it to the little girl."

"Your choice," Azar said. "See you soon."

Araumir nodded.

"Connect to the Void Archives, I want to return home," Azar said.

[Connecting to the Void Archives]

The soul requests permission to leave the physical world and return to the Vestral Realm.

Conditions Required:

Mission: Save Faira and the Mirha tribe from the Calabi's threat - Completed!

Astral Timer: 21:46:37 - Time Sufficient

Permission Granted!

[Error!]

[Unique Mission detected on Azar Tora Daremon's Profile.]

Unable to initiate the returning process if a Mission is active.

Please delete the mission to continue.

Delete the Unique Mission: Veiled Identity?

[Yes] [No]

Yes!

Unfortunately, the Unique Mission: [Veiled Identity] is part of the evolutionary process of the individual and cannot be deleted.

[Details]

Are you kidding me?

Details.

Unique Mission: [Veiled Identity]

Received directly from the Void System, the Veiled Identity Mission is one of the five compulsory missions tied to the evolutionary process of the individual. It can't be deleted and doesn't remain active after death. Giving massive rewards, the Veiled Identity Mission is received only when certain conditions are met.

"Hhahaha," Azar laughed hysterically.

"You really want me to stay on this planet, don't you? Was this your plan from the beginning? Have you led the Mirha siblings to my altar? Answer me!" Azar yelled at the sky. "Have I not endured enough on these lands over the course of three lives? Have I not shed enough blood, tears, and sweat?" he dropped to his knees, eyes becoming watery.

"I know you mean no harm to me, but I've lost everything I've built here. And it pains me. What can be here for me anymore? What does this planet have that the others don't?"

"Master, what happened?" Araumir asked, worried about Azar's condition.

"...I can't go back to the other side, Araumir. I have to live another life here," Azar said between tears. "I have to struggle more!" he beat the sand with his fists.

"Why?" Araumir sat at his master's back, supporting him. "Haven't you completed the quest in time?"

"I did, but I've received another. A compulsory one."

"And isn't that great? Why are you upset?"

"Is it great? Why am i upset? Because I don't want to remain on this planet!" Azar screamed. "What is left for me here? What can i do here? I don't..."

"Perhaps i have something to do here," Azar said calmly, getting back to his feet. "Something to do, indeed i have something to do. Otherwise, i wouldn't be here. Haha, why didn't I realize this sooner? How could I forget about it?"

"Master, are you sure you're alright? You're acting stranger then usual," Araumir remarked.

"It's not strange at all, Araumir, I have realized something." Azar grabbed his servant's shoulders.

"What?" Araumir asked. "What realization made you act like this?"

"Pain and beginning, old friend, pain and beginning," Azar said. "Do you remember what we learned back on Ova 2? If pain exists, then a program from the soul level is either incomplete or has flaws. So if I have an emotional problem related to the things outside of me, then that means a program inside me is in chaos and must either be healed or rebuilt based on other, more complete programs. When we came here, you said that we evolved and the planet did as well, since the last time we were here."

"Yes," Araumir responded, not understanding where Azar was going with his line of thinking.

"Then me being so emotional about my past is a result of my evolution. Either I became able to feel things more deeply, or I still had some flawed programs in my soul that I was unaware of. And once I returned to the place where I built myself, the place where most of my understanding originates from, these things resurfaced. The soul fragment that returned here contains the flawed programs related to this planet."

"As I became human once more, I also adopted the programs of a human. As a biomachine that has remained trapped in stone for such a long time, many of the hormones, vitamins, and organisms in my body are no longer here. From this comes my predisposition for a depressive state. My body is not in peak condition—no, it's not even what we could call healthy. And as humans have the program installed in their system that pain is bad and they have to run from it, this explains my desire for leaving this planet. Escaping from the place and body that made me feel bad."

"My current condition perfectly explains why I was so emotionally unstable and why I couldn't control myself properly. But I never expected that with the level of self-awareness that I possess, I could ever be so influenced as to not even pay attention to such details. It seems that spending so much time in the Vestral World has weakened me considerably. I have to resume my training," Azar said, sitting down to meditate.

"It's all good that you've realized these things, master, but I have a question," Araumir said. "Why have you exploded with such knowledge now? Why couldn't you understand these things before?"

"I've told you that I was influenced by the body and environment since the moment I took back possession of my body. All these negative energies and bad info-energetic structures formed some type of barrier around my mind, clouding my judgment," Azar explained.

Araumir gave him a long gaze.

"And your mind unclouded how exactly? I mean, you were yelling at the system for not letting you return home, then, in the next second, you're full of smiles, realizing the mysteries of being," he said.