Two days went by. Gate 13 continued to be closed. No answers were provided. There was only speculation. Protests from woodworkers began to prop up. The redwood within the Silent Forest was high in demand and luxurious. To attain such luxury, woodworkers needed to take out a loan to buy an axe powerful enough to chop through the massive tree. But now that they couldn't enter Gate 13, the promise of the Heavenly Tower's treasures were swept from their feet. Without qualm or reason, they were stuck with a loan they could not pay for and A-class axes that held no utility.

Kazi opened his eyes that morning without having slept for multiple days. David lay some feet away in a tent, sleeping. They had been working. Working, working, working, till the factory was a second home and David could sleep here. Kazi could sleep for days on end. This wasn’t an issue at all.

“Come on,” Kazi said, approaching the tent and clapping his hands. “Get up. It's time for our meeting with Prince Yuzin.”

A groan echoed from inside the green tent. “In a minute…”

“Alright, no issue. I'll have breakfast ready in my dimension.”

Yawn from David. “When are we heading out?”

“Five hours.”

“Then I'll sleep.”

Kazi snickered and let him be. The devices were prepped yesterday. The Raman Spectrometer in particular was fully functioning and field-tested to a small degree. They confirmed it was effective in analyzing plants and confirming quality and authenticity. A portable device in the form of a suitcase and a cable with a scanner at the end, it was easy to carry and use. The suitcase portion opened to reveal a monitor that gave all the information required. David was the one who installed the software while Kazi did the hardwire.

In addition to the Raman Spectrometer, Kazi and David had prepared a soil pH meter, a moisture meter, and a drone equipped with a camera and sensors capable of capturing detailed images and data of agricultural fields. Energy efficiency was still a bit of an issue. Batteries in the Bazaar were old and too large for portable usage. Kazi had David go out and buy a bunch, then personally rearrange the materials into something modern.

‘Enter home.’

Blip! He was back in his personal dimension. David was asleep in his own dimension but he typically ate breakfast at Kazi’s place. That meant Kazi had to actually make breakfast. He rolled up his black sleeves and got to work. “I’ll make an English breakfast—except without the bacon. He found a vendor that sold halal bologna at the bazaar and decided to use that as a substitute. He once worked at a five-star Michelin restaurant, he knew what he was doing. Adapting was as easy as breathing.

David arrived fifteen minutes later. He went to the bathroom, yawning. “You know, you could just sleep here,” Kazi said.

“Mm. Nah.”

David was addicted to work. Always pulling all-nighters, always pushing himself. Even though Kazi’s place could house a family of seven without issue, David refused to stay. Kazi figured it was partly out of convenience and partly because Kazi’s place was made of bamboo. The structure was not modern in the slightest, lacking doors and thick white walls. Everything was light-brown and interconnected. The middle section was where the kitchen was, with the bathroom on the one end.

On the other end of the long home was the largest room with a king-sized bed chamber. Once he was finished with breakfast, Kazi yelled, “Breakfast is ready! I’ll be eating with William!”

“Okay!” Daviz responded from the bathroom.

Kazi wore a small smile, a plate in hand, and crossed the distance between the kitchen and the final room. William lay on the beed, asleep. He hadn’t changed a bit. “No food, no change…it’s like Commander Cedric said.” According to the great healer, his magical energy had increased to an absurd degree, altering his very soul. His body couldn’t handle the change and consequently shut down. Due to the cause of the magical flux and its nature, he was in a magical stasis, neither dead nor alive.

Kazi didn’t need to feed him. William was pale but he wasn’t getting paler. Kazi quietly noted the similarity with Paul’s death; how his body was in a magical stasis of some kind that prevented blood from seeping and his physical state from changing. Next time, he was going to ask Commander Cedric if there was a connection.

His eyes lingered. William was comatose and Marta was struggling and the world…didn't care. Articles were written, his own eyes darkened, and yet the news was now merely whispers. Like on Earth, people never cared. That was just how it was. A tragedy occured and guess what? They moved on. He understood everyone lived their own lives. He understood not everyone lost something.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But still, why did it always end with Kazi having to deal with tragedy? With death and sorrow? How come his suffering never stopped? Why did it always feel like Allah was against him?

He ripped his gaze and sat down on the floor, a cushion under him. The sound of William's breathing was comforting. In the corner of the room was a plate of old Bangladesh sandalwood. A stick that burned and gave out a refreshing, potent scent. Kazi ate with a fork with one hand and opened up his palm with the other. His fingers curled up slightly and glowed. One by one, balls of yellow light appeared. He inhaled sharply and balanced the balls on his fingers before having them rotate between each finger.

An intermediate exercise focusing on shape control, mastering it typically took a couple years of effort. But for Kazi, well…

“Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.” Index to middle, middle to ring, ring to pinkie, pinkie to thumb, thumb to index. The pattern was simple enough so he decided to go crazy. Thumb to ring, index to pinkie, and pinkie back to index. He went faster and faster yet kept firm control of everything.

