Morning bells echoed throughout the city of Tehran from the Church of Destruction.
As always, Uzziel opened his eyes before the third bell.
He lay still for a moment on his narrow bed, quietly staring at the faint cracks on the ceiling of their small apartment. Rays of sunlight entered the room through the thin curtains, along with the distant sounds of chanting.
"I can never get tired of sleeping." With a yawn, Uzziel sat up and swing his leg off the bed.
"What the hell is wrong with this floor? Why is it so cold?" He groaned but still after some time, knelt on the cold floor.
With his palms pressed together and eyes lowered, he bowed towards the direction of the church.
"Praise the One Who End All Forms."
"Praise the Hand That Shatters All Heavens."
"Praise the Bearer Of World-Ending Spear."
"Praise the Goddess Of Destruction."
After the usual prayer, he paused for a heartbeat as required and then rose.
He washed his face in the small basin near the door, the water icy enough to wake him up completely. In the mirror, a young man stared back at him. Dark hair tied loosely, eyes steady but tired and completely ordinary and unremarkable. He stared for some seconds then sighed.
"How I wish I could also gain the favor of gods. Then our lives would had been much more easier."
He looked at the watch on his wrist while stepping outside his room. "I have to hurry. The distribution time is almost up."
As he made his way downstairs he looked at the creaking stairs and crumbling walls at the corner. Signs of dissatisfaction appeared on his face before a voice called him.
"You are awake? Thank god. Son, can you go to the rations square today? See, I worked extra hard yesterday. I am having difficulties even in climbing stairs."
There was his father. With a smile etched on his tired and weary face, he pleaded to him.
A smile bloomed upon seeing his father on Uzziel's face.
"Do you even need to say that? For the past 5 weeks, I am the one who had been going for the rations. You can rest easy father. You don't have to repeat those same words everyday. I am going."
"Hahaha, That is my strong son. I am blessed to have a son like you. You are going to be the pillar of this household." A strong pat on my shoulder and then he was gone to flirt with my mother at the kitchen.
Uzziel watched him leaving with a smile before stepping outside the apartment.
The street was already alive. Vender arranged their stalls beneath banners bearing church crests. A pair of church guards walked past in polished armor. Above the city, towering far beyond the clouds, rose the distant silhouette of a divine structure, a cathedral castle that pierced the sky itself. They call it the Church Of Destruction.
It was so ridiculously high that one can not see it's end from the ground beneath. There were some rumors that one can see this structure even from the moon. It was unknown whether the rumors were true or not.
Since the scientists have long gone extinct.
Uzziel continued to stare at the church until suddenly the dizziness striked him and he staggered.
"Ugh, as always. What a divine thing it is." It look him a minute to get normal. "Can't waste any more time, better get going.
He walked with the flow of the crowd towards the ration square. Ever since they appeared the world has changed drastically. Now even if a person do not have a job, a source of income or a place to live, they can still fill their stomach with the foods offered by the church and live in a house built by the church.
"Truly the grace of divine."
Uzziel can still hear the occasional appreciation and worship of the crowd.
At the center stood a stone platform, carved with runes that glow faintly red. A robed cleric stood there, handling rations.
A long line of peoples standing in a straight line appeared before Uzziel. As always he had to wait for a while before getting the ration and going home.
He patiently stood behind the very last. Slowly and steady, each person would receive the ration and head back towards their home. There were also some who brought their child along to gain the blessings from the cleric. The cleric would place his hand upon the child and speak some words praising the Goddess and inviting the blessings from her. Occasionally, from the line, a child would cry and a parent would hush them immediately, glancing around with nervous eyes.
It took almost half a hour until he stood before the clerk, bowed and accepted the sealed food packet. The cleric's eyes lingered on him for a moment.
"Your household attendance has been consistent." The cleric said.
Uzziel replied with a embarrassed smile, "Father still haven't found any new job and No one dares to accept me. Hmph, they always fear that I will not be responsible and professional since I am just 18 years old this year."
The smile melt the cleric heart as he patted Uzziel's head.
"May the Goddess bless your family by destroying all the bad luck."
Uzziel smiled back at him, "May this karma return back to you."
On his way back home, he passed a small shrine embedded into the side of a building. Inside the shrine a miniature statue of a women was built. A women knelt there with a prayer charm held in her hands so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Her lips moved soundlessly, desperation etched on her face clearly.
Uzziel slowed down for a moment.
Then continued walking.
Interfering with a prayer was considered disrespectful and besides whatever burden she carried was between her and the god. If her faith was pure enough then the Goddess will surely destroy all the obstacles in the way of her happiness.
After all, she was the most benevolent deity of Heaven.
"Hm, something's wrong." He took some steps back towards the shrine and looked at the statue. His eyes widening each second.
"This, w-who is this? Goddess? Heaven? Benevolent? W-wait a minute. T-this world?" He looked around, while staggering as his brain ached every moment. He dropped the ration in his hand as he knelt in pain. Even though he wanted to scream in this extreme pain, no voice came out of his mind. The world cracked and the void flowed from the cracks like a river drowning the whole world with distorted monster emerging from them one by one. And then-
He opened his eyes and blinked two times until looking down at the food ration dropped on the ground.
"Huh? When did I dropped this? The Goddess is truly divine. I just glanced at the statue for a second and got immersed in the divine." Uzziel took the ration and continued walking without gazing back at the women who was now a puddle of blood with internal organs flowing in it.