I don't think life has meaning on its own. And in that, I believe there is a quiet beauty.
To shape our own reason to exist.
To write your story in the sands of the deserts, and leave it behind for your grandchildren to read.
How beautiful…
But every story has its trials.
What will you do when things go wrong?
When the sky cracks and nothing follows the plan?
Will you run away?
Let the winds of time grind your story back to dust?
No.
You raise your head.
You face the storm with hope and trembling hands.
You march forward.
Believing, even blindly, that you'll complete this story and leave something worth reading behind.
That is life.
That is the beauty of it.
"…"
The wind was calm in the courtyard of the House Nafura mansion. The place was very simple, especially for a family with such a history. In the center was a well, the kind found even in the smallest of villages. Next to it stood a plum tree, common across the continent of Ardari.
In the corner of the open courtyard sat a rocking chair. In it lounged a rather good-looking young man. His long platinum hair slipped through the cracks of the chair, moving with the almost nonexistent breeze.
He wore a robe of intricate patterns : deep red with golden lines sprawling endlessly like the roots of a tree, seeming to have neither beginning nor end.
"Young master!"
The man brushed his hair aside, rubbing his eyes before trying to open them, only to be blinded by the bright sun overhead.
His red irises darted quickly, as if sensing danger, before settling on the servant beside him. Hands on her hips, she seemed to pout at her young master for dozing off at such an important moment.
"Wake up! Seriously, how can you even manage to sleep in this environment? I'll never understand you," she huffed, turning and leaving with a strong will.
The youngest son of House Nafura looked at her for a moment before cocking his head back on the chair and closing his eyes again, relaxing.
"No worries. That's how I live my life," he said with a small grin, placing his arm behind his head as a headrest.
"And that's why we have to do things like this…" she sighed, glancing back at the relaxed figure. "Your father is asking for you in his office." Her tone grew more formal, shaking him out of his slumber a bit.
He sighed, jumping out of the chair and stretching his arms overhead. Cracking his shoulders, he opened his eyes fully.
"Tell him I'll be there shortly, Alka."
"I think three hours should do…" she teased.
"Is that really the image you have of me?" His jaw dropped before he laughed. "It only happened once! I'm never late by more than two hours, I'll have you know!"
His smile was far too bright for someone bragging about being late by two hours, but that was just how Saed Nafura was.
"Hah! Well, I'll let him know of your 'soon-to-come' presence," Alka said, shaking her head fondly.
The young master waved her off jokingly, their relationship had always been like this.
"Are you really alright, Saed?"
Saed froze for a second before taking in a deep breath. He hadn't expected that question.
He turned toward her, grinning.
"Nothing to worry about. Just a nightmare that startled me a bit, that's all."
Alka studied him for a long moment, analyzing the fake smile he wore.
She knew.
Ever since that incident, her young master hadn't been the same.
Alka was well-versed in the mystical arts, after all, not just anyone could serve a noble house like the Nafuras. She understood very clearly that Saed was a danger to everyone, that his condition worsened by the day.
In three years, he might not even be Saed anymore.
The change had already begun the day his Djinn awakened… and it would only continue to grow.
But there wasn't much she could do.
She could only watch in silence as her master carried his invisible suffering.
"Well… make sure to be there, then," she said coldly, turning her back to him.
"…"
Saed stayed a few more minutes in the courtyard after Alka left.
He liked this spot.
There was nothing special about it, it was simple, almost ordinary.
Yet something about its quietness resonated with him.
He tilted his head back and stared up at the blue sky.
Not a single cloud in sight.
The wind stirred, just barely.
The branches of the plum tree rustled, and a few petals drifted to the ground.
He watched one spiral through the air before settling near his foot.
He carefully stepped around it and made his way inside the mansion.
"…"
The interior of the Nafura mansion was equally modest for a noble house.
The Nafuras had never been known for their flashiness, save, perhaps, for their current youngest son.
The columns in the halls were carved from imported stone, etched with delicate vines and constellations.
Old banners hung from the ceilings, faded but not forgotten, each bearing stories that only the Nafuras still remembered.
Two servants bowed as Saed passed, and he offered them a lazy wave.
"Good afternoon," one of them said kindly.
"Is it already?" Saed replied, blinking at the realization.
The servants chuckled softly before returning to their duties.
Saed ran a hand through his hair and pressed forward.
He passed through the central atrium, where a small fountain murmured quietly at its heart, and there, he found a young girl sitting and reading.
