The Dance Of Life

by DeLacus

"You are nothing short of my everything." Prior the conquering of Baal's Dungeon, a modern woman wakes as a youth within the world of 'Magi.' The eccentric Yunan becomes her distant guardian. Sinbad elicits much of her forbearance and emotions. At least most of her friends are sane, and what was this about trying to outwit the Seer of Kou? SinbadXOC. T/M rating. Many AU qualities.

4. A Haughty Djinn

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*** Note I – A big thank you to those favoring, following and reviewing my fanfic; it really makes me happyyy~ =') You people are awesome, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter~! =D ***

*** Note II – Disclaimer: All canonical work is under the ownership of their respective creators. All fanworks posted are intended for personal, entertainment and non-commercial use. No copyright infringement is intended. *** I only own the following: My OCs, non-canon places; ideas, events, storylines and plots that are my own and not in the original canon; and, my imagination~ :3 ***

*** Note III – Honestly the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my fanfictions. *laughs* It's not in my preferred style to write one past ten thousand words, but I made an exception for this 'cause I wanted to conclude the rest of Emilia's Torran Village sojourning in just one last chapter. ***

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~ 003 – A Haughty Djinn ~

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"Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."

~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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In a spare corner of the back left side of Tio's tipi, Emilia settled herself upon the colourful rugs on her knees and placed her dark brown leathery travelling bag down beside her. Said bag was not small, nor was it overbearingly large. "Oh, thank you," she expressed amiably when the Torran Chief's nephew settled a spare woven brown mat, a couple of off-white sheets and an off-white pillow before her kneeling form. She was about to ask why he had seemed own more spare bedding than the average villager who lived alone, but then she inwardly concluded that these had most likely belonged to his deceased wife.

The meeting with the venerable Chief of the Torran Village was a rather quick one. The elder had informed her that Yunan had visited him sometime earlier that morning; leaving this travel bag for the girl and expressing that he will be journeying to a different continent for a little while. The chief had then asked his nephew if he was willing to house her for until Yunan returned, to which Tio then said that he was fine with it. Due to her sudden sojourning at the large village, Tio decided to give Emilia a more extensive tour of said village as she was actually unfamiliar with where most of everything was.

"Oh, yes, please do," came the girl's good-natured response. "Though, could I inspect my bag first? I won't be long."

"Sure. I wait outside." Tio exited the flaps of his home, and she saw a small handful of Rukh follow him; giggling like mischievous faeries.

Unclasping a couple of silvery buckles, she opened the flap and rummaged within: There were a few spare underwear and breast bands; some thin leather strips to tie up her hair when the occasion called for it; a slightly rounded, wooden hairbrush with black boar bristles; her finer white dress with the long slitted skirts and the dark blue sash, and her baggy white night-tunic; her sketchbook with some lead, and– oh, thank all of the fairy godmothers in existence. Yunan even remembered her cloth pads for her period!

A thin, rolled-up piece of parchment then caught her attention, to which she promptly unrolled it:

Little one,

Fate commands; the Rukh guides; a boy strives, and Baal calls.

I daresay, then, that you know very well what this means? Hehe, expect my return no sooner than two weeks and no later than two and a half months. Be good and please refrain from mercilessly teasing others, else I will ban you from eating pie for one full month!

~ Nan

Doing a double-take, Emilia snickered at Yunan actually referring to himself as 'Nan.' And then, with an eloquent smile, her eyes widened as she shoved the Magi's missive into her bag, immediately closing the flap. I knew it! He is going to the Parthevian Empire, after all! A part of her wished that he would have taken her with him; then again, she did not want to leave Tio prior to learning more and perfecting her training as much as she could.

With a slight bounce in her steps, the Otherworlder waltzed over the tipi's threshold. The bright rays of the sun assaulted her vision for but a moment as she approached Tio, who was staring far off into the distance yonder the vast sea of green-and-brown trees. She gazed in the same direction, where elaborate gold filigree decorated a slender, colossal obsidian black tower.

As soon as that Dungeon had risen three days ago, the chief had decreed that no one should venture inside of it, nay, not even traverse near it. Not that the elder man's words were going to be heeded by every single person, but there have not been any incidents as of yet.

Emilia procured an interested smirk. "Are you perchance thinking on whether or not you want to go inside?"

Silent and blank-faced, Tio turned to her and regarded her for a couple of quick moments. "Perhaps. Perhaps not."

She vaguely cocked her head to the side – basically, he did not want to talk about it. "By the way, what's that?" she asked as she pointed diagonally to her left, towards the circular, grey stone structure that was somewhat close by and had borne a close resemblance to the Stonehenge.

"For celebrations. And night meals. Every evening, villagers come dine together and give thanks."

"Give thanks to King Solomon, right?"

King Solomon, King Solomon, the Rukh chirped with tranquil reverence. With the lack of breeze, the day felt hotter than usual.

"Magi said name was lost to world but us."

"Ah, well, Yunan explained some things to me," she lied rather nonchalantly as she fanned herself. Again, she did not like having to stretch out the truth a bit, but the occasion did call for it in a way.

Tio regarded her. It was not easy to discern this particular man's thoughts. "Come," he began, "I show you around. Pay attention. Won't repeat myself."

She smirked. "Of course, Sir Instructor."

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… Two Weeks Later …

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"Here you are, madam. Will that be all for now?"

Chomping and swallowing the last of her bright orange carrot, Emilia handed a woven brown basket filled with a myriad of herbs in which had owned various shades of green to an old woman who sat upon a thick blanket and underneath an awning, just a few feet away from her tipi.

Smiling kindly, the herbalist with long and dark silver-grey hair tied into a braid gingerly accepted the basket and placed it atop the blanket. "No, that is it; I thank you, young one. May I call upon you again some another day?"

The ice-blue eyed girl smiled. "Of course. It was a pleasure to be of service," she farewelled and turned on her heel; soon then meandering through the bustling village and between the Torran folk who were going about their day. It was unusually cloudy this afternoon, but there was a bit of sunlight that struggled to make itself known.

Tio doubling the amount of Emilia's training – both with him and some more sparring sessions with a few other youths that were around her physical age – as well as the time spent on him educating her on herbs, preparing them for healing, tending to wounds, and how to properly care for one's weapons; were not the only things that changed throughout these past two weeks. Withal, the foreign girl had been acclimating herself rather well within the village by offering her assistance to those in need – such as assisting some of the elder herbalists by venturing out to certain places to collect certain plants, and helping some of the women with their huge loads of laundry or sewing endeavours. However, she was mostly put to the task of looking after some of the younger children when their parents or other relatives were a little too busy with whatever chore or job that needed to be done. Although sometimes annoying (children were definitely not perfect saints one hundred percent of the time), Emilia honestly did not mind it, especially when the mothers were merely too exhausted at times.

She started to miss Yunan. Well, she had begun to miss him since almost four days after his departure, but it was only now that she really felt as though something was absent from her life, albeit temporarily. Emilia was used to seeing him every day; used to constantly spending time with him, and his presence and voice soothed her being and her spirit, especially in the beginning when she had first woken up in this world . . .

Tio's tipi suddenly met her vision and she made a beeline towards it. As soon as her shoes left the walkway and stepped onto the grass, the aforementioned dark brown-haired warrior emerged from the flaps of his abode; dusting off what looked to be a bit of wood shavings from the white cloth wherein was wrapped around his hips.

Emilia rose an intrigued brow. "Oh? Were you carving something?"

"Yes," came the hazel-eyed man's response in his usual blunt tone.

"May I see?" She was genuinely interested.

"No."

"Pleeeeeaaaaaase?"

"No."

"Will you at least tell me what it is?"

"No."

"Not even one vague hint?"

"No."

"Whyyy?"

"Because no."

She pouted; widening her eyes akin to the manner of the Shrek movies' Puss in Boots character. His response was an expressionless expression that surpassed all blank expressions. Reaching towards his right hip, he then unsheathed one of his two curved long daggers – the one without the Torran Language engravings – and presented it to her.

Managing to hide her glee behind a mask of poise, Emilia took it in her left hand. "More knife training, but with the actual sharpened blades this time?"

Tio smirked, and his eyes were blatantly challenging her. "Let's see if can keep up."

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Emilia was not entirely sure how she got into this conundrum.

Five children had approached her; asking her to play 'hide-and-seek' with them in the forest beside the village, and she had consented after making them promise that they would not venture too far in.

In no time, she found three of them and instructed that they return and wait by the edge of the village, near some of the warriors who were on sentry duty. The fourth one she had with her, and she crouched over her upon the earth, hiding amidst huge bushes. "Shhhh," she murmured to the little girl as, from a distance, the fifth child was being so rudely manhandled by two tanned and dark haired men who looked like they were probably from the south or centre of the Tenzan Plateau. The little boy was gagged, and he was terrified into silence.

"I could not find any other children hiding around," spoke a man with a coarse beard.

"Doesn't matter. We are somewhat close by the village – we ought to leave now," replied the other one who tightly held the boy against his torso. "We were lucky to find one so soon!"

Birds never ceased to chirp, and the trees provided ample shade from the glaring sun.

"Quiet," Emilia whispered gently in accented Torran while the two slavers began to walk deeper into the forest. "Go. Get help." Tentative, the small girl covered her mouth with both of her palms as she turned in the opposite direction.

As discretely as she could, Emilia proceeded to follow the men at a distance; maneuvering around a plethora of trees and large bushes. After stepping over a half-hidden fox den, she followed them up a hill; and then reaching the tip of it, she noticed how, at the bottom of said hill, was a wooden barge wherein floated upon the wide and deep river. It was being helmed by two other men, who looked similar to the two she was following. A fifth man lackadaisically laid on his back atop the lengthy boat.

She could discern the voices of the two males with the bound six-year-old boy greeting their companions before then climbing on board. As soon as two other men gripped their long oars, the boat slowly began to move.

Delving into a run after ten seconds, the girl darted between a myriad of thick trees down the hill until she reached the banks of the river. Before the barge could further distance itself from land, she suddenly emerged from a cluster of bushes, jumping into the boat and knocking a man in a white turban off into the water in the process. The dark-haired boy was positively relieved when he saw her, but his cloth gag muffled his voice.

