On the 10th day after the demons' seal was broken, the cries of a woman filled the room, announcing new life.
"Ahhh… mmm… my baby, why do you have to make your mother suffer? Just make it easy, will you…" the woman whispered breathlessly through the pain.
She lay on a wide bed, surrounded by maids doing their best to help her through childbirth. This was not an ordinary birth—it was one of the most anticipated children of the entire family.
"Be at ease, Madam Elena. Everything will be okay," an elderly maid said calmly. "Just push a little harder… I can almost see the head."
"Calm down, my love. I'm here with you," a man said softly, though the worry in his eyes betrayed his voice.
"Ahhhhhh!" Elena screamed again, gripping tightly as she pushed with everything she had.
"Yes! There it is!" the elderly maid exclaimed suddenly.
A moment later, a baby girl was pulled into the world.
"What a beautiful child…" the maid murmured in awe as she looked at the newborn in her hands.
A wave of relief washed over the room.
For a moment… everything felt peaceful.
Then—
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Elena's body suddenly jolted.
"What's happening to me… ahhh… Thorn… my inside is burning!"
Panic instantly filled the room.
"What's going on?! What's wrong with her?!" Thorn stepped forward, his voice sharp with fear.
"Sir—there's another baby! It's a twin!" the maid shouted, realizing it at the last second.
Silence.
Confusion froze the room.
Another head was coming.
The pain Elena felt suddenly changed—then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
As if something had been pulled out of her body.
She gasped for air, exhausted, but alive.
"Bring them closer… let me see them both…" she said weakly.
No one moved.
Silence.
Heavy. Wrong.
Elena frowned slightly.
"…What? Why is no one responding?"
Still nothing.
Her eyes slowly moved across the room.
And then she saw it.
Every single person was looking at one thing.
The second baby.
Not the first.
Not her.
Only the second child.
"My love… what's wrong?" Elena asked, her voice shaking slightly. "Why are you all looking like that?"
Thorn didn't answer immediately.
He slowly raised his head.
But his eyes were no longer on the child.
They were on the maids.
Cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
The maids turned pale instantly.
They already understood.
"No… please… I won't say anything, I swear—" the elderly maid begged.
She never finished her sentence.
A sound like tearing flesh echoed through the room.
Blood sprayed across the floor.
Her body collapsed instantly.
The room froze.
Before anyone could react—
Another fell.
Then another.
Silence returned again.
But this time… it was heavier than before.
Elena's breathing quickened.
Thorn stepped forward slowly and brought the second child into view.
His movements were careful.
Almost… afraid.
Elena reached out.
Her hands trembled.
"No…" she whispered suddenly, stopping mid-air.
Her eyes focused.
Really focused.
And then—
"No… no… no… this can't be happening… NO!"
Her voice cracked as realization shattered her expression.
Tears filled her eyes instantly.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, love," Thorn said quietly. "But it is exactly what you think it is."
The baby's face carried a mark.
A dark curse-like symbol spreading across half its skin.
Veins pulsed beneath it—slow, unnatural, alive.
The sight alone made the air feel heavier.
A cursed child.
Elena collapsed to her knees.
But she still held the baby.
She refused to let go.
"This is my child," she said through tears. "I don't care about the prophecy… or the curse… no one is taking him from me."
Thorn knelt beside her.
"You don't need to tell me that," he said softly. "I'll protect him with everything I have."
A pause.
Then quieter—
"But we both know… even if we hide him… once he reaches ten… something will happen to him."
Silence.
Elena's grip tightened.
"Then we have ten years," she said firmly. "Ten years to find a cure. A way. Anything. We will find something."
Her voice broke slightly at the end.
Thorn looked at the two children.
A girl.
And the cursed boy.
"I promise you," he said slowly, "the world is vast. Secrets exist everywhere. We will find a way."
But neither of them believed it was going to be easy.
Because somewhere beyond this room…
A fate had already begun moving.