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Chapter Text

Mozenrath hated a lot of things. He hated when he was in the middle of an experiment and suddenly things blew up. He hated when his Mamluks were falling appart on the job, he hated Aladdin and his little band of merry friends. But what he hated the most right now was himself.

If only he had been more vigilant, if only he had made extensive research on the philosopher’s stone and what was written in the book of Karthoum. He wouldn’t have lost nearly all his powers. He would be all powerful by now. He also hated to admit it, but this time it was really his fault that his own plan had failed. Years of researches gone up in an explosion because of one single mistake. He had given his trust and followed blindly Karthoum’s directions without questioning them. And worse of it all, Aladdin had come to his rescue.

He cursed himself and the entire world, when in a fit of rage he threw everything he owned to the ground, broke everything, teared up pages and pages from precious volumes he had a hard time acquiring. This was it, this was the end. In a matter of a few months without the support of magic his body would start to rot from the untreated flesh of his arm, previously devoured by his now nearly useless gauntlet.

He fell to the ground as tears of despair welled up in his eyes. Xerxes who had cowered in a corner away from his master’s tantrum approached him warily.

“-Mozenrath sad ?” asked the viscous looking eel.

“- It’s over Xerxes…Everything I worked for. Gone forever.” he mumbled in an empty voice.

Xerxes look at him with sadness. Never in a million years he had thought he would see Mozenrath cry again, not since his childhood, not since Destane was dead. He nuzzled his master’s face, encouraging him silently. Mozenrath collapsed on the floor amongst the books, papers, and remnants of potions. Everything around him was starting to fade into darkness. His last thought before passing out was that the effects of his lack of magic was already starting to affect his body.

He awoke hours later with a startle, his head was throbbing and he felt his clothes stick to his skin from sweat. Xerxes was nowhere in sight. The moon was shining bright and full through the window above him and he watched it from his sitting position on the floor. A rare sight to see in the land of the Black Sand, usually covered by dark clouds making it hard to even get a glimpse of the sky. This night was different though, and he hated it. He hated how it reminded him about how everything had changed for him. How powerless he was. How he was going to die soon. He felt his anger rise inside of him again. He was furious, angry at the world. At himself. And at the god he didn’t believe in. Yet tonight he felt it through the glow of the moon on his face, the presence of the divine, and he felt even more angry. If god were real, why wasn’t he on his side ? Since he was supposedly all knowing and all loving. Why wasn’t Mozenrath loved by him ? Why wasn’t he born powerful ? Why wasn’t he the one who had the opportunity of having the Genie’s powers ?

He stood up and in a fit of rage started yelling, pointing at the moon with an accusatory bony finger.

“- WHY DO YOU FORSAKE ME ?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU ? SINCE I WAS A BOY ALL YOU DO IS WATCH AND DO NOTHING ABOUT MY MYSERY !! I HATE YOU ! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ?!” he yelled as tears fell down his cheeks in a never ending stream. He fell to his knees, shaking and folding on himself.

“- Tell me…Why don’t you want me to win..? What can I do to get my powers back..?”

A sudden rush of wind came from the window and brushed through his dark locks as he laid there folded on himself on the floor. He yelped when one of the books he had ransacked earlier stopped hanging dangerously on the edge of a shelf and hit him on the corner of his head. He cursed with a groan as the book fell limply in front of him. He looked at it incredulously as the reflective letters of the title glowed in the moonlight.

“- The Tales of the old Kings…”

Another gush of wind coursed through the pages of the book in front of him before stopping abruptly. There in front of him laid in shining golden ink on the page, was the Seal of Solomon. Mozenrath sat on the floor while rubbing his head where the book had hit him as he looked at the book and up at the moon.

“- Why are you showing me this ? What are you trying to tell me..?” He said aloud before looking down at the pages in front of him.

“- I don’t need any reading on a dead King..! I already know the tale of Solomon ! I already know of his Wisdom given oh so generously by you..! Another man who had the powers of controlling djinns and demons that’s not me..!” He yelled up at the moon. Another gush of wind and a flip of a page and Mozenrath’s eyes widened in surprise when he noticed a perfectly blank page starting to fill up with shining scriptures he had never read before. He began to read aloud the title of the page.

“- The Treasure of Solomon. It is said that before dying, the wise king passed down his powers to his descendants. Many centuries ago however, being sought-after by impure men, the power was sealed in the Temple of Solomon where it rests for eternity.”

