The news spread like wildfire across the lands—an impossible truth whispered from village to city, from forest to mountain.
The Sixth King of Curses had been born.
Two hundred thousand years had passed since the last. Two hundred thousand years since the world trembled beneath a shadow that nearly tore it apart. Since the dark kings walked among mortals, casting curses like storms, rewriting fate itself.
And now, the cycle had begun anew.
---
Far beyond the woman's hut, in halls of stone and gold, scholars pored over ancient scrolls cracked with age. Their fingers trembled as they traced faded runes describing the cursed kings—beings of unimaginable power, born to bring ruin and rebirth in equal measure.
"The prophecies speak of six," murmured Elder Cendral, voice thick with disbelief. "Five have come and gone… but this child—this last—he is unlike any before."
In villages, fires burned longer, prayers turned desperate, and the sky itself seemed to darken as if the world mourned what was to come.
But in the cold cradle of the woman's hut, none of this mattered.
---
The baby slept, his six eyes closed in fragile innocence.
He knew nothing of curses, kings, or prophecy.
His world was soft breaths and the rhythm of his mother's heartbeat, the warmth of the fire, the gentle touch of a mother who feared and loved him fiercely.
The pulse within him was silent to all but the deepest magic—the ancient darkness that had birthed him and the faint light still tangled in his soul.
---
Outside, the village whispered of curses and doom.
Inside, the woman traced delicate fingers over his face, marveling at the impossible—the six eyes, the strange light in their depths, the quiet power that hummed beneath his skin.
She whispered promises she hoped the gods would hear:
"I will protect you. I will hold you close. No matter what they say, no matter what you become."
---
Beyond the mortal realm, unseen eyes watched.
The spirits stirred, drawn by the child's birth cry—both hopeful and wary.
Some whispered of salvation, others of destruction.
But none could deny the truth:
A new chapter had begun.
---
For now, the Sixth King of Curses was just a baby.
Untouched by the weight of destiny.
And the world held its breath.