AN: This story is a companion to an earlier fic of mine, A Magi's Instinct, but reading it is not necessary to understand what is going on. Timeline-wise, this takes place right after Hakuryuu is beaten by Gyokuen in Chapter 148.
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Disclaimer: Magi – The Labyrinth of Magic is not owned by me.
-1-
Hakuryuu is not sure how long he stays in the rain. He is not sure of a lot of things at the moment.
How?
The question keeps haunting him.
That woman's rise to Empress is the opportunity he has been waiting for. Her alliance with Kouen is weakened. For the first time he can go on the offensive. He does not have to bear in silence or turn his gaze away.
For the first time, he can hurt them.
So why did it all go wrong?
-2-
It takes time, but Hakuryuu picks himself up. He always has to. He rides the first horse he finds out of the palace. He can't bear to be in it right now.
Even breathing the same air as them is too much.
He rides until he reaches a clearing a few miles away from the capital. It is empty now, but once the Yamabala tribe made their home here. Once, he trained under their guidance and learned Magoi manipulation. Every now and then he returns to clear his mind.
Despite his body's protests, he picks his spear and goes through the forms.
Training.
It is the only time in which he can find himself. Only while training can his mind drive away the worries and focus.
Today, it fails him.
He cannot stop.
He cannot forget.
With each step, his motions quicken. With each swing, he grows wilder. With each thrust, anger overtakes him.
Any other day, his form would have been perfect, his motions smooth and graceful. Today any onlooker would have mistaken him for a madman butchering an invisible foe.
-3-
With each motion, his hate gains a new target.
Hakuryuu thinks of that woman and gashes his teeth. His family. His childhood. His country. She has taken all of them and twisted them.
He thinks on Kouen and wants to laugh.
Unity?
The World is One?
Pretty words do not change what they do.
The Organization. The Kou Empire. He can't stand them.
Just like he can't stand himself.
-4-
Hakuryuu thought he was strong.
He has gone to the dungeon. He has gained power. He has mastered Zagan.
He is not some weak kid anymore.
Yet he could not put a scratch on her.
Does all the power he has gained even matter? He failed. Is there any difference between the crying child he was back then and now?
None at all.
Then and now, he is the same.
Powerless.
The fact fills him with shame.
All this time, he has only been deluding himself.
Hakuryuu hates it and hates himself for it.
A lone rock becomes the target for his anger. All traces of skill are gone from his moves. He just bashes the thing over and over with his spear like a savage.
The rock breaks. The ground underneath him breaks. His muscles scream.
He doesn't stop.
-5-
Hakuryuu ends dirty, tired and dangerously low on Magoi.
He wishes he could forget. He wishes this day would have never happened.
He can't. The memories keep replaying one after another.
All while Judar's words echo through his mind.
"After all hatred towards your mother can only get you this far, but… if you decide to curse your Destiny, I will give you a hand."
-6-
Hakuryuu knows he should not even consider the idea.
Judar is and has always been a person who cannot be trusted. His links to the Organization are undeniable. Hakuryuu has understood that since he was a child.
That is why no matter how many times Judar offered to take him to a Dungeon, Hakuryuu rejected him.
He can never allow himself to depend on that power. No matter how great, he cannot take it. Hakuryuu tells himself that every day.
Relying on Judar's power is something he can never do.
Now though…
Who else can he turn to?
-7-
Hakuei.
The thought of her name hurts him more than anything else.
Somehow, he always thought she would at his side. That in the end, it would be both of them against the Kou Empire and that woman. They would avenge what had been done to them and restore what their father built.
He naively held onto such hopes.
Now, her shape as she walks away is all he can see.
It is not her fault.
He repeats those five words again and again. He revealed too much information at once. Anyone in her position would have been shocked.
It is wrong to expect her to abandon everything to join their… his cause.
It does not make it hurt any less.
It does not change that in the end she used Kouen's words.
-8-
The world is one
Those are the words Hakuei used.
Kouen's words.
He hates him.
It is not something as simple as jealousy or envy. Hakuryuu can say he truly hates Kouen as a person.
The world is one is nothing but sophism.
Does the motive change anything? How many countries have suffered because of them? How many people have lost families and friends? No matter how nicely Kouen dresses it up, he is nothing but a conquering tyrant.
Kouen has collaborated with the organization. Through them he has gained power.
He allows them to grow within the empire so long as it brings benefit to him.
For that alone, Hakuryuu hates him.
For that alone, turning to Kouen for help is unthinkable.
-9-
Hakuryuu's thoughts eventually turn to the few people he can call friends.
Aladdin.
Alibaba.
Morgiana.
He cannot drag them into this. No, there is more than that. Hasn't Aladdin already made his position clear? Hasn't Alibaba already expressed objections to his methods?
They are wonderful people. They are people dear to him. They are kind.
Too kind.
Their place is not at the side of someone planning a war.
Their place is not at his side.
No one's place is.
No allies. No family. No friends.
For the first time, Hakuryuu is alone.
And Judar's words keep ringing in his ears.
-10-
Curse your Destiny.
What does it mean?
The subject came up once or twice during his talks with Aladdin. Hakuryuu understands the basics of it. A person who curses his fate falls intro depravity.
His soul will never return to the Great White Flow after death.
Why?
Isn't there something wrong with that?
