The horn echoed again, deeper this time.
Feroz felt it inside his chest, like a warning meant only for him. The light around his hands flickered, reacting on its own.
"They are not calling everyone," Yusuf said quietly. "They are calling for you."
Feroz swallowed. "Why me?"
Yusuf did not answer right away. He began walking again, faster now. Mrs. Aliya stayed close to Feroz, her eyes scanning the trees.
After a short distance, they reached a clearing. In the center stood an old stone circle, broken and covered in moss. Strange marks were carved into the stones—similar to the symbols on the Hunters' robes.
Yusuf stepped inside the circle. "This is where your bloodline was tested long ago."
Feroz hesitated, then followed.
The moment his foot touched the stone, pain shot through his arm. He cried out and fell to one knee.
"Feroz!" Mrs. Aliya rushed forward.
On his forearm, a dark symbol slowly appeared, glowing faintly beneath his skin.
Yusuf's face grew pale. "The mark… it has chosen him."
Feroz stared at his arm. "What does it mean?"
"It means," Yusuf said slowly, "that the Free Masons will never stop hunting you."
The forest suddenly went silent. Too silent.
Then a voice echoed from the darkness.
"Confirmed," it said. "The mark has awakened."
Figures stepped out from the trees—more than before. Not Hunters this time, but men in long black coats. Human. Calm. Watching.
One of them smiled.
"Run if you wish," he said. "Fight if you must. Either way, Feroz Khan… your story ends under a tree."
Feroz's heart froze.
The man turned and vanished into the shadows. The others followed, disappearing without a sound.
Mrs. Aliya grabbed Feroz's shoulders. "Listen to me. That future is not fixed."
Yusuf looked at the mark again. "But it is close."
Feroz clenched his jaw. Fear burned inside him—but so did something else.
Hope.
"Then we change it," he said. "No matter what it costs."
Yusuf nodded once. "Then your real training begins now."
Far away, the park remained quiet.
The tree stood alone.
Waiting.