*Bursts from a large pile of essays, reports, and presentations* I'M ALIVE! It's been a while, but I managed to come back due to the power of Winter Break and Christmas!
On a more serious note, my Fall Semester in college was pretty busy, so I found that I didn't have much time tor work on the story so sorry for the delay! Many apologies to those who waited every day for me to update. *bows* I try my best to bring the chapters to all of you as soon as I can. Please be assured that I won't be dropping this story, like, ever. I've invested too much time on this thing to do that now.
As compensation to your patience, I have written a very, very long chapter. I think it's worth the length of two of my shorter chapters. Along with that, I have added a Chibi-Omake AND two Mirror, Mirror short stories! I hope that you like them!
Questions:
Is the Modern AU got inspired in SAO or was it just a game in a computer shop or something?: The Modern AU was inspired by the movie 'Summer Wars'. It was only until later that I decided to add in elements of SAO. Of course, the characters won't remain in the digital world 24/7. The modern reality is just as interesting as the digital world.
Did the Blessed Children all lose their powers? Or did Sai steal their powers? Can he do that?: Yes, the Blessed Children lost their powers. They lost them due to an intricate magic seal in the Torran language made by Raul (that bastard). Sai did not and cannot steal the other Blessed Children's ability. His 'steal' only applies to djinn equips and magoi-sucking mediums.
I really like the idea of the "Mirror, Mirror" verse, though wouldn't the OC characters (Amani, Yasmine, Sai, etc.) sort of be 'outed' to the others as not of this world/time/dimension?: Yes. But, they can still interact with the alternate universe characters.
Will Shion be grounded again after defeating the Medium? (He did ran away to the battlefield without Sinbad's permission): Oh, most definitely. He's in trouble and Sinbad is surprisingly responsible when it comes to his son.
Will Shion ang Kohaku share their first kiss anytime soon?: To Be Determined
Will there be a temporary alliance between Sindria and Kou? Romantic relationships between heirs (Shion ang Kohaku) are very strong points for ceasefires after all.: Yes and no. Officially, a decision like that to too big to make immediately upon a whim. But, unofficially, both fathers have a bit of an understanding.
Will there be any interaction between Marga and Jamal? I know this is really random, but I think their personalities would be a good fit!: Oh, don't worry. Jamal will definitely meet Marga sometime in the future since their physical ages are similar. You're right! They will get along.
If Arba/Gyokuen is killed, how will Tao deal with Hakuei's possession?: He would be completely devastated by the revelation and he'll do everything he can to bring his Hakuei back.
Will we ever get some happiness and fluff for these characters?: ...Maybe?
I get that the blessed children have memories of their past lives because of the whole time travel incident, but why does Jamal know of the other world?: Since Jamal and the others were brought back with Andromalius' magic, they had a glimpse of our world and culture. Jamal latched onto the concept of science and all the silly references. Hel latched onto the idea of the character Hibari Kyoya from KHR. Opal latched onto the idea of museums.
And how old care the blessed children and chibi general?: Amani, Sai, Kougyoku, and Yasmine are all 19. Kikiriku and Selene are 16. Hel is 14 and Opal is 13. Kohaku, Jamal, and Shion are 10.
Now that all the questions are answered, it's time to move onto the story!
Onwards!
Children of Solomon
Chapter 49: Crescendo
It was a mark of a good tactician to always be ten steps ahead of the opponent while having at least two well-formed back-up plans in case the first one falls through. Koumei, the young genius he was, excelled at this during his youth. Of course, since real battles were far more unpredictable than the simulations his tutors put him through, maintaining victory was easier said than done. But Koumei managed.
Even now, Koumei's mind was running a million miles at every blink, every breath, because things had suddenly gone very, very wrong.
(Keep Seishin at the left, make sure Amani and her brother is at the monster's peripheral, keep Kouha defensive but close enough so he could react when he is needed, move Kougyoku and the other Blessed Child away from the battlefield until his King finished healing them, be prepared to move them back since Kougyoku's prowess was needed and –)
But still, even his best was only a temporary fix to what appeared to be a hopeless situation.
And then, it happened.
The thing – Koumei refused to believe that the creature was anything more than a thing and not possibly anything that might've been human – began zeroing its focus on Amani. It had no eyes, but Koumei could see that its swipes and grabs aimed only at the Saluja twins.
And when the pair was separated, it aimed at her.
Only at her.
(Oh Solomon, why was it always her?!)
The shock that he felt mirrored Amani's expression as she vainly attempted to flit away from the creature's grasp was the last expression she made before the thing's grotesque fingers wrapped around her, drawing a pained shriek from her before it fell silent.
And just like that, all of Koumei's well, thought-out plans (as well of all the back-ups that came with them) were thrown out of the proverbial window to make room for the rage that flooded into every core of his being.
"That's my wife!" He heard himself snarl dangerously. With a quick, upward flick of his finger, Koumei abruptly sliced off the creature's hand, transporting it in front of him so he could tear Amani away from its rukh-sucking grip. His fingers helplessly scrabbled to his wife's throat, desperately trying to feel for a pulse.
It was only when Koumei felt the weak yet existing pulse when he allowed himself to breath out a sigh of relief. The blind rage and the consuming panic receded, bringing Koumei back to himself.
"Is she okay? Is my sister all right?!" He almost didn't hear his brother-in-law ask, which was a bit surprising since the boy all but screamed this near his ear.
"She will be fine." Koumei heard himself say as he tried to look at the younger male in the eyes. His brother-in-law – Alibaba, was it? – looked like he didn't believe him. Koumei didn't blame him. His words didn't sound convincing to even his own ears. They sounded so fake and unsure because that was what they were: A collection of strung-up words that made it clear that, for once, he didn't know what to do.
He didn't know.
"Koumei, hand her over." Kouen ordered from his other side.
Relief filed Koumei at the sound of his older brother's voice. Stubbornly ignoring how his hands burned from the contact with the creature's severed hand, Koumei shakily handed his bloody and still wife over to his older brother.
Sensing Koumei's wavering focus on the situation at hand, Kouen firmly clapped his younger brother on the back, calling Koumei's attention to him.
"I'll take care of her." He solemnly assured him. "She'll be fine."
And what more could Koumei ask of him?
Now assured that Amani was in good hands, Koumei's previously panicked thoughts were cleared out of his head, replaced by what he hoped were cold tactics that would bring the monster down.
(It will pay for what it's done.)
"Hey, are you okay?" Amani's golden twin deigned to ask him a bit nervously. Koumei wondered if his expression appeared as thunderous as he felt.
"I'm completely fine, thank you." He replied as calmly as he could.
And then he dropped a mountain on the medium.
'Look at me. I'm here. Can't you see me?'
For what seemed like every single day of Amani's years in Balbadd Palace, she mentally chanted the mantra whenever she passed her brother. Always, whenever his eyes looked through her, completely unaware of his sister's presence, she felt a little of herself break and sink.
'Look. Look, Alibaba. I'm here? Can't you see I'm here? Try. Just try.'
But he never did.
'Why can't he see me? Why? Alibaba, why can't you…'
…
...
…see me?
'How did that thing see me?!'
It was so scary to be the center of attention for once. She forgot how invasive and heavy the weight of the attention could be. It was so long. All eyes were on her as she dodged every attack the medium threw at her.
Amani's heart leapt at her throat as the hand closed around her body.
At first, all she felt was fear, fear, fear. This thing would kill her instantly if it caught her. She was certain of it. Aladdin didn't need to tell her how dangerous this thing was. She already knew. It was only when she somehow caught sight of her twin's eyes (Staring. At her.) when the horror set in. For once, Alibaba was watching.
'Don't look at me.' Amani mentally begged as she watched Alibaba stare in horror. 'Please…don't look, Alibaba. I don't want you to see this.'
But he watched. And she screamed.
It was quiet when they attacked.
It was only thanks to Zaynab and Hassan's previous life in the slums and Kouryuu's sudden cry that they were prepared to defend themselves from the abrupt appearance of their near-silent enemies. Hassan snarled as Al Thamen priests attempted to barricade the rooms where the couple lived.
"What's the meaning of this?" Zaynab snapped as she wrapped her arms protectively around the startled infants. "What are you zealots doing here at our home?" Her eyes widened when one of the priests came forward, beady eyes trained on the red-haired prince. "Don't you dare touch Kouryuu-sama!"
"Insolent wench!" One of the priests snapped. "The Empress herself has ordered her grandson to be brought under her care until his mother's return!" He sneered at Zaynab. "Since it is unbecoming of a royal to be placed under the care of a filthy slum rat."
Hassan growled, affronted for his wife's sake. Zaynab, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. "Nothing I haven't heard before." She scoffed as she drew the babies closer. "And it doesn't matter if you think I'm "unbecoming" or some stupid shit like that. Ghost trusted me to protect her son. There is no way I'm handing him over to you!"
The Al Thamen priest sneered at her words. "Who says that you have any power, you filthy – gah?!"
Within a blink of an eye, the arrogant Al Thamen priest – along with a handful of others – were thrown back by a large hammer.
"What power? He says." Hassan mocked as he swung his weapon again. "Did that idiot just forget who we are?"
With a snap of her wrist, Zaynab took down three of the men. Her grip on the frightened infants did not loosen for a moment. "It seems they have." The woman raised her head and began to shout. "Listen up, you Al Thamen grunts! I'm going to say this once and I'm going to say this in a way that even you idiots can understand! We are Princess Amani's household members! And until we die, she will always have us as her support!"
After finishing her loud declaration, Zaynab turned and deposited her son into her husband's arms, much to his surprise. "Hassan, dear, would you mind holding Zassan for me? It's a bit hard fighting with both arms occupied. Thanks."
"Woman, why ask when you already gave him to me? You're such a hassle." Hassan grumbled, but his mouth split open into a proud grin, contradicting his complaint.
"Oh shut up and make a path so we can get through. The young prince and our son are getting fussy. I don't think they like the noise very much."
"Yes, ma'am."
Djinn weapons blazing, the couple cleared the way with the infants in their arms.
Meanwhile, little Kouryuu, who had been crying the entire time, abruptly stopped and stared over Zaynab's shoulder as she ran. His brown eyes, very much like his mothers, traced over a figure that was invisible to all but him.
