Prologue
A Twist in Fate

Maybe I was too hasty in my judgement.

To perceive the world in such a narrow-minded view and deem it cruel and ruthless… that is a known fact. The wars, the discrimination, the agony, and the suffering of the innocent— all stemming from the greed and pride of those who refuse to back down.

Was it fate? A move of destiny? A road paved before our conception, our own creation, that we will all inevitably follow?

I do not know.

It would be futile to understand what there is to understand about the power and beings higher than us. It would be even more futile to try and comprehend and try to go against that power as well. But the fact remains that there exists something greater than I, greater than you, greater than all who walk upon this material and spiritual realm.

I am unsure of who I am, of who I may come to be. What awaits me is a mystery as well. Everything about myself is shrouded in uncertainty and anxiety, yet I sense of calm and assurance still washes over me.

Perhaps it is best to leave it all to fate, after all.

"Do you even know who you are?!"

Resounding echoes of fluttering and birds surrounded me as a wave of black and white swirled. I gave out a cry of surprise, covering my face with my forearms in a futile attempt of warding off the onslaught of creatures bearing around me.

"You are nothing! His will to bring you from your own home, to bring you here, and act as his ***! You are ***!"

"You are wrong!" I cried out, frantic. My grip tightened around the dual swords in my hands, so tight that I was positively shaking. Shaking with anger or fear? That, I could not say.

"Then why are you here? Who are you? An ***! An *** of this world!"

"No, you— you are…" I struggled to find words to respond. Everything was crashing into me; the strange memories, the lack of understanding— simple amnesia was just a lie I kept repeating to myself. A lie that even I myself started to believe in.

"Abomination! ***! Return to your ***!"

"NO! STOP! I AM ***!"

Chapter 1
A Tale to Remember

I awoke with a loud gasp, my eyes widening in fear and in surprise. I could hear the sound of my heart running miles per minute, the beat of it resounding in my ears. A loud ringing noise accompanied it, further confusing and disorienting me.

My vision was hazy, unclear, unfocused. Colors swirled in my sight, moving around and causing me to groan in frustration.

Out of instinct, I moved my arm. I winced and yelled out in pain as a jolt of electricity ran through my body, as if it enacted as a source of energy to snap my entire body back to movement.

I rolled to my back, only then realizing I had been crouched and positioned on my right side. I stared forward and saw patches of blue starting to settle in my vision.

"Th-the s…sky?" I croaked out, eyes widening in surprise at the sound of my own voice. It did not sound familiar, nor did it sound alright. Raising my hand from my side, I hovered it in front of my face only to find a chain firmly attached my wrist.

What?

Bolting upright, I sat up. My senses were alarmed and ringing, yelling for answers and demanding reason for what was going on. I looked around me, only to find myself surrounded by nothing but a vast land of sand. Nothing else in the horizon seemed to exist except for the sandy dunes around me and the heat of the sun above me.

"W-what?" I whispered, again shocking myself with my own voice. I looked at my body, trying to figure out if I was okay or in any way injured, but what I found out only further enhanced my confusion and dread.

My body was not my own, and how I managed to come up to that conclusion also confused me. I had pale skin, which held several light scars and ugly purple and yellow bruises. Scattered across my arms were sand and my hands were coated in leftover blood and dirt. As for my garments, I was covered in nothing but a filthy excuse of a dress, resembling more of a rag than anything else. It was dirty and torn at the edges, barely reaching below my thighs. A sash of what seemed to be part of the dress was tied around my waist, a sore attempt at trying to preserve and cover areas of the body of which shouldn't be exposed outside to the public eye.

With each movement, a clanging and jingling sound was made. Curious, I turned to my wrists and ankles, only to find it encased in thick and heavy metal chains. They were connected to each other by a what I may assume a half meter long chain which allowed movement, but restricted mobility and slowed down the body as they were heavier than lead.

Or maybe they seemed to be. I felt frail, weak, and tempted to just drop on the sand once more and close my eyes again. However, something inside of me knew that if I were to do so, I would never wake up nor would I ever be able to live to see the next day.

I didn't understand nor did I know how to comprehend. What was happening? What is this body? This isn't me! This isn't—

Wait, how do I know this isn't me? Am I not who I am?

I stared forward, trying to collect my thoughts. How was I able to think that I am not the owner of this body? In fact, how was I able to inform myself that I was somebody else?

What happened to me?

