"I am glad that you are not hurt," Ahsak broke the silence between them.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No harm done. I'm okay," Azazil replied, his tone light and carefree. Ahsak, however, sensed that something was off. His brother never spoke this way so nonchalant. But Ahsak didn't press it in front of him. He gently closed the door and left. As he walked down the corridor, a red glow flickered in his eyes.
Azazil continued to tidy up the room. While organizing the papers, he noticed something he was studying architecture in university. He paused for a moment, sitting down and gazing out the window. Snow gently fell outside, but it wasn't too heavy; the orb in the sky was still visible, casting a faint light over the landscape.
His thoughts drifted. Azazil had been an electrical engineering student in the modern world. Third year now, he'd acquired a solid grasp of his field. But his true nature was carefree. He had always been this way. Emotions, personality they never seemed to matter much to him. What mattered were results, and for that, he was considered a genius in the family.
Lost in thought, he stared at the mysterious orb in the sky, his mind wandering further until sleep overtook him.
In his dream, Azazil found himself in an unfamiliar place. Thick, golden smoke surrounded him, and strange figures danced within it, chanting in unison. They twisted into unnatural positions that no human could perform, their movements almost otherworldly.
The figures were divided into four groups. The first group began chanting:
"In the first era, where gods and devils ruled existence, 'He' was the ruler."
The other three groups echoed in unison, "'He' ruled. 'He' ruled. 'He' ruled."
The second group began their chant:
"In the second era, when gods fell and devils were sealed, unknown gods tried to take control, but 'He' interfered."
The three other groups repeated, "'He' interfered. 'He' interfered. 'He' interfered."
Suddenly, the figures vanished from his sight. Confusion gripped Azazil. Realizing he was in a dream, he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Before he could process it, the scene shifted. He was about to witness something else when he was abruptly pulled from the dream.
He awoke with a start. His brother, Ahsak, stood beside him.
"You need to get to university," Ahsak said, concern in his voice. "It's getting late. It's fine if you're not feeling well, you don't have to go."
"I'm okay. I'll go," Azazil replied, deciding that he needed to learn more about this world and his place in it. He stood and moved toward the window, eager to see how the morning looked in this strange reality.
But as he looked outside, he was taken aback. There was no sunlight. The world outside still appeared to be stuck in the same twilight from the night before. The only change was that the lights along the road were now brighter, and the streets were filled with people, going about their business as if it were a normal day.
"Brother, where is the sun? Isn't it supposed to be morning?" Azazil asked, his confusion mounting.
Ahsak looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Huh? What is the sun and morning?" he asked, clearly not understanding the question.