The night still enveloped the village in its cold mist, the air heavy with the scent of scorched earth and the mingling of blood with dew from the recent Shift. In the small hut, Saqr sat on the ground, holding the hand of his infant son, Sultan, while his other hand trembled over the body of his wife, who had succumbed to exhaustion and complications following childbirth.
Her broken breaths filled the room, mingling with the roar of the wind from the fissures in the ground, as if all of nature were sharing her final cries. Her child, Sultan, felt the heat and cold colliding within him, the four marks on his skin glowing faintly, as if trying to convey something far greater than any human could understand.
The other infant, Khalid, stood beside them, his dark eyes glimmering with a faint light. His body trembled with each movement of the wind and shadows, as if a mysterious power within him was sensing existence for the very first time, swaying between fear and curiosity, unaware of its shape or name.
Sheikh Abdulrahman, standing at the corner of the hut, cautiously reached toward Saqr, his voice heavy and full of awe:
"Saqr… this moment, father, is the price of the beginning. Every birth carries a destiny, and every destiny is tested through loss first."
Saqr, tears mixing with dust and sweat, gazed helplessly at his wife's body, his voice trembling as he whispered his prayer:
"O Allah, protect her… make her a mother in Paradise, and protect my son…"
Then it happened—the moment Saqr's heart was not ready to face. His wife's body ceased to move; an unbearable silence filled the space, as if Death itself had entered to test the father's heart.
Sheikh Abdulrahman placed his hand on Sultan's head, whispering as the words slipped from his lips:
"O child… the fire, water, air, and earth are within you… each element will do nothing without the awareness and strength of your heart… You will grow to understand the price of every power, but today… today you learn the meaning of losing the first one you loved."
Despite their tender age, both infants felt something stir within them. Sultan sensed the heat of fire rising and the cold of water coursing through his limbs, as if his body were trying to comprehend the loss of his mother. Khalid, for the first time, felt his inner shadow surge visibly, a fifth force ready to reveal itself, though he did not yet know how to wield it.
Saqr held the two children in his arms, silent, his heart pierced by grief but brimming with determination. He understood that every tear shed over his wife's body planted strength in his son's heart, and that her loss marked the beginning of a journey toward a destiny far greater than any human heart could bear.
Sheikh Abdulrahman raised his voice in prayer, invoking every ounce of his spiritual strength:
"O Allah, make these two children light in the darkness, strength in a weakened world, and wisdom in the harshness of days… protect them from all evil, grant them steadfast hearts, and unbreakable will."
Outside the hut, the earth began to calm, the fissures slowly retreating, yet the winds still carried mysterious whispers, distant voices observing, red eyes hiding within shadows, unseen… all reminders that the Shift had not ended, and that the greater darkness was watching the children.
Saqr, standing with the two children in his arms, whispered to himself more than to them:
"O Allah, make me worthy to protect you… make me a guide on the path… and I will not allow any evil to reach you."
The night began to fade slowly, yet the heart of the village remained pierced with grief and fear. Birth, loss, and the Shift… all intertwined events, all moments defining the beginning of a new era, the era of Sultan the Marked, and the era of the child from the shadows, whose journey toward prophecy and dark power was only just beginning.