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Chapter Nine

The Truth

"Morgiana?"

Morgiana jumps. She follows the voice with her eyes and finds Hakuryuu standing several paces away. He is looking at her with wide eyes. Beside him is Judar. "What are you doing here?" he questions. His gaze rakes over her and his eyes widen further when they land on her back. "That wound!" He rushes over to her and inspects the burn with a horrified expression. His hands hover just over the blistering skin. "What on earth happened?"

Morgiana reaches back and lightly touches the wound. The brush of her fingertips feels like fire and she suppresses a wince. "I saw Judar come into the dungeon so I followed him," she answers. "I thought he was going in to stop you."

Hakuryuu turns to look sharply at Judar and the dark magi crosses his arms behind his head. "Whoops."

Morgiana is about to question Hakuryuu about the magi's presence but it is at that moment that the djinn appears in a burst of sweet smelling smoke. His arrival is accompanied by the hollow, vaguely musical sound of dry bones clinking together. Belial is a very handsome djinn, she thinks, though he has three extra eyes and he is adorned with giant, creepy, centipede-like skeletal structures.

"Welcome," he greets them, folding his arms over his chest. "You've both done well in making it here." The bones slither around him like serpents. "I sense a great amount of truth and conviction in both of you. However, I have already chosen the one who will become my vessel."

Morgiana and Hakuryuu look at each other in surprise. They never thought both of them would be considered to receive Belial's powers. Judar whistles in amusement.

"Hakuryuu," the djinn addresses her companion. Hakuryuu looks up at him. His mouth is set in a grim line. "You are a man who has made many mistakes. You once stole my powers for yourself and used them to destroy the lives of many people."

Morgiana looks at her friend in shock. Her expression transforms into one of horror when instead of denying it, Hakuryuu looks down at his feet. She can read the guilt in his face. She takes a step back and her eyes dart between him and the djinn. Hakuryuu keeps his gaze fixed steadfastly away from her.

"However, the blame is partly mine," Belial continues. "I was the one who pushed you over the edge. I thought I could save you, but instead I drove you to desperation. I apologize."

Hakuryuu shakes his head and looks up to meet Belial's gaze. "No. The fault is mine. It was just as you said; I couldn't let go of my rage. There wasn't a person alive who could have prevented what was growing in my heart. This time around, I intend to right my wrongs. Every one."

The djinn smiles. "I have seen your resolve and know that your heart is filled with truth. I believe you will succeed."

Hakuryuu puts his hands together and bows. "Thank you."

Belial turns to her next. "Morgiana," he addresses her. "You came into my dungeon not in pursuit of power but for the sake of your friend. Still, you passed my tests and have shown yourself to be worthy of my magic. So I will ask you again: do you seek power?"

Morgiana swallows. Her head is still spinning from what Belial just revealed about Hakuryuu, but she can ask him about that later. Right now, her promise to Alibaba and Aladdin comes first. "Yes."

The djinn smiles. "Then you shall have it." He flickers and then his body transforms into an orb of pure light which shoots down and comes to rest in her necklace. The symbol of his favor appears beside the red jewel and sparkles in the chamber's golden light. Morgiana touches it delicately. She's so surprised, she can't even form words. Did she just…become a king vessel?

"Morgiana…" Hakuryuu says her name in wonder.

A few meters away, Judar bursts out laughing. "Now, that's rich!" he exclaims. "You come into the dungeon to get Belial's power but he gives it to her instead!" He pads over to them and reaches out to ruffle Hakuryuu's hair with a grin. "Better luck next time, buddy. But, I mean, what did you really expect after last time, right?"

Hakuryuu doesn't get a chance to answer because at that moment a magic circle appears below them and the dungeon begins to crumble. There is a burst of light and they are transferred back outside. A moment later the dungeon flickers and disappears leaving only an enormous hole in the ground in the place where it had stood.

Hakuryuu stands and helps Morgiana to her feet. "How is your back?" he asks. His eyebrows are furrowed in concern.

"It's fine," she answers honestly. Really, it's not that bad. It should heal quickly. "More than that, Hakuryuu…I'm sorry," she apologizes. "I didn't mean to take Belial's power for myself."

Hakuryuu smiles. "It's okay," he assures her. "To be honest, it's probably better this way. It doesn't matter which of us has the power. We're in this together, right?"

Morgiana doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she grabs his hand. "Hakuryuu," she starts, "when I was in there, I talked to some people. They explained some things that have been bothering me a lot lately." She looks directly into his eyes. "Things that started bothering me back when we returned from the pirates' base in Aktia." She takes a deep breath. "Things that I think you are aware of as well."

Hakuryuu's eyes widen. He takes a step back but doesn't try to pull out of her grip. A shadow passes over his face.

"Be honest with me," she commands, squeezing his hand tighter. "When that djinn said you'd taken his powers by force before…and that you'd hurt a lot of people…that was in another future, wasn't it?"

Hakuryuu is silent for a long moment but Morgiana waits and eventually her patience is rewarded. His lips thin and he lowers his gaze to their hands. "Yes," he confirms. "You and I…and also Judar, here," he glances over at the dark magi who raises an eyebrow back, "we all possess memories from a future that no longer exists."