“Mm.” With his other hand, he took a bite of the sausage. The chaos on the palm of his hand was a fun pastime. He learned about this exercise during his visit to the House of Wisdom. It was one of the common exercises done by magic-users born in the White Abyss. Its simplicity made it quite effective in developing intermediate-level magic control.

Just by reading, his understanding of magic grew. Once the deal with Prince Yuzin was done, he thought about going to the University of True Magic. The semester was starting very soon. If not, then the Old Mage Tower would work too. Kazi wasn’t picky. The only issue would be finding a Wizard or Sorcerer to apprentice under.

‘An apprentice, huh…? Maybe that’s not such a good thing. Being someone’s student never works out for me.’

He ate his food, audibly breathing in and out. He conducted a second exercise: on the palm of his hand, he summoned a ball of light. The ball dimmed and twisted into a triangle, then a cube. Another example of shape control. Shape control was vital to casting high-level magic circles and spells and to train such a skill required muscle memory. The nerves needed to understand. The body needed to adjust. Kazi sighed and stopped the exercise.

It all came too easy for him.

***

“Do I smell?”

“You’re fine.”

“Really?”

“Nah, just messing with you.”

“Aw, shit. Why do you smell so good then?”

“Bukhoor. Great stuff. Really started to use it when a vendor in Madinah convinced me to get it.”

“Can I have some?”

“I can lend you some perfume.”

“Oh, thanks.” Pscht! Pscht! “Oh! Oh, wow, that’s heavy!”

“Base notes are patchouli, sandalwood, incense, and amber. Good stuff?”

“Again, heavy as hell.”

“I think you just sprayed too much.”

“Look, man, I’m not a perfume guy, I’m a computer guy.”

“You’re decently well-dressed.”

“And you’re not. Is there a reason why you wear the same black garbs everyday?”

“It’s cheap. I’m a cheap guy.”

“Do you not wash it?”

“I have four duplicates. Sewed 'em myself,” Kazi said before stopping in his tracks. “Here we are.”

The guards in yellow fancy gis nodded. The new contract was handed and they were allowed in. Waiting for them was Lady Ann. Just looking at her reminded Kazi of Prince Yuzin. All the genetics clearly went one way.

“Follow me,” Lady Ann said. They went up the stairs. Up, up, up, exactly like last time except without anyone getting in their way. Lady Ann was respected here and by extension so were they. They stepped into the office with Prince Yuzin in a lotus sitting position.

“Still meditating?” Kazi joked, to David’s chagrin.

“I am a Finance Minister first and a cultivator second,” said Prince Yuzin, eyes opening. “Kazi, David. Have a seat. I have been eagerly waiting.”

“Me too.” Bi Sheng was already by the prince’s side and came up to greet Kazi and David. His eagerness was etched on him through a big smile. Wearing a black Futou on his head, Big Sheng was evidently dressed for the occasion.

Once seated, David handed over the patent papers over to the prince, who immediately gave to Bi Sheng.

“The devices…yes, yes, excellent.” Bi Sheng nodded at Prince Yuzin. “I believe you had the blueprints of the factories as well?”

“Here,” David said.

There were several types of factories that needed to be made. The initial cost alone was going to be upwards of fifty million points. Combined with the salaries likely to be requested and the first year alone was going to be heavy in cost. Bi Sheng informed the prince as much. He didn’t say much about it.

“This is superbly thorough,” Bi Sheng said. “Not a detail left.”

“We created this blueprint with the help of other factory workers,” David explained. “We’ll have fourteen factories dedicated to the creation of integrated circuits. There’s going to be seven types we’re focusing on .Then twelve for the products. Thirty-four total.”

“Here is the outcome.” Kazi set forward the suitcase —the Raman Spectrometer—on the prince’s desk. Bi Sheng leaned forward and pulled it to his side, opening it up. The light of the monitor caught him off-guard and he exchanged looks with the prince.

“It’s been calibrated to calculate commercial value and the health of nutrients. It works with over a thousand species of plants.” David’s claim was full of pride. This was the most time-consuming and synchronized effort between the two of them. Kazi understood the numbers, David inputted them and calibrated them. Eventually, an algorithm was built. In a world whose technology did not go enter the domain of the twenty-first century, it was a work of geniuses.

“I see, I see, like a computer.” Bi Sheng nodded along, his fingers running along the cable and the length of metal at the end. “How fast do the results come?”

“Near instant,” Kazi replied. “The analysis comes from light interacting with the subject. Because of that, you can analyze samples through glass vials or plastic bags.”

“Then all that is left is to test it in the field,” Prince Yuzin declared. “Let us go.”

“G-go…?” David glanced between Bi Sheng and the prince. “Where?”

“My eldest sister runs an opium farm. We shall go there to test this device of yours.”