Jamil’s Dream

Malleus sends all of Sage’s Island to sleep in Book 7 so that they might enjoy “unending happiness,” and for Jamil this seems to manifest as a dream world where Kalim’s family business has failed and they had to give up their home, which was purchased by Jamil’s father because the Asim family needed money.

While Jamil’s family used to work for Kalim’s family, like they do in reality, in Jamil’s dream they have since become the richest family in the city, with Kalim’s family in debt to them.

Much like how Jamil serves Kalim in reality, in Jamil’s dream Kalim now serves Jamil, who is student council president at a local magic academy.

Grim points out that Jamil doesn’t seem very happy having to deal with Kalim despite how Malleus is supposed to be giving people happy dreams, and Idia and Ortho guess that Kalim is a source of stress for Jamil in the same way that Neige is a source of stress for Vil, but Kalim, in reality, exerts an outsized influence over Jamil’s personality and capabilities, and altogether removing someone so influential from his dream would make it more prone to paradoxes.

Kalim starts reminding Jamil about childhood memories of things they did together that they couldn’t have done in a world where Kalim is subservient to Jamil, including the incident of Book 4, which almost awakens Jamil.

But then a dream-version of Kalim appears, promising Jamil money, land and freedom, and Jamil is dragged into a deeper sleep.

The deeper level of the dream seems to be an alternate timeline where Jamil successfully sent Kalim back home, became housewarden, and hypnotized Azul. Jamil begins discussing his plans to take out the other housewardens and Crowley to become the ruler of the school, with Silver observing that he has been completely contaminated by the darkness.

Kalim suddenly punches Jamil, scolding him for using underhanded tricks to sabotage people despite saying that he wants to complete fairly at the end of Book 4. Jamil punches Kalim back, calling him oblivious, Kalim punches Jamil again, saying that Jamil should know how he is bad at social cues, Jamil punches Kalim again for being proud of it, and this exchange continues with Silver’s encouragement. He observes, “sometimes a fist fueled by emotion is more effective than any words…it definitely was for me.”

Kalim starts laughing, saying that they have never fought in such a way in 17 years and Jamil points out that it would be a disaster for him if he ever beat Kalim up in reality, which awakens him, as Kalim tells him to remember.

Jamil wakes up, remembering his galling failed attempt to oust Kalim, and the dream begins to break down. Jamil protects Kalim from the darkness but when Kalim refuses to listen to what he says and let him go, Jamil punches Kalim again, getting swallowed by an abyss.

Jamil is met with an overblotted version of himself blaming Kalim for how he could be stronger, could be free, could achieve much more if he were gone. Jamil is surprised by how pathetic he looks and the dream-version of himself blames his environment, his parents and Kalim. 

Jamil agrees, but still takes responsibility for being so reckless that he ruined things and blew up at others. Jamil says that his own narrow-mindedness is what is truly robbing him of his freedom, but acknowledges that this is also himself.

The dream-version of Jamil turns into a genie of the lamp, who tells him that they are both forever fated to be trapped and run ragged while dreaming that someone will set them free and Jamil says he doesn’t want to entrust his wish to someone else: he will no longer feel sorry for himself or hold back from his own desires and ambitions, or wallow in self pity, and takes on his overblotted form in order to do battle with himself. 

Jamil says that he will make his own wishes come true and returns to his earlier dream, which has reset. Jamil tells Kalim he is proud to have him as a retainer and dream-karim says he will be happy to serve Jamil for the rest of his days, but Jamil is awake, saying that a Kalim who is polite and humble is too farfetched even for a dream.

Jamil uses his unique magic to send the dream-Kalim away, saying that he will be the one who decides things, and he has no interest in freedom or power handed to him by someone else.