Part 5: Burned, Branded, and Watched
The guild brand was pressed into his shoulder like a red-hot lie.
Yuji didn't flinch. He didn't even blink.
The iron seal glowed, hissing against his skin as it burned the crest of Ironhorn into place: a broken chain coiled around a blade. It wasn't a mark of honor. It was registration. Inventory.
The guild master—a bloated man with silver teeth and a laugh that sounded like spitting—slapped him on the back with mock cheer.
"Congratulations, Kael," he said. "Probationary rank. You survive three official quests, we upgrade you to full-blood. Then the real fun begins."
Yuji nodded once. "Understood."
"Your beast stays collared on all missions, of course. Wouldn't want misunderstandings."
Sylvia's eyes flicked to the man's neck. Measured. Calculated.
Yuji squeezed her wrist once.
"I know the rules," he said.
The guild master chuckled. "Good lad. You're gonna do very well here."
They left the main hall through a side corridor, avoiding the noise and the smells. Yuji led Sylvia up two flights of stairs into a rented room—barely more than a cell, but private.
As soon as the door shut, he ripped off the outer cloak and hissed between his teeth.
The brand was still sizzling.
Sylvia was already moving. She dipped a cloth into water and pressed it against his shoulder. Steam curled up from his skin.
He didn't flinch. But he didn't thank her, either. She didn't expect it.
"You overdid it," she said.
Yuji laid back against the wall. "Had to."
"That fire wasn't just mana. That was your core speaking."
"I wanted them to hear it."
Sylvia dabbed at his wound in silence.
Finally: "The girl—Mira. She saw your eyes when you cast. They all did."
Yuji nodded. "And now they'll talk. Which is what I want."
Sylvia sat down beside the bed, legs crossed wolf-style. "You want rumors?"
"I want a reputation. Not power—fear. I want the slavers, the guild, the church to all start asking the same question."
He looked at her.
"What the fuck is he?"
Sylvia bared her fangs in a half-smile.
"And what happens when they figure it out?"
Yuji closed his eyes.
"By then," he said, "it'll be too late."