My trail of thought was broken as I heard the sound of cluttering and clashing. It wasn't a violent sound however, it did catch my attention. I turned my body towards the sound's direction and tried to take a step forward, until my uncoordinated self decided to make a comeback and trip over my own chains.

"Agh!"

I fell flat on my face, the scorching sand filling my mouth and nostrils. Quickly raising my head above the sand, I coughed several times in order to push them out of my system. With my throat being unbelievably parched prior to my epic fall of shame, coughing only seemed to worsen the pain and force myself to just swallow what little of it down my throat.

"H-help! Anybody! Please!" I cried as loud as I could, though I could've easily inferred that this would've been my normally modulated voice if my throat's condition weren't as horrible as it was.

I willed myself to stand up once more, trying my best to ignore the now evident jolts of pain on my body. Visually my body was in a condition where each movement would be as painful as treading on a road of nails barefoot, and it was exactly that same feeling as I moved. I lifted my right knee up and dug my foot into the sand, gritting my teeth as the heat of the sand and the wounds of my body started to cause immense pain and hinder my movements.

With another surge of willpower, I stood up once more and started taking small and shaky steps forward. Both my arms felt so heavy, and I would blame nothing else aside from the cuffs around me. I raised my right hand to latch onto my left shoulder, pants of exhaustion escaping my breath.

The sound grew louder and hope fluttered inside of me as I saw a small horse drawn cart near me. A smile of relief came up on my lips and I was just about to start running before I let out a yelp.

My body slumped forward and I landed on my knees, my body succumbing to fatigue and the aftermath of whatever battle it had endured before my wake. My eyes widened as the cart grew nearer and nearer, but my body refused to move no matter how much I willed it to.

'Move, move! Damn it, move already!'

My mind was racing, but it was also occupied with thoughts of fear. What if this person leading the cart was not as accepting? What if they would just leave me to die in this dessert alone, to fall into the hands of nature? Will they even bother to take a look at somebody as pitiful as myself?

Where these thoughts of degradation and self-loathing came from, I didn't know. It felt as if these were automatic and pre-programmed thoughts, as if my mind was used to coming up with these sorts of conclusions to whatever situation that arose.

I didn't have time to ponder upon it. The cart had finally neared enough where the horse was only a few feet away from me. It whinnied and raised its upper legs, a sign that it had been frightened by my presence (and honestly, it should be me more frightened as I could be tramped as easily by its hooves) and it bucked backward.

"Whoa there! What's going on?"

The masculine voice caught my attention and I raised my head up a bit higher. Looking behind the pair of horses, a man who seemed to be driving the cart was seated in front. He held the reins with both hands but dropped them as soon as he saw me.

His gaze landed on mine and I felt my heart jump. The pure shock and disbelief of my previous epiphany were nothing compared to when I matched eyes with him. Deep brown eyes that reflected the sun accompanied with a golden mop of hair, slightly tanned skin and cladded in Arabian loose clothing, a small curved dagger attached to the sash around his abdomen—

"You! Are you okay?"

I was frozen as he dropped the reins to the side and jumped off the front of the cart. As he ran near me, I suddenly felt fear shroud my body and I quickly yelped and tried to crawl away. Noting my distress, he slowed down and stopped, but making no move to return back to the cart.

"Hey, it's alright." He said, his voice now opting for a soother approach. "I won't hurt you— where are you from? The next city isn't for another 3 days on foot and 1 day in cart."

Again, I couldn't answer. My face was stuck in an expression of shock and fear, to which he must've accounted for as he tried to take a step forward.

This time I did not move away. Seeing him gulp, he took a few more slow steps towards me and knelt in front of me. I tried to move away once again, not used to being so close to a stranger— he is no stranger, I know of him!— and my movement made the chains on me visible as it jingled.

His gaze went immediately to my ankles, eyes wide.

"A slave…?"

As those words left his slips, an onslaught of memories bombarded me. Whippings, canings, beatings, humiliation, degradation, nudity, raperaperaperaperape—

Before I could realize it, I started to shiver violently. I held my head with my hands, my fingers digging into my hair and gripping my skull.

"S-slave…! N-no! NO!"

My reaction snapped him from his reverie and he quickly grabbed my wrists to avoid myself from further injuring my body. I snapped out of my trance as well as his warm hands encompassed my own, holding firmly but gently.