'Hush, don't give Zaynab a hard time. You'll be far away from the bad men soon.' A low voice murmured to the infant comfortingly, wrapping around him like smoke. 'You did well to warn her and Hassan like I told you to. Just let them take care of you until your mother returns. Trust them.'
Kouryuu blinked, not quite understanding what the voice was saying. But still, he clutched onto Zaynab tightly and didn't cry again.
This was starting to get irritating.
Camilla was very well aware of Prince Shion's growing skills with the sword under Sharrkan's enthusiastic tutelage, but she never expected the little prince to improve this much within a year. Sinbad's son weaved through her dark thorns without too much trouble. She underestimated him.
Again.
(Damn Fate for favoring him. Another feature he inherited from his father.)
Camilla's lips curled into a snarl as bitterness welled up in her chest at the young boy's continuous success in evading her capture. It didn't help that he had a loyal, Imuchakk lapdog shielding him from the attacks he couldn't counter.
(Camilla tried not to remember that this was the same child she used to babysit with Ja'far. He was the enemy now. Kikiriku chose his alliances.)
"So, what does Al Thamen have planned for us this time?" The purple-haired prince pondered aloud, looking almost cheeky as he danced away from her thorns. "Will you try polluting our rukh again? That seems to be the pattern. Or perhaps, you'll try to suffocate me to death when you get your hands on me like the last time?"
The child's original, lighthearted tone darkened further and further as he listed on the possibilities. Kikiriku sent the younger boy a concerned look, also noticing the sudden shift of his tone. "Shion…" He warned him quietly. "I know you're upset that she did what she did to your mother, but this isn't the time to interrogate her."
Upset?
…Ranya?
Camilla paused for a moment as a strange pang ran through her body. She recalled Ranya and her smiles and her encouragement. She recalled every letter she intercepted, every letter she forged in order to widen the rift between the two people she used to consider more important than her own life. She recalled the brief moments reminded herself again and again that this was for the best. Keeping them apart was for the best.
It was for the best. If she hadn't….
"…You're right, Kikiriku." Shion sighed, snapping Camilla out of her thoughts. He sheathed his sword, much to her confusion. "This really isn't the time." His blue eyes narrowed as he reached for his side. His hand withdrew, holding a lamp. "I'm wasting my time here. Kikiriku, do you think you can hold her off for me for the time being? My Blessed Children need my help."
"Of course." Kikiriku conceded. In a flash, the young prince was up in the air in his djinn equip. Before she could even blink, Camilla found herself thrown back by a large blast of ice.
As she tried to right herself from the sudden attack (careless, Camilla, careless), Camilla stretched out her hand and sent a barrage of large, dark thorns at the young prince's way. She heard the Imuchakk teen shout out to his prince in warning, but she knew that her thorns would be faster. That was how they were supposed to be. Quick, silent, and deadly the moment they reached their mark.
(She knew her mission required Prince Shion alive in order to have him serve as bait for her true target, but wasn't it better to have him dead? He was already such a large threat to Al Thamen.)
But then, a quick, blue fire streaked through the sky and obliterated her thorns in a matter of moments, ensuring the prince's safe departure. Distantly, she heard him give a loud whoop.
"Thanks, Tiare! I owe you one!"
Camilla's heart plummeted.
'No…'
She felt something sharp press at her throat, forcing her to look away from the shrinking figure of Prince Shion. Her eyes met Kikiriku's. "I don't want to kill you, Camilla, but I'll do what I have to if you continue doing this." The hard look in his eyes softened. "Why are you doing this? The Camilla who babysat my siblings would never try killing a child simply out of spite. You love children. Mother would have never trusted you with us if you weren't like that."
"Yes, Rurumu had always been fair to me, hadn't she?" Camilla recalled almost sadly. "I always respected her. For her, I kept you alive this long despite your allegiance with Prince Shion."
He made a frustrated sound. "What do you have against Shion anyway?!"
"You wouldn't understand if I told you. You are too blinded to see the true threat."
"Make me understand, then. Give me a reason why you're doing this." Kikiriku begged. "No one has to die. We can talk this over peacefully."
"You won't understand." Camilla repeated before she allowed the ground to swallow her up, reappearing out of any weapon's reach. She smiled slowly as large, dark roses bloomed at both of her sides.
Kikiriku's gaze hardened. A creature – Camilla recognized it as the little girl who came back from the Dungeon mission – landed right next to the Imuchakk and growled at her menacingly.
"I guess not, then."
There was never a place that Kouha felt more at home than the battlefield. It was a place where he excelled at and he took extreme pride in his skills too. With a sword at hand, Kouha never had a reason to hesitate or wait. When it came to battles, it was always a simple swipe, kill, and move onto the next opponent for him. He never stopped since that would mean wasting time.
And wasting time meant that he was incompetent.
And being incompetent meant that he would hold En-nii back.
"You should go ahead and help your brothers, Kouha. I'm only holding you back."
Kouha felt Yasmine lightly tug her arm away from his shoulders. He glanced at her as she struggled to stabilize herself in the air. He felt pride thrum through his veins as he was once again struck with awe by her strength.
But, at the same time, he felt incredulous by her suggestion.
'Leave you?' He wanted to say. 'Like that's ever going to happen. If that was ever my intention, I would've left long ago. I'll stay here and support you – forever, if you need me to.'
Of course, Kouha didn't say this aloud. He knew Yasmine well enough to predict her offended reaction to his thoughts. She would take it as him viewing her as weak and she would punch him. Or try to, at least. And he would let her.
(Shame and death to anyone who thought Yasmine Leoxses as someone weak.)
"Hold me back? You? Never." Kouha said instead, keeping a respectful distance from her. "Look at you now. You're doing great, Yasmine."
She smiled wryly and chuckled, making his breath catch. "You overestimate me, Kouha. I can't fight by your side at this state. It's better for you to help out your siblings for now without me. I'll-I'll manage."
"Yasmine –
"No. Kouha, we're in a middle of a battle. A losing one. You can't risk flying around with deadweight like me. Don't bother waiting for me and go ahead."
And in that very moment, Kouha heard the sound logic in Yasmine's words. How could he not when she was echoing one of his main philosophies of battle? Don't wait, just go ahead and destroy.
Don't hesitate.
Don't be incompetent.
Don't hold En-nii back.
"…"
"Kouha?"
"…No."
Yasmine flinched in surprise at Kouha's response. Unbeknownst to her, he had the same reaction the moment the word rebelliously escaped from his mouth. After Kouha recovered, he decided that he had nothing more to lose and continued to speak his mind.
"I'm not leaving you." Kouha stated clearly. "And it's not because I think you need my help. You're capable of taking care of yourself. You're capable of anything and that's no exaggeration. I'm not leaving you because you're coming with me to help."
Yasmine frowned. "But –
"No buts!" Kouha interrupted quickly and took her by the shoulders. "You can fight. I saw you fight even with your dominant arm almost torn off just a few hours ago. You were half-dead and you almost lost all your blood. If you could fight then, you can fight now. Just trust me and let me help you, Yasmine."
Yasmine hesitated for a moment. But it was only for a moment.
"Okay." She agreed. "Okay. I'll go since they need Gamigin's power to hold off that medium. But this is only because I trust you with my life, Kouha. Lead me and be patient with me, okay? I'm counting on you."
Kouha felt as if his face was about to split open with how widely he was grinning. He knew that Yasmine trusted him since they fought together for years but to this extent…
Patient? He could do patient. He could wait.
Yasmine was always worth waiting for.
"Got it. Follow me."
(At the end, Yasmine – with Kouha's help – managed to buy the rest of the djinn vessel users more time to briefly recuperate and strengthen themselves. Gamigin's power was useful in staving off the medium's mad search for magoi and Leraje never failed to cut away any offending hand that tried to grab at Yasmine. Though they didn't make it unscathed, they were able to hold their own until the Seven Seas Alliance came to lend a hand.)
It's been a while since Yasmine's world was this dark.
Even with her blindfolds on, even with her eyelids closing over her (dangerous) eyes, she could still see what was in front of her and beyond. Sometimes, it was a huge inconvenience when she tried to sleep, but she managed.
It was…a shock when she lost her sight.
No, not shock.
Fear.
Yasmine was afraid of the darkness. She was afraid of the lack of color and the miles and miles of nothingness that stretched in all directions. Which direction was up? Down? She no longer knew. Where would her enemies come? She didn't know that either.
It wasn't like what she imagined. Raja…Raja made it seem so simple, so inconsequential as he lost his sight. He still fought beside her. He still cooked. He still walked. He was always so calm and forgiving when she cried for him. There was not even a moment when Raja appeared afraid.
Yasmine wondered now if it was all an act. For her.
Kouha's presence, at least, was a relief. He kept calm despite the situation and stuck to her side. Though he was mindful of her handicap, he didn't coddle her and encouraged her to continue fighting.
("You can fight." He insisted. "I saw you fight even with your dominant arm almost torn off just a few hours ago. You were half-dead and you almost lost all your blood. If you could fight then, you can fight now. Just trust me and let me help you, Yasmine."
"I love you." She almost told him and it frightened her at how much she knew she would mean it.)
She told him that she trusted him with her life. And she did.
If it were anyone in this world, Yasmine knew that Kouha was one of the few who could watch her back until she got her abilities back.
The Knight King of Sasan was many things, but he was no fool.
He knew how important his granddaughter's existence was to his country. Not only did she stand as a powerful symbol to the rest of the world, but she was also the best defense against any outsiders who desired to plunder Sasan's riches through invasion.
In the past, Darius had been disappointed in his granddaughter's gender. The preconceived notions of females only acting as political bartering chips and heir-bearers completely blinded him from seeing her potential strength. Not only that, Yasmine had been cursed with the ability to kill thousands with a simple look. Though formidable, her power frightened the entirety of Sasan. Even Darius, much to his eventual shame. And, because of this fear, he pushed away Yasmine to the point that they both viewed each other as strangers. Darius lost his granddaughter and, when he understood that he did wrong, it was too late.
But Raja…Raja had always known.
"And, when she becomes a woman far more beautiful than the rest of this disgusting court and far more useful than even you, you'll regret the day you threw her away and disowned her."
It was as if he predicted the entire future perfectly.
By the time that Darius came to realize this…there was already an irreparable distance between them. Because of his position as the country leader, he had no means of protecting her from the assassins that Kaveh continuously sent behind Darius' back or the hatred that Sasan held against her.
