Once the sun had finally set and the moon was high in the air, it was time to put the plan to action. As you wandered around your room getting everything ready, you tried not to let your mind wander to the people you cared about. If you did, you knew you would consider backing out. However, you couldn't back out now, this was very important to the magi after all.

During your small meeting with him, he had told you many things. However, the main thing that captured your attention was how he spoke of your power. He said it was special. As the conversation replayed in your mind your eyes wandered down to your hand as you willed a small magic circle to appear.

Despite knowing how to use it, you had no idea how it worked exactly. It was crazy to think you'd gotten this far with it. You had thought you were never going to use it again after that night.

You shook the thoughts and memories from your mind. You reminded yourself there wasn't time to dwell on this right now. Besides, there was no guarantee you were going to get the answers you wanted. It was always just a mystery.

You sighed and wrapped your cloak around your shoulders after you got dressed. You made sure to put on your djinn as you took a seat at your vanity.

As you stared at your reflection, you silently thanked whatever deity was up there that Kouen had fallen asleep in his study again. If not for that, this whole sneaking out situation would've proven difficult. You tried to ignore the feeling of guilt pooling in your gut as your thoughts drifted to how upset he'll probably be.

You groaned and grabbed the pen sitting on your vanity along with the piece of paper you had gotten earlier. Just because you were in a hurry didn't mean you couldn't leave a note. Kouen at least deserved an explanation for your disappearance.

When you finished writing it and read it, you let out another sigh. You were doing quite a lot of those tonight. Satisfied with what you wrote you pressed a small kiss to the end of the note, leaving a lipstick mark. You folded the paper in half and stuck it in the mirror.

You wished it didn't have to be like this, but Yunan insisted only you along could do this. He had put a lot of faith in you and you didn't want to let him down.

You didn't know whether to be nervous or proud of the fact that Yunan seemed to only trust you with its power. When you had asked him about other "Kings candidates", he didn't seem to want to answer your question. He even went as far as to avoid your eyes. You didn't want to press further when you caught a glimpse of the look in his eyes. They looked... disappointed.

You shook off the memory and glanced at your reflection once more. You laid your hand on your vanity and ended up absentmindedly grabbing the hair stick.

When you realized you had grabbed it, you lifted it up to your eyes. A solemn expression grew on your face the longer you stared. You had been planning on leaving it, fearing it would break or worse if you brought it with you. But as you gazed at it, you couldn't deny the urge to bring with you. As a reminder... Of Kouen.

A light blush came to your cheeks at the thought. At that, you made up your mind and put your hair up to stick it in. Once it was secure, you took one last look at yours and Kouen's room. Who knows when you'd be back or if you even came back.

You lightly shut the door behind you and made your way to where Yunan said to meet. None of the guards seemed to question where you going as you walked at a brisk pace, they probably thought you were going to Kouen's study. Now that you thought about it, his study was on the way to the meeting point.

As if by pure coincidence, you were just about to pass by his door. You tried to resist the urge to peek inside, but you couldn't help it. Your relationship with him was just starting to develop and you were lying if you told yourself you wouldn't miss that handsome face of his.

You cursed at yourself as you softly opened the door and peeked inside. You caught sight of him leaned over his desk, asleep, using a scroll as a pillow. You covered your mouth to stifle the giggle that was about it to come out. It ached how much you were going to miss seeing that.

Letting out a sigh, you shut the door before you went inside and did something stupid. Before you could continue walking, you felt an abrupt weight on your shoulder and flinched. You turned around to find Kazue looking at you.

Before he said anything, he caught sight of your attire before you covered it with your cloak. "Quite the midnight walk you're going on," he said while lifting a folded piece of paper.

Your eyes widened as you looked down at your shoes in shame, you didn't know how to explain this. Fortunately, you didn't have to. Kazue wrapped his arms around you, one of them cradling your head. "Come back home safe," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

You wrapped your arms around his waist and nodded.

"Okay."

*~*~*

Finally, after your short goodbye with Kazue, you made it to the spot where Yunan told you to meet him. It was deep in the garden, you were shocked when he had first shown you the spot. Sure, you knew the palace was huge, but you had never realized the gardens were almost as big as the palace.

As you pushed through, yet another, layer of thick leaves, you let out a sigh of relief to see Yunan waiting for you. He hadn't noticed you yet and seemed to be admiring the various flowers under the moonlight. As soon as he heard the leaves rustling he turned to see you.

He beamed, "ah, you finally made it." He stood up, "well, are you ready?" He asked, holding his hand out to you.

You let in a small breath and nodded, "yes."

Yunan nodded back at you, "perfect, let's go."

He lifted his free hand to grab onto his hat as he began to guide you through the expansive garden. You didn't bother questioning how he seemed to know his way through as if he'd been here thousands of times before. Meanwhile, you were stumbling after him and swatting millions of flowers and branches from your face.

