Kael awoke in a strange place. The sky was gray, the ground damp but without mud. There was no sound, no wind—only a silence that pressed against his chest like an invisible weight.
Before him stood a stone pillar. Not tall, not grand, but somehow… it felt like the center of everything.
As he approached, carvings appeared on its surface. Slowly—like waiting for him to read them.
> "The first Mark is awareness. The one who sees where others are blind. Who weeps while others laugh. Who walks while all sit still."
Kael touched the stone, and the world flickered.
For a moment, he saw himself—not with eyes, but something deeper. He saw the young Kael crying silently through cold church nights. The Kael who pretended not to care. The Kael who questioned silently, but never spoke.
He returned to his body.
And on his chest—there was now a Mark.
Not a wound. Not a symbol. But something... alive. Flowing with him. Embedded in his breath and heartbeat.
The voice returned inside his mind.
> "To ascend is not always to triumph. Sometimes, to ascend is to see what should not be seen."
Suddenly the world shattered again. But this time, he didn't faint.
He returned to the real world—or what seemed real.
Kael lay on the church floor. The ceiling unchanged, yet everything felt... colder.
Footsteps approached. The Guardian Father stood at the altar's edge.
"Kael," he said softly. "I know you've seen something."
Kael sat up slowly. His gaze was sharp. But he said nothing.
The Father sighed. "You must leave. Those who've touched the Light... cannot remain here."
Kael nodded.
Not angry. Not sad.
Just... understanding.
And as he stood, the Mark on his chest pulsed once. Warm.
He had taken the First Step.