As a grandfather, he was completely useless.
But, Yasmine was a strong woman. Despite Darius' efforts to meddle and send his granddaughter away with the pretense of marriage, she had rejected his decision completely and cut ties with the country all on her own.
And now, here he was: Looking down at his granddaughter from his perch on an Artemyrian bird. She was still with the imprudent Kou prince.
Darius encouraged the bird closer to the pair.
Surprisingly, only the Kou prince reacted to his appearance. The pink-haired youth blinked for a moment before drawing close to Yasmine and tugging her to him. She jumped at his sudden touch for a moment before relaxing. She tilted her head. "Kouha?"
"What are you doing here?" The Kou prince spat scathingly.
"As you can see, the entire Seven Seas Alliance came to aid Kou in defending Magnostadt from that creature at the suggestion of a wandering magi." Darius stated clearly. Then, he scanned the entire battlefield critically. "Apparently, his concern wasn't unfounded."
The prince scoffed loudly, holding onto Yasmine tighter. Darius' eyes narrowed at the action. "Well, whatever. But, just to be clear, you can't take Yasmine back! You Sasanians did nothing but hurt her and treat her like shit! She's staying with me now!"
"And you're doing such a wonderful job keeping my granddaughter safe. Blinded and injured, you are indeed the most ideal bodyguard." Darius responded dryly.
"…Tch!"
Unsurprisingly, the imprudent Kou youth glared daggers at Darius. Yasmine, on the hand, seemed to waver at the sound of his voice.
"Grandfather…?"
For a moment, the Knight King allowed his mind to flash to a distant memory of a young girl sobbing freely over a broken body.
"Yes, granddaughter. I am here."
Darius Leoxses was no fool. But he was also human. He had committed countless mistakes in the name of protecting his people. Though she was a Blessed Child – a feared monster, a weapon – she was also his granddaughter – his flesh, his blood. There was no doubt about it. Even to this day, she continued to resemble her Uncle Mistoras more and more in spirit and determination. Her performance before her self-imposed exile only solidified this belief.
"The Seven Seas Alliance has come!"
Eirenne was the most beautiful woman in Heliohapt. Even as she holds the title of the mother of the crown prince and the…spare, she still remains far more beautiful than her Lord Armakan…other wives. Married merely for political purposes of course.
And even if there were potential competition that arose from time to time, well…it truly was a pity that Heliohapt was the home of so many poisonous creatures.
Truly a pity.
No matter what threats arose between her and the object of her desire, Eirenne made sure to eliminate whatever pest or bane from the picture. And she had so much to lose if she didn't. Now, no one could touch her while she is queen. She was at the top of the hierarchy in every sense. The world was at her beck and call, after all. Everything must be perfect. Everything must be beautiful.
Which is why it was necessary to get rid of the hussy who almost ruined everything.
"When I'm done with you, I'll clean up the rest of the mess. Your half-breed husband, his troop, his army…well, why not simply the entire Empire? Heliohapt used to always serve the Reim Empire in the past. It used to be such a hassle to take of when my husband was younger. Yes. Destroying the Reim Empire is the right answer! It'll destroy any lingering remainders of your existence and my husband will be happy enough to forgive me for breaking my promise." Eirenne tittered. "And why not add in more land for my precious son to inherit?"
"Enough of this, Eirenne." Maya snarled. "Weren't you satisfied when you sent me away from Heliohapt in chains?"
Eirenne pretended to ponder over the other woman's question. "Hmmm no. You see, I originally intended to put you down like the bitch you were. But my dear Armakan was too smitten with you to allow that back then. Because of that, we compromised." She pointed at Maya. "I won't kill you and he'll never see you again. I even got to decide how to send you off. My Armakan was so generous back then."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Of course…you were supposed to die anyways. Imagine my surprise when I found out you not only managed to free yourself from slavery but you also spawned a little brat." She wrinkled her nose. "I so despise flaws. They offend me. Your demon son offends me the most of all! He must be removed before he ruins everything!"
"Touch my son and I'll rip you to shreds!" With an animalistic snarl, Maya lunged.
With a swing of her hand, Eirenne caught Maya in mid-jump and slapped her away. To her amusement, her effortless attack managed to fling the other woman away to the other side of the ship.
Ah, how she loved Raul's inventions. They always worked perfectly, even at the face of something as powerful as a metal vessel.
Maya bared her teeth and attacked her with more fervor.
"You can't hurt me, pet." Eirenne taunted with a smug smile as Maya pummeled her body with another round of attacks. "There's no possible way that you can hurt me with those flimsy attacks of yours! My ability is 'Impenetrable Skin'. Even at its passive state, no attacks can reach me!" She sneered at the woman. "You'll sooner tire out before even getting a scratch on me, pet. Give up! You can't win! Raul's scientific improvements to the dark djinn equip is too flawless to defeat!" She boasted.
Much to Eirenne's smug satisfaction, Maya's attacks faltered. The other woman's breaths came out in sharp pants. Behind her, her half-breed husband lay on the ground, almost completely out of magoi.
'How simple.' Eirenne thought, almost disappointed by how easily her victory came. In a single moment, she could easily kill and destroy everything that Maya held dear in front of her eyes before killing her off. Just as she wanted. 'This is almost too good to be true.'
"Challenge accepted, lady." A young voice sounded, breaking the silence.
Then, at the corner of her eye, Eirenne caught sight of glinting metal.
BANG!
Eirenne couldn't help but flinch from the loud, sharp sound. Even Maya jumped from where she stood. Both women stared in shock as a small, stream of blood trailed down from Eirenne's cheek. "What…how…this can't be…?!"
"Wha~at?! Is that it?! I thought this thing is supposed to be impenetrable! "Too flawless to defeat" my ass. Man, so this 'Raul' guy is totally some overrated scientist!" The young voice scoffed. Eirenne turned her head to face a young boy, tossing and catching this strange, metal device. Her cheek stung from the movement. The child took one look at her face and scoffed. "Don't throw around the word 'flawless' so carelessly when you're talking about science and inventions. Scientists have more pride than that. Even an awesome scientist like myself needs improvement now and again." He smirked. "I mean, take a look at yourself! With just a little gun like this, I was easily able to pierce that so-called tough skin of yours. That's such a huge flaw! Guess your 'Raul' isn't that much of a big deal, huh?"
'This…this brat!'
Eirenne reached out to squish the imprudent child, but she reared back when she heard the sharp, loud sound again. This time, the weapon grazed her leg. She shrieked.
"Ah, ah, ah, lady. Don't move or I'll accidentally kill you out of fright. I'm still trying to get the hang of this thing. I'm self-taught, you see. It'll be smarter just to sit still, kay?" He tilted his head. "Hey guys! Coast is clear-ish. I'll keep my eye on the Cursed Child. There's a couple of injured guys up here too so hurry up!"
A feminine voice sighed loudly. "So bossy, Jamal. You're getting pretty cocky for a guy who's using a housewife's frying pan as a weapon."
"Urk…harsh much?"
Another voice sounded, disgruntled.
"Crazy herbivore, shut up. Opal, help the survivors onto the emergency boats. Aunt Myron, Lo'Lo, get Muu away from this ship. He needs immediate medical attention." A deeper voice rang out. Then, in a gentler tone, the voice continued. "Mother, are you okay? You're not too hurt, are you? Put away your djinn equip. You're straining yourself! Don't worry. I'm here now."
Her eyes zeroed onto the only existence she despised more than Maya.
"Little Demon." She hissed.
With a face that resembled her husband too much, Hel rushed over to Maya and looked over her worriedly. Despite her child's presence, her stance did not relax and her eyes didn't leave Eirenne for a single moment. Hel noticed this too.
Following his mother's eyes, the teen's eyes landed on Eirenne. Then, a slow, feral smile appeared on his lips like a wolf that just found its prey.
'I know you.' His eyes seemed to say, sending chills down Eirenne's spine. 'I know what you tried to do and I won't let you get away with it.'
"Hey, crazy herbivore. Put that thing away."
The boy tilted his head. "Hmm? Why? Wait. I know that nasty look. You want to fight her, don't you Hel?" He shrugged and lowered his weapon. "Whelp, I guess I can't do anything about that. Oi, Opal! We should probably clear the deck! Your boyfriend wants to go all out!"
"Solomon, seriously?! At least wait until I'm finished helping everyone, will you?!"
Even though the boy was no longer pointing the frightening weapon at her, the feeling the terror seemed to amplify as Hel stepped toward her.
"Kamikorosu."
Within the medium, a single, bright soul remained right next to the center of the creature's heart. There, a weaker light flickered, fighting to stay alight. The bright soul shone determinedly, keeping the other small light company.
And then…
Familiar magoi flowed into the medium, shocking the bright soul from its duty for a single moment. This feeling…this magoi came from a very important person! A very special, precious person!
But this was wrong. Why was his magoi here? This place…this darkness…it only meant death for any living thing that came into contact with it. In a panic, the bright soul left the center to prevent the darkness from taking any more life force from its most precious person.
'No…no! This is wrong! Sai…don't take Sai! Don't kill him when he still has to live! Spit him out! Let him go!'
And, with a push, the bright light forced Sai away from the Medium. Sai's soul was significantly weakened from its brush with death but…
He'll live.
And that's all that Titus ever wanted.
Sai didn't know that it was so possible to feel so naked until this moment. How scary was it that all the masks that he used to have at his disposal were stripped away from him within a second.
(How did that happen?)
It wasn't the medium that did it. Sai was completely certain that everything – and he meant everything – was stripped away in a frightening moment before the medium tried to strip everything that was left of Sai with malicious fervor. He was almost certain that he was supposed to be dead.
But he wasn't. How?
(For a moment, Sai thought he felt…)
…Well, that didn't matter.
Though he had never experienced losing a limb, this was probably what it felt like. If not, then it was worse. It was one sense, one aspect of himself that was a constant in this lifetime. It's been so long…too long since he hadn't depended on his masks.
Almost unconsciously, Sai mentally tried to reach out and call for his djinn. His single eye narrowed as his magic clashed against his djinn's, rendering his chakram completely useless in the magical respect.
"Dammit." He hissed as he looked up at the giant battle happening in front of his eyes. The medium stood tall and strong in front of the brunt of the attacks from the various djinn equips. All of this was happening and he was completely grounded.