"What?! You are not Torran!" one of the incredulous men shouted. "What is someone like you doing here?!"

"Sorry, gents!" Emilia ignored his question with smirk, and she untied the boy's rope bonds that were rather sloppily wrapped around his wrists and ankles. She was a bit anxious and jumpy at doing this absent any help from Tio or some other warrior, but so be it. She was the one who had decided to follow the slavers to try and see if she could stall them. "This one belongs to a Torran family!"

The boat was further distancing itself from the forest. Emilia's heart was pumping.

"Not anymore. Step away from our product; this is none of your concern!" yelled the man with the coarse beard as he offered his assistance in pulling his fallen companion onto the boat. Spitting out water, the soaked man glared at her with irritancy and his black boots squelched.

She lifted the boy into her arms; and tugging at the gag, the child tossed it from his mouth. "He was under my watch; ergo, my business, you arse!"

"Let's swim," the small boy whispered to her in the Torran Language.

The two muscular men who oared the barge started to row at a faster pace. Aiming to grab at the boy, the angry wet man lunged at her, but Emilia ducked and stepped to the edge of the long boat. "Jump right back in if you really want him!" she hollered whilst throwing the youngster into the deep blue waters.

Because the river was calm this afternoon, she held no worry. The people of the Torran Village all held the skill of swimming and children were taught shortly after turning five years old.

Wow, they look absolutely pissed! Emilia almost received a kick to the stomach, but she swiftly pushed the foot to the side and stepped away. She dodged another grab; and when she did as such, she noticed that, in the distance behind the barge, a long-haired Torran warrior was moving out into the water to assist the swimming boy. She procured a victorious smirk.

More come, more come, a couple of Rukh chirped.

"Damned bitch!" insulted the bearded man when he suddenly lifted her into the air with his large hands encircled around her neck. "In his place, you will be –!"

The sensation of being choked did not last for long, for a white-feathered arrow with a black tip now embedded itself into his temple without warning. Emilia dropped to the boat, and as that man tumbled backwards atop the wood, a second arrow swiftly lodged itself into the back of one of the swearing oarsmen's head.

Standing up again, the girl noticed Tio and a black-haired warrior standing between the trees with bows in their hands. The former's eyes met hers. "Get over here!" he called out in his deep voice.

Emilia felt a bit queasy. "You'd better be ready to catch me, Tio –" She ran along the length of the barge, avoiding another slaver's frantic grasp. "– because I can't swim!" Taking in a deep breath, she leaped.

"WHAT?!"

She could no longer perceive any more of Tio's yelling, for her body pierced the cool water. Almost completely silent, she gradually sank . . . After six seconds, she began to open her eyes, immediately then closing them at the initial first sting of the liquid. The girl did not worry since she knew Tio was coming; yet at the same time, she kind of worried because the deeper she descended, the more it felt as though the water was crushing her. She estimated that she only had maybe ten or twenty seconds of oxygen left . . .

Strong arms encircled her; suddenly pulling her up. Powerful long legs moved and moved, and then cool air assaulted hers and Tio's faces. She coughed out a bit of water.

Breathing heavily and holding her against his torso, the warrior glowered down at her in incredulousness. "'Cannot swim?'" He looked like he had just woken up from an overbearingly bad dream. "Silly girl! Very important; must learn!"

"Whatever you say, Sir Instructor!" a relieved Emilia tittered. An unimpressed Tio tched.

It looked like one more thing was going to be added to her repertoire; unfortunately, she was not looking forward to these upcoming swimming lessons as she was not the biggest fan of it. Ah, well. I'll just tolerate it. It is an important skill to have, after all.

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Emilia rose from her bedding later than usual one morning – it would have been the equivalent of nine-thirty judging by how brightly the sun was shining through the tipi – and immediately found something to be amiss.

Tio was an early riser; if Emilia was not awake by at least around the six-thirty mark, he would have pulled her out of bed, and so him allowing for her to sleep in this late was outrageous. It just simply never happened.

Throwing the cream-coloured sheet to the side and scrambling to her feet, she ran towards the closed flaps of the tipi; uncaring about her slightly tousled bedhead and the fact that she wore nothing underneath her white night-tunic as she took a couple of steps outside. Not one person nearby was Tio. She ran her fingers through her waist-length hair to smoothen it out . . . Oh, there was Maire strolling alone towards her.

The black-haired woman hailed the girl in refined yet accented Common Tongue. She looked to be distressed.

"Maire, have you seen Tio?" came the younger's rapid question.

"That is what I am here to inform you of. Earlier this morning, one of the warriors under night duty saw Tio leave the village, heading for the Dungeon. He tried to stop him, but Tio stayed his course."

As skilled a warrior as he may be, the girl worried for the man. Dungeons, at the very heart of them, do not test a person's prowess (or lack thereof) at swordsmanship or other forms of physical fighting. Will the Djinn inside acknowledge him as a King Vessel, or will it turn Tio away and have him starve to death from within?

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Emilia attempted to go fishing for her breakfast but failed miserably yet again; and so she enlisted the assistance of a man whom she had helped multiple times in looking after his young children whenever he or his wife were otherwise occupied. She cleaned Tio's tipi and dusted off all of his rugs. She sat perched upon a tree branch with her sketchbook and lead in hand, drawing the sceneries surrounding the Torran Village. Spending the next hour stretching and training by herself, she then spent the following four hours incessantly training with different warriors and young warriors-to-be that were around her age. The girl was then invited to have somewhat of a late midday meal with the Torran Chief and his family.

Such was her Tio-less day thus far. It has been three days since his departure.

Dungeon calls, Dungeon calls, tweeted a couple of Rukh that flapped over her head and above her face.

Currently, Emilia laid upon her back atop the soft green grass on the outskirts of the village; the lukewarm mid-April breeze caressing her body and slightly ruffling the short skirt of her training dress. She could hear a bit of chatter from the close distance of said village, as well as the occasional neighing of some of the horses from the wooden paddock.

She pondered the Rukh's words. Does that mean that this Dungeon will be captured very soon? Will Tio be the one to do it? To stop herself from worrying way too much, her brain, once again, wondered towards the realm of food. Specifically waffles, unsurprisingly. This time, she thought about a fluffy waffle with two scoops of traditional vanilla ice cream; topped with sliced baked apples and applesauce, and sprinkled with cinnamon –

Suddenly, a handsome yet young and pretty face with big light blue eyes and long, braided platinum blond tresses hovered over her. A shocked little "Ah!" released from Emilia's lips. "Yunan, don't scare me like that!"

Sitting cross-legged above her head, the Magi merely laughed a rather musical laugh as the fingers of his slender left hand lightly tapped at his magician's staff. "Oh, how honoured I am to hear that my little one has missed me, as well!" Teasing, he dangled a light green pear before her eyes.

Her subtle look of brief frustration morphed into that of an entertained smirk. Sitting upwards, she took the sweet fruit and chomped on it. "You're late, by the way." She was exaggerating, of course – Yunan's letter had said that he would be back no later than two and a half months, but here he was one month and two weeks later.

He feigned offence. "There is no such thing as being late or early for a Magi. We merely appear to those who await us precisely when we mean to," came his rather posh response.

Oh my goodness, he pulled a Gandalf! Emilia burst into laughter, which had Yunan pout like a baby. "You just unintentionally quoted a fictional character from one of my favourite stories from back home!" she exclaimed, calming herself down.

Amused, the Magi chortled. "And was this character also a very highly-skilled user of magic?"

"He was, he was!" Although, he seldom displayed it. She took another bite out of her pear. "And how did you find Parthevia?"

"'Tis constantly sunny, and the sun is always too bright."

"Is that not also the case here?"

"There is ample shade here. Over there, one can barely find any decent protection against those murderous sunrays."

"But your hat is huge; should that not suffice?"

"No, it does not suffice!" Yunan groused; his eyes glistening with the desire to cry. "And there is too much open space – do you have any idea how naked I had felt?!" Thankfully, however, the land was ripe with barrels.

Baby Yunan, baby Yunan, chirped the Rukh.

"Fine, fine; I offer you my condolences for such an ordeal." Rolling her eyes in humour, Emilia shoved the remainder of the fruit into her mouth. Swallowing, she spoke again: "Have you accomplished all that you've needed to over there?" She doubted it as Baal's capture took two whole months in the real world.

Yunan composed himself. "No . . . Almost. Baal's capture seems to be taking a while, so I decided to return here for a little bit before going back." And then a delicate smile adorned his lips as he reached over and gently took her hand in his. "Come, I think that it is time to do this."

Desert dunes filled her vision in three seconds. Emilia's and Yunan's feet now stood upon light golden brown sand; the sun was brighter than usual, and the breeze was almost non-existent. Turning around, she found that the desert turned into trees and grass fifty feet away. She felt a light tug on the hand that Yunan still held onto.

"If we had walked from the Torran Village, it would have taken us almost a day," the Magi added lightheartedly.

She turned around again; her pupils taking in the tall obsidian black tower that had looked fifty times more massive up close than from a distance. She could see the more ornate decorations of the gold filigree wherein had covered the Dungeon; swirls and jaggedness; straight and more clean designs; some intricate floral reliefs that almost seemed elven in design . . . Withal, the way that the sunrays reflected off of the bright gold and the shiny black was almost blinding.

And then she took an unimpressed, nearly reproachful gander at the way up towards the entrance of said Dungeon: A flight of one thousand steps. On their own, the steps where rather beautiful – well-polished black marble that shimmered splendidly – but the stark number of those stairs were ostentatious and disgustingly plentiful.

"Ah," Emilia rose her voice with furrowed brows and faux fear, "So you force me to face one of my greatest enemies: A shit ton of stairs."

She immediately became amused when she saw a smirking Yunan then procure a subtle eye-roll. "Come now, little one, they are merely stairs. Do not be so dramatic."

You're one to talk. "Well, that amount is ungodly. Who does this Djinn think he or she is, decorating its' entrance with a thousand steps?"

