The room remained quiet.
Feroz looked at the young man standing near the door.
Ayan looked just as surprised as he was.
For several moments—
nobody spoke.
Finally, Feroz broke the silence.
"You've been waiting three years?"
Ayan nodded.
"Yes."
The old woman sighed.
"And I told you not to."
Ayan smiled sheepishly.
"You tell everyone not to do things."
The old woman rolled her eyes.
That was the most normal conversation Feroz had heard in a long time.
Strangely—
it made him feel a little more relaxed.
Ayan looked back at him.
"You really came through the learning path?"
Feroz nodded.
"I guess."
Ayan laughed.
"I've never met anyone else who chose it."
Feroz frowned.
"What happens to the others?"
Ayan's smile faded slightly.
"They usually choose faster paths."
That didn't sound good.
The old woman stood up.
"Enough talking."
Both young men looked at her.
She pointed toward the door.
"Go."
Ayan blinked.
"Go where?"
"Outside."
Ayan looked confused.
"We just got here."
"Exactly."
The old woman pointed again.
"Go."
Neither argued.
A few minutes later—
Feroz and Ayan were walking through the village.
The sun was beginning to set.
Warm orange light covered the stone streets.
Children played nearby.
Merchants packed away their goods.
Everything looked peaceful.
Almost too peaceful.
Ayan noticed Feroz looking around.
"You're checking if it's real."
Feroz glanced at him.
"Can you blame me?"
Ayan laughed.
"No."
A pause.
"I did the same thing."
For the first time, Feroz smiled slightly.
The two continued walking.
Eventually they reached a small hill overlooking the village.
The view was beautiful.
Stone houses.
Green fields.
Distant mountains.
For a moment—
it felt like another world.
Maybe it was.
Ayan sat on a nearby rock.
Feroz sat beside him.
Neither spoke immediately.
Then Ayan asked:
"So what brought you here?"
Feroz stared at the village below.
The question felt impossible to answer.
Where would he even start?
The Free Masons?
The Tree?
Vaheen?
Haroon?
Younus?
The Threshold?
After a long silence, he finally answered:
"Bad luck."
Ayan laughed so hard he almost fell off the rock.
For several seconds—
he couldn't stop laughing.
Even Feroz found himself smiling.
When Ayan finally calmed down, he shook his head.
"Yeah."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Same."
The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
Then he quietly added:
"My brother chose a different path."
Feroz looked at him.
"What happened?"
Ayan stayed silent for several moments.
Then:
"I don't know."
The answer hurt more than Feroz expected.
Because he understood exactly what that felt like.
Not knowing.
Wondering.
Waiting.
Ayan stood up.
Trying to change the subject.
"Come on."
"Where?"
Ayan pointed toward the far edge of the village.
"The Hall."
Feroz frowned.
"The Hall?"
Ayan nodded.
"Everyone who chooses the learning path eventually goes there."
That sounded important.
They began walking again.
As they moved through the village—
people greeted Ayan warmly.
Clearly everyone knew him.
And surprisingly—
a few greeted Feroz too.
As if they had been expecting him.
That still felt strange.
Soon they reached the largest building in the village.
An ancient stone structure.
Older than everything else around it.
Its doors were covered with symbols.
Some looked familiar.
Others didn't.
Feroz stopped.
His heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Because carved directly above the entrance—
was a symbol he recognized.
The same symbol that had appeared on his arm.
The same one he had seen:
in the cave in the visions connected to Qadir
Ayan noticed his expression.
"You know that symbol?"
Feroz nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Ayan looked surprised.
Then quietly said:
"Then you're definitely supposed to be here."
Before Feroz could ask another question—
the massive stone doors slowly opened by themselves.
And a deep voice echoed from inside.
A voice neither of them recognized.
"Feroz Khan."
Silence.
Then:
"We have been waiting for you."