Aladdin and Setta studiously worked on their magic in Magnostadt while Alibaba trained his swordmaship in the Reim Empire. The three of them were in their own adventures as the rukh guided them.
"Finally. The final exams are coming. Are you ready Setta-kun?" A blue haired magician asked as his companion continued to write on his letter.
"Yeah. Sure." He replied nonchalantly. Aladdin peaked on his letter and recognized that it was for Azami. It made him smile because not only Setta was doing this for the world but also for his sister. Setta, on the other hand, finished his letter and used a special tool to send it to his sister. After that, the two headed towards the training grounds where they practiced their magics. Aladdin specialized in sound, wind and fire magic while Setta majored in ice, light and gravity magic. Both gave their all to pass the exams and now that they were in 1st Kodor, it will be much easier to gather information. Of course, the teachers and students also admired them for their efforts. In fact, not too soon from now, the student who aced this year's schooling will be announced. Many put their bets on Aladdin, there were also some on Setta but rumor had it that there was a special student that teachers mostly admired.
"If only we're allowed to have a battle. It will really test our skills." Setta whined. Aladdin chuckled at his friend's behavior before returning back to his work.
"Oh! We have a banquet later right?" Aladdin asked. Setta confirmed it but told him that he will not be coming due to reasons.
"But there will be a lot of foods you know! Come on, Setta."
"I'll be late for half an hour. I have some business to take care of. Better save me some okay?" Aladdin nodded before going back to his room to prepare. Setta looked at the sky and saw his eagle circling a certain portion of the city. He nodded and flew towards the place. It was a tower where black rukhs reeked.
"I still can't believe that they're harboring tainted rukhs. I hope my letter reached Azami-nee. I miss her." He inspected the place even more before flying back to his dorm. His room was not far from Aladdin's. It was about three doors from the magi's. He noticed that most of the students were already at the banquet so he decided to join them. Once he reached the place, he heard Myers giving the students an inspirational speech.
'Uh. They're so energetic.' He thought.
"Setta!" He saw Aladdin sitting with Sphintus so he decided to sit beside the magi. He was eating peacefully before Myers pointed at the three of them. The two seemed to be posing for something. How did they even? Nevermind.
"We're glad then, Miss Myers." He said. The students formed around the two which made Setta happy that he was not in any center of something. That was until Aladdin pointed at him.
"Setta-kun also did his best!"
"Right! We'll be behind you Setta! Better watch your back." That made him sweat drop but nod nonetheless. The teachers and students continued their celebration but little by little, they also retired to their rooms for a goodnight sleep. Tomorrow was the final exam for first years at Magnostadt—the Iktyar, after all.
"Azami-nee. The final exams are coming. This journey is about to get into a bumpy ride soon. I hope I could see your smile again to encourage me." He closed his eyes and thought of the things that happened to him.
'I learned a lot from this country. Not only its dark side but also its good side. My magic also improved and this time, I will finally be able to use my staff properly. I hope you can see me too, Azami-nee. Aladdin and I went through a lot of hardships. Miss Myers training was not a joke. Many quitted but it was a big no to us always. You and the others are there for us after all. Goodnight, Azami-nee.'
The next day, it was now time to reveal the top student who will represent that specific year and class.
"This year, of the first years', graduating at the top of the class is—" Many looked at Aladdin expectedly. Even Setta did but what was announced was a magician by the name Titus Alexius.
"12th generation, Titus Alexius." Many were shocked by the news. Students started to complain while two of them were overjoyed. The supervisor said that it was true that Aladdin's use of magoi was over the average but Titus' was much greater. In such a short time, he was able to ace towards the top. Unknown to others, two of the students noticed the fluttering of rukhs around Titus.
"Aladdin?" He was still entranced by it. Setta narrowed his eyes at Titus and he could already tell that he was a magi but something was different about him. He was a magi yet his rukh seemed to be scattered or rather, it was not whole.
After the meeting, the students were tasked to change rooms. It looked like their rooms were now in a different tower. They were walking towards their room when a commotion erupted from somewhere. A fuss about a room.
'Are they for real?'
"Stop that." Setta stepped forward and glared at them.
"What are you doing, Setta!?" Sphintus asked. He ignored him and used his gravity magic to pull the two of each other's and throw them somewhere. He helped the ladies up and went back to Aladdin's side. That was when Titus appeared and introduced himself to Aladdin and Setta. Unfortunately, the purple haired magician ignored him and gave him the cold shoulders. Aladdin did something extraordinary. He touched Titus' chest.
'A-Aladdin?' He chuckled.
"That's right."
'Seriously Aladdin? I know you're into big chests but you gotta be kidding me?'
"I'm sorry about that. You have such a high voice and your butt is kinda big so I was convinced that you were a girl. Are you by any chance, a guy?" He innocently asked. Setta laughed at the corner while Sphintus did so loudly enough with a few teasings here and there.
"A big butt he says! Hahaha!"
"How dare he!?" One of his subordinates said in shock.
"Hey! Fatass! Fatass!" Sphintus continued to tease while Titus held on to Aladdin's shirt in anger. Setta looked at them in amusement. That was when he felt someone looking at them. He glanced upwards and noticed the grandmaster and two teachers. Soon, he made his appearance and the students bowed except for the two of them. Sphintus explained to Aladdin who he was and that made him weary of the grandmaster.