Yunan's smirk turned into a peppy smile. "Then you are in luck, for I shall whisk us up there at once!" And in a second, the duo were, indeed, standing upon stunning black marble at the very top of the insanely lengthy staircase. Before them was a golden archway encasing a doorway that was white and foggy. There was even a bit of dainty silver-white sparkles amongst the mist-like substance.

Traverse inside, traverse inside, encouraged the Rukh.

The pit of the girl's stomach proceeded to churn. "So, ah, you really are having me go inside there?" she asked nervously. She felt his hand squeeze hers in comfort.

Smiling, Yunan gazed down upon her with encouragement, and a kaleidoscope of Rukh flapped about around him; twittering nonsensical things. "Soon, you will be exploring the world, and so I–Why do you look like that? Surely you did not expect to stay here forever?" he interrupted himself as soon as Emilia began to look a little perturbed.

A light bit of pink tinted her cheeks and she turned her face away. "Obviously not! I do eventually want to travel this world. But . . . I haven't been in it for a considerable amount of time yet; as of today, I've only been here for three months and two weeks." She re-faced him. "And yes, I have already learned much; I've trained incessantly; my skills have greatly improved, but I could do with a lot more. I doubt that I am ready. Not yet."

I need more training or I'm going to die again. Besides, I know Yunan's not going to come down with me – he did not join Sinbad, after all, but he is a First-Class Singularity and he did have Drakon with him. Everyone else had a Magi or an entourage to assist them. But I'll have no one . . . Unless I happen to run into Tio, should he still be alive.

Yunan's hand unclasped from hers, and he brought it to the side of her head, tenderly stroking her hair. "Is anyone truly ready? Go inside, little one, you must."

"No." Shaking her head, she took two steps back. "I don't want to. I don't want the trouble of having to face whatever's in there and I do not even want a Djinn. Not yet, Yunan."

Taking a couple of steps towards her, the Magi's eyebrows lowered. "You must, Emilia, you must do so now! You won't die in there, I can promise you that. Trust in the Rukh – they will most certainly guide you," he pressed in a more firm tone, yet his eyes held a certain gentleness and concern within them. His grip around his magician's staff tightened. "I want to see you safe."

Emilia, Emilia, chirruped a couple of Rukh who had landed upon her head. Go inside, go inside. We help, we help.

Taking a few silent moments to gaze into the misty entrance, Emilia then gifted him with somewhat of a sardonic glare as she loosely crossed her arms over her abdomen. "How ironic your words are. That thing is no safe haven." She walked passed him, and her right foot was about to lower itself onto the first step when Yunan's free arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Have you forgotten your situation?!" the Magi rose his voice, albeit it was not quite a yell. Pulling her towards him, her back met his chest; and unsurprisingly, she caught a whiff of sweet nature and tea from his physical self. "You know that I cannot always be there to see you safe. You have been training to defend yourself against non-magic opponents, yet what if you come across a magician who wishes to do you harm? What if that magician somehow finds out about you and forces you to go with them?"

Like someone from Al-Thamen? Reluctantly conceding with the Magi, she let out a groan of frustration. Emilia wanted to bang her forehead against those beautiful black marble stairs. "Then I will die or surrender myself to them, unless I happen to have the power of a Djinn at my disposal. Damn it all; how could I have actually forgotten that?" She took in a shaky breath. "And Tio! I do not want him to die in there . . ."

She turned around when he removed his arm from her. "Then you must go to him," Yunan said with a small smile and saddened eyes. "I did raise this Dungeon for you, after all. Capture it, and my mind will be put to a little more at ease."

Quietly regarding his words, Emilia took tentative steps towards the foggy entrance until she was a mere five feet away. She looked up; a low whistle flying out of her lips. Icy blue irises gleamed with a sudden, brief impishness. "You know, with the height of this thing, do you think that the Djinn inside is trying to compensate for something?"

When she turned around, Yunan met her question with a blank face that rivalled Tio's. "Such indecent humour."

"Says the man who indecently shoots Dungeons up all over the place."

"What can I say?" came Yunan's usual cheery response. "'Tis one of a Magi's many duties should the time come in certain eras."

Emilia giggled. "I was going to say, 'just because it's something that you have to do, doesn't mean that it is something that you should do,' but one cannot really fight against Al-Thamen without powerful magic, now, can they?"

"Unfortunately, no. Now please, little one, I know that you are stalling for time. I will wait all day and night – and even longer – should it become necessary."

She shrugged in a bit of a flippant manner. "I know, I know." Taking a few more steps, her nose was now a centimetre away from that swirling, misty entrance. She turned around again. "Yunan, I –"

"Oh, just get inside of that Dungeon, you difficult child!" whined the platinum blond man with a slightly exasperated pout as he literally shoved his ward through the archway.

Yunan and the sunny skies dissipated from her view as she descended into an abyss. Damn it, Yunan, I was going to ask you what Dungeon number this was and what the name of the Djinn is!

The sensation of falling turned into that of floating; and in one long minute, silvery white stars from such far away distances proceeded to litter the blackness wherein had surrounded her. And then a giant orb appeared before her; an earth with oceans and continents of competently unfamiliar shapes compared to her Earth. At a slow pace, this planet spun around and around, with great pillars of pale golden light rising from it.

This sensation was a weird one for Emilia; but if she were to sum it up in one short sentence, she would describe the feeling as, 'being transported into another world.' Or, at least, to another dimension or plane of existence.

Absent any warning, the earth-like globe ceased spinning, and a beam of white-yellow light engulfed her. Once again, it was black . . . And then she felt hard rock beneath her legs and bottom. The dark grey rock of the cavern was everywhere – ceiling, walls, and the floor many feet down the lengthy passageway – and, other than the sconces upon the walls, there was nothing else in sight.

Go straight, go straight! the Rukh called out.

Emilia stood up immediately, and the fire from the torches flickered here and there. Turning around, she noticed how the seemingly never-ending cavernous tunnel had also stretched out behind her. It was too quiet . . .

No, no. Turn around; go straight, came the Rukh's calm yet high-pitched voices.

Slowly, she began to move her legs. She had to pinch her own arm once to clarify for herself that this was not a dream; she almost could not believe that she was actually inside of a Djinn's Dungeon! Although none too keen on this prospect, she could not deny that there was a part of her on the inside who was excited for this. On the outside, however, she was irritated at Yunan for forgetting to give her some sort of weapon for this misadventure.

In the darkened, torch-filled cavern, the girl stopped to take a gander at what had suddenly met her feet: Carved into the rock was a written language that took the form of lines, tiny circles and very skinny triangles. Hm. I bet Tio had no problem with this. She had managed to obtain a certain understanding of the Torran Language over the past many weeks – with regards to speaking and understanding said language, she was now a little more past the beginner's level of comprehension. About the actual written Torran Language, however, she could not yet read or write any of it.

Procuring an almost inaudible sigh, Emilia stepped over the smoothly-carved writing and continued down the pathway; the chirping Rukh fluttering and dancing after her.

…

Panting and wiping a layer of sweat from her forehead, Emilia stood up after trying to crawl her way through this cramped, tight, and almost completely darkened tunnel. It was rather maze-like; and if it were not for the Rukh, she would still be aimlessly meandering throughout it, lost. Not to mention that she probably would have died going insane in that damn claustrophobic place. Prior to that, she was forced to climb up cliffs and shimmy across their insanely narrow pathways. All of that dark rock felt quite hot, it was as though magma was hidden somewhere on the other side. And before her spelunking, she had darted across bridge-like walkways whilst dodging falling stalactites and trying her hardest not to fall into a lake of lava many feet below.

All of this took her three hours and as much as she wanted to sit down for a little while, she ultimately decided against it. A few cuts littered her body; her short dress was a little torn, and her left black shoe was missing – it had fallen from her foot when she was climbing that massive cliff.

The room wherein Emilia currently found herself was now of shiny black marble. It was a large and naked room with torch-filled sconces and one slender golden column protruding from the very centre of it. Said column was more like a stand; and on top of it, was a polished ruby that took the shape of an orb. Beyond it, at the opposite side of this room, was a wall with a circular dip carved into it.

Suspicious, the girl tilted her head to the side. So, all I have to do is to take that ruby orb and fit it in that wall . . . No way. This looks way too easy.

The Rukh were silent. At somewhat of a slow pace, she sauntered towards the ruby; and as she did as such, she realized that charred black ashes were almost camouflaged against the dark marble. Human ashes, perchance, from some of the people who have entered this place before? If that was indeed the case, she dearly hoped that Tio's ashes were not amongst them.

Now standing before the giant, bright red ball, Emilia fixated upon the ruby, and it almost seemed as though the gem was begging to be taken by her. She took it in both arms and the torches' flames were doused absent any warning. It was completely black . . . Until mini balls of light slowly began to emerge from the ground.

Emilia, Emilia; go straight, the Rukh called out to her. Ignore them, ignore them.

But she did not, for the balls of light now took the shape of small fire-butterflies. Nestling the ruby in the crook of her left arm, the girl brought her right arm out to the fire that was gentle and never-stopping.

"Stay with us," one of the elemental butterflies said when it landed upon her forefinger before flapping away. "We will put your worries to ease."

Mesmerized, Emilia turned around; ignoring the Rukh's voices as more of these butterfly-shaped fireballs began to emerge and cover the entirety of the black space. Another one landed upon her nose. "Come. Stay with us. We are beautiful, are we not?" this one said before twirling away.

No, Emilia, ignore them! the Rukh's panicked voices rose. Leave them, leave them!

Silent, she turned around again. All of these butterflies flapped as though they were in a special dance; thin threads and wisps of fire trailing from them like dainty, curling little ribbons.

"Become one with us. Become one with us." More butterflies proceeded to speak.

Turn around, Emi! Go right, go right!

"Stay with usss."

Put the ruby in; put the ruby in! The wall to your right; the wall to your right!

"Join in our beauty; revel in our beauty."

Emilia brought out her finger again; but this time, the fire-butterfly that touched her had stung her with its' heat. She blinked, and she felt as though her mind was free from a puppet-like trance. Wait, what exactly just happened?

The fire groaned. It was rather eerie. "No, no; join them! You must join their ashes! Become one with the beauty of it all!"