Is it not natural for people to be angry at each other? Is it not natural for them to fight? Is it not natural for people to hate?
The feelings that cause people to curse their fate are just another part of human nature.
The countries conquered by the Kou Empire… do they not have a just cause to hate? To curse their fate?
Who is he to deny them that?
Can anyone deny them that?
Why should the world punish them for it?
-11-
Days later, a stack of old scrolls and books sits on his desk. Rukh Theory all of it.
They are the writings of old magicians and even previous Magi.
Hakuei has not come to visit him and part of him is glad. Hakuryuu does not think he can handle seeing her right now. His mind has other matters to attend to.
White Rukh.
Black Rukh.
Where is the difference?
What is the Great White Flow?
Hakuryuu looks at his spear and wishes he could talk to Zagan. A Djinn's point of view would be invaluable. Alas, summoning him is beyond his Magoi reserves. There will be no easy answers for him.
Just what causes some to fall and others not to?
During his journey, he has met all kinds of people. He thinks back on the pirates and the woman controlling them.
Their Rukh was not black.
In spite of the horrible acts committed by them, their Rukh was white.
The difference is not as simple as good and evil.
Hakuryuu rubs his eyes and sighs before going back to his research.
-12-
A few days pass and he opens the door to Judar's room without bothering to knock. The head priest is on his bed, munching on a peach.
"What is the difference?" Hakuryuu asks.
Judar takes another bite of the peach, making sure to take as much time as possible.
"You are going to have to be a little more specific there," Judar says once he sees a vein bulge in Hakuryuu's forehead.
"White Rukh. Black Rukh. What makes one different from the other?"
For a moment, a smile appears in Judar's face, but it is gone so quickly Hakuryuu wonders if he imagined it.
"Well, that's a bit of a loaded question," Judar says, falling into a familiar cocky drawl. "With many different answers."
Judar sits straight and clears his throat before adopting a serious look. "White Rukh is the natural flow of the world. Its Will guides the world towards peace and harmony. For that reason, Black Rukh is an aberration, an attempt to interfere with the natural order."
The serious look fades away and he shrugs. "At least, that's what some people will tell you. Others will say White Rukh is the aberration. Free will is impossible while being controlled by the Will of the White Rukh. Only through Black Rukh can people achieve freedom."
"That is what the organization taught you?" Hakuryuu asks. He does not try to keep the accusation out of his tone.
"That's what they believe," Judar says, falling back into bed. "They are really adamant about it. Fanatic even."
They? Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "And you?"
"Philosophy is not my thing." Judar says. "As far as I can tell, it's all the same. People talk about freedom, peace and destiny but you know what? People are always being controlled. They are stupid like that. For example, a certain prince who lived his whole life ruled by hatred. Whether your Rukh is black or white, the situation doesn't change, does it?"
Hakuryuu frowns at the obvious dig.
"Or maybe like a certain Magi who was raised from birth to further the organization's goals," he counters with.
To his annoyance, Judar just smiles and nods. "Point. Some people are just not in control of their destinies. The color of their Rukh will not change a thing."
"Although," Judar says, "I guess you can say Black Rukh is just more honest in the end. If your life is already cursed, is cursing your fate really such a bad thing?"
To that Hakuryuu does not know what to say.
-13-
Days pass. He sits on his room and mediates.
He is Hakuryuu, son of Hakutoku.
He is Hakuryuu, prince of the Kou Empire.
He loves his sister. In spite of recent events, he still does. His feelings are not something that can change so easily.
He loves his friends. Even if they did not part on the best terms, he loves them still. He will never forget the grace and kindness they showed to him. Regardless of what the future will bring, he will always remember them as his dear friends.
He hates his mother.
He hates her; so he cannot allow her existence. He hates the organization she is part of; so he cannot allow their existence.
People who so easily trample the lives of others and bring ruin to their countries cannot be allowed to exist.
Their complete destruction has been his goal since that day so many years ago.
Maybe, just maybe, Judar has a point.
Maybe he is being controlled by his hatred, but what is the alternative?
Let it go?
Impossible.
The blood Hakuyuu shed for him on the fire cannot be allowed to go to waste. The crimes of the traitors cannot go unpunished.
In the end, Hakuryuu is too honest to lie to himself and pretend it is all fine. He is too honest to swallow his hatred.
To do so would be the highest betrayal.
If he does such a thing, he will truly become trash.
In the end, he will not deny his hate. He will erase those he hates.
In the end, there has only been one path for him to take.
Hakuryuu exhales and opens his eyes.
-14-
Once again, he slams Judar's door open. Once again, he finds him lying on his bed.
The Magi looks up and his lips curls into a grin.
"Let's go," he says, before walking away without so much as a second glance.
It is unneeded.
Judar is already walking beside him.
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AN: Well, this was fun. Kind of. I'm trying a few things in regards to writing style, so this is not exactly my usual. Hope it turned out fine.
This is part 2 of what I affectionately call the DARKNESS Bros series. Check out my fics, for the other part starring Judar if you liked this one. If you have already read it, then I thank you for sticking with me for the sequel.
I have always been curious on just how these two characters joined hands. We never get to see the moment when Hakuryuu accepts Judar's offers so thinking about it was fun for me.
For extra comments on this (and thoughts on a possible sequel), check out my Livejournal. A post for this story should be there soon enough if it isn't already.