"It's alright! It's alright, please calm down! You don't have to return to your master, you're safe!" he said, looking straight into me.

I paused and stared at him unsurely before my gaze shifted to his hold on my hands. He followed my sight's direction and quickly let go of his grip on me, his face now holding a hue of pink dusted on his cheeks.

"S-sorry." He murmured shyly, his left hand scratching the back of his head.

A few moments of silence passed before I raised my right hand towards him. He looked at me as I raised my hand before I grabbed his shoulder. He let out a cry of surprise as I leaned my weight on him, tears finally pouring down my eyes as I began to sob.

"P-please… help. Can't… Can't go b-back!" I managed to stutter out through my breakdown, holding onto his shoulder.

This time it was his turn to be speechless. He gaped at me, as if unsure on how to proceed, but when my sobs began to turn me into a state of hyperventilation and hysteria, he seemed to gather himself and his resolve.

"I understand." He said, his voice stern. "I'll help you, okay? But first, I need you to calm down. We won't get anything done if you won't calm down."

I nodded, trying to even my breathing. His hand took my own which was on his shoulder and he slowly wrapped his free arm around my body, raising me up as he stood. The chains clanged against each other, causing his eyes to harden in what I could only describe as rage.

"First we have to get those chains off you." He mumbled to himself, then looking at me.

I stared back at him, unable say anything else. It did not matter that he was holding me close or was gazing at me with intensity. What did matter was the mere fact that all these events were occurring right before my eyes and that everything was crashing down upon me. A whirlwind of emotions were racing inside of me, but nothing from my reactions outside portrayed how I truly felt inside.

A small smile graced his lips which I thought was an attempt at trying to make me feel better.

"I'll carry you to the cart, alright? I know you probably can't walk with your body in that condition, so I'll try my best not to hurt you." He said.

I nodded slowly and he seemed to acknowledge my consent. The arm that was wrapped around my body now curled underneath my legs, hooking themselves behind my knees. His other arm was curled behind my shoulders, carrying me bridal style.

My dress started to hike up and I only realized that besides the filthy clothes I wore, I was completely bear. My face quickly reddened at this realization and I quickly tried to pull down the edges of my dress, hoping that what left of my dignity could be preserved.

"What's wrong? Are you— oh! Oh, okay." He said as he also realized why I was lowering my dress. He looked forward and started to jog to his caravan, careful of trying not to trip over the chains that hung on the ground from my ankles.

He walked towards the back of the caravan, stepping onto a small wooden step attached to its base and walking inside. The caravan's inside was shaded with a dome-like tarp over it, causing it to be much cooler and more comfortable inside. Slowly, he lowered me next to a few wooden crates and onto a small mat laid out there previously.

"Here you go," he said as he gently let me down, his arms pulling away from me. I looked around the caravan, noting how bare it was and how shaded and cool it was. Aside from a large bag that was tossed to the corner near the front, four wooden crates, and a tall jug, there was not much to look at. A small sigh of relief escaped me, finally being able to rest from being attacked by the blistering rays of the sun.

He was now ruffling inside the said bag, seemingly looking for something. He pulled out an apple and a small loaf of bread before handing it out to me.

"Here, in case you're hungry." He said, smiling as he reached out the food towards me. Hesitantly, I managed to grab them. I placed the apple on my lap and took small bites from the bread. It wasn't special, it was simply bread and held no interesting flavor, but it was filling and as my body felt like it hadn't been fed in the last decade, it was enough.

"I know that you probably don't want to talk, but can you tell me your name? It might be hard to call you if I don't know who you are." He said, scratching his cheek somewhat bashfully.

I paused from eating, pondering on what should my name be. I racked my brain and tried to recall what I used to be called, but all I could get was static and blanks. Even memories of who I used to be before fainting in the desert were fuzzy and unclear.

"I-I don't… have one?" I said unsurely, my gaze still focused on the bread.

"No name? Oh…" he trailed off. He then sat down in front of me, crossing his legs and then crossing his arms over his chest. He closed his eyes, humming slightly as he began to think deeply.

I stayed quiet as he did, continuing to munch on my bread until nothing was left except for the crumbs on my hands. I turned to him, gazing at the jug behind him, expecting it to probably be filled with water inside.

"W-water?" I asked, my throat definitely parched and strained.

"Oh? Oh, right!" he said, reaching once more inside his bag and bringing out a small cup. He took a ladle as well and used it to pour water inside of it before reaching it towards me.