Then, finally, you both made through to the other side. The other side being the outskirts of the Kou palace. As you took in the sight before you, you couldn't hide the confusion that laced your features. How exactly did you both get out here in only a matter of minutes? Yunan chuckled lightly to himself when he caught sight of your confusion.

"You know," he spoke up causing you to look at him, "not many people take the time to stroll throughout the entire palace." He shifted some branches and bush away and pointed his staff to what was a hole in the wall. It was deep in the garden you had just walked out of.

Your eyes widened at the sight. Who knows what kind of unwanted people could have made that hole through there. How had none of the guards noticed? Before you could continue spiraling, Yunan placed a hand on your shoulder.

"There's no need to worry about that, with all of this flora fauna covering it up," he gestured to the tall trees and thick bushes, "it's no wonder why no one had seen it before."

You almost felt a little tempted to remind yourself to bring this up to Kouen if you came back, but decided against it. "So," you decided to change the subject, "what's next?" You asked.

Yunan tapped his chin as he thought and then snapped his fingers. "It's time for us to go farther away from civilization," he explained, "summoning a dungeon such as this will attract a lot of eyes, it's better we buy you some time to get in first." He pulled out a map from what seemed like nowhere and began to read it.

You blinked and rose a brow at him, "what do you mean? I can understand not raising it near the palace, but why would it matter if we went farther away from civilization?" You questioned. Surely, no one in Kou would notice until morning came, right?

At your question, Yunan got the same look in his eyes when you had asked him about other King's candidates. "You'd be surprised how quickly people notice these kinds of changes, not to mention, how fast they can fly with the help of a djinn." He didn't say much else other than that and folded his map away in thin air.

"Well then," he held out his staff and willed it to stay in the air, "let's get going, shall we?" He gestured for you to sit on his staff.

"And where exactly are we going?" You asked before sitting down. You'd rather not sit before getting a clear answer on your destination.

"The Dark Continent, of course."

*~*~*

When all was said and done, you honestly did not know much about the Dark Continent. There was not much written about it in books considering it was nearly impossible to get to. The only thing you knew is that its only inhabitants were Fanalis. When you mentioned the Great Rift you'd read about to Yunan, he only said to trust him.

You sighed at his response and decided to remain silent for the rest of the journey. Fortunately, it didn't take too long which came as a shock to you. You'd never had the chance to ride on a magic staff and, despite the discomfort, it was delightfully much faster than a boat.

As you near the destination, your eyes fell to the Great Rift. You'd never, in your wildest dreams, thought you'd see it with your own eyes. If you could choose just two words to describe it, it would be stunning and intimidating.

When you realized you were nearing the entrance of it, you tapped Yunan on the shoulder. "What exactly are we supposed to be doing here?" You asked when he turned to face you.

"We're summing the dungeon down there of course!" He beamed as he pointed his staff down to begin the descent. You couldn't conceal your shock or fear that came when he said that.

"Wait, what!?" You yelled while yanking his arm to stop him, "are you crazy? Don't you see how dark it is down there?" You cringed as you stared down at the abyss that separated everyone from the mysterious of the dark continent. You almost felt yourself grow faint at the sight.

Yunan simply chuckled and turned to you, "there's nothing to be afraid of," he said, laying a hand on the one you had on his arm.

Despite the reassurance, fear still gripped your heart. It felt silly to be scared of such a deep, dark abyss but you couldn't help it. Yunan could tell you were still scared, "I promise, it's completely safe. There's nothing in the darkness," he explained with a wave of his hand.

Your brows scrunched together in disbelief. "Oh? Is there a reason why you sound so confident?" You questioned with crossed arms.

Yunan nodded, "yes-," he soon cut himself off. You rose a brow when you noticed the hesitation that laced his features. He coughed into his hand, "yes, I visit here a lot," he said with his simple trademark smile.

Despite the skepticism lingering in your gut, you decided to nod and drop the topic. "Alright, well, what happens when we get down there?" You asked, not even noticing how tight you were gripping his staff.

"Well, the funny thing about that, you will be the only one going down there," he said sheepishly as he avoided your eyes.

Your eyes widened, "what?!" You exclaimed causing Yunan to cover his ears. "This was all your idea and now you're telling me I have to go down there alone?!" Needless to say, you weren't ecstatic about the idea. It wasn't like you were super afraid of the dark, mostly just a tad fearful you would be going into another dungeon, alone again.

It was in that moment of having a sinking feeling in your gut that you felt warmth at your side. You glanced at your side and placed a hand on your djinn, that's where the warmth came from. You smiled and held onto the hilt, it brought comfort.

Yunan noticed your uneasy expression and turned to face you. "I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't think you were capable enough," he simply explained as he placed a hand on your shoulder.

