Ethan tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
The figure standing before him was... wrong.
Too tall. Shoulders too broad. Limbs too fluid, like smoke shaped into flesh. His skin shimmered faintly under the flickering torchlight, and curved lines—neither veins nor scars—glowed blue beneath the surface.
The fractured Beastmark across his chest pulsed in rhythm with Ethan's own.
"Who... are you?" Ethan asked.
The half-blood's mouth curled into something between a smirk and a grimace. "I am called Kael. Once a man. Once a Veilborn. Now something in between."
"You were part of the rebellion?"
Kael turned away, pacing slowly between the broken columns. "Not part. Leader. Until the Rift consumed what I was and left this... ghost."
Ethan kept his sword ready. "I'm not here to play games."
"No, you're here for answers," Kael said. "And they come at a price."
Ethan stepped forward. "Then tell me why I was marked. Why I see memories that don't belong to me. Why the Riftwalker called me heir."
Kael's expression darkened.
"Because you are."
---
A gust of wind blew through the temple ruins, scattering frost from the walls. Kael motioned to the center of the chamber where an old stone altar rested, half-buried in ice.
"Sit. You'll need to hear all of it."
Ethan hesitated—then obeyed.
Kael sat opposite, placing his clawed hand flat on the altar. Blue lines traced outward, pulsing in the stone.
"The Beastmark was never a curse," he said. "It was a crown."
Ethan's jaw tensed. "You sound like the Riftwalker."
"They only remember the truth," Kael replied. "The humans forgot."
He looked up at Ethan. "Thousands of years ago, long before the Guild, the world was whole. No rifts. No beasts. No border between realms."
Ethan leaned forward. "So what happened?"
"We happened," Kael said bitterly. "Marked bloodlines—humans and Veilborn alike—began tapping into the Void's energy. We opened the first gate. Not to conquer. But to learn. To evolve."
"But something went wrong."
Kael nodded. "The Void... answered back. It gave us strength. But it demanded balance. The more we drew from it, the more it pushed into our world."
Ethan exhaled, trying to keep up. "And the Rift beasts?"
"They were never invaders," Kael said. "They were guardians. Wardens of the veil. We broke the balance. They came to restore it."
Ethan stared at the altar, struggling to make sense of it. "So why mark me? Why now?"
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Because the seal on the Rift is weakening. The world is unraveling again. And the mark only chooses one bearer per cycle."
"One... king."
Kael nodded slowly. "You're not just a hunter, Ethan. You're a tether. A living link between this world and what lies beyond."
The words landed like lead in Ethan's chest.
"But I didn't choose this," he whispered.
"None of us did," Kael said. "But that won't stop what's coming."
---
A long silence passed before Kael stood and walked toward a sealed archway at the back of the temple.
"There's one more thing you must see," he said.
Ethan followed, wary.
Kael placed his marked hand against the stone. It split open like paper, revealing a hidden chamber beneath. Inside were bones—piles of them. Ancient weapons. Masks shaped like beasts. And a mural carved deep into the wall.
Ethan's breath caught.
It was him.
The mural showed a figure with black hair and blue eyes, bearing the Beastmark across his back. His arms were raised, holding the Rift blade to the sky. Behind him, a war raged—humans on one side, Rift beasts on the other.
The caption beneath read:
> He who bears the mark shall decide the fate of both worlds.
"I don't believe in fate," Ethan said.
"Neither did I," Kael replied.
---
They left the chamber in silence.
Outside, the wind had grown still. Unnaturally still.
Kael froze. "We're not alone."
A moment later, the ground cracked.
Black mist surged from the snow, swirling like liquid shadow. Eyes—dozens of them—flashed open within the storm.
Then came the voice.
"The heir awakens. The chain tightens."
Ethan drew his blade. "What is that?"
Kael stepped forward. "A Rift shade. They're drawn to the marked. They were waiting for confirmation."
"For what?"
Kael's Beastmark flared.
"To begin the hunt."
The shade lunged.
Ethan moved on instinct—his sword igniting with voidlight, cleaving through the mist with a thunderous crack. The shade screamed, splitting into pieces—but it didn't fall. It reformed, faster than before.
Kael grunted. "You can't kill it. Not here."
"So what do we do?"
Kael opened a sigil at their feet. "We run."
The world twisted.
Ethan felt himself pulled through the air, his body unraveling—then slammed back into reality, coughing in the snow. The temple was gone. The sky above was different—redder. Thicker with Rift energy.
Kael helped him up.
"They'll come for you now," he said.
Ethan nodded, eyes cold.
"Let them."
---