The village, which had begun to breathe quietly after the first Shift, did not know that the night carried something else within it—something dark, hiding among the cracks left by the recent turmoil. A distant scream, a roar-like sound, began to drift from the surrounding hills, a faint wave of fear slipping into the small hearts.
Sultan, six years old, sat on the ground holding a clay toy, his wide eyes expanding with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Khalid, beside him, felt the shadows curling quickly around him, his breath quickening, even though he did not move. An instinctive sense of threat swept through their bodies together, shadow power merging with the heat and cold of the elements within Sultan.
Saqr rushed closer, brushing the dust from their bodies, but he felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Take shelter with me… don't move… let your hearts guide you…", he whispered, watching the shadows move lightly among the trees and debris.
The little beast suddenly emerged from one of the cracks—its body deformed, eyes glowing red in the darkness, sharp teeth, and erratic movements, as if it were born from the Shift itself. The terror in the children's eyes was real, their hearts racing, their hands trembling—but something deeper within each of them began to stir.
Sultan, without fully understanding, touched the ball of clay in his hands, and suddenly the fire element began to glow around him. A soft warmth breathed with his body, while water splashed around him instinctively—a precarious but tangible balance. Khalid, beside Sultan, sent shadows around the beast as a preliminary barrier, a reflexive reaction he could not yet control, but it kept the danger from reaching them directly.
Saqr felt a mixture of pride and fear.
"O Allah, make them steadfast… let them be light in this darkness…"
The beast approached closer, its movements flexible and swift, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. Sultan felt something ignite within him—not just fear, but a mysterious power awakening fully for the first time. The heat of fire within him became a clear glow, the water surrounding him rose slightly, and the air began to swirl around them—each element responding instinctively, naturally, to the child bearing the marks of the four elements.
Khalid, with every breath and shadow movement, began to synchronize with Sultan more deeply, as if their bond was completing, a shared power of light and shadow, fire and water—the first seed of instinctive harmony that would last a lifetime.
In a brief yet eternal moment, the beast suddenly retreated, as if the earth itself acknowledged the power that had emerged, and the instinctive connection between the brothers. Sultan, with his wide eyes, saw the glow of his four marks clearly for the first time—heat, cold, light, and shadow—all flowing from within him.
Sheikh Abdulrahman, who had been watching the scene from a distance, whispered cautiously and softly:
"This spark… the prophecy has begun to reveal itself… the child marked by the four elements… he will unite the banners of the three continents, but the road is long, and darkness will show no mercy…"
Saqr held the two children in his arms, his heart heavy but full of hope despite the fear surrounding them. The infants, though so young, felt for the first time that they were not alone in this world, and that something greater than fear had begun to stir within them—a bond that would guide them toward their destiny: Sultan and Khalid, light and shadow, the beginning of the prophecy.
The hut, the earth, and the sky all witnessed this first encounter with true danger, the beginning of the challenge, and the emergence of the first spark of the prophecy, which would shape their lives and the fate of the world to come.