"Get away from me, you creepy little shits!" Emilia screamed as she frantically dodged the incoming butterflies. The delicate elementals tried to swarm her, to burn her to ash, but she kept moving and twisting and turning; following the Rukh's instructions on where to go.

Hurry, hurry! the Rukh yelled.

A cry of pain released from her lips as a butterfly burned her lower thigh and another two stung her bare arms. Her heart beat loudly into her ears as she had her spare hand trail against the wall.

Lower, lower! With a bit of their light, the Rukh fluttered down the dark marble wall.

Her cheek felt a hot sting; a bit of her hair was singed; the arm wherein held the orb began to burn . . . Suddenly, the Rukh's light presented her the circular hole; and without any ado, she shoved the polished ruby in.

A fire-butterfly aimed for one of her eyes.

The floors beneath her feet disappeared.

"Ah!" yelled a half-startled, half-relieved Emilia as she descended down a black marble tunnel and away from those sinister things.

And so she slid and slid and slid down a twisting and turning passageway. The hot temperature gradually became lukewarm, and then it started to become cold. To her dismay, her right black shoe slipped off and dropped out of sight. After about a couple more minutes of sliding, the tunnel dumped her into a bright circular room of white and pale blue. A plethora of wide-arched halls decorated the iced walls of the area. Her breath morphed into wisps of mist, and her bare feet now stood upon what seemed to be a mixture of ice and crystal. Hugging herself, she shuddered – this short dress and lack of footwear would not do in this low temperature!

No, no, not there. A swarm of Rukh flew in a straight line across Emilia when she was about to step into the closest passageway to her right. Stopping for a moment, she made her way towards the opened doorway beside this one, but the Rukh advised her to avoid this pathway, as well.

Not necessarily annoyed, she crossed her arms loosely over her abdomen. "Well, where do you want me to go, then?" Still a bit rattled from that butterfly fiasco, her question came out in an agitated way.

Over here, over here, answered a few of those white-gold birds as they hovered over an archway three openings to her left. Be careful, be careful . . .

Promptly, she jogged through it before then slowing down into a precautious walk as massive ice-like rocks, ledges and spikes now protruded from the wide walkway of the huge cavern.

Fuck it, Yunan, if I actually die down here, I'll make sure that my ghost haunts you for the rest of your life!

Meandering between them and turning a couple of corners here and there, the girl suddenly stopped; and she bit the inside if her cheek in uneasiness when she came face-to-chest with a grown blond-haired man with brown sandals, light grey eyes, and garb that looked very Reim-like. He even had a gladius strapped to his right hip. Looking a little surprised, the man suddenly smiled. "I did not expect to see a girl wandering within such a desolate place."

"I am a traveller." Emilia decided to borrow Yunan's and Aladdin's typical introductory.

He seemed a bit amused. "A traveller with nothing but a torn dress?"

She shrugged. "I lost my shoes climbing. I was pushed in here unexpectedly by a sensitive idiot, though, and all of my things are in this village I'm currently staying in." She noticed how the last part of her sentence brought intrigue to this man, and that was when she came to the assumption that he was either a traveler himself, or a slaver. "And how did you get in here?"

"Speaking of a village, my companions and I were on our way to one within this area; but then we saw this giant tower, and we thought that there would be riches inside due to its' outer appearance, but it is all shit in here. We have been trying to escape."

"Companions?"

Keeping a friendly disposition, the blond man jabbed a thumb behind him. "My friends are settled down at the end of this passage. One was burnt alive by these creepy butterfly-looking fires, I almost could not believe it! And two went missing, and so here I am trying to look for them." His pupils raked over her physical features.

"I didn't see anyone on my way here. It is possible that they have wandered down a different passageway, or that they've died somewhere else. It's better that you rejoin your comrades."

He procured a nod. "I see . . . Thanks." His smile dropped.

Emilia maintained her calm and cool. "And you won't escape until you find the treasure chamber. It is not, as you say, 'all shit in here,' but it will take you time and perseverance."

"Oh?" his voice rose in interest. "Have you been inside one of these magical towers before?"

"Yes," she lied. "And all of the gold, jewels, and other valuable items that you will eventually find will be worth it." It was kind of fun attempting to gather his unspoken thoughts from such a man.

Excitement and greed flashed through the Reiman's eyes. He clapped a hand against her shoulder. "Come, little girl! Help my companions and I, and the cost shall be equally divided."

He's lying. She smirked – it really was fortuitous that she had maintained her adult mind from her world because the real thirteen-year-old Emilia from many years ago had been a little more on the gullible side. "Lead the way."

And so he did with Emilia a couple of feet behind him as they lackadaisically meandered down the white-blue icy passageway. The man was the first to break the silence: "Did you mention that you were staying at a village?"

The Otherworlder rose a brow. "The Torran Village."

"And here I had assumed that those savages despised outsiders," he spat contemptuously. She suddenly felt defensive of these people, but the man spoke again before she could retaliate. "When we are finished here, how would you like to help my friends and me in locating this village? And then we can bring you back to Reim. You are from our glorious Empire, are you not?"

Hm. So they are human traffickers . . . "Yes," she lied once again; although, it did feel a bit weird referring to it as a 'lie.' Yes, Emilia was not born here, but she did have Roman ancestry due to her mother and her mother's family being mainly Italian; ergo translating that into the Magi world, she would indeed be considered half-Reiman.

"Excellent! Your rewards shall be guaranteed once you've helped us in selling a few Torrans."

"Yeah, no thank you," she replied sarcastically through angry eyes whilst taking a gander at his sword. "Because you will then try to sell me off in Parthevia, or some other country where my colouring isn't as common, won't you?!" She pulled out his gladius from behind, but in the midst of that, the Reiman spun around and knocked her away; the sword clattering against the breathtaking, chilly ice-crystal floors.

"Clever girl," said the man with a joyless smile as Emilia rolled over her right shoulder and wasted no time in standing back up. He spread out his arms. "Be good and come here."

"You be good and turn back. I will do the same." Looking at the sword again, she vaguely bit her lower lip. Damn, but the Rukh told me to go down this way.

Sliding his blade behind him with his foot, the Reiman smirked. "There will be no weapons, here – I would not want to damage such goods."

She flexed her fingers. He moved a few fast steps towards her whilst bringing his arms out to grab her, but she simultaneously ducked, immediately then delivering a swift punch into his groin. A low yell of pain escaped from the man's lips as he dropped to his knees; and she was about to sidestep away from him when he harshly grabbed her wrist. "Fucking little shit!" he raged while punching her against her temple. "You will come with me!"

Stumbling upon the smooth floor, Emilia rubbed at the side of her head; and when he began to pick her up, her patience instantaneously became nil. One hundred crawling millipedes may as well be squirming within the pit of her stomach at the thoughts that had suddenly claimed the forefront of her mind. Ha! 'Monsters who happen to wear the skins of humans,' indeed!

A startled gasp was heard from him as soon as he had lifted her to his eye level, for Emilia had swiftly grabbed at his clothes; throwing herself towards him before then sinking her teeth into his throat. His eyes greatly widened, and she bit into him using the same amount of chomping strength she would typically use when chewing into a particularly tough piece of meat.

"Ah . . . Ahhh . . . Ahhhhh . . . Ah!" came his strangled, fear-stricken gasping as Emilia pulled her face away, spitting out the raw flesh from her mouth. Blood spurted from his jugular; and gasping for air, the Reiman collapsed against the cold floor, convulsing in his state. Plunging her left fist into his throat, she seized whatever she could and pulled her arm away; flinging that slippery man-flesh away. And that was when the blond man ceased moving altogether.

Quivering and in distress, the girl slid off of her very first kill. Her throat felt constricted and the taste of his blood made her gag. I cannot believe that I had done that. I can't believe that I had done that. I –! Absent all elegance, she bent over and vomited out her lunch. She suddenly heard footsteps, and tears proceeded to stream from her eyes. No, no, go away; don't see me like this!

Coughing out the last of her vomit, her head spun to the side as soon as she felt a large, slightly rough yet comforting hand come down upon the crown of her head. "Tio, you're here!" She turned her whole body around as the tanned and muscular warrior with dark blue tribal paint and a myriad of scars shoved his water skin into her face.

Safe, safe, uttered the Rukh.

"Here. Clean mouth," he spoke in his usual blunt voice, yet his clear hazel orbs looked rather saddened. Graciously, she took the skin. The man's eyes trailed from the torn throat of the dead Reiman to the thick, dark red liquid wherein caked his pupil's left hand and wrist; her jaws and chin; a bit of her neck, and there were some specks that marred her short white dress. "Fucking cunt," he spat bitterly. "Making you do that." Kneeling before her, he took his water skin when she handed it to him; and then taking a closer look at her face, he brought his right calloused hand towards it and wiped her tears with the backs of his fingers. "No crying. Silly girl, why you here?"

All that Emilia desired to do for the moment was to hug Tio, but she decided against it. She doubted that he would reciprocate, anyways. "Yunan returned. He had me come inside." Taking in a deep breath, she wiped her bloody hand long the skirts of her garb.

"Tch, of course." Now standing, Tio scowled. "Stupid Magi. Too dangerous."

"But I am glad to see that you're not dead – it's been some time." She stood as well, and her legs were a bit shaky.

His face was deadpan. "Only been few hours."

Although still not feeling well, she managed a small half-smirk. "Three days have passed in the real world. The time difference is very different within these Dungeons."

"I see . . ." That seemed to have piqued his intrigue for a short moment.

"By the way, where's your bow and quiver full of arrows?" she wondered after finally realizing his slight lack of equipment. "You never leave the village without them."

A long five seconds passed before Tio decided to reply. "A beast. Huge, powerful, yet quick. Wolf-like. Used all arrows and it broke my bow."

Wolf-like, wolf-like, a couple of Rukh twittered. Be careful, be careful . . .

She rose a brow. A beast? I didn't see even slight traces of one . . . Hm. He probably started off in a completely different area of the Dungeon, then. "But you managed to slow it down, right?"

He smirked, but it was not a victorious one. "Of course. Now come; no need stand idle."