He felt the rush of blood pouding in his head and his heartbeat pick up in his chest. The treasure of Solomon. His wisdom. If Mozenrath could get his hands on this power. He could restore his gauntlet, he could be all knowing, he could control the Genie, the could destroy Aladdin and conquer the seven deserts. No. The world.

Mozenrath straightened up frantically, fumbling a bit as he noticed his strength decreasing rapidly. First he needed a map to the Temple of Solomon. No first he needed the Elixir of life. Lots of it. He needed to preserve the little magic left in the gauntlet and his physical strength.

“-Where can I find the temple of Solomon ?!” he asked urgently.

The glow of the moon shifted slowly on the next blank page as a multitude of sparkles dotted the page. A map of the sky, Mozenrath thought. He felt a rush of excitement coursing through him. He felt blindly around the floor with his hands, grabbing a pencil and the first loose piece of paper he could find and started frantically copying the map. When he was done, sweat poured on his cheeks and a sinister smile crossed his features.

“-Xerxes !” He yelled after his familiar. In a matter of seconds Xerxes was next to him.

“- Mozenrath feel better ?” Xerxes asked, his mismatched eyes shining with worry.

“- Oh yes Xerxes…I feel…” he said picking up his gauntlet and putting it on, “Better than ever.” he whispered with a dark chuckle before losing himself in a fit of laughter. The dreadful sound of his voice resounded in the land of the Black Sand as the glow of the moonlight disappeared behind dark clouds…

Chapter Text

The decryption of the map wasn’t the complicated part, it was the easy part of that endeavor. A child’s play for a scholar like him. No, the complicated part was going to be the acquisition of the Elixir of Life that he needed to restore parts of his powers. The more practical ones that didn’t consume a lot of energy. If he was going to penetrate the temple of Solomon he needed those skills urgently. First he needed to get inside the ruins were the elixir of life was guarded by giant earthworms, which usually wouldn’t be a problem for him, except he was powerless at the moment.

He grit his teeth in anger when he thought about what he was going to have to do to get that elixir. To whom he was going to have to ask for help. He cringed internally before taking a deep breath. Aladdin would never in a million years help him restore his powers. However he had a quality which was also his biggest weakness. He was soft at heart, kind. Which meant that he would however, hopefully, agree to help Mozenrath get the concoction if he knew he was dying. And that it was the only way for Mozenrath to stay alive. Which technically wasn’t a total lie. He was dying. In a few months if he didn’t get his powers back, he would be left a rotting corpse amongst the Mamluks he had created himself. The plan was simple. Trick Aladdin into getting the elixir of life for him, restore some of the gauntlet’s powers, make it to the temple of Solomon, find his treasure and restore all his powers and more, and finally, conquer the seven deserts.

And that plan was starting right now.

“-GUARDS !” he heard the parrot yell across the halls of the palace when he stumbled through its doors. “Aladdin, it’s Mozenrath !” Yelled the animal in a panicked voice before hiding behind the magical carpet as soon as Aladdin flew down from it.

“- Mozenrath ! What are you doing here ?!” the young man exclaimed angrily.

In a matter of seconds Mozenrath was surrounded by the guards, their swords encircling him in a menacing prison.

“-Aladdin, it's nice to see you… You look well…” he answered with an overly sweet voice.

“- Well you don’t ! Why do you look..?” the young man inquired curiously. Aladdin felt confused and somewhat, albeit with reserve, worried about his nemesis. Mozenrath who had always looked pale from spending most of his time in a dark lab inside his citadel, looked even more white than usual, sickly so, his dark circles were accentuated in a way that made Aladdin wonder if he had any sleep recently.

“- That, is exactly the reason of my visit…”, Mozenrath interrupted, “I am dying, Aladdin. And I came over to…” He pressed his lips in a disgusted sneer. “To ask for your help.”

Aladdin’s eyes grew comically wide in shock.

“- You…need my help ?” he asked, not sure if he had heard wrong.

“- That is what I said.” Mozenrath answered bitterly. “I need your help to restore my health. Since we last saw each other, when Karthoum tricked me into making the philosopher’s stone, my body has been declining at a rapid pace. I need someone to get me the Elixir of life so I can cure the sickness that’s taken over my body…” he explains to a silent and confused Aladdin.

