DISCLAIMER: Magi and other discernible characters/quotes/citations belong to their respective authors. I do not own original content, Magi. No profits were made.

COVER CREDITS: MAGI THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC BY SHINOBU OHTAKA (c). Cover Credits: Original Fan Character by Aladdin.

Cited: magi. Fandom wiki

A/N: This is my most heavily edited chapter. If you don't read the fluff edits from Chapter 1-5, pleaaaaaase read Chapter 6 EDITS. I touch more on Jedidiah's powers - This is new info that bridges a few gaps in the later chapters.

#StaySafe #Quarantine2020

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Magi

Chapter VI: The Fall of Alma Torran

"This is how Ugo must have felt..." The Priestess wiped away her tears, "When my father vanquished Il Ilah and Al-Tharmen to a sealed dimension, all plant and animal life died out at the same time, destroying the entire ecosystem. The land would not have been viable to grow crops for another thousand years. Everyone was lost, and in despair, Ugo realized that he was all alone, too, finding a way to keep everyone alive in the ruins of Alma Torran while maintaining the peace. All he had as mementos of his friends and family were us three kids, left by the Great King Solomon. He realized he could encourage everyone by first showing them that even if Solomon died, he left his will and teachings with his children. He assured them that as a Magi, Ugo could see the Rukh of the King's children and how we succeeded the radiance of Solomon's Rukh and that we would be great leaders someday."

"That certainly isn't the case now, though. What happened?"

"We depleted all resources that were left untouched by Il Illah in Alma Torran. In those five years, Ugo devised a plan to create a new world where the citizens of Alma Torran could travel with the Rukh through the dimensional tunnels by borrowing the power of the Sacred Palace – where Solomon's will that rules the Rukh dwells. Do you know where the system of choosing King's candidates come from?"

"No, I don't." The King responded, realizing his ignorance, despite being a King Vessel.

"Before leaving Alma Torran for the world we live in now, Ugo met with the 72 Djinns of the Underground City. They agreed that even when Aladdin becomes king, he will eventually die. So, they created a system to ensure that the leaders of the new world are just – the Three Wise Magi system. Entrusted to find a suitable King Vessel – they were the ones loved by the Rukh possessing Solomon's will, which loved all species equally. Then they created the Metal Vessels to house the miraculous powers sleeping in the Underground Cities. The King's Candidates, chosen by the Three Wise Magi, will come back to Alma Torran so that their skills and qualities may be tested once more by the immortal Djinns who will never forget the tragedy of Alma Torran. The Chiefs of the Underground Cities stayed behind to ensure that their descendants will have proper kings. As for Ugo, he became a Djinn as well, the Guardian of the Sacred Palace, continuing to send out the souls of Magi into the new world. With that, Ugo changed the form of all sentient species into one – humans. Only the former original humans, magicians, and certain groups were able to keep their memories and documents of Alma Torran after being moved into the New World. This is due to their original resistance toward magic – they are now called the 'Torran Tribe.' They still speak the language spoken in Alma Torran. Most of the members of the Torran Tribe are now citizens in the Holy Kingdom of Samaria."

"That seems like a happy ending. So why did the first Dungeon appear?" The King was perplexed. As the words left his lips, he felt shivers go down his spine. Anticipating an answer he would not like, he continued to listen, reeling in his expectations.

"A thousand years later, my brother, Jedidiah's human body, eventually reached its limit. Ugo delayed our aging process. He was able to keep Aladdin in fetus form and extend my next year into a thousand. Since Jedidiah was not born from Solomon or even Arba's blood, eventually, his body deteriorated. The magic contained in his death and reincarnation into this world awakened and resurrected Al-Tharmen. They are still sealed in another space, but they have become beings formed only by their consciousness – they channel their Rukh into those dolls to 'bring them back to life.'"

The King's eyebrows furrowed. He was still confused, "How did Jedidiah's death resurrect Al-Tharmen?"

"We were the first three Magi that Ugo created in the New World – Aladdin, Jedidiah, and me. However, in the first thousand years, we lived in the Sacred Palace with Ugo after he became its Guardian. He made new Magis that will choose King's Candidates and kept sending them out into the New World since we weren't ready yet."

"New Magis like Yuunan, Scheherezade & Judar?" The King clarified to ensure he was following The Priestess's story.

