***
{Capital City Of The Inside, The Holy Land}
{Al-Sayf Mansion}
Huda had essentially lost the plot.
A sobbing mess, she sat on her bed, knees pulled to her chest.
Snot, tears, and whatever else was on her face.
Yet, she didn’t seem to care, her image an afterthought.
The memories… oh, those damn memories.
It pained her to see him so gone… so lost.
She knew this to be all her fault.
And the projection’s only purpose seemed to be her constant reminder of that.
It just… continued to play out like some twisted joke that she could not block out no matter how hurt she was.
Her hands gripped the sheets so tightly they were starting to tear, but that was the last thing on her mind at that moment.
She’d seen a lot of things in her long life—like a lot. A lot.
Sad, depressing, just straight nightmare-inducing.
But this?
This was next level.
It took the cake and ate it.
“W-What… what did he do?”
Huda felt sick, unintentionally repeating his own question.
“What did he do to deserve this?”
She glanced at the projection, eyes landing on Malik for just a moment.
Yet even that felt a little too long… a little too hard.
It wasn’t the burial that broke her, not really.
She cared not for Jasmine’s death.
Sure, it was a sad moment, a really sad moment.
One that made her tear up a little, but… as bad as it might sound, that was all.
It wasn’t what twisted her heart into knots.
It wasn’t what made her want to scream or collapse or just stop altogether.
It was him. Malik.
The unshakable, maddening, stupidly noble big brother.
He was the one who turned her into this mess.
“Why… why even continue?”
“You’ve done your best.”
“Just leave her.”
But of course, he didn’t. He wouldn’t.
She knew that much, and that was part of what made it worse.
Because that same broken sense of responsibility, the one driving him into the ground now, had saved her once.
And Sinbad too… at least until a time.
For seven whole days, he’d kept them alive against all odds.
Seven days of Hell. Seven days where she didn’t think she’d make it to the next hour, let alone see the Shams rise again. She owed him her life. She owed him. Twice at that.
But dammit, what kind of hypocrite does that make her?
To want him to stop, to let go, when he never did so with them?
It burned, the contradiction of it. Like swallowing glass and feeling every shard settle in her chest.
Here, her logic was nearly nonexistent, but when was that really considered in the matter of emotions?
Huda wanted him to care less, to let himself breathe for once.
But wasn’t that what made him Malik?
The guy who couldn’t stand to let anyone down, even at his own expense?
It both made her proud and pissed her off.
“Idiot. You absolute idiot.”
Her voice cracked and more tears stung her eyes.
She swiped at her face, refusing to let them fall.
“Always—No… Wait.”
Huda stood up so fast her head spun.
“NOPE. Nope, nope, nope.”
She started pacing, hands waving like she was arguing with someone.
“This is NOT how this ends!”
Her mind pieced things together faster than her mouth could keep up.
That owl… The crimson one.
Anyone could see that it wasn’t just some random monster.
That was obvious even to the retarded.
But she realized something more…
“…No way. No freakin’ way.”
She rushed to her mirror stand, grabbed a cloak, and practically threw it over herself before bolting out the window, flying high up into the dark sky, above the mountainous landscape, nearing the twelve moons.
“It’s still alive!”
…
{The Holy Palace, The Hall of Records}
Noor’s guards barely had time to blink before a hidden figure stormed past, her presence a storm in itself.
“Hey, you can’t—”
One of them started, stepping forward, but he didn’t even get to finish.
Her pink eyes flashed, sharp as knives, and that was enough to glue his boots to the floor.
Whatever sense of duty he had evaporated on the spot.
The other guards exchanged a quick, panicked glance, not understanding why she was let go.
One of them moved as if to follow, but the first of them grabbed his arm, shaking his head.
“Not worth it.”
Huda’s steps thundered through the corridors, straight toward the massive double doors leading to the Hall of Records, a place deep within the Holy Palace, once protected by thousands of soldiers.
It stored all there was to store about Devil’s Maw and beyond, making it the perfect place to hide something, someone, or in this case, a Goddamn monster.
Decorum and consequences be damned; she needed to confirm the truth.
Entering an open area, she skidded to a stop and turned left, just before the doors.
They towered above her, glowing faintly with layered Aether seals.
“OPEN IT.”
Her command echoed through the chamber, filled with enough authority to make even the most stubborn bureaucrat flinch.
Two attendants stationed nearby froze like critters caught in a Roc’s sight.
They exchanged wide-eyed, frantic looks, their hands hovering nervously over their swords.
“L-Lady Huda… Our apologies, but the Hall of Records is strictly off-limits. The Light Empress herself ordered—”
“I don’t give a damn what Noor ordered! Open the doors, or I’ll rip them off myself!”
“Milady, please! This section is restricted even for—”
“Did I stutter?”
She stepped closer, her fists slamming into the heavy doors with a deafening BANG!
