Someone approached quietly, with confident steps. His face was completely covered, revealing only his sharp eyes scanning the entire place.
Stranger: "Quick, get out of here! You have only ten minutes to escape!"
They looked at him in shock and confusion, questions racing through their minds.
"Who is this? What does he want? Can we trust him?"
Suddenly, the stranger shouted forcefully:
Stranger: "HURRY UP!!"
They jolted at his voice.
Edmund looked into the man's eyes, trying to decipher anything from them, but it was no use. He couldn't read any thing.
He then grabbed Sophia's hands, handed her the baby, and lifted her in his arms. Caesar, too, grabbed his wife's hand, and they all rushed outside. As they did, their eyes met the stranger's for a brief second.
They rushed to the car as if fleeing from a doomed fate. Caesar threw the bags into the trunk, and the others quickly got into the car.
Sarah: "Come on, Caesar! Hurry!"
He jumped into the car, and it sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind, racing the wind.
The stranger watched them disappear before he entered the house.
Less than two minutes after they left, a loud explosion shook them all.
They turned to see where it had come from and realized immediately—it was in the direction of Caesar's house. Soon after, another powerful explosion echoed from Edmund's home.
They looked at each other in anxiety and fear, but Caesar didn't stop driving.
Tension filled the car. Things were far from okay. The exhausted Sophia clung to her husband, burying her head in his chest while holding their baby. Sarah gripped her husband's hand tightly, offering him a reassuring smile.
Some time later
There were only five of them in the car: Caesar and his wife Sarah, Edmund, his wife Sophia, and their newborn child. None of them knew where they were heading.
Each of them wondered what would happen after this longest night of their lives.
They thought about tomorrow—would it come while they were still alive?
What was their fate? What about the fate of that baby who added even more confusion to their thoughts? And who was that stranger who had helped them?
Silence fell upon them. When smiles had faded and fatigue showed on their faces, the earth lit up with the light of its Lord, revealing a beautiful scene. It reminded them that no matter how long the night is, the sun will rise eventually, even if delayed.
A short while later, in front of Edmund's burned house
Several people appeared, hiding behind buildings out of the police and fire teams' sight.
They were large, muscular men, dressed in black, their faces masked, wearing hoods and cloaks marked with the emblem of a massive serpent.
Leader (angrily): "What happened? Were they inside?"
One of them appeared behind him.
Man: "Sir, they found the bodies of an adult man and a pregnant woman inside."
The leader turned and grabbed him by the neck.
Leader: "Make sure it's them. Hurry!"
All: "Yes, sir!"
Everyone spread out to search and confirm the situation.
Leader (nervously): "This could be a real disaster. Damn you, Anderson..."
Ten years later
In a mountainous area, there were two simple neighboring houses. People moved happily in front of them, preparing for a barbecue.
In one of the small houses, the laughter of children could be heard.
(Jack was now 10 years old, and Black was two years younger, 8 years old. She was stunningly beautiful with jet-black hair, violet eyes—extremely rare—and very delicate features.)
They were playing together. Jack was chasing Black, trying to catch her.
Jack: "Bee! If I catch you, I'll pull out your hair!"
She laughed at him, stuck her tongue out, and rolled her eyes side to side.
Black: "You'll never catch me, Jack! I'm faster than you! Hahaha!"
He jumped off the small table to grab her.
She screamed, but there was no time to escape—she fell right into his hands.
Jack: "Gotcha! Now I'll beat you up, Bee!"
But suddenly, she started crying.
He looked at her, surprised, but quickly realized someone was standing behind him.
Edmund: "Jaaack... what are you doing to your cousin?"
Jack (looking at Black who was secretly giggling): "Dad, she's not my cousin—she's a demon!"
Edmund: "Jack, why are you hitting her? You even made her cry."
Jack (hopefully): "I wish I had! But I didn't even touch her yet! Dad, why don't you come back in five minutes? I'll have her cooked for lunch by then. Trust me, I know how to prepare food. Really!"
He laughed as he saw the fear on her face. His father scolded him for what he said, picked up the little girl, and carried her outside. She clung to her uncle, frightened. Jack felt guilty seeing her like that and ran after them to continue playing.
Jack: "Bee Bee! I was just kidding! Did you really believe me?!"
Sophia and Sarah were preparing lunch, while Edmund and Caesar helped grill the meat.
But Edmund rushed into the house before things got out of hand—last time the kids chased each other around, they broke a lot of stuff.