Emilia's mouth slightly opened when Tio turned around, for five bloody claw marks were etched into his back. Thankfully, they were not terribly deep (obviously, since the man carried himself without any visible problems, and he did have a high pain tolerance), but they were not mere cuts, either. "And did this beast do that to your back?"

"Yes. Narrow escape. Must hurry."

The girl felt a little queasy when she took one last gander at the torn throat of the slaver's cadaver. "He was a slaver, you know, and he said that he was originally on his way towards the Torran Village. There are more of them at the end of this tunnel." She lifted the Reiman's sword.

A light shiver creeped up her spine when Tio suddenly turned around with a mad expression twisting his face. "Seems like I must first hunt scum." She said nothing as the two of them proceeded to trudge down the passageway; dodging random spikes and avoiding holes in the ground, and turning many a sharp corner here and there.

Running a hand through her snowy white hair, Emilia broke the silence: "You muttered, 'Of course,' when I said that Yunan pushed me in here. He informed me that he had risen this Dungeon for me – did you somehow know of this?"

Tio did not turn his face when he replied. "Had feeling."

"Yet you decided on entering anyways? I know you've been contemplating doing as such since it had first appeared."

"Wanted to see if can capture myself. Use Djinn's power for my village."

You know, I feel like there's something else . . . A sudden competitive smirk graced her lips. "Then it will be fun seeing how this Djinn will choose between the two of us."

A vague sparkle of excitement flashed through Tio's eyes. "Indeed."

As soon as the duo turned a particularly sharp corner, they caught sight of a shadow upon the shimmering ice-and-crystal walls down the passageway. And then a voice sounded, a voice calling out what seemed to be a Reim-sounding name. Tio pulled out his blade; sashaying towards said shadow. Emilia followed suit; the voice sounded again; and after five more steps, another Reiman with short light brown hair emerged from 'round a corner.

"Ah." The newcomer seemed a bit surprised at finding someone else other than his companions. His eyes were fixed upon an expressionless Tio. "You are of the Torran Tribe, are you not? Have you seen a companion of mine? I think he got lost; he has blond hair . . ." But his speech trailed into silence, for that was when a blood-stained Emilia moved to stand by the Torran's side with his companion's gladius gripped into her right hand.

He pulled out his knife, but a swift Tio seized his wrist and twisted it; eliciting an angry cry of pain from the Reiman when the bones of his poor wrist cracked. His knife fell from his grasp and clanged atop the pretty floor.

"My apprentice, cunt," Tio began with a scowl whilst raising the other arm in which held his blade. "No touch." Thrusting his arm forward, the gladius went through the Reiman's mouth and out the lower back of his skull.

Emilia released a shaky breath; closing her eyes for a long moment before opening them once more. "Thank you for that." I guess. It feels weird thanking someone for killing someone else, but Tio did do it for my sake.

"Of course." The Reiman slumped to the ground as soon as Tio pulled his sword back. He flicked his wrist, and much of the red liquid that had coated the blade was flung along the walls and floor.

They continued down the winding passageway; and after turning one last corner, they found a short hall leading into a wide-arched exit. Emilia walked in front of Tio this time, but then the warrior immediately shoved her against the wall, for an arrow whizzed passed them.

"Who is it?!" yelled a masculine voice. "We heard our comrade's cry – come out and answer to whatever you have done to him!"

"We can see your shadows!" hollered a gruffer voice. "Don't bother trying to hide!"

Emilia exhaled slowly. "Shall we, then? We absolutely have to go this way; the Rukh say so."

Noiseless, Tio pondered her words. She can see and hear the Rukh even though she was not even a simple magician? "Behind me, then."

Her brows lowered, and she craned her neck to look up at his very tall form. "You know I can help you, Tio; you did train me, after all."

"COME OUT, NOW!" A second arrow rapidly flew by Tio's short brown hair, chopping off a couple of strands.

"No." Despite his somewhat saddened eyes, his voice was firm and direct. "No more. Children should not kill. You have me; I do for you."

She began to feel warm at his surprisingly caring demeanor. He really can be a ball of kitten fluff at times, could he? If she had maintained her adult body to go with her adult mind upon coming to this world, she could not deny that she probably would have ended up having a crush on this man down the road after getting to know him a lot more. Only a short passing fancy, however, because she more so thought of him as a dear instructor and friend. Not to mention that he was also still in love with his deceased wife. "Fine, then," came her quiet response.

Ruffling the hair atop her head, a pleased-looking Tio turned and walked carefully towards the bright, wide exit with Emilia trailing behind him. The warrior suddenly brought his blade up to his chest, and a third arrow ricocheted off of the silvery thing. "Not bad aim," he commented to himself. "But slow. Predictable."

"Of course, I should have known that we'd have a Torran in our midst!" a derision-filled voice jeered from one of the six Reim slavers many feet away. He held a bow in his left hand.

Emilia and Tio slowly stepped through the archway of the passage and into a large, open-spaced cavern with many ice-crystal stalactites, stalagmites, holes and ledges along the uneven walls in which seemed to forever travel upwards. Their footsteps procured small echoes. It was very bright within, and northwest to the two was a cliff that had most likely led to a river considering that there was a waterfall by their peripheral visions. The girl could tell that most of these slavers seemed to be uncomfortable with Tio's presence, and with the fact that he was slowly advancing upon them akin to a lion stalking prey. She stayed close by his side, albeit not too close as that would hinder his free movements.

"Look scared!" Tio derided with a rather sadistic smirk – an unsurprising change in attitude whenever he came face-to-face with human traffickers. "Shat yourselves?"

The Otherworlder could have sworn that she had just heard a vague echo of a low growl, but she passed it off as the hum of the waterfall . . . Although, glancing up at Tio's face, she noticed how his pupils were beginning to dart all over the place, and his hold on his gladius seemed to have tightened.

"Y-you are one against six! That girl doesn't count!" responded an uncertain bald Reiman with a thick knife in hand.

"No, you will all die unless you back down and let us through!" Emilia retaliated. Her grip around her "borrowed" sword tightened. Come on. Don't have Tio kill you. Destroyers of lives as you may be, I don't want to see any more. Have the Dungeon kill you, not Tio!

Beast comes, beast comes! a few panicked Rukh tweeted. Flee, flee!

"There will be no such option!" screamed an enraged bearded Reiman as he unsheathed his gladius. "We demand blood! You– oh . . ."

"Then blood you shall get," she heard Tio whisper emotionlessly when a shadow covered them. Fear-struck Reimans stared up above in the direction behind the duo, but the Torran man calmly sheathed his blade. "Good hunting, beast."

And the shadow neared. Reim slavers began to disperse in hysteria. Long, silvery hooked spears for claws narrowly missed Tio's broad shoulders when he ducked and flung himself towards Emilia; hugging her tightly against his body as the two of them rolled away, avoiding this roaring newcomer. She could hear bloodcurdling screams from the men, shouting nonsensical things in their final moments.

"Time to go." Wasting no time in getting back onto his feet, Tio lifted her up. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, the warrior's legs pumped at such a speed towards the cliff.

Curious, she peeked over his shoulder at a great beast that was busying itself with tearing at a shrieking Reiman with its' maw. Said beast did indeed look like a wolf, yet it was almost more of a deformed wolf. The large eyes did seem creepy – they were completely white with thin bright red veins; but they did not own irises nor pupils, either. Its' long and thick fur was rather nice-looking; black, with this deep sapphire-like blue sheen to it. Some of Tio's arrows poked out of the wolf-beast, yet it did not seem all that hindered by them . . . Although, there was a vague limp in one of its' hind legs.

Emilia buried her face into Tio's shoulder right before the beast finished tearing that man in half. In four seconds, she felt the warrior jump, and they held in their breaths just prior to piercing the cool river.

…

After roughly thirty minutes of just laying by the banks of the river and catching their breaths, Emilia and Tio sauntered with purpose down a slender tunnel from which the Rukh had recommended that they traverse through. Their clothes were wet, but at least they no longer uncomfortably clung to their bodies like a second skin. His short hair was actually almost dry, but her tresses were still mostly wet. Their skin felt chilly, yet they welcomed that refreshing water – Emilia because she managed to thoroughly clean off the blood from her flesh, although some of it had refused to come off and there was no use in even thinking about cleaning it off of her clothing; and Tio because the claw marks upon his back were itching and irritating him. The cold water had at least alleviated some of that sensation, and he hoped that they were approaching the Dungeon's end so that he can hurry and have his wounds tended to.

Absentmindedly, the girl flexed her fingers with slight irritation. She had lost her borrowed blade somewhere within the river when she and Tio were swimming away from the action.

Almost there, almost there, chirruped the excited Rukh.

She mentally smirked. About damn time we got out of this shithole. This Djinn had better be worth the trouble!

Exiting the cramped tunnel, the duo found themselves in a similar gargantuan and open-spaced cavern as the one where they had briefly confronted those Reim slavers and that beast: White-and-blue ice-crystal stalactites, stalagmites, holes and ledges along the uneven ground and walls obnoxiously littered the vicinity. The ceiling was so high up that they could not see it at all; however, there were this time no waterfalls or rivers.

"Tio, I think that's the end," Emilia commented in a relieved tone when she pointed in the distance before her; and absent any hesitation, they began to walk in the direction that she had gestured towards. At the very end of this huge room were great, shiny black marble doors. Chiselled into the centre was this circular dip. The girl titled her head to the side. Another one of these fit-the-jewel-orb-into-the-hole things? But I don't see any gems here.

She hopped over a fissure in the ground, and Tio ducked under a couple of spikes wherein stuck out from the sides of one of the giant ice rocks. Out of curiosity, Emilia looked behind her – perchance the jewel orb was hidden somewhere else here? But as soon as she did, her head spun right back 'round and she lowered herself behind a rock. Ceasing his movements, Tio was about to ask her about why she had done that when a low, guttural growl suddenly resonated throughout the cavern.

The beast has the orb, chirped a couple of Rukh. The beast has the orb.

"Tio," she murmured, "It's time for us to defeat the final boss."

Amused by her choice of words, Tio, so very slowly, unsheathed his gladius before then handing it to her. "Climb up. Use instincts. Strike when you think it right."