Morgiana narrows her eyes at him. So he really had known all along. She's not sure how to feel about that. How could he have known all this time and never said anything? Why would he feign ignorance? "Why? What happened to it?"

Hakuryuu's expression is pained. It's clear that he doesn't enjoy talking about this, but Morgiana needs to know. She's going to go crazy if she doesn't get answers.

"We chose to rewrite it," he answers. "Or, more accurately, I did. I wanted to change fate." His face tightens and his brow furrows. His eyes suddenly look like they're seeing into another time. He clenches his free hand at his side. "No, I had to. I asked for Judar's help as a magi and we used to the power of the desires of all the people who were suffering—there were so, so many…it was awful—to send time backward."

Morgiana's mouth falls open. Such a thing…was it really possible? Her visions of Aladdin and Alibaba and then Belial himself all confirmed that they were living in a separate timeline. And her dreams…they were slowly starting to come back to her now. The pieces were continuing to fall into place. "That explains your and Judar's odd behavior," she admits. "But what about me? Alibaba and Aladdin didn't appear to have any memories from this scrapped future, but somehow I do. I can vaguely recall certain things that I know transpired…though I can't remember anything about what happened to make you want to reset everything."

Judar steps forward. His red eyes are piercing. "That's because you died, sweetheart," he states, one corner of his mouth turning up into a humorless half grin.

Hakuryuu stiffens and he sends Judar a look so dark that his pale blue eyes resemble those of a dragon about to bite off the head of a tiger in a single monstrous chomp.

Morgiana blinks back at him. "I…what?"

Judar clearly has a death wish, because he ignores Hakuryuu's warning look and repeats, "You died. It was quite the tragedy. Nothing anyone could have done to stop it." He sends a sidelong glance at Hakuryuu. "Well, except for him."

Morgiana thinks Hakuryuu is going to punch the smug magi, but when she looks back at him the rage has drained from his face and his eyes look empty.

"Zagan's powers probably could have saved you, but unfortunately, Hakuryuu wasn't there when it happened. He'd been on his way back to Rakushou to meet you guys at the time, but he ended up missing you by a day. Such shitty circumstances, right?"

Morgiana's mouth falls open and she can't decide where to look; at Hakuryuu who is still standing silently with that haunted look in his eyes or at Judar who is watching her reaction to his tale with interest. She shakes her head and finally focuses on Judar. "How?" she asks, finally releasing Hakuryuu's hand. She finds her strength has left her.

"It was a curse," Hakuryuu finally speaks up. "Arba…she was desperate. She'd lost all her power and then she lost Sinbad as well. But unbeknownst to us, she had already set up a contingency plan. She knew she could regain her power by forcing a large number of people to fall into depravity, so she planted the seeds of a magical plague. It started in Aktia with the same symptoms as a common flu. From there, it was carried by ship to Balbadd, Parthevia, and Heliohapt. The use of transportation magic circles made short work of the rest of the world. In the beginning we all thought it was just a particularly nasty flu season. Nobody knew that it was actually a curse that, once triggered, would kill its host violently and with great swiftness. A tenth of the world's population was lost in a single night. That number rose to twenty percent over the next few days. A fifth of the world's people. Gone. Just like that."

"When Hakuryuu learned that you had caught it, he rushed for Rakushou," Judar continues for him. "But you were already gone. That's when he got the idea to reset time. It was the perfect 'fuck you' to the old witch; hijacking the intense feelings created by her own curse to change destiny before she could."

"So…" Morgiana starts slowly as she attempts to wrap her head around everything she's just heard. "The reason I still have memories is because it was my death that you based your wish to turn back time around." She looks at Hakuryuu for verification.

Hakuryuu lifts his eyes from the ground where they'd been firmly planted until now to look her in the eye. "Yes. Even if it killed me, I had to do it. I couldn't accept a world without you in it." He smiles then and she doesn't think she's ever seen such a heartbreaking expression. "I'm sorry, Morgiana. It turns out I'm pretty selfish."

She shakes her head. "No." Her brain is struggling to process everything she's just learned. "No. I should be thanking you." She turns to Judar. "Both of you. I can't say that I completely understand everything you've just told me, but do understand that I wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for what you did."

Hakuryuu closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them again, he lifts his arms out to her and she doesn't need to be told what he wants. She steps into the circle of his arms and he closes them around her, holding her fiercely. "I'm sorry," he apologizes again. "I hoped that you would never have to remember."

She shakes her head against his chest. "I'm relieved," she admits. "I felt like I was going crazy. Now I know all those feelings of déjà vu I was having were because I was remembering things that actually happened."

All this still feels very fantastical, though. Her memories are still very much full of holes and she's certain there must be consequences for doing what Hakuryuu did, but right now she won't dwell on it. She'll just accept it because that's what she does and there's no use in wasting energy worrying about things that are already done.

Hakuryuu releases her reluctantly and turns to Judar. "How is the situation in Kou? Does Gyokuen suspect anything?"