("Don't depend on your ability too much, Sai. It'll be bad for you in the end.")
Sai hated it when Marius was right. But when wasn't he? It was Sai who always remained in a state of denial in the first place.
Sai glanced at the tree right next to him and then at his semi-useless weapon.
("Instead, be yourself.")
"'Be yourself', my ass. It's harder than it sounds. Cheesy bastard." Sai muttered sullenly. But still, he walked over to the tree.
He needed a staff, after all.
"Ah. It seems that my time is almost out."
Scheherazade looked up at the sky, frowning sadly as she felt herself fade bit by bit as she continued to use her magoi to protect the citizens from the attacks.
It truly was a pity that her body chose now out of all times to give out and die. Scheherazade knew that she was far more fortunate than many others, but she couldn't help but feel that the timing was inconvenient. There was so much she still had to do! There was so much that she still wanted to do! She didn't want to-!
…
This…this must have been what Titus felt in his last moments. Or, was it that he had always felt like this?
If that was the case, Scheherazade really was the horrible mother that Sai made her out to be.
Scheherazade looked over at the battlefield. She saw Muu and Ignatius step into the battlefield in their djinn equips. A sense of peace filled her as she watched them raise their arms to fight. Reim would be fine in their hands. She was certain of that.
Scheherazade no longer had any reason to be afraid. She no longer had any regrets. Just hope.
"Titus, this is for you. Forgive your foolish mother for causing you so much pain."
She raised her staff towards the sky.
"My role…ends here."
"Princess Kohaku, there is no one who can save you in this situation. Your father is busy managing the medium. All the Blessed Children are weakened because of this seal." Ming Hua gestured over to the faintly glowing symbols on the ground beside her. "Please give up."
At her words, Kohaku stubbornly shook her head.
"I will not give up!"
Ming Hua bit her lip in irritation, drawing blood. She sent another barrage of her dark worms toward the young princess.
"Please, do not make this difficult for us, Princess Kohaku."
Though annoyed with the situation, Ming Hua wasn't surprised the slightest at how difficult the little princess was being. She had always been a source of problems and grief within and outside the palace.
If only the child hadn't been born…
Ming Hua mentally began to urge her worms to move faster. Responding to her unconscious desire to kill the little princess, their mouths widened and their teeth sharpened. Seeing this, the young girl gulped and her mismatched eyes grew wider.
"Why are you doing this, Ming Hua?" The child called down to her as she expertly swerved away. She made sure to carefully move away from the significantly sharpened teeth. "I don't really mind that you did all those mean things to me. If you hadn't, the previous Emperor would've married me off to an older man and I would've never met Shion. I don't even mind that it was you who spread the rumor about me being cursed by Uncle Hakuyuu and Uncle Hakuren!"
Ming Hua paused in her attacks for a moment, eyes widening in surprise. 'She knew?'
Kohaku, seeing the woman's shock, nodded. "I knew! I knew that you hated me, even back then!" She then pointed at Ming Hua accusingly. "But…what I don't understand…what I really can't forgive is the way you're playing around with Mama! Why are you betraying Mama?! Isn't she your best friend? She trusted you!"
Ming Hua's eyes hardened at the child's accusation. "You do not know anything!"
"She trusted you!" Kohaku repeated again. "You lied to her! And now, you're siding with the bad people, who she hates, and you're trying to kill her daughter!"
"You know nothing!" Ming Hua shouted, eyes filled with bloodlust and hatred. "Cease speaking or I'll do it for you! This chase has gone long enough! It doesn't matter that I need to bring you back alive anymore. Camilla probably went against that particular order too, so I should be fine. I'll just keep your corpse mostly intact and - !"
"Ming…is that you?"
Ming Hua's eyes widened as all attacks ceased immediately. All the dark worms lost their forms, leaving the Cursed Child standing alone. A cold feeling settled in her chest at the sound of the voice. She turned and saw Seishin's figure. Her friend looked back at her in disbelief. "Why are you here? No, that's not important now." Seishin's usually kind eyes hardened as she took in the state of the area and her daughter. "Ming, what are you doing to my daughter?"
Ming Hua couldn't say anything. It was as if the words stuck at her tongue and refused to leave her mouth.
Seishin's hand landed on the scabbard of her sword.
"Ming," Her tone lowered threateningly, "I asked you, 'What are you doing to my daughter'? Why aren't you answering?"
"Seishin," Ming Hua finally found her voice, "It's not what you –
Both were interrupted when the ground around them began to shine. Kohaku, who had landed onto the ground during Ming Hua's distraction, had brought her staff down onto the ground.
The faintly glowing symbols on the ground shattered upon the staff's impact and were immediately replaced by a new set of symbols. Ming Hua felt all her worms wither away under the intense light. Vines and plants grew in their place. Kohaku looked up and smirked from her position.
"Got you." She breathed. "It was hard setting up the magic circle with all the attacks, but I managed to activate them thanks to you being distracted by this simple illusion."
"What?!"
In an instant, Seishin's angry image shimmered and disappeared.
For a numb moment, Ming Hua didn't understand what was happening. This Seishin? A fake? An illusion? When her mind finally caught up with the situation, she only felt cold rage at the child's trickery.
This child…
This child…!
"I will not forgive you for this!"
Because of her, Ming Hua failed in her mission. Because of her, everything she spent years planning for slipped through her fingers. The Blessed Children were no longer weakened. The only solution now was to kill her in order to silence her.
Though significantly weakened by Kohaku's magic seal, Ming Hua managed to summon a handful more of her dark creatures.
This, at least, should be enough to kill this small child.
Kohaku released a sigh as she straightened herself. "I can see that you're no longer planning to bring me alive. That's fine. I was holding back too since I was setting up this magic circle, but I'm ready to face you in my full strength now."
She lifted her staff in challenge.
"Come!"
Judal floated a good distance away from the battlefield. Beside him, Yunan balanced himself on his fishing rod-like staff. "…Do you understand, Judal? We need to make sure that there isn't a single dark rukh that remains once this is all over."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it already. This is the seventh damn time you went through this. Go and bother someone else."
'Is Princess over there?'
Judal looked wistfully over towards the direction of the medium.
Without a doubt, she was out there with the others. Kougyoku was never one to back down at the face of danger or war. She welcomed battles with open arms. Sometimes, she jumped into them too eagerly.
A year. He hadn't seen, heard, or written to her in a whole year.
'I want to see her…but Turtle-sensei said that I needed to wait and collect the dark rukh from the medium after it's defeated before anyone from Al Thamen could.'
"…Judal? Judal?! Are you listening?! You really aren't, are you?" Yunan whined next to his ear. "This is really, really important. You're the only one who can convert dark rukh to light. The fate of this whole world practically sits on your shoulders and you're just daydreaming!"
"Shut up, Turtle-sensei! I know! I know! Stop nagging me!"
"Then focus!"
'Che, what an annoying guy. Can't he do this himself?!' He mentally complained as he roughly pushed the older magi away from him. 'That Finalis girl got to go and be at the weak King Candidate's side. Why can't I go too? Stupid Turtle-sensei. Why can't he not be useless for once?
Though she did not even have a speck of magic in her body, Judal grudgingly respected the Finalis for her strength. Through their shared training, Judal's physical strength improved significantly and the pair had formed a strange camaraderie from the year they spent together. They weren't quite friends but they were no longer enemies either.
Still, Judal felt a small, stab of resentment towards the Finalis for reaching her not-yet-sweetheart before he did.
'Princess is right over there. So close…I want to see her. I want to see her. I want to see her.'
Judal's thoughts were interrupted by a flock of rukh flying past his face. The dark magi reared back. Yunan also reacted in surprise at the sudden appearance of the rukh. He reached up and touched one of them before a sad look crossed his face. Judal silently questioned his teacher's strange reaction with a raised brow.
"Scheherazade." Yunan only said simply, tilting his hat over his eyes.
But that was enough for Judal to understand.
One of their own had just passed. For him, it was a strange concept that a powerful being like a magi just died. But then again, it was another proof that they were just human. Judal took a moment to lower his head in respect at the other magi's passing just as Tao had taught him.
"It's sad, isn't it?" Yunan asked. "Don't worry. She died sacrificing her magoi so everyone can give it their all of one, last attack. Let's not disappoint her."
Judal raised his head from his moment of silence, eyes not quite leaving the rukh until they were out of his sight.
"Yeah."
Out of the four, Kougyoku was the least affected.
Despite her loss of her second sight, she didn't necessarily need it during battle. It only served to show her the true nature of her enemies after all. In fact, Kougyoku found that she was more confident against the medium without her ability.
(Truly, the wise men were correct when they said that bravery is for the ignorant or blind.)
Kougyoku rained more attacks at the creature than she did before. She rose up against the thing at every turn, making sure that it didn't even have a moment's rest to try and suck up more magoi. Her rage towards the medium spurred her on at every attack. It hurt her friends. Kougyoku didn't care that it essentially wasn't sentient. The pain it caused must be returned.
But, along with her rage, Kougyoku also had a realization about the Blessed Children in general. The sudden loss of their abilities revealed a very significant weakness in herself and all the other Blessed Children, past and present.
'We die so quickly because we depend too much on our abilities.'
And why shouldn't they? All Blessed Children were initially born with their abilities. They don't know how to function without them. The moment all their powers transferred over to their successors, they die. Truly, their enemies knew exactly what it took to take them down.
But Kougyoku had the advantage of living two lives. All four of them did.
'We won't die.' She swore to herself as she attacked the medium with Hakuei. 'At least not in this way.'
'I need to know what spell they used.'
And then, in a single, blessed moment, she felt a strange rush come over her body. She blinked at the foreign sensation and jerked back at the visions that bombarded her eyes.
Her powers! It was back!
Elation and relief filled the Blessed Child's body as she activated her Second Degree. Joy filled her even more at the cascade of various thoughts filling her ears.
'Yasmine! Her sight is back!'
'Strange, where is Amani? She was right next to me a moment ago. Don't tell me I lost her in the middle of the battlefield!'
'It seems their powers returned. That's good.'
'…? My powers? They're back?!'
'Yare, yare, it seems that whatever was blocking our powers is no longer working. That's good. Now, I should shift to take on a djinn equip so I can help take down that filthy thing.'