You nodded and gripped the hilt tighter, "alright, let's start then."

*~*~*

Being a singularity, Sinbad would've thought by now he would've seen all there is to see. Especially after all his travels, but nothing would've prepared him for what was about to happen. It wasn't as if he already had enough to worry about either way. Rumor has it Balbadd was going to suspend trading with Sindria, needless to say, it had been a stressful day.

Considering it had been a stressful day, Sinbad decided he should treat himself to something special. Something special being one of his favorite concubines, Lianna. As he walked throughout the halls of his palace, a calm smile on his face as he thought of Lianna. He made it a mission to avoid Ja'far as to not squander his good mood. He'd rather not get dragged back to his study to do more work.

Just as he made it to his room where he sure Lianna was waiting, something made him stop. He didn't know what it was, there was a peculiar feeling in his gut. Sinbad was sure it wasn't Ja'far's glare he was feeling considering he would've been dragged to his study by now. It was different.

As soon as Sinbad felt the familiar warmth coming from his Djinn it was then that his eyes widened. Usually, he would just ignore it as it meant nothing important. However, his gut feeling coupled along with his warmth meant something was happening, something important.

Sinbad cursed under his breath as he quickly equipped Baal and flew through the open corridor of the palace. He'd have to apologize to Lianna and reschedule for later.

*~*~*

Fortunately, Yunan compromised and was able to summon the dungeon from the entrance of the Rift. Meaning, you didn't have to go all the way down there just yet. You hadn't commented on his little white lie as you were too busy gazing in awe at the tower slowly rising. It was quite a sight to behold.

You were brought back from your daze by a hand on your shoulder. "Time to go. You gotta hurry," Yunan said. At least, you had assumed it was Yunan considering he was the only one here with you. However, you soon realized the voice sounded nothing like Yunan.

As you faced whoever it was, you almost fell back in shock. "Judar?!" You exclaimed, stepping away from him, "what are you doing here? And where's Yunan?" You unsheathed your sword and pointed it at him.

Judar merely facepalmed and groaned. He pointed towards the horizon where you could see a blue streak coming towards you at an alarming speed. "Not Judar, Yunan," he explained, "I'm using an illusion spell to throw him off. He can't know I'm here."

You were taken back, "huh? Why? Do you know him?" You interrogated, pointed the sword closer to his neck. The closer your sword got, the more squeamish Judar seemed. Okay, that confirmed it really was Yunan, but it didn't answer your questions.

"We don't have time! You need to go," he persisted despite the sharp sword being pointed at him. However, it was already too late, the mysterious figure soon arrived and landed near the two of you.

As you faced whoever it was, you realized you'd had way too many shocking moments happen in these couple of hours. Standing a little way away, was Sinbad, King of Sindria. You'd never had the pleasure of properly meeting the man, but you soon realized you probably still wouldn't at this moment.

He seemed to chuckle as he stared at the two of you, "hah, I should've known you were here, Judar," he seems to spat out Judar's name which wasn't a surprise to you. The Magi irritated a lot of people.

"Well, well, well," began Judar, pointing your sword away from him. "If it isn't the puny King of Sindria," he taunted. You had to admit Yunan was good at getting into character, which comes as little bit of shock considering his timid behavior.

You soon drowned out their banter as you stared at Sinbad. You couldn't peel your eyes away. You had to admit he was handsome, but that wasn't why. It was something else, it made you uncomfortable. Your eyes narrowed as if to get a better look and as you did, you saw a speck of black then gold.

You blinked, it felt as if you'd imagined, but you weren't sure. You continued staring, hoping to catch another glimpse. Nothing came and you were soon pulled from your trance by an arrogant tone.

"Looks like your candidate is a little distracted, Judar," Sinbad surmised with a chuckle, "not that I can blame her." He gestured to his body and winked at you.

You sneered and looked away from him. "Excuse me, but I'm married," you spat out as you crossed your arms. You were suddenly regretting having not gone into the Rift. It would've been much more bearable down there than hearing him speak.

Sinbad scoffed at your comment, "that never stopped women before, so, it shouldn't stop you," he simply said with shrug, "I wouldn't blame you all anyway, I'm hard to resist." He smirked and winked again.

You groaned as your eye twitched, "poor souls must've been blind," you shot back, finally meeting his eyes.

Sinbad laughed, "that's a good one. Fortunately for them, however, they could see. How else would they know where their hands were going?" He said cheekily with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes, "then clearly they weren't feeling sane," you replied. How someone could deal with a man with an ego like his was beyond you. Suddenly that silly book about his adventures you'd read long ago made sense.

"I can assure they weren't sane after a night with me." He chuckled to himself and had a wistful look on his face as he remembered those nights. Sinbad almost got himself so distracted he had almost forgotten why he was there.