Long, sharp claws were heard clinking and scraping against the floors.

Despising how he was planning on making himself out at bait, she took the weapon in both hands. "Don't die."

"Won't come unscathed."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that you absolutely have to die."

"Not up to me."

"But –"

"Go, silly girl!" he snapped, and the beast growled louder. He could hear its' loud sniffing. Reluctant, Emilia parted from him.

Turning around and slowly walking backwards, Tio fixed his pupils intensely upon the wolf-like creature. Pulling out both of his curved long daggers, he deftly held them in both of his hands, and he held up his body with such poise and confidence. Oh, yes, he was definitely not coming out of this unscathed; but so be it, for he had already resigned to his fate.

The beast's feet crushed the rocks and spikes as it advanced upon the warrior, and its' elongated ears twitched. Bringing his right arm up in a rapid arc, Tio managed to slice at one of its' paws whilst dodging those dreaded claws before then running underneath the belly. He brought his left dagger up to cut at it, but the fur was just so thick under there. His sword would have had a chance, but it was with the girl.

Livid and not sure as to where exactly under it the man was, the creature kicked its' hind legs forward – that had brought Tio out as he had sidestepped away from those dangerously-clawed paws, but then the beast brought its' massive tail around and swiped the man. Flying and dropping many feet away, the warrior was nearly impaled by an icy spike that that was only one centimetre to his left. His back did hurt, though.

For a split second, Tio noticed Emilia trying to climb to higher ground; jogging along the upper ledges somewhat near him and the creature. He inwardly smirked as it seemed as though she was considering doing what Tio had wanted her to do in the first place. Thankfully, that wolf-like thing was only focused upon him, and so all that he needed to do was to have it stay mostly still for at least five seconds.

He ran under the beast's long body right when it tried to pounce on him. When he turned around he had managed to deflect its' claws with both of his curved long daggers before then rolling under the aforementioned body. Such things continued on for a short while: The beast attacked, but Tio would dodge and roll under the body in different directions in attempts to have it lose its' bearings . . . And then the roaring beast managed to trick him; and in doing so, it took the opportunity to swing its' tail as hard as it could against the man, who was then lifted into the air at a fast speed before then crashing against a couple of massive, icy wall-like rocks. His grip never slackened from his daggers.

Tio could have sworn that he had heard a crack or two. He hissed in pain whilst struggling to sit upright – oh, yes, a few of his ribs were broken. The creature gave him zero time to stand up again; instantly closing its' maw around the warrior's torso and stabbing its' long and pointed teeth into his flesh. A deep, tortured yell pierced the area, and the man proceeded to feel dizzy.

And then his slightly-blurred vision caught Emilia leaping from a high ledge.

"Fucking puppy cunt!" Using the last of his strength, he swiftly reached his arms out and stabbed both of the corners of the wolf-beast's mouth.

Landing upon the base of the large head, she gripped at its' thick fur to steady herself.

Because of those daggers, the deadly mouth was forced to go lax. The creature procured a high-pitched whine as the man fell from its' jaws. It was about to shake its' head . . . And then it was silent, for Emilia had plunged Tio's gladius into the skull. The beast collapsed.

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no! Gritting her teeth, the girl's pupils trailed over a severely bloodied Tio. He coughed, and some of that thick, red liquid dribbled out the corners of his mouth. She hopped off of the wolf-creature's cadaver and ran towards his laying form. "Tio!"

"You did . . . Good," he rasped with a shaky breath. Slowly, blood seeped from his many wounds.

"Only because you taught me useful stuff," she responded quietly. A sense of panic began to grow within her.

A flash of light blue light randomly appeared and the clanging of weapons against the floor sounded. Turning, Emilia noticed how the beast's corpse exploded into a trillion of sparkly blue particles; and in its' place, was a big and polished deep blue sapphire orb. "Oh. Oh, Tio, I'll be right back!" she called out as she ran to the gem, lifted it, and then ran all of the way towards those pretty black marble doors. Fitting the jewel into that circular carved crevice, the doors started to open on their own, but she opted not to wait and instead raced back to a quietly dying Tio. She immediately gathered his weapons that were strewn across the ground, soon then fitting them into their corresponding sheaths upon the man's belt.

"C-come on, Tio. We're almost there. A-almost there." Desperation swelled within Emilia when she moved to Tio's head; crouched down to lift his shoulders, and started to drag him. "Oh, jeez, why are you so heavy? All of these damn muscles!"

Chirping silently, Rukh began to flutter around them.

A feeble chuckle flew out of his mouth. "Silly girl . . . Leave me. Almost there . . . No waste t-time on m-my behalf."

"Don't you 'silly girl' me!" Angry eyes feeling watery, she blinked back her tears. "And yes, the end is beyond those doors, so I am going to drag you over there –" She struggled to pull him, and a trail of blood upon the ice-crystal floors emerged. "– I will bring you back to the village and I will have all of your wounds looked after." The stench of his blood almost had her gag, for it made her mind trail back to when she had torn out that Reiman's throat with her own teeth. Thankfully, she had managed to calm herself down.

Weakly, the warrior shook his head, and she noticed that his facial expression was quite relaxed, almost soft. His lips were even twitched into a smile, albeit a not very noticeable one. "Already gone, silly girl . . . Allow me d-die . . . With little pain as . . . P-possible." He coughed.

"Oh, so that's what it is." Exhaling, her eyes widened as a sudden realization came to her. She gently lowered his shoulders and head upon the floor. "Obtaining this Djinn's power for the Torran Village was your second choice outcome for this venture." She kneeled by his side. "Because your first choice was to die what you felt was a worthy-enough death, and masking it as an accident while trying to accomplish something for the sake of the village. Is that it?!" Gritting her teeth, she shook her head. "Tio, I've been told that you haven't been the same since five years ago, but I don't think that this is what your wife would have wanted for you."

Tio's answer was silence, but there was a slight tinge of guilt within his eyes. "You were . . . Good student . . . Make sure . . . Continue hone skills," he finally spoke in a voice that was almost in a whisper. The fingers upon his bloodstained left hand twitched – he could now barely move his limbs on his own.

Emilia took it in her two smaller hands. "Of course!" She procured a joyless smile. "How else will I get better, then?"

"T-thank you."

"What for?"

". . . Was fun . . . Teaching you . . . Brought back f-feeling and . . . A-and memories . . . Of teaching . . . S-son . . ." His eyes became half-lidded, and his chest barely moved from his gradual lack of breathing.

Still refusing to cry in front of him, she shook her head, and her hold around his cold hand tensed. "And I must also thank you; for training and teaching me different things; for allowing me to stay with you when Yunan left . . . The first two weeks were really rough, but we came to an understanding, a-and you were so patient with me!" There was more that she had desired to say, yet she kept her words short. "I am happy that it was you, so thank you, Tio."

"Oh . . ." His fingers around one of her hands slackened, and his eyes focused upon the ceiling where there was apparently something he could see but she could not. "Oh . . . See them . . . I see them!" the warrior expressed weakly, and he held a sudden small smile of tranquility and contentment.

He's leaving me. He's leaving me. Biting her lower lip, the girl closed her eyes. "Tio."

". . . See wife . . . A-and baby . . . I . . . See them . . . Emilia."

Tio saying her name for the very first time was the very last word that he had had uttered. She refused to release his hand as she heard a giant swarm of Rukh chirp and gather around the man's body, soon leaving and dissipating away. Her eyelids stayed shut until she felt a warm hand ruffling at her head; and opening her eyes, she saw a white-and-pale gold translucent Tio standing by his corporeal self. At first glance, he seemed to don a blank expression; but upon meeting his eyes, she noticed how he gazed upon her with a certain encouragement and some rare Tio-version of lightheartedness.

"Please don't leave," she begged softly.

But his spirit transformed into Rukh, and those Rukh had soon fluttered away, disappearing from her sight.

"Please come back." Frantic, she turned her head in multiple directions. "Don't l-leave me. Not in here, all alone . . ." Her voice trailed to quietness as soon as her eyes met the opened massive marble doors.

Not alone, not alone, a few Rukh cheeped whilst landing in her hair. Return to Yunan; return to Yunan.

Emilia sighed inwardly. That was right: The treasure chamber was merely within sight; she was not going to be alone for long, she was going to see Yunan again.

Half-despondent, she turned her head and lowered her face to gaze at Tio's damaged body. She released his hand and brought a couple of fingers towards his eyelids to close them over his clear hazel irises. He looks so very much at peace.

Standing on vaguely shaking legs, the girl walked around to his head; lowered herself to pick up his shoulders once more, and continued to pull his heavy body along. Adamant, she was definitely not about to leave him here.

And so she dragged and dragged and dragged Tio's corpse across the pretty pale floors. She could have sworn that ten minutes have passed by, yet they were not even halfway towards the treasure room. More blood was smeared atop the ground, and the scabbards wherein where attached to Tio's belt lightly scraped against the ice-crystal . . .

Finally, they were now ten feet away. Easing his shoulders and head on top of the ground, a huffing Emilia dropped to her knees to catch her breath, and she wiped a light layer of sweat from her forehead before then placing her other hand upon the man's shoulder. "Almost there, Tio, almost there. You will be home, soon."

Loud, struggling footsteps unexpectedly pierced the air from across the huge room.

She took a sharp intake of breath. "Shite."

Emerging from the same tunnel exit as her and Tio prior was a limping bearded Reiman with nasty, claw-like gashes embedded into his torso and legs. His left arm was ripped off, but his right hand held a stained gladius. "Oh! Can this be? I made it!" he exclaimed, and he held an unhinged look within his fearful eyes.

Emilia felt her heart tightening. No, not now. Go away! Why are you still alive? Her fingers flexed uncomfortably.

The Reim slaver's heavy breathing was heard from such a distance. "It's you again, it's –" His widened eyes took a gander at Tio's corpse, and that was when he broke out into cruel laughter. "Serves him right for leading that monster to us!"

Despising herself for what she was about to do, the girl reached over and unsheathed the Torran's gladius. Leave us alone.

"And where might this monster be, little girl?!" The newcomer continued to limp in her direction.