'Ah, what a relief!'
'…cess…?'
Kougyoku paused at a particular voice. It was quiet and hardly audible since the person was probably far away, but the voice was too familiar for her to ignore. Kougyoku tilted her head and focused even harder on the specific voice. Her heart leapt to her throat when the thought became clearer.
'I want to see her…but Turtle-sensei said that I needed to wait and collect the dark rukh from the medium after it's defeated before anyone from Al Thamen could. Che, what an annoying guy. Can't he do this himself?! That Finalis girl got to go and be at the weak King Candidate's side. Why can't I go too? Stupid Turtle-sensei. Why can't he not be useless for once? Princess is right over there. So close…I want to see her. I want to see her. I want to see her.'
Judal!
"Sister Kougyoku! What's wrong?!" Kougyoku heard Hakuryuu call out worriedly, breaking her out of her elated thoughts. She turned to him and grinned widely. "My powers are back! And Judal is here! He's here!"
Hakuryuu returned her smile briefly before hardening his features.
"It's wonderful news, but we still have the medium to worry about! King Sinbad, the Seven Seas Alliance, and our siblings are all preparing to give their all to their last attack!"
Kougyoku felt as if someone dumped a cold bucket of water over her head at her stepbrother's words. She knew he was right. Kougyoku lifted Vinea with a determined gleam in her eyes. "Right."
She'll see Judal later. That was for certain. But first, they needed to focus on their respective duties. Drawing her focus away from Judal's thoughts, Kougyoku brought all of her attention back onto the battlefield and turned off her Second Degree.
She would need all the energy she had for this.
"Extreme Magic!"
How had things come to this?
The entire palace had suddenly decided to descend into chaos almost immediately after the departure of all of Kou's metal vessel users. It was only thanks to Amani's loyal maid, Leah, that he was able to get through the halls unscathed. Behind his mask, Tao's eyes narrowed as he and the maid hid from the Al Thamen priests' view.
'What are they after?' He wondered silently to himself.
"We should leave the palace now. Zaynab and Hassan already prepared a carriage so we could leave in top speed." Leah informed him quietly. "If they find us now…"
Tao glanced at her. "How are the kids?"
While escaping from the Al Thamen priests, Tao and Leah had bumped into Amani's household members. Since bringing the infants was too much for the brawling couple to handle as they're clearing the way, the two women agreed to entrust Zassan and Kouryuu's safety in Leah's care.
Leah sniffed. "That's Prince Kouryuu to you, Mister Tao." She drew the quiet infant closer to her chest. The baby didn't make too much of a fuss over the action. It was a small relief that Kouryuu was a well-behaved baby. Zassan, on the other hand, was another story. But, thankfully, Leah had managed to rock the more stubborn infant to sleep before he could make any more of a fuss. "And how where you able to find Zaynab and Hassan so quickly through the chaos?"
Tao scratched his cheek nervously.
"Well…they were making quite a bit of noise with their fighting. It was more of a lucky guess."
That, and a very helpful ghost of a fallen soldier, who remained loyal to the Kou royalty even after his untimely death
But Leah didn't have to know that.
The pair silently made their way towards the palace stalls where Hassan and Zaynab agreed to meet. They almost made it when Zassan decided to wake up from his short nap. Seeing that he was in a completely different environment, the baby began to cry.
The sounds were just enough to gather attention from the nearby priests.
Leah looked ready to curse, but refrained as Tao grabbed her hand and ran from the area. Much to the pair's dismay, the priests were quick to overtake them and restrain them.
"Get your filthy hands off my Prince!" Leah shrieked as one of the priests forcefully snatched Kouryuu away from her arms. The baby's little body wiggled in distress at the unfamiliar set of hands.
"This is the child, Markkio sir."
"Good. Arba will be happy to hear that."
"And what should we do with the rest of them?" One priest suddenly asked. The priest holding Kouryuu glanced at Tao and Leah before waving at their direction dismissively. "Execute them both. We can use the other child as a bargaining chip to, ah, convince the troublemaking household members to cease their fighting."
"Yes sir."
Much to his horror, the priests grabbed Leah and held her down. One drew out an intimidatingly large sword and held it against the back of her neck.
"Wait! Kill me instead!" Tao begged as he attempted to struggle out of his captors' grips to reach the sobbing maid. "You lot wanted me gone, right? Since I was the catalyst to Al Thamen's loss to their powerful magi. There's no need to do that to Miss Leah! She is innocent! It's me you want to kill! I promise to comply if you spare her! Kill me and leave them all be!"
Despite her fear, Leah shook her head. "No! Princess Amani entrusted your safety to me! Kill me first!"
To his relief, the priests ignored Leah completely and complied with his desperate request. He didn't quite care that their decision was mostly fueled by their immense dislike towards him.
Tao was forced onto his knees. He felt the sharp end of the blade press onto the back of his neck, drawing some blood.
'Kido…wherever you are, stay strong.' He prayed as he forced himself to look up, causing the blade to press down harder.
Tao smiled at Leah reassuringly through the pain. "It's fine. It's not your fault. Please take care of the children while I'm gone. Don't let them watch this."
Leah swallowed a sob and covered Zassan's eyes.
'Good. Children shouldn't see any of this.'
"Die."
Swish
The last thing Tao heard before the blade sunk into his neck was the panicked shriek of the maid and the Zassan's loud wails.
The last thing Tao saw before his vision went black was the quiet yet steady gaze of Prince Kouryuu.
Raul frowned as he inspected the broken seal. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Aaah, someone broke it. And I spent so much time creating this thing too. This'll be a hassle to fix. And I didn't even get the chance to fulfill my mission. I hope Eirenne or Ming Hua managed to get mine along with theirs but that's too much to hope for."
He glanced back at the unconscious form of his daughter on the ground. The Cursed Child allowed himself to smile thinly at the sight. She had put up such a fight before he managed to knock her out. The skill Selene possessed impressed Raul greatly. At the same time, the scientist couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated at how much she struggled against the idea of bringing the family back together.
He didn't understand.
Weren't children normally attached to their parents? Didn't children want, above all else, to please their parents? Didn't children fear their parents' rejection? And yet, Selene and Sai did not act how Raul expected.
"How confusing. Honestly, I thought children were simpler than this."
Raul walked over to Selene's unconscious body and reached over to pick her up. "Time to go home, Selene."
When the scientist attempted to lift her, he blinked in surprise when he found that his right arm wasn't moving as his mind was telling it to. His other arm also felt a bit numb.
"…? What is this?"
Raul used his more functional arm to pull back his sleeve. He barked out a surprised laugh at the sight.
His right arm looked all blue, almost purple. It was no wonder that he couldn't move his arm. If he didn't know better, Raul might've mistaken the symptom as his arm being severely bruised. And yet, there was a small hole near his elbow, which resembled a mosquito bite.
Mentally, Raul applauded his daughter's ingenuity.
"A poison specialist!" He marveled. "What a unique talent! And here I thought you were only interested in the medical field. I'm so proud of you, Selene. You continue to impress me."
Raul took a step back and glanced at his arm again. "Ah…I'm not familiar with this poison. Did you make it yourself? And in such short time!"
Selene did not answer.
"Father understands. You want to stay here longer, don't you? You learned and grew so much in this sort of environment. It only makes sense to keep you here until your abilities completely mature. Well, how can I deny this small desire from my cute daughter?" Raul sighed and turned away. "I can see that my side is fighting a losing battle, so you'll survive even if you stay here. Magicians will find you once the fight is over."
He looked down at his arm once again as he made his way to leave.
"Hmm? This feeling…some components of this poison is supposed to paralyze me. Is this snake venom?"
Shion knew that his father saw the world in waves. There was a special relationship between his father and the sea. Shion suspected that it was heavily influenced through his grandfather's profession as a fisherman.
Shion's mother always saw the world through the rukh. Because of this, he knew that she loved the world deeply despite the cruelty and despair. She was always bright.
And Shion?
Usually, Shion saw the world in rubber bands. At other times, he saw the world through chessboards and games. In his dreams, he saw the world through flames.
Mostly, though, he also simply watched the world as it was. None of the waves or rukh nonsense. He did enough of that in his past life. That sort of worldview was what led his comrades to their deaths after all.
Shion flew behind the medium. None of the others noticed his presence yet, which was completely fine to the Sindrian prince. The sword in his hand silently shifted into a sling.
There was a story that Shion liked to listen to during his travels with the Blessed Children. 'David and Goliath'. It appealed to Shion that the seemingly small and weak David managed to bring down the undefeatable warrior, Goliath, with only a sling.
The sling had always been Shion's preferred weapon.
Keeping his eyes on the medium, Shion began to swing the sling, gathering as much energy as he could into the piece of cloth. He condensed it into a stone-like shape.
The last time he used an attack like this, the explosion managed to throw back a powerful metal vessel user like his father. Shion had only gathered a small amount of energy.
He wondered how much damage the medium would receive with an attack like this?
Making sure to aim at the creature's head, Shion released the ball of energy and watched as it sailed towards its target. At the same moment, all the other metal vessel users attacked with their extreme magic.
KA-BOOM!
To his satisfaction, the medium buckled at the force of the attack and was forced onto its knees. Despite the victory, the explosion blew Shion back since he was the closest to the medium. He suspected that many others were thrown back by the force of the explosion too.
Before he could go too far, someone caught him.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Shion looked up at his savior gratefully. "Thank you very much for…"
Blue eyes met blue eyes. A face that Shion thought he would never see again smiled down at him.
"…Mom?"
Ranya grinned and hugged Shion tightly. He hugged her back just as tightly, not quite believing his eyes. His mother was alive? Really?! This wasn't an illusion? A trick?
(No. The rukh, the waves, even the rubber bands seemed to confirm that this Ranya was the real deal.)
"Mom is sorry for making you wait so long. Shion, you've grown so much!"
Sai stood across the Chancellor. The world of the rukh was strange, almost unsettling to the Blessed Child. He didn't know why he came along with Aladdin in his little trip into Mogamett's head. Honestly, Sai only came to see Titus for the last time before…
Well, he got to have his final meeting. Even if only Aladdin could pinpoint Titus' presence, Sai was content to stand with his Lordling one last time.
So why did this old man insist on meeting with him?
"How the mighty fall."
Mogamett didn't say anything against Sai's scathing comment. Instead, he lowered his head in shame. "Sai…I'm so sorry."
