The sun broke slowly over the silver-tipped mountains, casting long spears of gold across the wild valley. Lyon Kade stood in the clearing, breath steady, heart pounding with a strange mixture of fear and determination. Yesterday he was a discarded weakling who could barely stand without his body trembling. Today… he felt alive in ways no human should.
The awakening inside him still pulsed — faint, but undeniable.
The mark on his chest, the one that had glowed with a primal energy, was still warm beneath his shirt. Not burning, not fading… merely waiting. Almost as if it was listening.
And that terrified him more than he cared to admit.
He clenched his fists.
"Whatever you are," he whispered to the mark, "you brought me back. So now… give me strength."
A breeze stirred through the trees, almost in response.
He turned toward the path leading deeper into the forest. He didn't know where he was going — only that staying still meant death. He needed answers. A direction. A purpose.
And then he heard it.
A low growl rolled through the bushes behind him.
Lyon froze.
The growl deepened — not animal, not wolf, not anything he had heard in his previous life. It carried intelligence. Hunger. Territory.
He reached slowly for a long branch on the ground, gripping it as if it were a weapon.
The creature stepped out.
Massive, ash-grey fur rippling over thick muscle. Eyes glowing crimson. Fangs sharper than daggers. A Direfang — a mutated apex predator of the wildlands.
Lyon swallowed hard.
"I just woke up," he muttered. "Can't I get one hour of peace?"
The beast lunged.
Lyon barely dodged, rolling across the ground as claws tore through the space where he had just stood. He felt the force of the attack vibrate the earth beneath him.
The Direfang turned again, ready to strike.
Lyon lifted the branch like a spear and thrust forward with every ounce of strength he had.
The creature slapped the branch aside like it was nothing.
Lyon's arms stung.
"Right," he hissed. "So this thing can kill me in one hit."
The Direfang leaped.
Lyon moved before he even thought — instinct taking over. His body twisted with a speed he didn't recognize, his senses sharper, his footing lighter. It was as if something inside him temporarily aligned, guiding his movements.
He ducked under the beast's claws, slid across the grass, and snatched up a sharp shard of stone.
The Direfang roared.
Lyon lunged forward, driving the stone straight into its shoulder.
The beast howled in pain, staggering backward.
Lyon backed away, chest rising and falling, adrenaline flooding him.
"No way…" he whispered. "I actually hit it?"
The Direfang's eyes flared with murderous fury.
It charged again.
This time, Lyon didn't dodge. He stepped forward, ducked under its jaws, and slashed the stone across its throat. The creature stumbled, choking on blood, before collapsing with a heavy thud onto the ground.
Silence fell.
Lyon stared at the corpse, breathing hard.
He wasn't strong. He wasn't trained. He wasn't even fully aware of what his new body could do.
But something inside him — the mark — had reacted. Guided him. Empowered him.
"What are you…?" Lyon whispered, fingers brushing his chest.
The mark pulsed once, like a heartbeat.
And then—
Voices approached.
He spun around.
A group of cloaked figures emerged through the trees. Their steps were careful, coordinated. Their faces shadowed. He couldn't smell them. Couldn't sense them. Couldn't hear their heartbeat.
Which meant one thing:
They were not human.
The lead figure stepped forward.
"Impressive," the stranger said, voice deep and smooth. "A freshly reborn mortal defeating a Direfang? Your awakening must be far greater than we expected."
Lyon's muscles tightened.
"Who are you?"
The stranger lowered his hood.
A silver crescent mark glowed faintly on his forehead — the mark of an Alpha-blooded warrior. His eyes were sharp, cold, and ancient.
"My name is Kael Thorne," he said. "And we've been watching you since your body touched this forest."
Lyon stepped back.
Kael raised a hand.
"Fear not. If we wanted you dead, the Direfang would have never reached you."
Lyon clenched his jaw.
"Then what do you want?"
Kael's lips curved into a faint smile.
"To offer you your first challenge."
Lyon's heart sank.
"I just fought a monster!"
"And survived," Kael replied. "That is why you are worth testing."
Kael nodded to his companions. A woman stepped forward, opening a small leather case. Inside rested a perfectly sculpted obsidian stone marked with runes.
Lyon felt the mark on his chest burn softly.
The woman's eyes narrowed.
"It reacts to him. Just as the prophecy said."
Lyon tensed.
"Prophecy? What prophecy?"
Kael took the stone and held it up.
"This is a Resonance Stone. It reveals the nature of a reborn spirit — their rank, potential, and destiny."
Destiny.
Lyon hated that word.
"I'm not part of anything," he snapped. "I'm just trying to survive."
Kael stepped closer, his tone suddenly icy.
"Survival? You died once already. That luxury is gone. Whether you accept it or not, rebirth marks you. And those who are marked… are hunted."
Lyon froze.
"Hunted by who?"
Kael lowered the stone.
"The same enemy that wiped out your former village. The same beings that drove our kind into hiding. The same force that will return… because they felt your awakening."
A chill ran down Lyon's spine.
"What do you mean… felt?"
Kael pointed at Lyon's chest.
"The mark you carry is not a simple birthmark. Nor a random power. It is ancient — older than any Alpha bloodline. Every time it pulses, it sends a signal. And every being in this world who hungers for power… can sense it."
Lyon didn't breathe.
"So what does the stone do?"
Kael placed the Resonance Stone on the ground.
"It determines whether you are a threat… or a weapon."
The forest grew silent.
Kael extended his hand.
"Touch it."
Lyon stared at the stone. His instincts screamed at him to run. But another voice — deeper, older, familiar — whispered from the depths of his chest.
Touch it.
He knelt slowly.
His fingers hovered over the stone.
"Once you place your hand upon it," Kael warned, "there is no turning back. Whatever fate you carry will be revealed."
Lyon swallowed.
"I just woke up in a new body. Fought a monster. Met strangers who know more about me than I ever did. And now you want me to choose my fate?"
Kael's gaze sharpened.
"Your fate chose you the moment you returned from death."
Lyon hesitated… then pressed his hand onto the stone.
Instantly, a shockwave of energy erupted through the clearing.
The Resonance Stone glowed black, then gold, then blood-red.
Kael's eyes widened.
"No… impossible."
The woman gasped.
"His resonance is… unstable. No — it's surpassing the Alpha tier!"
Lyon clenched his teeth as power surged into his veins, threatening to tear him apart.
"What's happening to me?!"
Kael took a step back, fear and awe mixing in his expression.
"You are no Alpha…"
The mark on Lyon's chest blazed open like fire.
"…you are something far more dangerous."
The earth trembled.
The stone cracked.
And Lyon felt something awaken inside him — something ancient, something powerful, something that should have never been reborn.
The energy consumed the clearing in a blinding burst.
When the light faded…
Lyon stood alone in the center of the shattered stone circle, panting, the mark on his chest glowing like molten gold.
Kael stared at him in shock.
"Lyon Kade," he whispered, voice trembling. "You are not just reborn."
Lyon tightened his fists.
"You are the heir of a power that was forbidden to exist."
"And for the first time since his rebirth, Lyon understood the truth — the world wasn't hunting him by accident. It had been waiting for him."