Glaring with sudden hatred, she rose to her feet and proceeded to walk towards the man. And here I was hoping that the day's killing was at an end.

His laugh was insanely gleeful. "But no matter, no matter; that Torran bastard is dead! Such a lovely sight!"

Emilia noticed how his pupils were fixed upon Tio's remains. She gritted her teeth; she wanted to cry; she wanted to scream. "You get away from him!" she raged when he thrusted his sword at her. Holding Tio's blade with two hands, she easily blocked the attack; spinning away from him and simultaneously taking advantage of his limping leg by throwing her foot out and sweeping the Reiman off of his balance.

She kicked his blade away when he attempted to crawl after it; and before he could utter even one single word, his throat was rudely gifted with a deep slash. Some blood splattered against her dirty dress. Turning her back on that new cadaver, she hugged herself as she slowly trailed back to Tio; almost feeling dead on the inside as a couple of tears slowly cascaded down her cheeks.

Emi, Emi, a couple of Rukh peeped as they flapped by her head. Don't despair, don't despair!

"I'm not Falling," she whispered to herself; sniffling. "Not so soon after coming back to life again; this isn't enough to make me do it. I will not Fall." She was repeating that final sentence to herself as a little mantra until she reached Tio. "Sorry that took some time, Tio." Sheathing his gladius, she once again lifted his shoulders and dragged him through the dark doors.

The inside of the chamber was a large rectangular room filled with innumerable amounts of treasures that had currently took the form of carved stone. The entirety of the walls, floor and ceiling were of shiny black marble; and along the walls, were sconces that were all filled with bright fire. In the center of the room, a flight of twenty dark marble steps led to a dais where what looked to be a sword was sticking out from the ground. Okay, that has to be the Metal Vessel. This son of a tart better be worth it!

Hurry, hurry! Awaken the Djinn; awaken the Djinn! The Rukh were excited.

Reaching the base of the steps, Emilia carefully lowered Tio's upper body upon the smooth floor before then plodding up the stairs. The sword that had greeted her was lodged into the very centre of the dais; its' overall design was elegant, yet it held a simplicity to it as well. Absent a cross-guard, it was a long and slender weapon wherein slightly curved at the bottom – the shape of it reminded her of the type of sword that she would have expected of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's elves to have wielded. The metal blade was of an obsidian black colour; and so was the hilt of it, only said hilt also owned some delicate strips of gold wherein were embedded into and around it. Laid atop the ground in front of the sword was a corresponding metallic scabbard that was also obsidian black in colour, and its' locket and chape were of gold.

Emilia eyed the pale golden glowing of the eight-pointed star that was found in the centre of the blade before then stroking it with the backs of her fingers. Instantly, the room now radiated splendidly with the shimmering of gold, jewels, and other valuable items.

"Mongrel who so rudely rouses me from my slumber!" boomed a mass of bright blue smoke that was in the midst of emerging from the Metal Vessel. "Name yourself at once so that I may properly mourn your death should I decide to kill you."

Emilia wanted to face-palm herself, but she opted to grip at the short skirts of her dress, instead. Such haughtiness. I am really not in the mood . . .

The aforementioned smoke materialized into a light blue-skinned male Djinn with an unsurprisingly well-toned body and quite the handsome face. Gold decorated his figure: Rings upon his fingers; earrings all along his ears; bracelets and armlets in ornate designs, as well as a couple of anklets; a wide choker around his neck; two round piercings shoved through both of his nipples, and a thick and wide belt that was wrapped around his waist and upper hips. From said belt flared a long, white kilt-like garment that bore a close resemblance to an Ancient Egyptian-styled shendyt. His ears were not elongated, but they each held a delicate elven point to them. Withal, his eyes were of the same bright and piercing ice-blue as Emilia's, and his wild and wavy hair – which was so long that it had surpassed his buttocks – was a snow-like white; although due to him being a Djinn, it came as no surprise that it also had a natural pale blue tint in it. His third eye was clearly displayed upon his forehead for all to see.

But what stood out to Emilia the most was the fact that this Djinn looked like David Jehoahaz Abraham. Not exactly like him, per se, but if someone were to say that they had shared the same blood, she would believe them. At least this one has eyebrows, she thought wryly. Besides, why fret over something so trivial? That Womanizer Djinn, Focalor, looks like Sinbad, but they don't secretly share any ancestry.

Anomaly, anomaly, chirped some of the Rukh that fluttered around him.

"Hm." The Djinn seemed to be regarding their words as he scrutinized her with an almost arrogant-looking expression. He hovered in the air with both of his legs crossed and his arms folded over his abdomen. "State your name, child," he demanded in an imperious tone, "I will not ask thrice."

"Emilia Walker," she responded flatly.

"I will refer to you as 'Emilia,' then. Should I wish to, that is." He smirked almost mockingly. "A human who was born in a world not of this one nor of Alma Torran; who has died and was somehow able to travel over here, oh, how fascinatingly amusing!"

After all that had happened within this accursed Dungeon, she was really, really not in the mood. She only wanted to hurry up and get out.

Knows the future; knows the future, the Rukh in which had surrounded the Djinn stated.

Not a threat; not a threat, defended the Rukh surrounding Emilia.

Raising a brow, the Djinn vaguely cocked his head to the side. "Explain now, child."

"In my world, there are books written about what I had thought was only a fictional fantasy world. Clearly, that was no longer the case since waking up here."

"David was able to discern the future – not that he was capable of truly seeing everything; however, he was naturally able to see any kind of phenomenon wherein had belonged to the future due to devoutly studying the paths."

The girl scowled. "As I had just mentioned: Fictional stories in my world. Many people have read these ones back home. I am not, like, a female David or something."

He shook his head; seeming a bit amused by her last sentence. "No, you are most definitely not. I would know."

"You still haven't introduced yourself like a proper-mannered Djinn!"

Said Djinn looked irritated. "Do not demand something of me in such an audacious fashion, dirty mongrel child! I will decide what will be next said. Now, what is your wish?"

Rolling her eyes, Emilia crossed her arms. "Nothing. I just want to leave."

"Just so."

She was taken aback. "Wait, what? You are just consenting to this King Vessel-Djinn bond just like that?"

"Naturally," breezed his nonchalant response. "I wish to breathe the free airs again; and I refuse to have you undergo that idiotic 'final challenge' shite that the Djinns are supposed to do once possible Candidates touch our stars. The less time to waste, the better, and I am no entertainer!"

Hm, I might end up liking this Djinn; but for now, he is too haughty and demanding for my taste. The corners of Emilia's lips twitched a bit at his blatant desperation to leave this underground place. "And what if, say, a person with obvious negative intentions stood before you instead of me – would you accept him or her?"

She wanted to laugh at how positively offended this Djinn looked. "No you stupid child, I have standards! I would merely impale the cur after reading into it," came his arrogantly-toned answer.

"'It?'"

"Humans or other beings that I deem unworthy of my goodwill for whatever reasons I see fit."

Emilia was incredulous for a moment. This Djinn was most definitely going to be a piece of work to deal with! Oh, well, as long as he does his job, then . . .

He looked upon her with an intrigued expression. "My name is 'Mephistopheles'; however, you will address me by my shortened moniker of 'Mephisto,' as I greatly prefer it."

And so His Highness commands. Miraculously, she abstained from actually vocalizing that. "Fair enough." But his name did sound a little "off," so to speak. All of the seventy-two Djinns owned names from the Ars Goetia; and although not knowing even a quarter of those names herself, she knew that 'Mephistopheles' was not in there.

"I am the Maker of Contracts; the Djinn of Elegance and Equanimity, and my main elements are of ice and fire. This Dungeon is unnumbered."

Shaking her head, the girl fixed an intense glare up towards Mephisto. "You and this Dungeon are not supposed to exist!"

"Such impertinence." Sighing, the icy blue-eyed being tsked irately. "'Twas a mere fictional story in your world, indeed! But this is your reality now; do not expect everything to stay the same, mongrel!"

A literal headache was beginning to develop for Emilia from listening to this male's way of speaking. She sighed and calmed herself down. "Yeah, you're right. I should have already considered something like this as being a possibility, and so I apologize for the insult."

The way that the snowy white-haired Djinn gazed down upon her was somewhat haughty. "I accept your apology; after all, I can understand your shock." And then his pupils trailed behind her. "Who is this?" His massive arm extended above her; lifting Tio's body up from the base of the black marble stairs and placing him upon the dais five centimetres from Emilia's dirty and cut feet.

"My friend and instructor, Tio of the Torran Tribe," she answered sombrely whilst casting her gaze downwards towards Tio's peaceful face. "He died after the two of use managed to open the treasure chamber's doors, and so I had to drag him all of the way here. I wasn't going to leave him here – I wanted to return him to his home."

Mephisto fixated upon her with a very slight hint of satisfaction. "Such loyalty is admirable," he said earnestly before then clearing his throat. "Very well, then! I will make this contract with you and have you become my King's Vessel."

The Rukh were happy. Free, free!

Procuring a sigh of relief, Emilia smiled a sad one when she looked at Tio once more. Finally, we will be leaving. I won't be stuck in here, and I can bring Tio back!

Mephisto's obnoxious tch interrupted her from her thoughts. "Child," he began firmly, "Do not make the mistake of confusing my magnanimity as something that I wish to do for your sake! This is merely for me to see Solomon's new world in detail and to return to freedom; or rather, as much as this form of freedom will offer me."

"And do not presume that my sigh of relief is my gratitude towards you, Djinn!" she snapped. "I will be blunt with you: It was never in my true intentions to come here. I do not want you at all, but due to my circumstances, I am forced to have you. As I'm not a magician, your power shall prove to be most beneficial for me."

He glared at her in shock; disgusted with her manner towards him. She glowered at him in annoyance; exhausted from this whole Dungeon ordeal.

Mephisto's boisterous laughter suddenly exploded throughout the chamber, and his golden jewellery clinked. The tittering was at first ridiculing, but then it turned into something more lighthearted. He even wiped a tear from his right eye. "I do not see any metal on you," he observed after composing himself. "Do you have anything hiding under that dress?"