"For what? For pissing me off? For endangering Selene by telling that madman that we existed? For killing Lordling?" Sai listed off bitterly. Mogamett nodded. "To all of them. I'm sorry for all of them. I have caused you, Selene, and countless others pain."
"Sorry doesn't take it back, old man. Sorry won't return Lordling to me."
Matal Mogamett stared at the dark-haired magician sadly. "You are one of many people who I wronged. There are…no words that can ever redeem me. I thought that what I was doing was right."
Sai laughed hollowly. "Yeah? Well, you were wrong. So wrong."
"I know."
Sai looked at the magician.
"If you thought I would forgive as easily as Yamraiha and Aladdin did, you're wrong about that too. I'm not like them. We weren't cut from the same cloth. They were born to be heroes. I was already born as a villain. I won't pretend to like you just because you're dead. I hated you, old man. I still hate you. Apologies won't change that."
"I know that too."
Sai barked out a sardonic laugh. "You do, don't you? So what did you really call me here for, old man?"
"Since he no longer has a voice, young Titus insisted that I relay his dying wishes to you, Sai. Will you hear them?"
The dark-haired man's features softened at the blonde's name.
"Really? I see. I'll listen, old man. What did Lordling say?"
"Please be happy." Mogamett said.
At the words, Sai let out an unsteady breath as if pained. He clenched and unclenched his fists before turning away from the Chancellor. "Got it. I'll be going then old man. No more reason to stay here."
"Goodbye, Sai."
"Camilla, Eirenne, Ming Hua, the medium was defeated. The seal was destroyed. We failed our mission. We must retreat immediately."
Camilla paused in her attacks when she heard Raul's message. At her hesitation, both Kikiriku and Tiare ceased their attacks too. Though it pained her to do this, it seemed that she had to retreat.
As if reading her mind, Kikiriku encased her in ice to prevent her from escaping. "Camilla, wait. I still don't understand. Why are you doing this to Shion?"
"I can't help it. Whenever I look at him, I am reminded of how much I as wronged in the past. Why?" She asked, looking almost vulnerable. "Why Ranya and not me? He could've at least taken my feelings into consideration. Didn't he know how much his decision hurt me? I didn't intend to kill Prince Shion at first. He was innocent. But the one I hate holds him very dear. If I kill him, then that person will feel the same pain I did."
Kikiriku gritted his teeth. "Do you really hate Ranya that much?!"
Camilla stared at the Imuchakk teen blankly.
"…Who said that I was talking about Ranya?"
What?
Taking advantage of his distraction, Camilla knocked Kikiriku away. Reacting to her attack, Tiare breathed fire at the woman's direction. When the smoke disappeared, Camilla was nowhere in sight.
Eirenne would've retreated the moment Raul gave the order if it weren't for the demon brat. He was powerful and lethal. Much to her growing fear, the demon boy had the ability to draw blood out from his enemies as long as there is an open wound and use this blood as a weapon. And thanks to the other brat's weapon, Eirenne had an open wound.
Her impenetrable skin was rendered useless the moment her blood entered the equation. Since the dark rukh recognized her own blood as a part of her, it made no more effort to protect her from the attacks.
Not only that, the demon brat took great joy his kicking her around.
Eirenne desperately looked for a way out. Her eyes darted around the ship before they landed on the small escape boats that floated next to the main ship. She recognized one of the forms the moment her eyes landed on him.
'The spare.'
Her lips stretched out into an unnatural smile as she gathered her magoi. Following her eyes, the demon brat's eyes widened, recognizing what she was about to do.
The teen sprinted from her side towards the escape boats. "Askan, jump into the water!" He sharply commanded. The little boy immediately obeyed. A second later, the tiny boat was completely obliterated into small pieces. Hel jumped into the water and brought his younger half-brother up to the surface.
"Are you okay?"
Askan nodded shakily, frightened. "Ye-Yes, Hel-nii."
Hel glared at where Queen Eirenne once stood but she was no longer there.
Ming Hua underestimated Princess Kohaku's magical prowess.
Not only did the little princess was able to limit the ability Raul gave Ming Hua with an intricate magic circle, but Kohaku was also very talented in Life Magic. Since they were both now on the ground, Ming Hua was at a disadvantage.
"Very well done, Princess Kohaku." The Cursed Child applauded. "You managed to survive more than ten minutes even when I went all out. You have exceeded my expectations."
"It was thanks to Magnostadt that I was able to improve this much. I won't let you look down on the ability of the Royal Family." Kohaku panted as she summoned more vines. "Though, I would have to thank you for the staff. Without it, I wouldn't have pushed myself as hard as I did."
Ming Hua's eyes narrowed.
"You win for today, Princess Kohaku. Lucky for you, I was summoned."
Before Kohaku could tighten her vines to keep Ming Hua in place. Black worms erupted form the ground and chewed through her magic. Wrapping themselves around their mistress, they pulled the woman into the ground and whisked her far away from Kohaku's magic, leaving the girl alone.
And just like that, the Magnostadt War was over.
Selene abruptly came back into consciousness. The two people beside her jumped and moved back at her sharp movement. Thinking that the other presence was Raul, Selene grabbed for her staff and moved into a defensive stance.
"Hey, hey, we're not your enemy, Selene! It's us!"
"Oi, Selene's awake!"
"Miss Selene, it's Marga!"
At the familiar voices, Selene relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. It was the medic magicians that she worked with. She looked around and saw that Raul was nowhere to be seen. Most of her wounds were tended to, so she must've been out longer than she expected.
"Selene."
Selene turned and looked towards the medic closest to her. Her heart leapt and she immediately began to sign.
'Sphintus! You're alive! Did the medics reach you in time? I'm so happy that you're awake!'
Sphintus laughed at her enthusiasm and lightly pushed her back into the piece of cloth her body had been lying on. "Selene, you just woke up. Don't sit up so quickly or you'll feel sick. You were pretty battered up when we found you. I'm glad that you're okay."
'What about you? You were the one who almost died. Are you okay? Were there any complications to your healing?'
Sphintus shook his head slowly. "I'll be fine."
His assurance fell flat in Selene's ears. She caught it immediately.
'Sphintus, something is wrong, isn't it? You're not fine. You don't sound well. Did something happen? Please, tell me.'
"…I'm fine. Really, Selene." Sphintus smiled. Even that looked fake no matter how similar it looked to his real smile. Selene shook her head.
'No you're not. You're not fine. What happened, Sphintus?'
"…"
'Sphintus?'
Sphintus' smile wavered and his hands shook. After a moment, a sob escaped Sphintus' mouth. A moment after that, he was a crying mess. Selene looked down at the object on Sphintus' lap, saddened but unsurprised by what she saw.
Content that they managed to protect their master until the end, Kukulcan laid on Sphintus' lap, cold and still.
"Father!"
There were no words that could describe how relieved Sinbad felt when he heard Shion's voice. The moment Shion came into grabbing distance, Sinbad snatched his son from the ground and held him tightly against him. At the sound of his son's heartbeat, the Sindrian King let out a loud sigh of relief. Some of the rulers around him snickered at his reaction. Some gave him understanding looks.
"Shion…" Sinbad breathed. "When we go back home, you're grounded."
Instead of complaining, Shion laughed into his father's shoulder and nodded. "Yeah. That sounds fair. Sorry for making you worried."
"Worried? You nearly killed me. I thought I told you not to do something life-threatening."
"Papa! Mama!"
From across the battlefield, a small body flung herself at Prince Kouen. Without missing a beat, Kouen caught his daughter and looked her over. Satisfied that she wasn't too injured, he also drew her close to a hug. Seishin embraced her daughter from the other side and peppered her with kisses.
"I missed you so much, Kohaku! How was school?"
Well, this pretty much ruined the tense standoff between the two leaders.
"Father? Something really great happened in the battlefield. You won't believe it." Shion said, sounding almost dazed.
Sinbad chuckled at his son's words. If he had to guess, the Kou Princess must've given his son a kiss. Though Sinbad wasn't too eager to lose his son to the other empire, he was amused by his son's infatuation with the girl. "Try me."
Someone joined into their embrace, bringing the smell of an ocean breeze and tea with them. Sinbad mentally scowled when he caught sight of blonde hair from the corner of his eye. "Yunan," he began warningly as he lifted his head to face the magi.
Sinbad's breath caught.
Ranya looked back at him with laughter in her eyes.
"Hello, Sin." She greeted him warmly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Sai watched the tearful reunions from afar and held Marga. Sensing that there is something amiss, the little girl pulled away and looked at her caretaker curiously.
"Sai?"
"Hmm?"
"Where is Titus?"
There it was. The question Sai was dreading.
Sai considered lying to her. He could easily place a light illusion to cover up his true feelings and delay the inevitable but found that he didn't have the energy to do either. Marga deserved better than this. He wanted to properly mourn.
"Marga, sweetheart? Can you sit down with me? There's something that you need to know."
"…Sai?"
Marga sounded so scared. So terrified. Without a doubt, she'll cry after she hears that Titus won't be coming back. She was only a little girl, after all. That was why he had to act strong for Marga. Sai swallowed and hoped desperately that he wouldn't break down in front of her.
(Just how did Remy's parents break the news of his death to Maggie?)
"Marga, Titus…Titus won't be coming back." He told her, voice steady. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. We won't be seeing him again for a long…long time."
"Huh? What do you mean that he won't be coming back? Did someone take him?"
Sai swallowed again. His eyes burned.
"Marga, Titus is –
Sai was interrupted by a shout. He felt both relieved and frustrated at the interruption. The two emotions warred within him as the crowd behind them became restless. Marga looked over his shoulder. "What's happening?"
"Sai! Marga! You need to come over here!" They heard Aladdin shout ecstatically.
Annoyed, Sai scooped Marga up and slowly made his way over to the blue hair magi. As he moved forward, people immediately went out of his way, creating a pathway for the two.
At the end, another person stood beside Aladdin.
Marga recognized the person before Sai did. Her whole disposition brightened and she burst into a wide smile.
"Titus! Welcome back!"
Sai didn't realize that he was running until he was right in front of the blonde. He ignored Muu's sharp warning of keeping his distance from the new magi. He ignored how running made his bruises ache and his cuts sting. He didn't notice Marga wiggling away from his grip to hug Titus' legs.