My eyes sparkled at the glistening liquid inside and without hesitation I took the cup. I tipped it upwards in my lips, taking generous gulps to quench the dying thirst. Within a few seconds, I finished the contents and basked in the feeling of slowly regaining my own strength.

I looked up once more and bashfully reached out the cup to him, silently asking for more.

He let out a short laugh and simply turned around. He hooked his hands around the handles of the jugs and tugged it forward, careful to not let any of the contents spill. He grunted slightly as he pushed it until it was finally in between of us and right in front of me.

He watched as I silently grabbed the ladle and continued to pour glass after glass for myself. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, but I spared no expense on what it might've been. Hunger and thirst were all my mind could possibly think of, and even after finishing half of the water and two more apples did I finally come back to my senses and see things with more clarity.

Once I deemed myself finished, I exhaled and let my body relax. The sound of chains still echoed with each movement I made, bothering me to no extent. I scowled as I glared at my wrists and ankles and scorned their existence as they were a reminder of being bound and enslaved.

Enslaved? I was enslaved?

"Miriam?"

I looked up at him again, who had suddenly spoken after minutes of silence. He seemed to not expect my attention to fully shift to him and was taken aback himself when I stared at him in confusion.

"Ah, it's just— well, you said you had no name. I don't want to call you a slave or anything, so maybe… maybe I could call you Miriam? If that's okay with you." He said.

I stayed silent, looking at him before looking at my body. I had no recollection of who I was prior to waking up in the desert nor did I remember what kind of lifestyle I had as a person of this body. All my instincts screamed that this body was not mine, but the remaining fact that I was living in it and that it was I who was in control said otherwise. Layers of confusion thickened my senses and I couldn't respond to anything with assurance, opting for silence as the proper approach … for now.

"Okay." I said.

He smiled in relief before his eyes widened and he started to move his hands around frantically in alarm.

"Wait, this isn't me claiming you as your master! You're not my slave! I-I only gave you a name, but that doesn't mean you're indebted to whatsoever!"

This time it was my turn to be alarmed. What kind of person wouldn't be indebted to somebody who saved their life? Even if serving a person for a lifetime was a less than desirable way of living, to be indebted to him was a stroke of rare luck to be bestowed on me.

"N-no, I'm thankful." I said, my voice still a bit shaky. "You saved my life, and I want to help you… you too. I want to thank y-you for-for helping me. I would've… died if you didn't save me today."

He seemed bashful again, not realizing what his actions had resulted to. It didn't matter— in just that kind of reaction, it was easy to see what kind of person he was. Even without the prior knowledge I had of him, I doubt that I wouldn't trust such a kind person.

I smiled at him, placing my hands together and bowed slightly.

"T-thank you so much." I said softly.

He was speechless, probably not used to being thanked for. He gathered himself and smiled back, albeit a bit hesitantly probably due to the circumstances.

"It's no problem Miriam." He said, my new name rolling of his tongue smoothly.

This caused me to smile even brighter and once he saw, his cheeks dusted once more with pink.

"W-what's your name?" I asked. "I-I don't kn… know how to address you."

"My name?" he repeated. He smiled and jerked his thumb towards himself, smiling proudly as he stood up in front of me. The way he positioned himself in front of me with confidence and stood straight made him seem taller and much more grandiose.

My eyes widened as golden birds manifested around him, swirling around his body and flashing brighter and brighter. They twittered and chirped loudly, as if clapping and supporting his grand introduction.

With a confident smile, he spoke.

"My name is Alibaba Saluja, and I'm going to conquer a dungeon!"

[A/N:] Well, it has definitely been a long time since I've been in the writing gig.

I just want to thank everybody for being patient with me and for being able to understand my absence. Also, I would like to apologize for the mistreatment and possible confusion I've caused due to not explaining this story correctly in my first attempt at creating it. I'm much better now and am willing to create this story with the proper reverence and give it the justice it deserves.

Please note that this story will be heavily influenced with my own set of events and twisted to my own timeline and liking as I have already plotted a draft of ALL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS and chapters in the timeline, so do not be surprised if any characters or places or even settings are to differ extremely from the original series. Do not worry, I will not take too much of the original magic Magi has to offer, however I will be introducing more twists and turns as this story goes on.

Once again, I would like to thank everybody for waiting this long. Let's start this adventure anew, shall we?

~ Irene (10-23-18)