The Otherworlder shook her head. "No, but I have a few earrings. Although, I would rather they not be touched."

With a bold gaze, he procured an unyielding smile. "Nor would I have any intention of doing as such, for I refuse to part with my precious item."

That had piqued her interest. She gestured to the obsidian black sword. "You mean you had actually used this in Alma Torran?"

"'Twas once a much larger blade until it and my sheath were broken. The larger fragments that had managed to survive from being completely shattered into dust were re-forged into what you see before you. Its' new form is, I think, something that should suit someone of your build rather well." His reminiscing face morphed into one of utmost seriousness. "Child, knowing that your new Metal Vessel was once my treasured sword, I want you to care for it greatly. Nothing must damage it; I will not stand for even once scratch."

Rolling her eyes, Emilia sighed tiredly. "I know, I know. Jeez. Do you really think that I would purposely damage something like this? It's a beautiful sword."

Grinning smugly, that final comment seemed to have inflated Mephisto's ego. "Naturally, you would indeed think that! I happen to possess such excellent taste; ergo, expect nothing less."

Yunan, save me. Emilia bit her lip.

The Djinn lightly tapped at the black hilt of the sword with his left index finger. "With my Magoi, I shall now have us leave this unrefined and dismal place."

A figurative dark cloud lifted from the girl at the thought of her finally leaving, and of Tio being returned home.

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It was hot again; the birds chirped in the far distance; the sun blazed as brightly as it had always done within the Dark Continent, and the breeze owned a surprisingly vague chill to it.

With her new Metal Vessel at her side, Emilia sat upon her knees and shins atop the golden brown sand with Tio's head upon her lap; the fingers from her right hand woven through his short dark brown hair. Large, medium and small light brown sacks filled with all of the Dungeon's treasures surrounded her. They were all in this rounded indent within the earth from which the Dungeon had once stood. Looking up at the top of the cliff, she noticed that the bearded Torran Chief, and the warriors that had flanked him, all gazed down upon her and Tio with surprise, sorrow, and even a bit of joy at seeing that this Dungeon was captured by someone trustworthy that they know rather than some stranger who might do their village harm.

The Rukh around her chirped mirthfully.

Dispirited once again, her head lowered, and her eyes re-met Tio's shut eyelids. She did feel guilty about the warrior's death. And then Yunan's voice sounded to her left. She did not know what he had said. He spoke again in a worried tone, asking if he may use his healing magic for her wounds. The girl did not answer, but the Magi healed them anyways. He had even managed to close Tio's injuries, as well.

The first thing Emilia did once she returned to the Torran Village was having a bath – one of the girls, whom she had spent quite a bit of time sparring with in the past, even assisted her in scrubbing out the dried blood in which had stubbornly refused to come out at first. When she finished, Emilia clothed herself in her long dress with the slitted skirts and the dark blue sash. Near her, she caught sight of a pair of new, well-made flat black shoes – Yunan's work, most likely. Due to the severe state of her short dress, it was thrown out and burned.

Emilia was then given food (she purposely avoided the meat) and drink, but she did not consume much. The Chief asked her about Tio's death and of what exactly happened within that Dungeon, to which she procured detailed answers for him (Tono and Maire were there, too). For the remainder of the afternoon, she kept to herself. Concerned for her wellbeing, Yunan stayed around the village as well, keeping an eye on her from a distance . . .

When twilight came, the village gathered around a funeral pyre where a freshly-washed Tio lay. His linens were changed; his weapons were cleaned, and some of his more valued personal items surrounded him. The solemn elder chief with sorrowful black eyes then recited an eulogy for his nephew, honouring the veteran warrior before then honouring some of the other Torrans who had ignored his decree and entered the Dungeon prior to Tio, but have unfortunately never returned.

Vivid memories of Mephisto's Dungeon returned to the forefront of Emilia's mind, and she had to bite her lower lip. She did not want to cry in front of all of these people, and she felt Yunan's gaze upon the back of her head.

Before long, the pyre was ignited, and Tio's body disappeared into the flames, along with his personal effects and his weapons – sans his gladius, however. Earlier that day, Emilia politely asked the Torran Chief if he would not include the sword in the burning of Tio's corpse. When asked why, she only said that the matter was actually very important, and that she shall speak to him on the morrow as that would give her time to relax her mind and to properly think things through.

The stars were plentiful and shimmering during the late feast. Crickets made their sounds. Ten minutes in, the chief spoke again: As always, he began with giving thanks to King Solomon. And then he called Emilia forward. Almost hesitating, the fair-haired girl walked and stood by the short, elderly man with her eyes casted down.

He publically honoured her for succeeding in capturing that Dungeon before then expressing such gratitude towards her for returning Tio's body to them. The desire to cry proceeded to swell within her again, yet she held it back for the nth time. At the end of it all, the chief then officially named her a true friend and ally to the Torran People. The villagers rose their cups with welcoming, amiable and happy faces because after all of these many weeks, they were now starting to see her the same way that they would see Yunan.

Tono, Maire, and their spouses talked with Emilia for a couple of minutes, and then some of the youths and elders approached her. A few children jumped around her and played with her hair. She was even approached by Tio's warrior friends and they, too, expressed their appreciation for her returning his body. Throughout it all, she masked her sadness with a composed expression and a polite smile, yet all she wanted to do was to go to sleep.

Emilia barely ate a thing throughout the feast; and with what little she did chew on, she avoided meat as that would have elicited her tearing-that-Reim-slaver's-throat-out memory.

She was one of the first people to leave the feast. Hugging herself in her unhurried steps, she meandered through the pathways and around tipis. Turning to where Tio's tipi was, she was glad that it had not been taken down as of yet. Entering through the flaps, she noticed that his rugs were still here, too. And his bedding. Her bedding, travel bag and Metal Vessel were within the back left side of the tipi, but she stepped towards his things to the right. Flinging her shoes off and not bothering to change into her night-tunic, she set out his brown woven mat and fluffed out his pillow before laying down on her side, facing the walls of her instructor's home . . .

"Little one, the night is chilly," came a serene voice. Slowly, Yunan entered the tipi and saw the girl's back. She did not answer.

A few silent Rukh were perched upon her head and shoulder.

Lowering his magician's staff and placing his floppy forest green hat by it, the Magi pulled off his brown leather boots before then kneeling atop the rugs behind Emilia. His lips twitched downwards when he heard her quietly sniffle. "Here, you must cover yourself." He lifted a cream-coloured blanket and brought it over her slightly quivering body.

Yunan knew that she was still awake. He also knew that she desired to be alone. He, however, was not about to leave. With a delicate hand, he tenderly stroked the hair upon her head; and when he pulled back a tendril wherein was draped across her face, he felt a bit of wetness.

"Yunan . . ." she murmured and, to him, she sounded as though she was attempting to control her sobs.

"Yes, little one?" came his benign voice.

She sniffled again. "May I . . . A-ask that you b-be my pillow for the n-night?"

"You may." He felt genuine concern for her.

When Emilia shifted her position so that her body now faced him, his blue eyes softened as soon as they met her pained, tear-stained face. Before he could adjust himself, the girl rose her body slightly upwards, instantly leaning forward and resting her face against his lower chest. Her hands gripped at his forest green tunic.

Yunan's arms encircled her whilst she cried.

For Emilia, his soothing presence was most welcome, and it did help her in succumbing into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, it did not stop the nightmares from coming, the flashes of that terrifying beast; of all of that killing; of her doing something so animalistic to that Reiman's throat; and most of all, of Tio dying in her arms.

A little less than ten hours have passed when Emilia was inside of the Dungeon; however, one full month of the real world flew by. It was now the middle of May. Subsequently, she ended up capturing Mephistopheles' Dungeon merely one hour after Baal's tower was conquered.

.

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*** After Note I – Feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think~! :D So, I actually really liked writing Tio, his development with Emilia, and their interactions together . . . And then I go kill him off too soon. *whines* Why do I do this to myself?! ***

*** After Note II – On Emilia becoming a King Vessel: When writing a modern-person-ends-up-in-a-fictional-world fanfic, I am undoubtedly going to take advantage of the fantasy elements. I didn't want her to be a surprise secret fifth Magi because that mostly doesn't interest me (although, a realistically-planned and well-written one is another matter. If there are any lurking about, feel free to virtually shove one in my face). xD I didn't want to make her a magician either 'cause I more so wanted her to develop into a good enough fighter with a Djinn by her side. So yeah. King Vessel. I haven't read a lot of Magi fanfiction so far, so I don't know how common the main-OC-gets-a-Djinn idea is done, but oh well. If it is or isn't, I don't care. All that matters to me is if it's done well, and, of course, having fun~ ***

*** After Note III – On Mephistopheles: Though I've taken the liberty to create a seventy-third Djinn/Dungeon realm, I am keeping with "tradition" by giving this OC a demon name; albeit, not one derived from the Ars Goetia since it houses seventy-two beings. Mephisto is from German folklore, originally appearing in the Faust legend. Despite this fanfic eventually containing many AU qualities as it goes on, why would I create an extra Djinn if only a select few of the original seventy-two were actually characterized and given to certain canon characters? My answer is a bit of a random one: It's just a very addicting name to say, and I do very much like the aesthetic of the spelling. *avoids eye contact* Don't judge me; it's not my fault that Mephisto isn't part of the seventy-two, LOL. xD Not to mention that writing in a character with a history of mischief and deal-making does have a certain appeal for me. But I actually have also developed a lot of plans for him, so there's that. =3 ***

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Guest: First off – FOR REAL?! HOW FABULOUS. \(*0*)/ But that's kind of too bad, though; I hope they get translated sometime soon, then. As much as I love the original Magi series, I am liking the Sinbad-focused prequel a little more, actually. x3 Thanks for letting me know. And LOL, yes, always thinking about food is me as well. Food is . . . I have no words to describe such heavenly beauty. Thanks for reviewing, and have a great week~! :D

Lina: I apologize, but . . . What is this, 'follow her,' that you speak of? o.o Anyways, thank you very much, and have a great week~! =D

Guest: Thank you very much, and I hope you have a great week~! :D

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