"Lordling?"
Titus smiled at the dark-haired Blessed Child. "It's me, Sai. Sorry for making you worry so much."
"You idiot." Sai grabbed the blonde's shoulders and drew him close. He buried his head onto Titus' shoulder, relishing how real this whole situation was. "You idiot. 'Please be happy'? Did you really think that I'd be happy after that? If you really wanted that, you shouldn't have bitten the dust in the first place." He voice cracked embarrassingly at the end. Sai pretended it didn't happen.
Titus wrapped his arms around Sai. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Just don't do that again." Sai stressed. "Okay, Lordling? I don't think that my heart could take that."
"I won't."
"Sai?" He heard Marga ask from his side.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
Marga tilted her head. "Didn't you say Titus wasn't ever going to come back?"
He smiled and pressed his forehead against Titus'.
"I lied."
…
…
…
"We failed."
Camilla winced as Ming Hua tied the bandages tighter in response to her comment. She sent her companion a short, sharp look before turning back to the other two.
"What should we do now?"
Raul sat up, all smiles. Eirenne cooed and clucked over him, taking care to focus mostly on his right arm. "Well, first things first, I need to have this arm amputated before the poison spreads to the rest of my body."
All three women gaped at the man's proclamation. "What?!"
"What?" Raul echoed back to them. "I didn't stutter, did I? I said that I need to have this arm amputated. I don't have the means of counteracting this poison and I'm not fond of the idea of dying just yet."
Eirenne's face twisted. "But Raul, dear, your looks! Wouldn't it be ruined?"
"Don't fret. I'll get a replacement." He was quick to assure the beautiful woman. "The loss of my arm will only be temporary. It's amazing what you can do with dark rukh these days."
"But won't you need that arm to write? To experiment? To create?" Ming Hua asked critically, looking at his darkened arm. It was nearly black and honestly useless. She agreed with the scientist's decision. What perturbed her was how he didn't quite care about the loss of such an important part of his body. Raul shrugged. "I'm left-handed."
Both Camilla and Ming Hua shared a look. Eirenne sighed. "Well, if you insist, I'll perform the amputation. It will be painful, though."
"When were you so experienced in amputation? I thought you were some sheltered Queen." Camilla probed suspiciously. Eirenne sniffed. "I learned many things from here and there. Don't be so surprised. My family simply specialized in medicine, a common interest in a country like Heliohapt."
Raul smiled calmly. "I completely trust Eirenne to do this. After this is finished, let's go to my lab. I think it's time for some upgrades and adjustments to our dark djinn equips, no?"
Taking out a blade, a few painkilling herbs, a wet cloth, and a lantern, Eirenne kissed Raul's cheek fondly. "You spoil us too much, dear. Now, chew on these before biting down on this." She held out the herbs first before bringing out a thick hide of leather wrapped around a stick.
Raul chewed and swallowed the plants before taking the strange object into his mouth.
Camilla looked on in amusement. "Now this I want to watch."
"What is the lantern for?" Ming Hua questioned quietly from the side.
"The wound needs to be closed quickly if we don't want him losing blood. I need to burn it shut." Eirenne responded shortly before lifting up the blade. She cooed at Raul one more time almost comfortingly.
"Raul, dear, don't forget to bite down."
And then, Eirenne brought the blade down decisively.
Kouryuu and Zassan quailed in fear in their captors' arms. The floor was completely covered in blood. Zassan had stopped crying a long time ago when he realized that it did nothing to summon his mother.
"Take the Blessed Child's offspring to Queen Gyokuen as planned. Leave the slum brat to me." One of the priests ordered, paying no mind to the bodies on the ground. "Also, clean this mess up. We can't have too many servants asking questions."
Unbeknownst to the priests, one of the bodies twitched. It twitched again. And again. And again. Then, to the horror and disgust of the nearest Al Thamen members, one of the heads flew from the shadows that it originally rolled to and re-attached itself to the twitching body.
After a still moment, the dead body lifted itself from the ground, wiping the blood on its face with its sleeves. The body blinked and looked around. It's gaze first landed on the other body before moving onto the trebling infants.
"That took longer than I thought." The body commented lightly. "I haven't done this in a while, so my body reacted slower than it should have."
"What?!" One of the Al Thamen priests squawked. "How is this even possible?! You were dead! You were beheaded!"
The body nodded. "Yes, I was. I felt it too. I would very much like to not go through that again, thank you very much." The body smoothly bended over and picked up stray weapons. In the next moment, he brought down three Al Thamen priests, reducing them to their doll forms. He brought down his feet and crushed them both. He continued to kill the members one by one in a similar manner. One lucky member managed to sink a blade into the body's chest. Almost amused, the body dispatched the priest before prying the blade out of his chest. There was a spurt of blood before the wound closed up.
"Mo-Monster!" The priest holding the infants shrieked.
"Not quite. I'm just a very cursed and a very hard to kill Gui." Tao Gui corrected. "I'm usually harmless but you lot has forced my hand. Again."
Tao dropped his weapons, confusing the Al Thamen member. Lifting his hand, a large, intimidating scythe dropped onto his hand.
"Since it's difficult to actually hurt you through bodily harm, I'll just rip up your souls." He loomed over the priest threateningly. "I can hurt spirits with this, so killing you truly won't be too much of an issue."
And with that, the scythe descended.
"Be gone."
After successfully destroying the Al Thamen member's soul, Tao was quick to catch the infants. While Zassan was quick to burst into tears at the horrific display of violence, Kouryuu remained silent and continued to stare at Tao.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, children. Hush, you're safe now. I'm still a friend. I'll bring you to your parents."
While comforting the infants, Tao glanced back at the other body sadly.
"And once again, Al Thamen has taken another friend from me. I'm so sorry, Miss Leah. You have protected the children well. Please, rest in peace and safely join the rukh. I'll take it from here."
In Heliohapt palace, the halls were strangely silent. The only sound was a pair of feet walking without pausing.
Hakkan looked around, amazed.
"Haha, it's been a while since I walked through these halls. It's almost nostalgic." He commented cheerfully. "Shows what I took for granted before this was all destroyed. This is so nice~! That crazy scientist was useful for something after all! Because of him, I came back! I should thank him the next time we meet."
Hakkan giggled.
"According to my memories, Shion should be back too. Everything is so different! And it's all because of him! This is great! This is great! As expected of Shion! Since he's here, everyone is happy!"
He paused his walking for a moment.
"I should visit him, shouldn't I? Everyone is happy now, but it won't be for long. That will happen soon and if Shion finds out the truth…" Hakkan broke off his train of thought and shook his head. "No. No. He can't find out. I won't let him find out. I need to prevent him from finding out."
Hakkan looked down and twitched.
"…Should I kill him again?"
He shook his head, dispelling the idea of it. "No, no, no, I don't want to think of that now. It doesn't have to be that way. Besides, I should be excited! I get to see my best friend again!"
Hakkan backtracked to his room and packed his bags. He whistled as he made his way back out. He yelped and giggled as he almost tripped over something in his haste. "Whoops! Sorry about that, Miss! How rude of me! I almost didn't see you there!"
The blank eyes of the maid stared back at him, horror etched into her features. Red pooled around her.
Various other bodies littered the halls. Hakkan made sure to be careful of not stepping or tripping over anyone else.
"Haha, well, I'll be leaving everybody! Thank you for taking such good care of me!"
Hakkan left the palace, tracking blood as he went.
"Shion~ I'm coming~"
...You know, I originally intended to leave this chapter on a nice, fluffy note, but I couldn't help but add in the last three parts.
Wow, I'm evil.
And, to add onto the late Christmas gift, here is a comical short story, a short story, and a slightly feelsy short story.
Enjoy!
Chibi-Omake: Can You Imagine? (Or, How Jamal Sorta-Kinda [Not Really] Forgave Muu Since He Has a Conscience)
Jamal wasn't in the mood to watch Hel duke it out with the Cursed Child. Instead, he decided to help tend the wounded and keep an eye on Askan, who appeared frightened at his mother's sudden ability to crush people into icky gloop. Honestly, Jamal couldn't blame the kid. That woman was scary crazy.
And this was from him, the craziest Knight King in all of history.
A small, bout of coughing jarred Jamal from his thoughts. He furtively glanced over to the other inhabitant of the nearby boat. Muu Alexius, all in his righteous glory seemed to be insistent of something.
Jamal listened in.
"No, brother! You can't! You've already worn yourself out from the last battle! You can't go fight the creature at this state! Please, leave the fighting to sister-in-law and General Ignatius!" Myron shouted, pulling him back.
Muu coughed. Blood poured from his eye from the strain. It was almost too painful for Jamal to watch. "No, I need to be there! Scheherazade-sama is fighting all on her own back in Magnostadt city. She told me that we needed to defeat that medium before it destroys all of us! I can't just stay here!"
'Maybe I should help him?' Jamal thought for a moment before mentally slapping himself. 'No. That's completely stupid. This guy used your inventions for mass destruction. Shut up, me.'
'But we're all on the same side…' The part of Jamal's mind that somewhat represented his consciousness wheedled. 'It'll be mean to just leave him like that when he's so determined.'
'No.'
'But-!'
'Absolutely not.' The most sensible part of Jamal's mind insisted. 'This is our pride and joy that he sullied. And he doesn't even regret it! He's an asshole and that's that! See if I care whether he lives or dies! Hmf!'
'You're just being too prideful! Can't you see that he's only trying to protect his country?'
'And you're being too forgiving! And you're a gullible, predictable idiot!'
Gasps rang through Jamal's mind.
'He-Hey! You went too far! Besides, that doesn't even make sense! We're the same person! Are you saying that we're all gullible, predictable idiots?'
Gasps rang through Jamal's mind once again.
'I wasn't!'
'You totally were!'
The two sides began to brawl, jumbing up Jamal's thoughts even more.
'Order! Order in the Court!' Another voice chimed in, trying to maintain what little peace was left in Jamal's mind.
'Are you really having a debate with yourself?' The familiar voice in Jamal's head asked. It sounded both amazed and disturbed.
'Shut up!' All parts of Jamal's mind chorused angrily. 'Solomon, can't you see that I'm busy trying to make a decision here?'
'…Forgive me. Please continue.'
Satisfied, all parts of Jamal's mind went back to their debate.