The Aether seals flickered, making the attendants flinch.
“I am the Former Sultan’s niece! You will open this door. Or do you dare bar entry to the Magi who once owned this fucking palace?! TELL ME! Do you want to explain to Noor why the planet’s sword just leveled half the Holy Palace?!”
The attendants paled.
One of them swallowed hard and nodded quickly, scrambling toward the seals.
“N-No, Lady Huda. We understand. Right away!”
The other hesitated, his eyes scanning her figure.
She raised a single brow, daring him to delay further.
“R-Right away, Lady Huda!”
He nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to join his partner.
With trembling hands, the two attendants began to input their Aether into the seals, forming a precise pattern in the air, one that only they knew.
The symbols glowed brighter, interlocking like the gears of a gigantic clock.
And just as the last symbol clicked into place, the doors groaned in protest, seemingly ancient mechanisms grinding to life.
Slowly, they began to part, revealing a dark hall.
Huda didn’t wait for them to finish.
The moment there was enough space, she shoved her way through.
Flash!
In response to her entry, the lamps that lined both walls had returned to life.
“…Wow.”
Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight before her.
The Hall of Records was massive—seriously, massive.
Even bigger than the Sultan’s Hall itself.
It made no sense structurally, but that didn’t confuse her.
She expected the place to have spatial runes installed, just not this many.
Rows upon rows of shelves stretched out so far, they might have needed a whole army of scribes just to map it out.
Scrolls, Grimores, Holy Relics, books, weird glowing artifacts—pretty much everything short of a talking skull on a stick was crammed in there.
“Big brother really worked hard… Back then, Uncle Cyrus had only half of the stuff in here.”
Huda wandered deeper, boots echoing on the tiled floor.
“Okay, Huda, where would he hide his pet, huh?”
The answer came quick.
“Magical secret compartment… probably.”
Her gaze bounced from dusty shelves to glittering display cases.
Some held ordinary-looking items—vases, old coins, a busted sword—but others?
Weird stuff.
Like a jar with a swirling silver mist inside or a set of golden scales that hummed.
Then she saw it.
A little crimson owl statue.
It sat on a pedestal, tucked away in one of the side alcoves like it didn’t want to be found but still couldn’t help showing off.
Its pink eyes gleamed faintly, and the feathers?
The detail was crazy good, life-like almost.
Like someone had carved it for years and then gave it a soul.
“Oh my god, look at you!”
Huda grinned, making a beeline for it.
“So cuuuuteee~.”
Before she could go to town on it, she bent down, squinting to see if it had a plaque or something similar.
Nope. No runes, no fancy mechanisms, no signs screaming, {Caution: Don’t Touch.}
Which meant… totally safe, right?
Huda reached out, running her fingers over its feathered back.
“Awwww, soft-looking but not actually soft. You’re like… the perfect mix of cute and useless. Love it.”
She gave it a little pat for good measure and laughed softly when its head wobbled slightly under her hand.
“Oh nooo, look at you. You’ve got a bobblehead thing going on. This is amazing.”
And then—because self-control was for people who didn’t just storm through forbidden doors—she ruffled its feathers again, pulling it closer like it was her new favorite pet.
Click.
Her hand froze mid-pat.
“Oh…”
The wall behind the pedestal shuddered, groaning like it hadn’t moved in a decade.
Stone scraped against stone as a hidden passageway slowly revealed itself, dark but also inviting.
Huda blinked.
Then she grinned.
“Well, well, well… Looks like I’ve found that magical secret compartment.”
She glanced at the statue, still tilted forward in its awkward pose.
“Good work, little buddy. You’re my favorite now.”
And without wasting another second, she stepped into the hidden corridor.
Lights lit up like earlier, and there…
“You really are alive!”
There, in the center of the room, sat in a golden cage, was the crimson owl.
It was massive, even bigger up close than it had seemed in the projection.
Its glowing pink eyes turned to her like two pools of sorrow.
Tears dripped steadily from them, carving faint trails into the gold beneath it. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire
Huda’s chest tightened and her merry mood was almost immediately gone.
She approached slowly, her voice trembling as she whispered:
“You’re still alive…”
The owl didn’t move, didn’t even acknowledge her presence.
It just sat there, its gaze fixed on the darkness ahead as if it were lost in memories too painful to bear.
“I don’t know what you are, being able to live this long… changing your size and color. I don’t know why you’re still here either… But one thing’s obvious.”
Those words made it finally acknowledge the intruder, turning its head to face her.
“You cared about him, didn’t you?”
She stepped closer.
“About Jasmine. About Malik… Loved them even.”
The owl blinked slowly, another tear rolling down its cheek.
“If you cared…”
Huda swallowed hard.
“Then help me. Help him. Because if we don’t do something… he’s going to die.”
For a moment, the owl didn’t move.
Then, almost imperceptibly, it nodded.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“Good.”
This wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.