After they had their fun, Malik stood up and headed back to the route.
“H-Hey!”
Safira skipped towards him and held his hand.
“You still didn’t tell us! How do we start?!”
Jasmine did the same but only tugged at his sleeve.
“Yes… how?”
He glanced at them and then continued walking.
“Well, there’s only one way, and that’s by unlocking your mutation… activating the core…”
Before they could reply to his words, he held a finger to his lips.
“Actually, hold that thought.”
Malik untied a bundle of Scrolls from his belt.
The girls exchanged curious glances, Safira leaning in from his left while Jasmine peered from his right, her head tilted just enough to see what he was doing.
He laid the first of the Scrolls out carefully on his palm, its edges curling from being tucked away for so long.
“What’s that?”
“Magic homework?”
Safira and Jasmine asked back to back, their eyes gleaming with the same curiosity.
Malik shook his head.
“Not exactly. These are Scrolls—mediums of Aether. I didn’t realize it before, but they contain ability paths. Think of them like… maps for Aether. Each one shows a different path through the body, like the trails we’re following right now, but y’know, for your ability.”
The one he revealed had a drawing of a human figure with thousands of lines crisscrossing its frame.
“Let’s see here.”
He traced them with a finger, his brow furrowing.
It had the same general layout as a usual ability path…
“Wait.”
Or so he thought at first.
The Pathing had major intricate differences.
“Mhmmm.”
Malik began to switch from one Scroll to another, seemingly on the cusp of realizing something.
He scanned them from top to bottom, disappointed each time, but then suddenly…
“Huh.”
His hands paused, roughly clutching the Scroll.
There was no mistaking it.
The lines on this one were strikingly similar to his own ability path.
“Would you look at that…”
Safira leaned closer, her nose almost touching the parchment.
“What? What is it?”
“This path…”
Malik showed it to her.
“It’s almost exactly like mine. But see here?”
He gestured to a tiny, subtle, barely noticeable, curve of lines near his shoulders.
“This part had a two-line detour. It was removed. The flow was optimized.”
***
{Outside The Projection}
The hall exploded once more, a seemingly common occurrence by now.
But this time the energy was different.
It wasn’t outrage but shock, disbelief, and an expectation fulfilled.
“No. Fucking. Way.”
“Did he just—?”
“Wait… really?!”
“That’s Path Optimization! No way he just guessed that!”
“A high-level technique!”
“Didn’t they only start teaching that after you become a Jinn?!”
“And it’s not in any beginner Grimoire, let alone that ‘dummies’ one he read!”
“I had to get drilled on that for months!”
“Same! And he just figured it out on his own?!”
“This is him, right? The same guy who was eating breadcrumbs off the floor not long ago?”
“Yeah!”
Zafar yelled, throwing his arms up, joining the tide of dumbasses.
“Cyrus called him trash; he’s no prodigy. So are we sure he’s never been trained? The Holy Relic might be lying to us.”
Noor’s throne dipped back as she leaned into it, her face a display of suspicion.
“It… is somewhat ridiculous. Even for him. This is… this is like someone who’s never held a sword inventing fencing techniques.”
“Ridiculous?!”
Azeem was on his feet now, practically shouting, his face all smiles.
“It’s impossible! That’s YEARS of research condensed into one moment; the subtlety alone requires—ugh, don’t even get me started! And the Sultan just stumbles onto it in the middle of a forest while babysitting kids?!”
Though his words were of surprise, they were dripping with something else too—pride.
If his face didn’t make it obvious enough, he quite enjoyed seeing their reactions to the one he once proudly served.
And he wasn’t the only one puffing his chest over this.
Both Safira and Layla, who stayed quiet throughout, couldn’t help but reveal soft smiles.
Yes, he’d done them unspeakable evil, but for now, this moment, before it all went down…
They wanted to appreciate him.
Show off a little.
“Maybe the Former Sultan was wrong, and he really is a genius!”
Someone from the back shouted.
“Or a liar!”
Another voice chimed in.
“Do you think he’s actually been trained and just faking this whole ‘clueless beggar’ act?”
“You can’t rewrite cognitive function, you idiot!”
“And why’d he even fake it? What does he gain from hiding this kind of skill?!”
“Maybe the relic is doing it!”
“Or maybe that Grimoire was some special edition!”
Roya looked at the crowd with blank eyes.
“You all realize that the Former Sultan’s words still hold true, right? He said that the Sultan has ‘brains…’ Please think before you speak.”
Noor snorted.
“A special edition? What’s next? A self-writing Grimoire?”
Azeem joined in the bashing of the dumbasses, enjoying Zafar’s embarrassed face.
“Oh, yeah, sure, let’s blame the parchment! Clearly, it’s the trees’ fault he’s a better Magi than most of us. Oh, wait—no, no, it’s the oxygen we breathe! Yes, that’s it, brilliant deduction! And for the record—”
Before he could even finish his sentence, Layla suddenly burst into laughter—loud, unrestrained, and utterly contagious.
