Kael jolted awake, gasping.
He was in bed. His bed.
The wooden beams above him were familiar, the cold stone walls unchanging. Morning light filtered through the narrow slit of a window, casting golden lines across the floor.
No blood. No monsters. No stench of rot.
His heart pounded in his chest as he threw the covers off and bolted to his feet. A cold sweat clung to his skin. The last thing he remembered was….
The Rift. The monsters. Selene….
He didn't waste time dressing properly, only slipping on his boots before sprinting down the hallway. The winding corridors of the underground complex blurred around him as he ran. The stone walls felt too solid. Too normal. Too safe.
"Selene," he muttered under his breath. "Please tell me you remember it too…"
He skidded to a stop in front of her door and knocked. Once. Twice. Harder.
"Selene?"
Nothing. Just silence.
"Selene! You there?"
The door creaked open.
She stood there, eyes half-lidded, hair a mess, clearly having just woken up. She blinked at him, confused, then squinted as if sunlight hurt more than it should.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she said sharply, voice scratchy with sleep.
Kael's breath caught. "Was it... real? The rift? The monsters? That wasn't a dream, right?"
She froze. Her fingers curled tighter around the edge of the door. "We were… weren't we?" she murmured, her voice soft now. Something fragile danced across her expression - fear, recognition, denial.
Kael nodded, heart sinking. "Yeah. We were there. So how the hell are we here?"
She stepped into the hallway beside him, already pulling on her coat. Her eyes sharpened like daggers. "Let's ask."
They checked Rook's quarters. Locked. Training grounds. Empty. It wasn't until they reached the common area - just past the kitchens - that they found him.
Rook sat across from Oren at a heavy wooden table, the two men deep in murmured conversation. Steam rose from untouched cups of tea.
Selene crossed her arms. "Kael and I just had the same dream about entering a rift gate. Care to explain something, Father?"
Rook looked at her - calm, unreadable. "There's nothing to explain. You both passed out. I closed the gate and pulled you out."
Kael blinked. "Wait - what?"
Selene took a step forward, fists clenched at her sides. "You what?"
Oren watched her with open amusement, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"You're saying we didn't finish it?" Kael asked. "We didn't fight through all of that?"
Rook shook his head slowly. "You made it through more than expected. But not all the way. The gate was mutating too fast."
Selene's face flushed red. Her nails dug into her palms. "You mean we passed out and had to be rescued? On a Level Zero rift?"
Oren chuckled. "I'd call it more of a tactical retreat."
"You stupid old man!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him. "You were watching the whole time, weren't you?"
Oren opened his mouth, but Rook's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Silence."
The room stilled.
Selene went quiet, but her fists trembled.
"That was not a Level Zero rift," Rook said. "At least, not anymore."
Even Oren's expression darkened.
"No," the old man said. "It wasn't."
Kael looked between them. "What do you mean?"
"Sometimes," Rook said, "rift gates mutate. When the conditions are unstable - when something pushes against the world's edges - the rift pushes back. This one was… more than we expected."
"Level Two?" Selene asked.
"Level Three, more likely."
For a moment, silence.
Then Selene grinned. "So what you're saying is - I almost cleared a Level Three rift?"
Kael groaned. "I was there too, you know."
She smirked. "Oh, sure. Mr. 'I'm conserving my strength.' Real inspiring."
"Hey!" Kael protested. "I did my part!"
Oren pushed up from the table, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Come now, children. I'm taking you somewhere special."
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
Oren stroked his beard. "Since you're both strong enough now - and since Selene still hasn't awakened her Stigmata - I figured it's time to visit a place that might change that."
Kael squinted. "Wait. You can just… awaken one like that? Isn't that supposed to be rare?"
Oren gave him a sidelong glance. "Yes and no. Your case is different, You didn't inherit a Stigmata. You were chosen by it."
"Chosen…?"
"There are ways to induce an awakening. It requires another bearer, a site of memory or blood, and the right kind of pressure."
Kael looked at Selene, then down at his arm. The black sleeve tattoo wrapped tight around his forearm like inked thorns. "So what exactly is a Stigmata?"
Oren nodded thoughtfully. "A question many have died trying to answer. Some say they're remnants of divine will. Others believe they're the world's last defense mechanism. I say - "
"You say they're a curse," Rook interrupted, standing.
Oren smiled. "Only to cowards."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What kind will Selene get?"
Rook looked at his daughter. "That depends. The Stigmata reveals not what you want - but what you carry. Your grief. Your guilt. Your hunger."
Selene said nothing, jaw clenched.
Kael turned to Oren. "What happens if she fails to awaken it?"
"Then she wasn't meant to," Oren said. "But I doubt that'll be the case."
"And where exactly are we going?"
"The Verde Grave," Oren said, suddenly solemn. "A Place where our people are rest", where the lineage of Verde is buried"
Kael shivered.
Selene adjusted the strap on her coat, expression unreadable.
Kael looked down at his marked arm once more. "One more question…"
"Only one?" Oren teased.
"How do I use this thing?" Kael asked, lifting his arm. "The Devourer. Every time I try, all I get is a dull pain - like it's mocking me."
"You'll learn," Rook said. "In time."
Oren clapped his hands together. "Enough questions. We've a long journey ahead, and I'd rather reach the Grave before nightfall."
Selene sighed and finally spoke. "If I do awaken it - what then?"
"Then," Oren said, turning toward the exit, "I give you both a gift I've been saving for this moment."
"A gift?" Kael asked warily.
Oren grinned. "Oh yes. One you'll have earned."
And with that, the old man turned, his cloak swirling behind him over his shoulder:
"Follow me, children. The Grave awaits."