“- Why should we help you ?” A feminine voice asks in an agressive tone.

“- Ah…Princess Jasmine…” Mozenrath smiles at her upon her arrival, “what great pleasure to see you…”

“- The pleasure isn’t mutual, guards ! Take him away !” Jasmine answers with a dry tone.

“- Jas, wait !” Aladdin protests and Mozenrath sees the princess look at his husband as if he had grown a second head. “ We have to help him…” he adds sheepishly.

“- We have to what ?” Iago, and Genie — who had arrived mid argument— say in unisson.

“- Aladdin, Al, my best pal. Could you repeat that because I thought I hear you say that we have to help Mozenrath…” Genie says as he floats towards his friend looking at him worriedly, “are you coming with a fever ?” he adds as he puts a magical thermometer in Aladdin’s mouth.

“- That’s what I just said, listen…” the hero spits the thermometer out of his mouth and says, looking at his friends for some kind of approval from them, “Mozenrath is dying…”

“- As he should.” Iago cuts him, “ Why is it our problem in any way shape or form ?”

“- Listen to me !” Aladdin huffs in frustration “ Listen, I know Mozenrath is our enemy, he has done a lot of bad stuff. But he’s dying, and right now he’s powerless. And he came to me for help ! We have to help him, bad guy or not, that’s what we do…”

“- Absolutely not, I won’t allow it !” the old voice of the Sultan rings in the room.

“- Sultan I —”

“- Have you lost your mind Aladdin ? You’re talking about helping to save the life of the number one outlaw of the seven deserts ! This… rascal, has threatened to destroy Agrabah, many times now, and almost succeeded once ! He should be punished for his crimes ! In fact… I believe a slow agonizing death in our dungeon would fits his case perfectly..!” The sultan exclaims angrily. “GUARDS !”

“- No !” Aladdin protests, shielding his enemy with his arms outstretched. Mozenrath stands stoically — albeit delighted by Aladdin’s passionate protest against the Sulan’s menace — with his arms crossed on his chest, watching the scene calmly unfold in front of him. “I’m sorry but I can’t ! Someone came to me, asking me to save their life. It would be wrong to refuse, even if it’s Mozenrath…” he says looking back at the dark sorcerer with a frown. “Listen, I hate him as much as all of you !” he says more calmy while looking at his friends one at a time, “But I couldn’t look myself in the mirror if anyone asked for my help to save their life, and that I let them down…”

“- Sultan, should I throw the street rat along with the other criminal in the cells ?” Razoul inquires to the sultan with  venom in his voice and a malicious smile.

The Sultan falls silent, giving Mozenrath a nasty look, gauging his intentions, before looking back at Aladdin.

“- Are you sure about what you’re doing my boy..? What if it is just another malicious trick ?” the Sultan whispers to the young man as he takes a step closer.

“- Sultan, I know it seems crazy but…I just— I have this hunch that something good will come out of this… Let me help him ? Please ? If he tries his tricks on us again, I will take full responsibility and throw him in the dungeon myself…”

The Sultan falls silent again, looking worriedly in Aladdin’s eyes before acceptance flashes in his irises. He steps aside and towards Mozenrath, stopping a few meters in front of him with a severe frown.

“- I will allow my son-in-law to help you restore your health, Mozenrath, however…” he says pointing a warning finger at the young sorcerer, “It is only under the condition, that you turn yourself in for a fair trial once you are cured. It is a give or take, non negotiable offer. And if you try to play us… I think you know what’ll happen to you. Have I made myself clear young man ? ”

An almost imperceptible glint flashes in Mozenrath’s eyes as he bows in front of the Sultan before looking up at him with all the fake gratitude and peaceful expression he can muster.

“- Like crystal…”

Chapter Text

"- Um, I don't mean to spoil your day Al, but how do you know Mozenrath's not leading us into one big sand trap ?" Genie inquired to his friend as they flew, supposedly, toward the Elixir of life guided by Mozenrath's directions. 

"- I don't," Aladdin responded thoughtfully, "but if he is, he's only hurting himself too..."

"- Just make sure you take good care of my gauntlet Jasmine, even without a magic source, it is a powerful artefact..." Mozenrath said to the princess.

"- Relax Mozenrath, it is safe in my hands." She answered as she put it in a satchel on her waist.