The sound rang out, drawing every eye in the hall.
It was a sight that shocked most, as it didn’t match her demeanor at all—dressed head-to-toe in black attire, one of mourning, and looking all serious a second ago.
“Oh, this is rich!”
She gasped between breaths.
“You’re all scrambling to know the ‘how,’ forgetting that you’ve been outclassed by a man who probably thought ‘Path Optimization’ was just a fancy term for a shortcut!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The hall shut itself up.
***
{Inside The Projection}
Malik shut his eyes and let out a slow breath, focusing hard as he started channeling his Aether within.
It mimicked the path on the Scroll.
Almost instantly, he felt it—his veins tingling as it surged differently than what he was used to.
It was faster, smoother, cleaner.
But of course, that wasn’t all.
It was rougher, more dangerous; the control he usually had… felt tenuous.
He also noticed a level of backlash that wasn’t there before—a sharp, biting resistance that made him wince.
Whatever changes the author of this Scroll had made weren’t as subtle as they might’ve seemed.
Not at all.
They had stripped the ability path of its natural safeguards, replacing stability with unfiltered efficiency.
It wasn’t just a high-level technique; it was a gamble.
A delicate dance between speed, power, control, and the ever-looming threat of self-destruction.
“…Interesting.”
Malik opened his eyes, a slow grin spreading across his face.
“You clever bastard.”
“Who’s clever?”
Safira asked, tilting her head.
“Whoever made this.”
He held up the Scroll.
“They saw the flow and figured out how to… tweak it. Just a bit. Makes the element blast. Faster. Stronger.”
Jasmine leaned in, her small fingers brushing the edge of the parchment.
“Can we learn it too?”
He rolled the Scroll back up and slipped it under his armpit.
“Nah, this technique is a no-go. Way too dangerous.”
With that, he went back to work, picking through the rest like he was shopping for fruit at the Thursday market.
He tested each with a quick spark of Aether, sifting through what felt decent and what was plain trash.
Most? Unremarkable. Basic stuff. Useful, but nothing he could use as studying material.
Except a few caught his eye—healing scrolls, judging by the soothing vibe they gave off.
And, of course, the one that mirrored his own ability.
Once he’d checked them all, he packed the rejects back into his belt.
“Alright, pay attention. Safira, these are yours.”
He handed her the healing scrolls.
“You said you wanted the healing element, right? These should give you a head start. Just don’t go playing doctor until you’ve got the hang of it.”
She grinned, absolutely beaming as she hugged them to her chest.
“I won’t! But just you wait—I’m gonna be the best healer ever. You’ll see.”
Malik turned to Jasmine, handing her the scroll with the optimized path.
“And this one’s yours, Jasmine. It’s not beginner-friendly, but I think you can handle it.”
Her eyes went wide as she gingerly took the Scroll like it might bite her.
“You mean… it’s like yours?”
“Yep. Ember’s Touch is the same for all elements. But it’s got its own twist. You’ll see.”
The girls stared at their Scrolls in awe, already brimming with questions.
But before they could launch into a million of them, Malik held up a hand.
“Hold on, let me explain something first.”
He stopped walking and crouched down to their level.
“As I said, these paths—they’re instructions for your Aether. It’s like drawing a picture in your head, except the lines aren’t just lines. They’re how Aether flows through your veins, through your nerves, even down to your fingertips.”
Safira raised a hand like she was in school.
“So we’re drawing with our insides?”
Malik snorted.
“Sort of. But it’s not just drawing. You’ve gotta practice. A lot. It’s called Pathing, and trust me, it’s not easy. You mess it up, and you might end up with a nosebleed—or worse.”
Jasmine frowned.
“Worse? Like what?”
“Eh, you’ll be fine.”
Malik quickly waved it off, worried that he’d make her cry if he said anything more.
“Just don’t overdo it.”
Safira looked at her Scroll, her face scrunched in concentration.
“So we have to memorize them?”
“Yes. They have to get stuck in here.”
He tapped the side of his head.
“That’s your job for now. When we find a good spot to camp—like a cave—I’ll help you activate your cores. Your ‘fun’ will begin then.”
The girls nodded, their excitement bubbling over into giggles.
Malik couldn’t help but smile too as he stood up and continued walking.
“Alright, let’s move out. Keep those scrolls safe. And don’t go trying anything until I say so.”
Safira saluted.
“Yes, Sir!”
Jasmine just tugged on his sleeve again.
“You’ll show us everything, right?”
He looked at her, then at the horizon.
“Everything I know… And hopefully, a few things I don’t.”
With that, they set off; the two girls already absorbed in their scrolls.
‘…I don’t know when or how… but these two are going to change the world someday.’