Black didn't need much convincing. Soon, she was playing with him again.
Black (innocently): "Are you really going to eat me?"
Jack (laughing): "Of course not! I was joking! But I'll still pluck your feathers, little bird!"
They started chasing each other again while their parents laughed at their craziness.
Jack and Black went to help their parents set the table. Laughter filled the air.
Jack stole a few skewers of grilled meat and handed one to Black before eating the rest.
Black (excitedly): "Jack! You're the best brother in the world!"
Jack almost choked on his food and coughed a little.
Jack (annoyed): "Black! Don't call me your brother. I'm not your brother—I'm your cousin."
Black (pouting): "You always get mad when I call you brother. Why?"
Jack: "Because I want to marry you when I grow up. And Mama told me that brothers and sisters can't marry. So I'm your cousin, not your brother. Remember that."
Black (innocently): "You mean we'll live together like Papa and Mama? And Uncle and Auntie?"
Jack (smiling): "Exactly. And I'll bring you lots of food. What do you think?"
Black: "Deal!"
Jack: "The most gluttonous girl in the world—you'd agree to anything for food!"
Black (angrily): "Jaaaack!!"
He laughed at her annoyed expression and kept eating happily.
Caesar (grumbling): "Edmund, your son never stops bothering my little girl."
Edmund, surrendering: "Caesar, these two little ones... we can't interfere between them."
Sarah: "You're right. Look, your daughter was taken out by her uncle, yet she ran back to play with Jack again. And she was the one who started teasing him when she saw him reading instead of playing."
Sophia, smiling: "Just like the saying goes, 'A cat only loves to quarrel with its mate.'"
All four of them laughed, then returned to setting the dishes on the table, while Jack and Black kept stealing food the whole time.
(The two families were filled with joy. They had successfully escaped for ten years. After Jack was born, they spent nearly three months on the move, traveling from one place to another, stopping only to gather food and medicine. Throughout those ten years, none of them used their powers even once. Edmund sealed his son's powers at birth, as did Caesar with his daughter, Black. They lived in the mountains, so Jack and Black never saw anyone use special abilities or energy. They knew nothing about supernatural powers.)
But the laughter didn't last long.
Edmund noticed strange movements nearby. Soon, those movements turned into an explosion that rocked Edmund's house, echoing through the whole area.
The blast flung them away, and from within the flames emerged
The pursuers emerged from the dust of the explosion
That's when they knew—hiding time was over. Shock and fear overtook their faces as one question echoed in their minds:
How did they find us?
Jack's small voice suddenly broke the silence, shouting curses at the masked strangers. A shard from the explosion had injured Black's arm, but she was too scared to even feel the pain.
Leader, with deadly calm: "Did you really think you and your wife could escape?"
He continued with rage, "Those fake corpses you used... You'll pay dearly for them."
He glanced at the children, and Jack, bearing a striking resemblance to his parents, caught his attention. He gestured to one of his men.
Leader: "Check the boy."
That sentence alone was enough to snap everyone back into focus. Edmund and Caesar screamed at Sophia and Sarah to take the children and run. Yes, they knew they wouldn't survive this battle. But they feared something far worse—that the criminals might take Jack, with his unique mark, or harm him in any way.
Caesar, yelling: "Sophia! Sarah! Take the kids and get out of here!"
They all unleashed their powers—something Jack and Black had never seen before. They hadn't even recovered from the shock of their home being blown up before they saw their parents summoning air and lightning from their hands.
Sophia and Sarah were torn. How could they leave their husbands to face death alone?
Edmund's roar snapped them out of it. They turned to their children, scooped them up, and ran.
They ran as fast as they could, tears streaming down their faces. One last look back—perhaps the final one—showed their husbands charging the enemy with all their might. Jack and Black screamed, wanting to run to their fathers, confused and terrified.
Jack, screaming: "Mama, let me go! I want to go to Papa! Please! Let me gooo!"
Black: "Mama, put me down! Mama!!"
But suddenly, they all stopped when they heard Caesar's scream.
They turned around to see Edmund holding Caesar, the masked leader stabbing Edmund through the heart with an iron spear. Edmund sacrificed his life to save his friend—the friend who had followed him to the ends of the earth to face death
together.
Caesar, shocked: "Edmund!"
Edmund looked at him one last time, then turned his head toward his wife and child before breathing his last breath.
Rage consumed Caesar. A powerful aura flared around him as he tried to strike down the masked leader. But two others attacked from behind using earth and wind energy, blades of wind and stone cutting him down until he bled from everywhere.