After the deal was made with the Sultan, Mozenrath had to abandon his gauntlet to the hands of the princess, a precaution he wasn't happy about as it would complicate his plans by adding extra steps. Once they  will reach the old ruins where the Elixir of life was stored however, he counted on his familiar to execute his plan perfectly. 

As they neared the ruins the sky started to cover with dark clouds filled with the ominous noises of thunder. 

"- There !" Mozenrath pointed to an old temple in the middle of the desert as the clouds cleared. "That's where the Elixir of life is !" 

"- Let' go carpet !" Aladdin urged his colorful friend as they penetrated the temple. 

Aladdin jumped off of the magical carpet and approached the pillar standing in the middle of the large room, Mozenrath following behind him. 

"- The Elixir of life !" Mozenrath exclaimed hopefully as he pointed at the golden gobelet standing on top and in the very center of the pillar. 

Aladdin looked at him trying to read him, looking for any malice and deceit, but in his eyes blinded by kindness Mozenrath only looked miserable to him. After travelling under the hot sun of the desert for hours, Mozenrath looked drenched in sweat, tired, and was pratically heaving at everybreath he took. 

"- Remember our deal Mozenrath," he said to his nemesis for good measure,  "your life, in exchange for a trial for the crimes you commited." 

"- You don't have to remind me Aladdin." Mozenrath said frowning at his own feet. "After this I won't be a free man, but at least I will live..." He added as he looked up to the goblet and then to his nemesis. "So if you would be so kind to get the Elixir before I die, it would be great." 

Aladdin climbed the pillar without any difficulty, Iago flying and following behind him.

"- Mama we hit the jackpot !" Iago exclaimed when he saw the gold gobelet.

As soon as Aladdin lifted the goblet, earth worms emerged from the sand, surrounding the pillar he was clinging onto.

"- Wah ! What are these guys ?!" Iago exclaimed in horror. 

"- These guys aren't too happy about us taking this cup !" Aladdin said with a grimace 

"- Neither Am I !" the parrot exclaimed 

As the worms were snapping their maw at him, Aladdin took a dive and landed on one of the worms, before ending his sprint face first in the sand, the cup still in his hand in one piece. 

They charged at him and he took off running towards his friends. 

"- No Aladdin ! Not here !" Jasmine yelled in horror and Aladdin realized his mistake. 

He took a turn left and Mozenrath followed after him the best he could. The worms separated into two groups, some following the princess and his friends, two others following him and his nemesis. 

As they were reaching a dead end and were being encircled by the worms, Xerxes appeared from a corner holding the gauntlet in his maw and flew toward his master. 

Aladdin, distracted by the imminence of his own death was shocked when suddenly the cup was ripped from his hands and his body pushed into the sand in front of the worms. Their gaze followed Mozenrath as his evil laugh resounded in echos against the walls of the temple. 

"- You fool ! You believed I would abandon my powers that easily ? That I would repent like some common debutant magician ? I AM MOZENRATH ! The most powerful sorcerer of our age ! I will bow before no one !" He exclaimed as Xerxes was fitting the gauntlet back on his skeletal hand. 

"- No !" Aladdin exclaimed, but it was too late, as Mozenrath gulped down on the shimmery liquid of the gobelet in his hand. 

His body started to glow in an ominous way, his facial features becoming visibly less tired and sickly looking by the second. He flexed his fingers with a satisfied exhale.

"- It's good to be back... Now I'm going to be able to carry the rest of my plan !" he exclaimed as he threw the cup in front of Aladdin and magically lifted the earth worms into the air, making them disappear far into the sky to who knew where.

"- You tricked us !" Aladdin exclaimed angrily before his attention was grabbed by the screams of his friends, still surrounded by the rest of the creatures.

"- I did, but honestly Aladdin, can you blame me ? It was so easy to tug at your heartstrings, I couldn't NOT take avantage of it..." Mozenrath snickered with a honeyed voice. "Now if you will excuse me, there's a bigger power waiting for me and I don't want to be late. Goodbye Aladdin." he said before disappearing with his familiar in blue flames.

Chapter Text

"- Are you coming to the party at the Magic Lamp on saturday, Ash ?" Aliyah asked as she slung her tote bag on her shoulder.

