***
{Outside The Projection}
Two things stood out to them.
Aladdin was good; rather, he was perfect for Malik.
And Sinbad really knew his Elder Brother well, preparing and waiting for the day he'd finally mention the need for a successor, ready for all possible picks.
The second, and the most important thing, was that they knew what direction their Sultan was taking with those questions; it became too obvious at the end.
He wanted someone to keep the unity after he was gone.
Someone who was ready to strategically lead them and prepare them to fight against a common enemy, making them ignore all their little squabbles.
Malik had truly grown up.
The image of that beggar was long gone.
Now he was a Sultan through and through.
Even the way he spoke was completely different.
Seeing his past self must've brought back memories.
Of course, this supposed 'past self' before him was much more educated, but that wasn't his focus; it was the mentality.