As he shook his head to rid himself of those wonderful memories, for now, he stared back to you. Sinbad had to admit, you looked familiar but he couldn't place a finger on it. It was clear you were from Kou and royalty at that, Judar wouldn't waste his time on just anyone.

No matter to him, he could find out later. Right now, however, this was the most fun he'd had in a while. "So, how about you reconsider and spend a night Sindria in my arms?" He asked, not like he was entirely serious anyway. It had just been a while since he'd teased anyone and it was starting to get entertaining with your witty comebacks.

At his suggestion, you growled. Just what kind of woman did he think you were? You glared at him, clearly, he needed a lesson in manners. A lesson you would gladly give him. You grabbed your necklace, "Raum!" You called out.

In a matter of seconds, you were in Raum's djinn equip. You twirled the hammer that appeared in your hands and got into your fighting stance. Just before you could charge at him Judar (or Yunan), who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange, spoke up.

"As much I'd love to see kick puny King's ass, you gotta get going now." He gestured down to the Great Rift where the entrance to the dungeon was. It almost seemed silly having gone through so many lengths to buy time when there didn't seem to be any.

"But-" you protested.

Judar only shushed you. "I'll take care of punk King just get going!" He yelled as he shoved you towards the entry of the Great Rift.

You'd barely had any time to react as you stumbled. With nothing to hold onto you found yourself falling down into the darkness. You were sure if Yunan hadn't meant to push you, but you would've rather float down than be pushed. Fortunately, you caught yourself at what you assumed to be halfway down and continued with a calmer descent.

Soon enough, you felt the ground on your heels. Problem was, you still couldn't see a thing. There was something you could try, but there was no guarantee it would work. You shrugged, no point in not trying. You laid a hand on the ground and concentrated.

"Airtifae!" You commanded and waited. After a second, rocks began to pop up from the ground. In the darkness, they began to faintly glow. As more came, so did more light and then you had a path to the entrance.

You smiled and stood, then you began to run the path the rocks laid out for you.

Back at the top of Rift, Sinbad stared in disbelief where you had stood. He shouldn't be fully surprised Judar would do something like that, but the shock still came nonetheless. As he tried to fathom the situation, Judar took it as an opportune time to attack.

Fortunately, Sinbad regained his sense and sidestepped his attack. "You're supposed to be looking at me, Puny King!" Judar taunted with an obnoxious laugh as he got ready for another attack.

Sinbad growled and held his sword out, ready to parry Judar's next attack. "I don't have time for this," he grunted to himself as black lightning bounced off his sword. Before Judar could launch another attack, Sinbad took this as an opportunity to call for Baal.

"Baal!"

In an instant, lightning of his own was shot in Judar's direction. He yelped as it neared him and put up his borg, thus interrupting his next attack. Sinbad had a small window open if he was going to go after you, he had to be quick and buy time.

"Focalor!" He called out, changing equips in a matter of seconds. Sinbad cupped his hands allowing a small gust of wind to appear. He had to bid his time and wait for the opportune moment for Judar to drop his borg. It was clear that Judar was expecting him to attack, but there was no point in staying in that borg if he wanted to stop Sinbad.

Judar, or Yunan, weighed his options as he stared at Sinbad. In a way, his job was done and by now, he was sure you've gotten leagues ahead of Sinbad. It was at that moment Yunan was grateful time flowed differently in dungeons.

As he continued to think, he just shrugged and allowed his borg to fall. It would allow him a head start in escape if he allowed that wind to hit him anyway.

As soon as he was defenseless, as he predicted, Sinbad took the opportunity to attack. Yunan then allowed the attack to hit him and send him flying back. When he was out of Sinbad's range he let the illusion fall. When he stopped himself from spinning he saw Sinbad was already gone.

Yunan chuckled to himself as Sinbad was still as headstrong as ever. He was sure he'd realize something was off about Judar as soon as he had time to think. Good thing he wouldn't even be let into the dungeon. "Well, time for me to go," he said to himself as he disappeared into thin air.

Meanwhile, despite the darkness surrounding him, Sinbad flew down the Great Rift to get to the entrance. The closer he got, the more illuminated the ground seemed. When he made it down to the ground he took notice of the rocks and decided not to question as to not waste more time.

Fortunately, the rocks gave him the pathway to the door. In a flash, thanks to Focalor, he was already there. He placed a hand on the door and pushed.

Nothing.

Sinbad blinked and pushed harder.

Nothing, again.

"What?" He asked himself, "how?"

As he continued to rattle the doorknob, a voice spoke out.

"I'm afraid you already have more than enough power."

Sinbad blinked again, "but, how? That can't be true," he said in disbelief. He tried the door again, but it didn't work. He groaned in annoyance and gave up. As he was flying back out of the Great Rift, he decided he would just have to wait until you were out so he could see your power.

Fine with him, he could wait. He was sure he would cross paths with you again.