"- Umm dunno, I have this paper due on Tuesday for Mr. Edgar's class... And I kinda flopped on the last test so I'm not sure-"

"- You know that a B isn't a flop right ?" Aliyah interrupted, "In fact, the majority of students would agree that it is a pretty good mark, especially for a class as harsh as Mr Edgar's. Seriously what even got you into religious studies in the first place ? You're an atheist and you grades are nearly perfect ! You could have done without the extra headache !"

"- I need the extra credits if I want to stand out from the other candidates though, getting a spot for a master's degree is nearly impossible these days except if you got perfect grades and attendance... It's the kids at the top of the basket that get their first pick !" Sasha answered souding nervous and unsure.

"- Okay, sure. But is missing one nightly study session really going to affect your grades ? Please... for just one night come with me. Get your head out of your books and come to a party with your bestie ! just once ! It'll be fun and then you'll be plenty replenished and relaxed to work on your headache-I mean your paper !" her friend gave her a toothy smile and wiggled her brows. " Plus there will be hot guys...alcohol, more guys..." 

Sasha huffed and rolled her eyes. "- Oh for god's sake..." 

"- Please bestie, please please please please please please-" Aliyah repeated in a pleading voice, flashing her puppy eyes.

"- Oh my god, okay, geez ! I'll go with you !" 

"-Yayyyy ! I can't wait to go with you, it's gonna be so much fun !! Your first party as a college student ! I feel like a proud mother..." She added as she clung onto Sasha's arm when they exited the history building. "Which by the way should have been three years ago, but hey, better later than never huh ?" 

"- Shut up.." Sasha rolled her eyes again at her friends' taunt. "I'll see you tomorrow night then.."

"- Yes ! See you tomorrow, and please, dress cute, or badass, or you'll get your ass beat by yours truly !" Aliyah waved her friend before trotting away happily towards the tramway. 

Parties... Sasha thought with a frown. They nerver really were her thing. Although she used to have a large friend group in highschool, socializing lost all its appeal when all her friends drifted away from each other as they went to college. That was life. It happened to nearly everyone. She rarely went to parties even in high school when she was invited by her friends. Too much drama, too much broken objects, and sometimes broken noses. She quickly found after that that nighclubs weren't her thing either. Why is that you ask ? The smell. Everything and everyone in a nightclub stinks. Sweat, booze, vomit, smoke, pee, and sometimes all five together. She hated that place and she hated the guys that went there too. Half were here to go into alcohol or drug induced coma, the others were here to find a one night stand. And she unfortunately had to go the day afer. 

It's okay..I can do this for one night... She tried to convince herself. As she reached her appartment and slid the key into the keyhole.

At least she'll have the time to study a bit during the day before the party. Then she could study again on sunday morning, well, maybe not morning but in the afternoon after she'll recover from the night before. And then again on mondya if she organized her time well. That gave her two and a half day to finish her paper. She sighed as she let her bag hit the floor and went to the couch before turning on the TV. The Channel was playing a documentary on an old King of some kind. She half listened to the documentary as she prepared her dinner and went for a shower after eating. 

When she trudged back into the living room and flopped down on her couch again, her eyes went wide as she spotted her religious studies teacher on screen, Mr. Edgar, talking about that same old King. 

"... And so, Solomon is a mythical figure in many ways... He's present in judaism, in the Quran, in the Bible... He's a King, with profound wisdom, given by God himself, and yet by many is also associated with sorcery, magic, the djinns...the dark arts if you will." Sasha snorted at that. She didn't believe at all in magic, she didn't believe in anything surnatural. 

"- Yeah right... Magic." she mumbled nodded in slight mockery. But as her teacher kept talking she felt a shiver run down her spine. His tone of voice lowered into something akin to a whispered secret that you would tell a friend. His eyes bore into the camera instead of looking at the reporter in front of him and she felt like he was talking to her.

" -Can you imagine..? This much power...In the hands of a single. Man. Nowadays, nay, in every possible universe. It would be a disaster. Don't you agree..? Sasha ?"

She fell from her couch then and there and for a moment believed the TV slightly glitched. She squinted and rubbed her eyes in confusion before turning her attention back to the TV. It looked totally normal. Her teacher looked normal and wasn't boring into her eyes from the screen. Everything was normal. 

"- Maybe I do need to get my head out of my books a little..." she mumbled to her herself.