"Yes, that's right." She responded. "During our time in the Sacred Palace, Ugo trained us on how to be a Magi. As he honed my powers along with Jedidiah's, he found that my brother's abilities were based on his emotions, making him extremely volatile. It's not surprising since he was not born into magic. He learned and absorbed magic through our father's love and guidance. In turn, this made it hard for him to control his abilities."

The King chuckled ironically, "I can relate to that dilemma."

"When Jedidiah died, his soul was not returned to the Great White Flow. Instead, his soul was sent into the New World by Ugo as he reincarnated him to a different set of parents. Unfortunately, when his soul entered the New World, it caused a rip in the fabric of space and time. This anomaly allowed Al-Tharmen's Rukh to seep into our world slowly. The three Magi during that time detected his strong Rukh and alerted the descendants of Al-Tharmen. They were able to steal this child that was implanted with my brother's soul – which meant this child possessed the soul of a Magi. When that plan failed, Ugo sent me to live with the Torran Tribe and instructed me to limit using my powers so that I wouldn't be detected by the current Magis. I was thirteen at the time, and Jedidiah's reincarnated self had just turned 11 – that was a decade ago. Shortly after Ugo released me from the Sacred Palace, he turned Aladdin's fetus form into his child form and taught him everything he knows now."

"Samara, this child that possesses the soul of an original Magi, who was stolen by Al-Tharmen... Could it be...?" The King gnashed his teeth in preparation for her truth. He knew it already; he just did not want to believe it. His foreboding suspicions caused sweat beads to form above his eyebrows.

"You're correct. My brother, Jedidiah's soul, lives on in Judar."

The Priestess's most shocking revelation caused the King to inhale sharply to try and calm himself down. He could not quite place his emotions. Mostly, Sinbad felt annoyed. He did not fully understand why that took up the abundance of his feelings. He felt anger growing at this immovable mountain that suddenly stood in between him and the woman he's falling for.

Samara continued, reeling the King back into their conversation, "Though I doubt he'll remember our life together. How could he? No one was there to teach him and love him as he was growing up in this world. He only had the stringent Al-Tharmen members raising him." The Priestess confirmed. Again, trying only to give the baffled King facts. "To rebuild a better world than Alma Torran, Aladdin is our last pillar of support. He will lead the New World to the path of happiness! According to Ugo's plan, I must get our brother back from Al-Tharmen's hold – but I have no idea where to start..."

Revealing this goal, understanding her motives, the King found himself smirking, a plan forming in his mind. "Say, you have never met your brothers after they were born into this New World, right?" He enthusiastically inquired.

"No, I have never had the pleasure to meet them. Though, I fail to see why that would excite you?" The Priestess replied, offense clear in her tone.

"I happen to know your brothers well. Let's just say we have quite the history. Come with me to Sindria! I will introduce you to them." The King pointed his thumb toward himself. Offending the Priestess was not his intention at all. His excitement stemmed from the possibility of seeing Samara smile genuinely because of his help. Not only that, he also found a way to stay in her life just a little longer.

"Do you... really mean that?" For the first time in a long time, the Priestess cried tears of joy, and she felt a warm, fluttering feeling in her heart that she thought she had forgotten, "I can see my brothers again!"

"Yes, no family should ever be torn apart for a thousand years." The King wiped her tears. As strange as he found it, he felt pride in being able to give her the gift of family. Even though it was a small task for him, it meant the entire world for her.

History was unfolding, and the future was falling into place faster than Samara had hoped. The Priestess felt inclined to tell the King the last vital piece of information. "Sinbad, you asked me earlier if I knew we would meet. Not only have I seen you in my visions when using Solomon's Wisdom to try to predict the future. Ugo spoke of a singularity, not unlike my grandfather, that I might meet in this lifetime. He said, if I do meet him, steer him away from David's whispers."

The King dreaded his next words, "I'm a singularity..."

"Correct." The Priestess continued as she walked the King to the palace's sacred prayer room, "You see, when my father was born, David wrote a prophecy – that singularities are a natural phenomenon in the world. He claimed to understand the purpose of such phenomena – there is a mission, and my grandfather exists to fulfill it to its end."

They stood in front of an old book sitting on a stone – David's Book of Prophecy. She looked him in the eye. Her next words changing his destiny as he knew it, "I believe my grandfather is going to attempt to take over your body to manifest himself into our New World."