The sun was setting, painting the sky in a beautiful orange color. Mystical-looking birds
that would've been an unknown species on earth were gracefully flying in the air. They
were flying over an expanse of medieval style structures and buildings.
This is the Mahan Sultanate, a massive empire with a diverse economy and a huge
population. One could see the marketplace where store owners were closing up shop
and customers were returning to their homes after the long day.
There were bridges over long canals of waterways that brought water from rivers to the
city. People rode on horseback or in carriages to travel throughout each city in the
empire. Roads were made out of a sandy colored brick, while the buildings were made
out of a sturdy, concrete-like material. While each building layout looked somewhat the
same, they each had colorful and unique patterns or decoration on them.
The atmosphere in the empire was peaceful and people had happy expressions. They
clearly liked their life and were content. Here and there, there were some poor,
homeless people, but the overall population looked to be middle-class and didn't
struggle to get by.
The sun finally set on this peaceful and massive empire and the night took over the sky.
Street lights were shining in the streets, but most people were in the safety of their
homes. However, in one road, a horse-drawn carriage could be seen moving at a rapid
rate.
As it continued to advance, the buildings around it started to get less and less dense.
The buildings that were still in view were completely different then the common
structures, they looked more high class.
But eventually, the buildings had completely disappeared as the carriage stopped at a
massive gate, and was surrounded by equally massive iron fences.
A man got down the carriage in a struggle because of his short body, he had olive skin
and brown hair. When he finally got down he skidded towards the gate which was
protected by two guards clad in impressive armor. Their faces were barely visible
through their helmets, only showing their eyes.
One of the guard menacingly walked forward and asked:
"State your business, messenger."
The short man flinched at the harsh tone, but quickly regained his composer and spoke
in a urgent tone:
"I must see the Sultan right now. I have brought very grave news. I need to go to h–"
He was cut off almost immediately by the guard.
"The Sultan has said not to allow anyone in the castle at this moment, no matter how important the matter is. If you have anything to say, then write a letter and I will hand it
to the Sultan."
"But…"
The short man quickly shut up after the guard placed a hand to the sword by his hip. He rushed back to his carriage and took out a quill and scroll of paper. He hurriedly wrote with the best handwriting he could manage and brought it back to the guard.
After dismissing the short messenger, the guard walked towards the giant gates with the scroll in his hand. He took out a circular object that was hanging on his belt, it had markingings on it. They looked foreign by earth standards and were ingrained in the circular object.
The guard brought it toward the gate where a keyhole should've been and placed it in the middle which perfectly outlined the circular object. The markings started to glow blue and then a clicking sound could be heard, indicating the gate had opened.
The guard walked past the gates and entered a beautiful garden. There were exotic and pretty flowers everywhere, the hedges were trimmed to perfection and an exquisite stone road in the middle. The guard walked on the road until he was met with a marvelous white marble fountain, there was colorful fish in the water and a statue of a gorgeous lady in the middle.
The guard went around the fountain and was met with a wondrous sight. It was a massive black castle with intricate designs ingrained in the walls and had sturdy pillars supporting it. There were golden accents everywhere and the roof was a unique ash color.
The guard had seen this sight so many times, but every single time he was still at the sight. He knew the inside looked even more impressive. But even with how magnificent the castle looked, he was always nervous to go inside.
'He is more impressive than this castle …and more terrifying.'
Shaking his head of cowardly thoughts, he headed inside the majestic doors.
The inside was indeed more impressive than the outside. Complex and beautiful patterns on the floor to bring life into the atmosphere. The walls were either occupied with windows with striking designs or occasional paintings.
The guard stopped at a massive hallway, at the end of it were grand doors and above them an even more glorious painting. A painting of him, the Sultan ...
Without wasting any time the guard walked towards the doors and knocked. The giant door opened with a rumble after a few seconds, unfolding a breathtaking sight.
The room itself was magnificent, but the guard didn't have to take in the sight because was staring at the middle-end of the room. There lay a spectacular throne made out of an black and unrecognizable material. The designs on the throne were very impressive, but not as impressive as who was on the throne itself. It was a man.
The guard looked at the man in fear and respect before he bowed her head down and walked forward. He halted when he was a specific distance away from the throne and spoke in stutters.
"M-y Sultan, we have g-ot an urgent mes-sage. I -uh know you told no on-e to disturb you, bu-t this -uh seem-ed important."
Silence fell as the guard kept nervously looking down waiting for someone to say something. Eventually a voice came out from the right side of the throne.
"Give the letter here and get back to your post, guard."
The voice came from a short lean man. He had tan skin, brown eyes, and his face was old and wrinkled, he had a short silver beard and a mostly bald scalp.
The guard bowed and hurriedly left the throne room. The old man turned around when the guard left and looked at the man on the throne.