The rest of her night went smoothly and the day after she only briefly thought about what happened with the TV before diving head first into her assignment. By the time the clock hit 6 P.M she had assembled a solid foundation for her paper and was quite satisfied with herself. She looked up from her desk to her phone and sighed. She was supposed to meet Aliyah at 8:30 P.M sharp in front of the club. And to get there she'll hit the public transports, which meant she should to start getting ready right away.

She went through her usual shower routine and blowdried her hair before doing a brushing. She made the effort to wear a bit of makeup and perfume. Maybe the club was stinky but she did not want to be. She packed a deodorant in her purse for good measure and a water bottle as well as her charger and an extra pair of underwear. You never know what could happen. She told herself. She had settle on a two piece attire. A pant and a crop top. All black, and with a scandalous lowcut neckline. Both the top and bottom had cuts along them held by laces in a corset style. She paired them with comfortable and clean white sneakers and brought a dark zip up hoodie with her. She hated that fact but it wasn't the safest outfit she had and there were creeps around at night. Especially near nighclubs. 

She met Aliyah in front of the club at 8:30 P.M. and they spent the night dancing together. Sasha had to admit it was quite the fun party and different from her only club experience. The Magic Lamp had been decorated with pretty lights inside and out with purple and pink hues and in the back of the club was a fog making machine that coated the whole place in a mystical ambiance out of a fairy tale. There was a smoking area designated which she was grateful for as she didn't have to inhale the smoke and cough her lungs out. Even the bathroom experience was enjoyable. They had laughed so hard when in the middle of peeing a girl had asked from her bathrom cabin to the others - all strangers to her life and who she was- if she should go back with her ex. Every single woman had yelled at her not to do it. 

At some point in the night the Sasha and her friend had migrated to the bar and Aliyah had recognized someone from another class. They chatted together before a guy joined the conversation and started hitting on Aliyah. 

As the conversation went on Sasha's focus drifted away to the back of the club where she observed the people having fun and smiled to herself. They looked happy. Her smile faltered and fell however, when she noticed a man carrying a girl around his shoulder. He was dragging her near the exit and Sasha's guts twisted in discomfort. Something was wrong. The girl looked drunk out of her mind and was stumbling like a fawn as she tried to push him away.

"- Hey Aliyah, I'm coming back, give me a minute..." She mumbled as she grabbed her purse and started walking with urgency -not even making sure her friend had heard her - towards the drunk girl and her kidnapper. 

She hurried up as the drunk girl faded from her vision field and she started to panick. At the exit of the club were another bunch of people, some smoking some talking with drinks in hands. The girl and her kidnapper were nowhere in sight and Sasha made a few rotations on herself in panick, when from the corner of her eyes she saw movement coming from a dark alley. She sprinted towards it and her heart pumped harder in her chest when behind a dumpster she saw the man from earlier trying to undress the drunk woman he had carried here. 

"- Stop..." the woman mumbled. And for a second Sasha could only feel her heart beating, her ears ringing, and her lungs filling with air.

She grabbed at the man's collar from behind and yanked as hard as she could. The man made a strangled noise and fell to the ground on his ass in confusion. The drunk girl fell to her knees and winced in pain. 

"- What the fuck is your problem bitch ?!" the attacker growled as he yanked at Sasha's arms. She tugged them away from him, trying to pry him from her to no avail. His grip was bruising and she winced. 

"- Let me go !!" She protested. The abuser snickered wich sent a shiver of disgust down her spine. 

" - "- RAAAAPE !!! HELP !!! A MAN IS TRYING TO RAPE THAT GIRL  !!!" she yelled as high and hard as she could. 

"- Shut the fuck up !!" The man yelled before punching into her stomach. She folded on herself in pain, feeling like she was going to throw up before slowly straightening up.

Her blood started to boil in her veins and from the corner of her eyes she saw that her scream and the commotion had brought several people to notice the ongoing fight.

"- Hey ! What's going on here ?!" A stranger yelled wich startled the abuser for a split second.

Wihout thinking ahead, Sasha grabbed onto his collar and made her forehead collide with his nose. A loud crack resounded, followed by a painful scream from the man who let go of her arms and brought his hands to his nose.

"- You fucking bitch ! You broke my nose !!!" 

Her blood went cold when the man fished something in his pocket and from the light of the moonlight she saw the silver gleam of a knife.