Despite giving their all, Edmund and Caesar couldn't land a single blow on their enemies.
The two women stood in horror, watching their husbands' lives ripped away before their eyes.
Words failed them. Tears welled in the children's eyes as they screamed with all their might, calling for their fathers.
Sophia and Sarah wanted to rush back to them, but Caesar—still barely breathing—told them with labored breath to flee before the masked man ended his life with a blow to the back of his head.
Black screamed with such intensity, they felt her vocal cords might tear:
Black: "Daaaaddyyyyyy!!!"
Everyone froze in shock.
Sarah and Sophia felt like their hearts were being ripped from their chests. Their beloveds… slaughtered before their eyes. But Sarah knew this wasn't the time for grief—the children's lives were in real danger.
She grabbed Sophia's hand and turned quickly, tears flying as she silently said goodbye to her husband. Sophia did the same.
They ran, fleeing as fast as they could, vanishing from the guards' sight.
Leader, furious: "After them! Now!"
Most of his men chased them. The rest remained with him.
The mountain was full of twists and turns, but the women knew it by heart. They rushed to one of their hidden shelters to hide before they could be found.
Some men followed but couldn't spot the hiding place, so they split up.
Suddenly, someone appeared behind them, startling them. They immediately shielded the children.
But Jack stood defiantly in front of his mother and Sarah.
Jack, threatening: "Don't even think about coming near them."
He added, "Get out of here! I'll protect you!"
Sophia and Sarah looked closely—and recognized him.
Sarah: "You're the one who helped us years ago!"
Sophia's expression changed from fear to determination. She took Black from Sarah and handed both children to the stranger, shocking him—and Sarah.
Sophia: "This time, you run with them. We'll buy you time."
Sarah, thinking: I understand now... You're right, Sophia.
She wiped her tears and stood behind Sophia.
Sophia, pleading: "Please take care of them. If you can… teach them how to survive."
Jack, afraid: "Mom… what are you saying? Where are you going?"
Black's voice was hoarse. Her throat burned from screaming, and she was exhausted.
Black, begging: "Mom, don't leave me. Don't go..."
Sarah, through tears: "My sweet girl... Take care of yourself. I'll miss you so much."
She hugged her tightly, as did Jack.
Sophia, firmly: "You must know—when you one day have a son with the Dragon's Mark, they'll try to kill you. Remember this."
Jack, confused: "I don't understand… Mom, what's going on? Don't leave me!"
Sophia: "Never be a coward. Always be strong, Jack."
She added, "Black is your responsibility now. Take care of each other."
Sarah: "Black, don't leave Jack alone, okay? Protect him."
Jack, refusing: "Don't go out there!"
Suddenly, a voice called from outside:
Masked man: "I know you're inside. Come out now—you've angered me enough!"
Sophia: "Please… take them far from here."
Black: "No! I don't want to go!"
Jack: "No, Mom! Don't go out there!"
Sarah: "Go. Now!"
The masked stranger picked up the children despite their resistance and escaped with them through the back. Sophia and Sarah waited a few seconds, then stepped outside calmly.
Meanwhile:
Sophia: "Sarah… do you regret coming with us?"
Sarah, with a sad smile: "Never."
She placed her hand on Sophia's shoulder.
Sarah: "We're more than friends. I'd never leave you alone, Sophie."
Sophia: "I hope they can change the future… that their end won't be like ours. I hope that man can help them."
Sarah gave a soft laugh.
Sarah: "Don't worry. Those little rascals are smarter and braver than we ever were."
Sophia: "You're right."
They charged at the masked men with everything they had. Meanwhile, the stranger escaped with the children. Jack and Black turned to see what was happening.
They saw their mothers captured by masked men, about to be executed. The children tried desperately to break free—and did.
Stranger, shouting: "Hey! You two!"
Sophia and Sarah saw their kids running toward them. They smiled one last time.
But the children couldn't reach them in time.
Those men grew claws and slit their mothers' throats before their very eyes.
They froze—unable to move.
Suddenly, Black—lifeless as a puppet—felt a blazing heat coming from Jack's body.
A fiery aura surrounded him. His eyes turned into living flames.
He screamed so loud it felt like his throat would rip. Everything around him began to burn.
The masked leader stared in shock—summoning fire was extremely rare.
Jack was surrounded by a great flame that drew everyone's attention to the fact that his flame was unusual
To be continued…