Well, that wasn’t a nice way of saying thank you, was it?
Malik chuckled, knowing better than to say his thoughts out loud.
“You can relax, kid; I’m risking my life by saving you.”
The boy rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, looking around in confusion.
“W-Where are we?”
Joining the wall beside him, Malik leaned back and simply answered:
“The Zawaya district, a den of bastards.”
The boy offered no reaction to those words, showing that he had no idea where the hell he was because if he knew, he would’ve long since begun to panic.
“You don’t belong here… You and your sister’s clothes are too fancy. How the fuck did you end up here? Where are your guards? And what are your parents even thinking?”
Stunned by the barrage of questions, the boy clammed up and looked down.
“…I… I-I… I—”
Malik tapped his shoulder, saving the boy from his self-induced stroke.
“It’s fine; don’t worry about it. You don’t need to answer.”
The boy looked at him with a fearful gaze.
“R-Really?”
“Yes, really, now wake your sister up; we have to get to shelter before sundown.”
“Okay!”
Malik stood up and limped to his stick while the boy shook his sister like an alcoholic before a coin pusher in an arcade.
The poor girl woke up in a daze, flinching slightly as her brother spoke:
“Sis! Wake up! A kind man is helping us; please wake up before he changes his mind.”
He was right to worry, but the “man” they were dealing with wasn’t going to abandon them.
Malik wasn’t one to leave something half-complete; he saved their lives, and that made him responsible for them.
***
{Outside The Projection}
Shame wasn’t enough to cover it.
Everyone who believed he would leave them behind, or at least supported that decision, had their heads lowered like the boy of a few seconds earlier.
Not only because the two had turned out to be of the Al-Sayf family, with the younger of the two now standing alongside them, but also because a boy hundreds of years younger than them had chosen a harder path.
One that they, in all their respective might and intellect, were too afraid to take.
Or perhaps it would be accurate to call it risk-averse, as even the bravest of them, who stood in the front to fight Shaytan’s Sultan, picked the safer option.
It was logical; it should’ve been the right thing to do, but still, they were embarrassed, having lost face.
Some of them that picked neither thought that Malik would’ve just helped them out and dipped, perhaps coming in contact again later when terms were more favorable.
But no, they were proven wrong.
Malik, for no incentive at all, and at the detriment of his own life, had taken those two in.
Huda, who had now realized that, was more focused on her brother.
She barely remembered him; it was just so long ago, but she was sure that he was important to Malik.
How, or why, she was soon to know.
***
{Inside The Projection}
“Mommy, daddy… where are you?”
The little girl cried repeatedly while on her brother’s back, wasting the hard-earned water that Malik had given her.
But he didn’t seem to mind as he walked in front of them, from one shade to another, a building to the next, deeper and deeper into the district, until they reached a massive cliff that stretched beyond what they could see from left to right, revealing an unfathomably big abyss, the Al-Fawra.
It was why the planet was known as Fam Iblis; this hole was the maw of the devil.
One might think that humans would stay as far away as they could from it, but funnily enough, the more desperate one was, the closer they’d be to it, even directly above it.
And that was literal, as many abandoned buildings atop a wooden floor could be seen leaning into the maw as if slowly being devoured.
“Alright~…”
Malik pointed at the furthest of the buildings and smirked.
“We’re almost home, kids; just don’t look down.”
The girl shrieked, cowering behind her brother’s back, and the boy didn’t seem to listen.
As if on purpose, his head snapped down just as they stepped before the creaking wood.
His eyes and his legs trembled, almost causing him to drop his sister.
Malik sighed, turned around, and held out his hands.
“What’s your name?”
“…I… I-I… I—”
“Holy shit! Okay, okay, enough; I get it! Your parents told you not to say it, correct?”
He slowly nodded.
“Alright, fuck me, I won’t ask again, but I need to call you something, so for now, how about scaredy-cat?”
“…”
“No? Then, let’s see… chicken?”
“…”
The boy offered no reply, trembling with his eyes half-closed.
“Hm… tough, weakling? Wimp? Wuss?”
His brows twitched as he finally snapped and went forth, wanting to kick Malik’s shins.
But before he could, Malik tapped his knee with his stick, making him stumble.
“Hey, look at that~! You’re already on it.”
Chicken looked down, only now realizing what he had just done.
“I-I am! Hehehe, I did it!”
Malik’s smile widened, and he ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Well done, kid, now let’s go…”
The girl looked at their interactions with a bewildered gaze, and as the two walked further in, her lips slowly formed a cute little smile, her tears drying up.
***
{Outside The Projection}
To everyone spectating, those three already began looking like a sweet orphaned family, one that tried their best even when the times were hard, even when death was knocking on their door.
It was unexpected and surprisingly beautiful.
None of them could have guessed that his memories would show such things.
Those who expected just death and slaughter felt revolted almost.
They couldn’t believe it, their emotions all over the place.
Neither could Huda.
That smile made her cringe.
She hated it so much.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Safira stared at the projection with eyes filled with envy.
‘He could treat people like that?… Then what about me? I was his only disciple… he should’ve been nicer to me.’
Her jealousy was hidden, but those who noticed her look of hostility towards Huda would’ve easily picked up on it.
Fortunately for her, no one did, as they were all fighting their own inner battles, grappling with what they were seeing.
“Everyone, don’t forget! We’re watching the Villain’s memories!”
The “hero’s” voice boomed through the king’s hall, snapping everyone’s attention upward.
In the blink of an eye, he’d flown up to the ceiling, hovering like some kind of smug bird.
“He’s ended clans, kingdoms, villages, and entire family lineages! He deserves no empathy!”
Arms spread wide, he spun around slowly, making sure every last person was looking at him.
“Don’t be shaken!”
What he was doing was crystal clear; there wasn’t a more obvious way of spelling it out.
Zafar planned to control the crowd early to gain favor in their hearts while also painting everything as black and white.
Usually, such an attempt would’ve been laughed at, but as they weren’t in the best of mental states, many thousands in the hall nodded at his words.
Seeing his plan working, Zafar smiled in delight, though only for a moment, as a man’s entrance had ruined his parade:
“Lady Roya, we have urgent news!”