Judar shrugs. "You can never really tell with the old hag, but I don't think so. She's been quiet and well-behaved like a good little girl. I'm pretty sure she's biding her time until she can off the grumpy old bastard. Shouldn't be long now."

Hakuryuu grimaces but nods. "And Sinbad?"

"The usual. Plans within plans. I gotta say, it's boring now that I know what's coming."

Hakuryuu smiles at that. "Then how about I give you a job? I think it's time someone took care of what's been growing inside of Director Mogamett's basement before somebody accidentally makes Gyokuen very happy."

Judar grins and punches his right fist into his left palm. "Hoo! I do love a good opportunity to raise some terror. Your wish is my command, my king."

Hakuryuu's smile twists into a smirk. "Just make sure you don't bully them into actually using the things. And also—"

"Don't mess with the midget's mission. Got it." Judar mock salutes him. "Then I'll see you back in Kou when I've finished."

Hakuryuu holds up his forearm to the magi and Judar knocks his own against it. He then turns to Morgiana and smirks. "Later, doll. Do me a favor and don't let this guy be too good, 'kay?"

He disappears before Morgiana can answer. Instead, she turns back to Hakuryuu and asks, "So, when did Judar join our side, exactly?"

Hakuryuu smiles guiltily. "It's a, uh, long story.

Morgiana blinks at him. "I see."

"Anyway," he segues, "you're a metal vessel user now." He reaches out a hand and delicately touches the necklace at her throat. "Congratulations."

Morgiana touches it as well. She doesn't feel any different, to be honest, but she supposes now she'll be able to use a djinn's powers like Hakuryuu and Alibaba. Though she still has no idea what Belial's power is.

Hakuryuu seems to sense what she's thinking because he explains, "Belial is a life magic djinn. His magic will allow you to control people's minds and make them see and hear things that aren't real. It's a terrifying power when misused, but we can use it to quickly take down the bulk of Al-Thamen's spy network."

Morgiana runs her fingers over the smooth surface of the necklace and considers Hakuryuu's words. So Belial is a djinn who attacks the mind. It's an odd power for her to receive, she thinks, as she's a warrior first and foremost and her approach has always been the direct, high speed and hard hitting type. But she's learning that there's more to battling than physical strength alone so she accepts this djinn as one more lesson; one more rung on the ladder to her goal.

"I…will require instruction," she says, looking up into Hakuryuu's eyes. She never once imagined that she would gain the power of a djinn for herself and she's quite at a loss for how to properly utilize this new kind of strength. Fanalis are not known for their magic. She wonders if there has ever been a metal vessel user among her kind before or if she is the first.

"We have time," Hakuryuu assures her with a smile. "Originally, I intended to head across the border into Kou next and begin my attack on Al-Thaman, but since you are the one Belial chose, I propose we find my sister instead. She will need to be informed of our plans anyway and as another metal vessel user she can aid in your training."

Morgiana feels guilt rise in her chest again. "I've messed up your plans. I'm sorry."

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "It's really not a problem at all," he assures her. "Our combined strength as metal vessel users will be greater than me commanding two djinns by myself." His smile widens into a grin. "And besides, since both of our djinns control type 8 magic we're virtually invulnerable. I don't know about you, but I can't think of a better team."

Hakuryuu's eyes are full of light and Morgiana takes a moment to really study his face again now that she's regained some of her memories. There's still so much missing from the years leading up to her supposed death but she knows the expression that Hakuryuu is making right now is one that was never shown to her in that future. Not even once. The face of the Hakuryuu in her fragmented memory is hard and haunted and full of sorrow. Why did she never notice how tortured he'd still been even after returning to the light?

No…it wasn't that she hadn't noticed. She had pretended not to see. She had convinced herself that everything was okay because she couldn't handle the alternative. She had turned her back on him because his despair was inconvenient. She's the worst kind of person.

She silently makes a promise right now that she will never turn away from him again.

"Oh!" Hakuryuu says suddenly, surprising her. He brings his pack around and fishes inside it for a moment. A second later he pulls out a spare tunic. He holds the garment out to her. "Here. To cover your back."

She accepts it, feeling even more guilty now. Hakuryuu is so thoughtful and generous and she feels like she doesn't deserve such kindness after how she treated him in the other future. She wonders how he can still regard her so highly when she turned her back on him, but as she pulls the tunic on over her ruined dress she catches his scent in the fabric and realizes that's just how Hakuryuu is. He is kind and warm and when he cares about someone or something he cares deeply; straight from his soul. She thinks that's always been what she's liked the most about him. "Thank you," she tells him from the bottom of her heart.

Hakuryuu blinks at her for a moment and then blushes and scratches the back of his head shyly. "Of course."

After that, they readjust their packs on their backs and prepare to depart. Hakuryuu calls upon Zagan's powers and they take to the sky once more. It's time to find Hakuryuu's sister.

oO0Oo

As always, thanks a bunch to all the people reading and supporting me while I write this story. This chapter and the last one were the most important so far. We've finally learned what happened to cause the reset and Hakuryuu's part in it. I wonder how many of you were able to correctly predict it after the previous chapter.

Next Chapter: What ever happened to Li Seishun? Was that ever explained? Was he just so short that he shrank out of existence?