"Oh, if it isn't the cutest little sister in the world!" he called out playfully.
The girl immediately dropped her book and sprinted toward him.
"Brother Saed!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.
Saed smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Show me that trick again! Please!" she pouted adorably.
"Again? I've already shown it to you a million times, Alisha."
She looked up at him with the most pleading expression imaginable, and even Saed couldn't resist.
He sighed dramatically. "Sigh… Sure, I'll do it again."
Her eyes sparkled brighter than the sun.
Even after a thousand times, she never tired of it.
Saed pulled out a deck of cards.
"Choose one," he said.
Alisha picked a card from the middle, glanced at it, and slid it back into the deck.
Saed snapped his fingers and flipped the top card over.
Three of Diamonds.
It wasn't her card, but the trick wasn't finished yet.
He passed his hand slowly over the card.
The air shimmered faintly.
Unseen to Alisha, the world itself bent slightly to Saed's will.
The card shifted, colors bleeding and reforming.
Ten of Clubs.
Alisha gasped and burst into joyous applause.
Saed smiled weakly and shook the card, slipping what now showed a King of Hearts back into the deck.
"Gosh, you're lucky I love you this much, little sister," he muttered under his breath.
Inside, his mind was spinning.
His head pounded.
The nausea clawed at his gut.
He stumbled away from the courtyard.
It stayed with him for several minutes before finally dulling, but not without leaving a mark on his already fragile mind.
He spat onto the floor and wiped his mouth, his expression darkening.
"Stupid Djinn…"
"…"
Yamu Nafura, a man among men, a true leader, was the head of House Nafura.
At only fifteen years old, he had already awakened his Djinn, setting the record as the fastest in his family's history.
A true prodigy.
Yet after the war that reshaped the entire continent of Ardari, House Nafura suffered a devastating blow, severed from its main source of income.
Yamu did everything in his power to restore what was lost, but some things could not be mended by a single man.
Since then, he had spent every waking moment trying to return House Nafura to its former glory.
The reason for Saed's summons today was simple.
"Read this letter, Saed."
Saed accepted the unsealed envelope his father handed him, pausing for a few seconds before opening it carefully as he had been taught.
"Conquer the Island?"
He frowned, puzzling over the three words written inside.
"Is it some kind of code?"
Yamu chuckled at his son's confusion.
"I figured that would be your first thought. Maybe this will help you understand," he said, reaching into the corner of his desk.
He pulled out a small object, red as blood, and placed it between them.
It was a seal, likely from the envelope.
Its shape was that of a coin. Engraved in its center were two dragon heads, mythical creatures spoken of only in the legends of the northern continent.
Between them, a long sword stretched downward.
Anyone connected to a noble house would immediately recognize the design.
The House of Hilal.
"I don't think I need to explain any further," Yamu said, an amused glint in his eye.
"Yeah... I don't know anyone who wouldn't get it after seeing this," Saed muttered, laughing awkwardly.
A game.
No, a gamble.
It was as simple, and as dangerous, as that.
The current Head of House Hilal was a gambler in every sense of the word.
To him, everything, honor, wealth, even fate itself, was just another wager.
Saed had never met the man in person, but the stories surrounding Saddam Hilal were more than enough.
But what could the reward be, to tempt participants into such a gamble?
"A ring," Yamu said.
Immediately, Saed's senses sharpened.
A ring.
Even the word alone carried enormous weight.
In this world, there was no treasure more coveted than a ring.
Everyone knew what it meant when someone spoke of them.
According to ancient legend, anyone who gathered all seven rings would become the King of Djinns.
No one knew exactly what that title entailed, but the implications were obvious. The wielder would command a power beyond mortal comprehension.
Djinns were already fearsome beings.
A person who had awakened a Djinn, even at the first stage, could defeat a dozen men with ease.
At the final stage, a Djinn wielder could tear apart the heavens themselves.
And to rule over such beings?
It would mean dominion over everything, fate, space, time, even history itself.
It was said that the King of Djinns might already exist, hidden, manipulating the world without anyone realizing it.
Saed had heard whispers before, that Saddam Hilal had managed to secure a ring.
But he had always dismissed them as rumors, exaggerations.
The idea that he not only possessed one, but possibly more than one, was terrifying.
Could he really survive, let alone win, in a gamble with a man like that?
His heart hammered harder than it ever had before.
But his mind had never experienced anticipation like this.