'Don't trust him, man. You're just going to get hurt again.' The weary part of Jamal's mind warned. 'Remember, stab me in the back once, shame on the backstabber. Stab me in the back twice, why is the bastard still alive in the first place?!'
'Umm, I don't think it went like that.'
'Shut up. I'm trying to back you up here, me.'
'HEY! I know Hel's stepdad is a total douche, but that's not what's important here!' The part of Jamal that completely represented his compassion shouted. 'If we ignore this, there's a high chance that the idiot over there will die and if he dies, Miss Maya will cry!'
All thoughts completely froze.
'…She'll totally be depressed, right?'
'Yeah.'
'We might hate him, but she doesn't deserve that!'
'Alright! It's decided then! We'll help Hel's stepdad! Meeting adjourned!'
'…Wait, weren't we at court?'
Jerking out of his thoughts, Jamal jumped from his boat into Muu's, startling everyone in it and interrupting the argument. Procuring a small pill, Jamal shoved it into the surprised Muu's mouth. He immediately covered it with both his hands.
"Swallow." He ordered firmly.
Reflexively, Muu swallowed. Satisfied, Jamal removed his hands and turned away.
"Okay, I'm done now."
Before he could make his escape, a strong arm snapped out and grabbed him by the back of his collar. Myron Alexius glared at Jamal suspiciously. "Oi, brat! What did you just force-feed my brother?! It better not be poison!"
"It's not. If it was, he would be writhing on the ground the moment the pill entered his mouth." Jamal told her honestly. "It'll also burn a hole through his throat, so don't worry. It's definitely not that."
"Then, what did you feed me?" Muu asked curiously.
Jamal shrugged casually. "A magoi pill."
"A…what?!"
"You should feel your magoi flooding back into you. That should be enough to go back into the battlefield and survive, right?"
Muu jolted in surprise.
"Wait, my magoi is being replenished? Completely?"
"Yup."
"By that little thing?"
"Uh-huh."
"And you…gave it to me?"
Jamal turned his face away from Muu and crossed his arms. "I still hate you. A lot. But Miss Maya would be sad if you died because you were too stupid. So…yeah. Go. Fight. Be free. Shoo."
He glanced at Myron.
"Can you please let go of me now?"
After he was dropped, Jamal made his way back to his boat and avoided looking at Muu. He turned his attention back to the battle between Hel and the crazy lady. That fight suddenly became very interesting.
"…Thank you. And I'm sorry for what I did. Truly." Jamal heard Muu say.
Jamal pretended not to hear it even as Muu shifted into his djinn equip and took to the sky.
Mirror, Mirror: Aladdin
"Wow, Uncle Sinbad has so much stuff!" Aladdin marveled to himself as he explored the interior of Sinbad's treasure room. "He got all of this from all the dungeons he conquered! It's all so interesting!" Aladdin picked up small trinkets as he waded through the treasures and magical items. "I wonder if there's something that can help Kohaku-chan with her magic. She doesn't have a staff yet so…"
As Aladdin searched, he tripped over an object and sailed headfirst into a pile of gold. Rubbing his head, Aladdin winced as something jabbed at his side. Grabbing it, the magi waded out of the treasure pile.
"…? What is this?"
Aladdin held up a mirror. It looked simple and it sharply contrasted with the other dazzling and pretty things in the room. Did someone accidentally misplace this in here? Aladdin checked the glass of the mirror to make sure he didn't accidentally break it.
Pretty or not pretty, it still belonged to Sinbad.
"…Hello?"
Aladdin almost dropped the mirror then and there.
"Hello?" His reflection called out again. "Are you still there? I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just that it's my first time using something like this too. Who are you?"
Aladdin peered at the magic mirror cautiously, just in case it might enchant him or entrap him.
"I'm Aladdin."
"I'm Aladdin too!"
Interested, Aladdin tapped at the mirror. "Really? But how can that be?"
"I'm guessing that you're a 'me' from another universe. I'm not too sure how this mirror works, but that is my guess."
Aladdin's interest piqued. "If that's true, what is your world like?"
"If I tell you about mine, will you tell me about yours? I'm curious too!"
And so, the two Aladdins spoke for hours, exchanging stories about their worlds. Both found that their worlds were very similar, yet very different. It was strange, yet very exciting.
"I have to show this to Alibaba!" The two Aladdins concluded with excitement.
Mirror, Mirror: Alibaba
"This is amazing!" Alibaba marveled as he looked at the other 'him'.
"Right?" His reflection agreed, laughing. "I'm still a bit confused about there being 'other worlds', but I think I understand! We're the same with only a few differences, right?"
"I think…"
The Alibaba in the reflection scratched his head. "But that's strange. From what you told me so far about your adventures, it sounds almost exactly the same as mine. We went dungeon-diving with Aladdin and acquired Amon."
"Then we got separated and ended up using that power for the Fog Troupe." Alibaba finished with a rueful smile. "We failed to save Balbadd and Kassim died."
Depressed, both Alibabas sighed.
"Oh! But that reminds me, it bothered me a bit before, but you kept up bringing up a name that I don't recognize." Alibaba's reflection said suddenly. Alibaba tilted his head. "Yeah? Which name?"
"…Who's Amani?"
At his reflection's question, Alibaba froze. He stared at his reflection blankly. "Huh?"
"I mean, it sounds like this girl is someone pretty important to you."
"What are you talking about?" Alibaba asked, now beginning to sweat. He gripped the handle of the mirror tighter. "What do you mean?! How can you not know Amani?"
His reflection looked at him, even more confused. "How can I not - ? Is she that important to us? Is she our girlfriend or something? A lover?" He sounded a little hopeful.
"Of course not!" Alibaba yelled, making his reflection jump. "Amani is our…she is my most precious sister! Our sister! Our twin! How could you forget such an important person? She is a person that was always at our side. She took care of us in the slums, in the palace. No matter what stupid thing we did, she was always there to fix it up and scold us! She is a person who always sacrificed for us! She is a person who loves us unconditionally! She's someone who's irreplaceable to us! She's our sister!"
Alibaba finished his rant, breathing heavily.
After a long stretch of silence, his reflection responded.
"I…never had a sister. I was an only child."
"Oh." Alibaba said simply.
There was another stretch of silence between the pair.
"Amani she…she sounds like a really great person." Alibaba's reflection said quietly. "Can you tell me more about her?"
Alibaba did. He told his reflection about Amani's love for reading. He told him about the close friendship between Kassim and her and how jealous their relationship sometimes made him. He told him about how delicious Amani's cooking was. He told him about Amani's kindness, her cleverness, and her bravery. He told him about her miraculous feat of capturing a dungeon at a young age. He told him how Amani would let him sneak into her room so they can share stories and sleep right next to each other.
The things he told his reflection went on and on.
"…Did Kassim really die to protect Amani?" His reflection questioned quietly. Alibaba bristled defensively at the question. "It wasn't her fault! No one saw the attack coming aside from Kassim! He did what he could to protect her!"
"Oh no, no, I wasn't blaming her. I was just thinking how amazing Amani is. In my world, Kassim did not give up in his plans of a rebellion. So many people died and Kassim became a dark djinn and was manipulated by Al Thamen." His reflection sighed. "Somehow, Amani managed to change that. She managed to convince Kassim that there was another choice without the help of Aladdin's 'Solomon's Wisdom'. She…really saved Kassim."
Alibaba nodded, dazed.
"I can't imagine a world without her." He confessed to his reflection. "How do you do it?"
His reflection laughed nervously. "Well, after hearing all about her, I'm pretty surprised that I managed all on my own so far. I almost wish that I didn't know about her. I'm jealous. You're a lucky guy to have such a cool sister!"
"I am." He agreed and buried his face into his arms, putting the mirror down. "I miss her so much."
And here's where we wrap up! I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and its short stories!
Some Clarifications:
Knight King Darius Leoxses: Some of what he did to Yasmine was not okay. He's made a whole lot of mistakes for taking part in Yasmine's abuse. But he's making the effort to mend his bond with his graddaughter, so kudos to him, I guess?
Eirenne's 'Impenetrable Skin' vs. Jamal's Gun: As you can see, Jamal's household vessel won by a long shot. But how can this be? Wasn't Eirenne's skin so hard that she barely was affected by two djinn warriors? Well, yes. But, Raul created her djinn equip in a way that it acted as a shield. Judging by the weapon used, it changes its texture to deflect any attacks, Unfortunately, Raul did not have the foresight to protect Eirenne's skin from a small, speeding bullet. Since he wasn't aware of the weapon's existence, the djinn equip had no way of defending itself against his gun.
The Cursed Children's Djinn Equip: Normally, dark djinn would only result with the death of its users. Raul managed to make it that it wasn't necessary for the users' deaths by injecting the dark rukh into the bloodstream and incorporating it into the human's body. This experiment was very dangerous and only four survived from the process, including Raul.
Selene's Poison: She used Kukulclan's venom to honor the snake's death and avenging them.
RIP Sphintus' Pet Snake: The impact would've killed Sphintus in an instant, but Kukulclan's body absorbed most of the impact and protected Sphintus enough that Selene was able to save and stabilize him. Kukulclan's death was instantaneous. They did not suffer.
Family Reunion: It's finally here. We'll get more into it in the next chapter.
Shion's Grounding: He'll probably be limited to his room again.
Shinigami Tao Gui: Okay, okay, now this here, is very important. I alluded to his unique abilities in the past chapters (Selene freezing up when she's about to heal Tao after he was stabbed by Ja'far since the wound had healed up on its own, Kougyoku seeing a vision of a Shinigami behind Tao, etc.). To make this clear: Tao's ability to come back to life is not a common trait in the Gui Clan. He was simply cursed with his undying body since he's technically the last Gui left. Since his clan curse is all about surviving and keeping the clan alive, it literally kept him alive in order to bring the Gui Clan back. This ability also comes with its quirks. His soul-destroying scythe thing for example. Tao is pretty much a living, breathing Death God.
Leah: Yes, she's dead. And it wasn't the best way to go. She remained completely loyal to Amani. I loved her character to bits and pieces despite her minor role in the story. May she rest in peace.
Hakkan: Yes, the little shit is back.
A last note: Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all the support! We've reached over a 1,000 reviews for this story. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! Thank you so much for your support! COS was only possible because of all of you!
HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!