She took off running immediatly with her purse hanging limply from her arm. Not looking back behind her. From behind her she heard him following after her and someone asking for an ambulance and to call the police. Tears started prickling her eyes and she ran for her life as fast as she could.

She cursed her lack of athletic qualities when three minutes into the chase she felt a stich in her side and winced in pain. Or maybe it was the punch from earlier. She didn't know.

"- Gotcha !" She heard the man running after her. He was only a few meters behind her and she closed her eyes. For the first time in her life she prayed. Someone. Anyone. To come and help her. When she briefly opened her eyes again she saw a massive ring of light emanating from the wall in front of her. It looked like some ancient scripture, with sigils and a somewhat familiar symbol in its center. It felt like it was calling to her. And from her mind the vision of her professor and his words from last night resounded in her mind.

"- Solomon's wisdom..." She uncounsciouly mumbled. As if guided by an invisible hand on her back, she took a deep breath and pivoted on herself, swinging her leg high before hitting her attacker with all the might she had left.

A pained scream resounded and she didn't take the time to check which part of him she had broken before she sprinted towards the glowing symbol and disappeared inside of it. 

Chapter Text

Mozenrath felt better now. He understood that one dose of the elixir of life wouldn't restore his health completely, but it would at least give him a few months to get his hands on his prized treasure, figure out all of its secrets, and finally become all powerful.

As soon as he was engulfed in the blue flames of his new found magical strength he was teleported at the summit of a rock peak. There in the desert surrounding Agrabah laid a few rock formations built by the time and forces of nature. The sun was setting in a few hours. He was early. The perfect timing to recover a bit of energy. As much as the urge to use his gauntlet was stinging him he had to preserve his magical ressources for the next crucial hours to come. Mozenrath built a fire by hand, the old fashioned way by using a few branches from a dying tree at the top of the peak. This tree he found, was a lot like himself. Dry, empty of life, useless. Only one little bud of a flower grew on one of the smallest branches.

"- WHY can't you do it ?! I explained it to you already ! Why haven't you mastered this spell yet ?!" The voice of his former master and the whipping of the lash he used on him echoed in his mind with painful accuracy making his shoulder tense and his expression close off. He looked far, far away from the present moment, his empty eyes reflected the figure of his master raising the whip to strike him in the dancing flames of the fire he lit. 

Mozenrath closed his eyes and frowned, it wouldn't bring him anything good to think of the past. It was a waste of energy. Destane was dead. Killed by him once and then brought back to suffer in his hands and live a half-life of mysery and servitude as a Mamluk. 

He shifted his gaze and from the corner of his eyes he saw Xerxes, his loyal familiar was engulfing a piece of meat cooked on the fire he built. The sun was set for a good hour now and the sky was lit with stars. It was time to work. From one gloved hand mozenrath muffled the flames of the fire to near extinction, keeping it lit, but not bright enough to mess with his work. He pulled out the map from the inside of his dark blue coat and with the same gauntlet made a waving motion, whispered ancient words from long forgotten languages under his breath. There the drawing he made started to lift from the paper. One by one, the stars left the sheet but never broke formation to go levitate in the air, following Mozenrath's movements. Like pencil marks on a piece of drawing paper they followed his hand until Mozenrath stopped. There in the middle of the sky it was again. The stars on his improvised map completed the already present celestial bodies in the sky, forming the shape of that stupid seal again. Solomon's Seal. In its center glowed a single smaller but brighter star. That's where the temple would be. 

"- Finally..!" He whispered in excitement. " Stars ! Show me the way to my destiny !" He exclaimed with a small tremor in his voice as he activated his magical glove again.

The stars in the sky glowed a comforting but powerful light, seemingly joinging in straight lines, forming a complete and unmistakable Solomon seal. The one at the center seemed to glow the brightest and a few seconds later a beam of light departing from the it was touching the ground.

" - There it is Xerxes, the temple of Solomon..!" He whispered in awe. " Whoever gets their hands on what is inside that temple is the owner of the most powerfull force in the universe..."