"So you're Aladdin?" He asked. Aladdin nodded and thought that he will do something to him but in turn he just gave him a pat. He turned to Setta who gave him a cold look but Matal Mogamett just returned it with a smile.
'That's weird?' He thought but listened to the teacher's announcement about the battle. It will be between Aladdin and Titus and whoever loses will lose the chance to learn everything here in Magnostadt. It will be a fierce battle.
The next day, the battle commenced. They started their showdown with their most priced magic. It was a clash but Setta just looked at it in boredom. It continued until they were both wasting their magoi. Setta glanced at Aladdin and smiled at the confidence he was showing. He knew that Aladdin will not be defeated that easily. He had a lot to do here in this country after all. Aladdin manipulated the sand and attacked Titus using that magic. It was amazing actually.
'He's using sound and gravity magic to keep that thing in its form. With that power, it would have been able to break his borg if it wasn't for its brittle structure.' Titus mocked Aladdin's creation and used an Aberrant Magic.
'Not bad.' He smirked and watched it now with interest. Their battle continued until Aladdin used sound magic and attacked each other. It resulted to them showing their magic crystal.
'This is bad.'
Aladdin and Titus were both surprised to see that they had the same thing on their arms so they tried to finish it off. Matal Mogamett stopped them and declared it a tie. Titus didn't look like he was himself and tried to attack Aladdin but Setta jumped in front and protected Aladdin with his gravity magic.
"That's enough, Titus." Many were astounded with what he did but soon returned to normal after the grandmaster announced that it was time to go back to their own dorms. Before anyone could go back, Setta used a light amnesiac magic that will erase a certain part of their memory. It will waver the memory of the teachers but will completely erase that of the students.
"Fiqdan aldhdhakira." He muttered.
"Setta? Let's go." Aladdin was about to take a step but fainted afterwards. The purple haired magician quickly slid to catch him. It looked like he exhausted his magoi and had a slight cut on his head.
"You should have been a little careful you know." He sighed before carrying the little magi to his room and tend to his injuries. With a slight help from Sphintus, Aladdin was now fine. The good news was that the two were given a chance to have a direct recommendation while the bad news was that Titus was locked in solitary after what he had done.
The others left for dinner while Setta stayed and watched Aladdin. He noticed a slight shine on his forehead and the mark of King Solomon.
"So he was having that dream huh? It must be nice to see them. I hope we can vision them as well." Aladdin woke up and quickly sat while thinking about it and Titus. He noticed Setta and gave him a questioning look.
"So you've seen the place? I bet you have a lot of questions to ask." He smiled and looked at the ceiling, suddenly finding it interesting.
"Who are you really, Setta-kun? Azami-nee is also different."
"You already know the answer and even Azami-nee will tell you the same thing. We came here because of him so you don't have to worry. We're here to help you defeat them."
"Setta-kun." The boy scoffed and gave him an apple to eat. They ate in silence before Settta decided to leave. The following days were eventful. Aladdin and Titus had a talk with each other about magi, Titus asking who Setta was and why he was so cold to him, Setta having a small talk with Matal Mogamett and a visit to the city.
What they visited was the 5th district where about 3/4 of the population was found. It was disturbing to know that Magnostadt was keeping these people down there but the fact that these people also lost their will was enough for him to know why. They were discovered and was supposed to be placed under solitary if it wasn't for Myers' pleas. Due to this, Matal Mogamett gave them a seminar about goi and the reason why they were to be hated.
'Is he for real? Not all are like this. Humans are greedy and all but along side it resides a light. I understand it but it isn't right to treat them like this.'
Aladdin defended them and Mogamett let them go back there again and ask for Marga, a very sick girl whom Titus wanted to help. Setta came with them to see for himself but he noticed the way Mogamett looked at them. Even Aladdin could see it.
'He doesn't think of them as humans. He looked at them differently. More like, they're some livestock.'
Setta rushed back to his room and wrote a letter about it. He looked outside for any witness before calling out his magic. With an eagle perched on his forearm, he attached a letter to it and supplied its head with his magoi to direct it to find his sister. It flew away to accomplish its task.
"Let it reach her. This country is something."
Days passed by and they were able to raise their rank. Both Aladdin and Setta were both under Miss Irene's teaching and they learned more about magoi manipulation. Setta was able to have more knowledge about the black rukh they were keeping and formed a hypothesis that this was mostly from the magoi of those from the 5th district. Then it came to a time where Mogamett decided to prolong Marga's life. Titus changed but then what was more shocking was Titus being part of Mogamett's army.
"What is happening here?" Setta looked at them with worry in his eyes. Titus Alexius, part of Scheherazade's magoi; Aladdin, who's mission was to seek the truth about this country; these magicians who were obscured from the truth; and Mogamett, who hated the non-magicians. The rukh was taking different paths and it could only mean disturbance.
"A storm is about to come, Azami-nee. I just have to follow them and believe right?" He asked to himself as the rukh fluttered around him in assurance.
'I want to see you soon, Azami-nee.'
'Time is near, Setta.'
'We need to protect the magi, this world and that place. That is why we're here. Our new mission.'
=END=