CHAPTER 6: Gifts
"Of all the great dragons I summoned," the old man began, his voice rasping like dry parchment, "none came except for the one from the Elven tribe. The Dragon Elves possess great things, it is true, but I truly expected someone who had ascended beyond this level."
As the old man spoke, a chill so intense and terrifying surged through Edard's body that it felt as if a massive block of ice had been buried deep within his gut.
Yet, instead of pure terror, Edard's mind was occupied by a singular, overwhelming thought. If all of this is real—if this is no dream—then it means there is another world entirely. A world beyond Kano, beyond Nigeria, beyond Africa.
He whispered these thoughts while staring at the ancient man, then turned his gaze back to the beasts—the serpents, the lion, and the fox. This was one of the very first moments it truly settled into his soul: he was no longer in his own world. Every impossible thing he was seeing was solid, undeniable truth.
The elder nodded slowly, his eyes shifting to the glowing clock on Edard's left wrist. "Neither you nor I have much time left," he said solemnly. "I wish to give you a gift. Give me your hand."
Instead of reaching out as he was commanded, Edard's mind pulled him toward the questions that had haunted his existence. "Why me?" he blurted out. "Why did you summon me? This world... I see it is filled with magic. Does that have a connection to the things I could do back in the world I left?"
His heart raced as the theories tumbled out. "Perhaps I was born here. Perhaps someone took me from this place and carried me there. Back in that world, there is no magic, and I have no family. Or perhaps you were looking for warriors, and you searched for those who possess my unique abilities and called us here."
Edard had spent fifteen years of his life waking up every day asking himself these very questions, never finding an answer. He had challenged his university professors with these mysteries until some grew angry and others kicked him out of their classrooms. He had spent his nights researching ancient myths and tales of sorcery, desperate to understand the truth of his own nature.
Why could he hear the speech of animals? Why could he do things that other people simply could not do?
And now, suddenly, he stood before a man who looked as though he held every answer in the palm of his hand. Edard knew he could not let this chance slip away. He felt in his heart that this elder was the only key to his past.
The old man watched him, squinting his eyes, before letting out a long, heavy sigh. "If you are not careful," the elder warned, "this deep searching of yours—this obsession with things that lie far beyond your reach—will be the very thing that brings about your end."
Edard shook his head frantically, his hands trembling. "Please! I need to know. My parents... are they here? Are they in this world? I have to know!"
"You were never the one I intended to summon," the elder said, cutting Edard off sharply. His voice was quiet, yet it carried an immense weight of authority and power.
For ten seconds, silence hung in the cave. During this time, Edard did something that he might later come to regret. He focused his will and summoned a tiny spark of Dragon Essence into the palm of his hand. He worked with extreme care to keep it small—so small that someone standing at a distance wouldn't see it, hoping even the elder wouldn't notice. He did this not out of malice, but to be ready in case the old man tried something.
However, the elder simply sighed again, a small breath escaping his lips before he closed his eyes. It was clear he had noticed Edard's spark immediately, but he wasn't bothered by it in the least.
"Do not worry," the elder said. "My gift does not require payment, and it is not a debt; it is up to you how you choose to use it. But since it was I who brought you to this world, I must provide you with something."
With a shaky hand, the elder raised a thin finger—a finger that was little more than bone covered in ancient, wrinkled skin—and pointed it at Edard. In that instant, the tiny blue flame Edard had hidden in his palm vanished completely.
Then, a force far greater than anything Edard could imagine yanked him forward, pulling him right up to the old man. The elder gripped Edard's hand. As their hands met, a flurry of glowing boxes erupted before Edard's eyes. Each box contained a description of a gift he could claim.
Edard's eyes widened. Is that even possible? But he had no time to think before the next box appeared.
Edard had no idea what these ranks meant; all he knew was that when he arrived, he was told he was merely at the starting rank of "Conqueror."
The old man sighed as he looked at the boxes, appearing as though he were seeing them for the first time himself, even though they had come from his own legendary treasury.
"These are the gifts you may choose from, based on what flows in your blood," the elder said. "But you can only choose two."
Edard narrowed his eyes, his mind racing through the options. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed other boxes flickering—special boxes that seemed to be shaking—but he ignored them for now.
He knew the elder had admitted to pulling him here. It wasn't something Edard could dwell on; people don't just accidentally leap from one world to another. There is always a hand behind such a journey. And though the elder refused to answer his personal questions, Edard knew the man held the truth.
He looked at the ancient man. The elder was powerful beyond anything Edard could measure. If the man wanted him dead, he would have been dust long ago. Therefore, he had no choice but to accept these gifts.
But which ones? In his world, there was a saying: When a great man gives you a gift, that gift is never small. The value of a gift matches the rank of the giver.
"Do you not have a gift that can increase my days?" Edard asked desperately. "Something to increase this thing you call longevity? I have only minutes left—perhaps you haven't noticed."
If there were a gift that guaranteed him more life, Edard would have thrown everything else away for it. But the elder simply shook his head. "Only you can find the longevity to increase your own days."
Edard took a deep breath. He still had a few minutes. He looked at the gifts again.
The Gift of the Immortal was unique. Only one copy existed in the entire world. If he took it, he would be the sole possessor of that power. If he didn't, and the old man died today, that power might vanish from the world forever. It felt like a "top-tier" choice.
The Gift of the Renaissance didn't explain itself well. To Edard, it looked like a "cheat" in a video game—like a Nintendo power-up. It seemed like something that would help him skip a level, but maybe not something that would truly sustain him in the long run. He moved past it.
The Gift of the Demon was tempting. But Edard didn't know the true strength of Dragons or Elves. He had only heard stories. The promise of an Elven lifespan was great, but he still had to survive the next thirty minutes. If he didn't find longevity to bypass his current death sentence, a long "potential" life would mean nothing. If this gift could have saved him from his current timer, the old man would have said so.
The Gift of the Dead was the least attractive to him. Edard's life on Earth hadn't been filled with suffering, but it was a life of "nothingness." He didn't know his parents. He had no siblings. He was a stranger in a familiar land.
Yet, he had managed to attend the best schools in Kano. He had found work even before finishing his degree because of his strange gifts—his ability to talk to animals and see through walls. He remembered being called to the Kano Zoo when the animals were sick and the doctors were stumped. He had communicated with them and helped find a cure. Since then, the zoo director had kept him employed. His salary was enough to live on, but the "Why?" of his life remained a shadow.
He knew nothing of his parents—not even a photo. He only remembered the orphanage on Court Road. From there, his natural intelligence had earned him scholarships to secondary school and eventually Bayero University.
His entire life's goal—the very pillar of his existence—was to find out who he really was. If he chose to go back to Earth now, he would be returning to the start, losing his only chance to find the truth. This world was his chance.