The flames previously held alive by Mozenrath's magic died and their smoke rose in the dark of the night. After packing the few belongings he had on him the sorcerer vanished from the mountain 's peak in a burst of blue and black fire. A few kilometers of teleportation was all he could manage at the moment, parcimony and saving ressources was his best bet in case things didn't work out for him. But he hoped in his gut that it wasn"t some cruel joke that God or whatever was responsible for that mess of a world played on him. The rest of the way to the temple was spent walking in the dunes of sand in the dark. Guided by that one, singular beam of light, his only hope. He found the situation quite ironic. Him who was dedicated to logic, and looked down on people who let their heart guide them, was clinging on that one silver thread in the dark of the night to be his salvation. When they reached the ruins of the temple Mozenrath could barely believe it could contain the most sought after treasure in the universe. The old city was decayed, building erased to a state of desolation and haunted by ghosts of the past. But there in the middle of the ruins the beam of light was hittin the apex of the largest of the them. A temple that time seemed to have been more merciful with. It was still an unstable ruin though, and that Mozenrath noticed when he climbed the stairs and stepped into the threshold that was close to collapsing underneath him. The inside of the temple was built like a lot of temples were, supported by pillars on the inside that had started to collapse as well. The walls were covered in ancient sigils, stories of old times and warnings to not desecrate the building. His eyes followed the scriptures on the wall before landing on the opening of a straircase in the back of the gigantic hall. With a match the sorcerer lit one of the old torches still held by its support on the wall and started his descent into the darkness. 

"- Strange..." He thought out loud. " For a very sought after treasure i thought there would be more traps, a guardian, something to stop someone from entering. Yet no one has come to interupt me..." His voice echoed in the darkness.

"- Master too late ...?" asked Xerxes with worry in his voice.

" I am not ! It can't be, its the only way I can get my health and powers back, if not then..." He whispered in a strained voice. It had to work. It was his only chance.

It was true though that not one trace of a human presence had been found since he had arrived. Maybe this place just did not exist in books, but still. No human corpses in a state of decomposition, no precious objects laying inside the temple, no sign that pillagers had come to ransack the city. Nothing. Like the place always had been empty. Like it had just been planted there for him to find, waiting. A shiver ran down the spine of the sorcerer and for a minute he considered going back and abandonning all hope. But he couldn't. He is Mozenrath, best magician of his generation, and no one or nothing would come between him and his goal. At the end of the corridor was a large chamber with a hard block of some sort he just couldn't see well in the dark. He lit the torch attached to the wall on his right and suddenly all of them were lit up one by one, circling the entirety of the chamber. At the center indeed stood a rock, a coffin, which  was also engraved with the same sigils as the walls of the temples threshold. And on its lid Solomon's seal.

Mozenrath suddenly felt a pang in his chest. A sharp sting that made him hiss in pain and his breath shallow. He pressed a hand to his chest. Was his decaying body already catching up despite him ingurgitating the Elixir of Life ? It didn't matter. Today he would solve everything once and for all. The writtings on the coffin told the same words as what had been shown to him in his citadel. Here lays to rest the treasure of Solomon. Passed down to his descendants, then his students and then hidden from the human eyes. The power of God. Solomon's Wisdom. Mozenrath then wondered if whomever was in that coffin had to be resurrected or if the body that laid there held the magical artefact that would give him Solomon's wisdom.

A rush of adrenaline made him drop his bag of belongings and push against the coffin lid.

"- This is it Xerxes, help me getting it to open !" He said to his familiar sounding hopeful.

The only problem was, the lid of the coffin didn't budge at all. No matter the amount of pulling, pushing, lifting. Even using magic wasn't doing anything. The coffin remained closed. And the young sorcerer grew ever more impatient by the minute. 

" - Come on ! Why ??? WHY WON'T IT OPEN ?!!" Mozenrath yelled in a fit of rage and despair, his fists collapsing on the lid. The echo of his fists and voice was the only answer he got.

"-Please..." He mumbled as his legs collapsed as well from exhaustion and despair. The rest of his body slumped across the coffin, his head resting in the center of the seal.

" - You. Are my only hope. Only you can save me. Please... I need you. Come to me." The sorcerer whispered like a prayer. It wasn't the only one he would need in his life. But probably the one he needed the most. A single tear welled from the sorcerer's eyes, rolled on his cheek and fell at the center of the seal. The warm embrace of a divine glow surrounded him as the Seal lit with a golden hue. Mozenrath's eyes lit up in suprise as the room was engulfed in a comforting light, blinding him completely. The noise of the coffin lid moving echoed in the room.