The man was, in one word, godly. His looks made people on earth look like rats, his skin was chocolate brown and he was free of any wrinkles. He had black eyes that felt like they could stare into someone's soul. His black hair was peeking under a magnificent golden crown with a black pattern on it. He looked spectacular, but it was his aura that was even more impressive. It gave off the sensations of a predator, of power, and a king.
The old man looked at the man with utmost respect and obedience.
"Would you care to take a look at the letter's contents, my Sultan?"
The man looked at him and then at the letter. He waved his hand and looked at it in disinterest. He once again stared back at the front of the room. He suddenly spoke, his voice soft, but harsh. Questioning, but demanding.
"Has she given birth yet?"
"Not, yet my Sultan."
"Hmm, I see. Inform me when she has."
Nodding the old man went back to his position at the far right of the throne.
The man on the throne sat in silence, awaiting the news. The news of his wife giving birth to their son. His son.
And the heir to his Sultanate.
***
In another room of the castle, a woman lay on an extravagant bed with numerous handmaidens around her. The woman had a peach skin tone with pristine, luscious black hair. Her most dominant feature though, was her beautiful golden eyes. In short, she looked like an angel.
But currently she was sweating slightly and her breathing was rough. The maids around her looked even more stressed out than the lady herself. Afterall, they were about to deliver the baby of Queen Regina and the first heir to their glorious Mahan Sultanate.
In the middle of the unrest, a maid with slightly different clothing stepped forward and approached the queen.
"Your highness, all preparations are finished."
Queen Regina looked up and spoke in a melodic tone: "Good, cause I don't think this baby can wait any longer, Kana. Hah. Did he not come yet?"
Shaking her head, Kana replied: "The Sultan has informed us that he will arrive when the baby is delivered and cleaned."
"The nerve of that bas–"
But before Regina could finish the sentence, she yelped. "I think the baby is coming, Kana."
Without wasting any time Kana signaled the maids to start the delivery process.
***
Ajay was surrounded by darkness. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't feel anything.
His thoughts kept going back to the mission and his failure. His failure to keep his comrades alive, his failure to figure out the commander's plot, his failure of trusting his nation.
All his love and loyalty for his country had disappeared in an instant. He trusted the commander, he was Ajay's mentor, comrade, and friend.
'Or at least I think he was. Was he hiding his true personality the whole time?'
Then Ajay thought about his parents, they gave their lives for their country. Their country deceived their people and threw them out like garbage when necessary.
'Were their lives meaningless? What if they were alive? Maybe I could've had a normal family with normal family memories.'
After what felt like an eternity of being in darkness and questioning his whole life, something finally changed, Ajay could see a speck of light shining in the darkness. Then it grew bigger and bigger, until finally Ajay was temporarily blinded.
Eventually his eyes adjusted to the light, and he could kinda see where he was. He looked to be on a bed and there were multiple ladies around him with maid costumes.
'Wait, maid costumes? How am I not dead? Is this a hospital, wait, no they wouldn't be wearing maid costumes.'
While Ajay was trying to figure out what the heck just happened, a sweet, angelic voice
entered his ears. He couldn't understand it, but it was coming from above him. Ajay
strained his neck to see, but had trouble controlling his body.
'Why do I feel so uncomfortable in my own body?'
Suddenly, Ajay could see a massive thing come towards him, it was … a hand? Before
Ajay could react, the hand picked him up.
'How the heck can someone pick me up so easily, and why is the hand so dang huge.'
The sight that Ajay saw shocked him even more. There was a beautiful lady in front of
him, but before he could admire it, he was finally able to look down at his own body.
'Why am I FAT! All that hard work down the drain.'
Of course, that was not all he noticed. His limbs were short and stubby, he felt weak,
and he was getting picked up by a grown lady.
'This can't be, I've definitely read too many of Auggie's light novels. No, no, no."
This one of the rare moments when Ajay completely lost his composure. But it didn't
change the fact that he was now …
'A BABY!'
His skin was a shade of chocolate brown and the little hair that he did have was pitch
black. Ajay stared at the woman who picked him up, she was beautiful. But he didn't
feel anything towards her.
'So this must be my mom. That feels weird to think about.'
His mom started talking in a language that was unknown to Ajay. While Ajay didn't know
how to speak all the languages on Earth, he knew how each sounded, and this
language was unfamiliar.
'I must be in another world or something. I can't believe this is happening.'
Ajay was pretty quick to accept the situation, anyone else and they might be freaking
out right now. Despite him having the body of a baby right now, he still had the mind of
a middle aged man.
As Ajay thought about his situation, Regina moved her other hand to pick up something
else. Or someone else…
Ajay slightly turned his head after sensing movement from his mother. She picked up
another baby and was holding him right next to Ajay. It took him a few seconds to
realize what was happening.
'I have a twin!'