The torches flickered along the Guild hallway as Ethan followed Kael through the stone corridors. Their boots echoed with purpose, a sharp contrast to the silence that lingered between them. The aftermath of the Rift raid had left Ethan rattled—especially after that beast had spoken to him.
Not spoken... whispered.
"You carry the mark… just like your mother."
That voice had slithered into his thoughts even after the battle ended. A beast recognizing him—recognizing the mark—wasn't something any hunter would take lightly. And neither did Kael.
"You didn't report that last part," Kael muttered finally, keeping his gaze forward.
Ethan didn't respond right away. His thoughts were tangled.
"It didn't feel like something I should shout about," he said.
Kael stopped in his tracks. He turned, dark eyes sharp. "You don't get to decide that anymore, Ethan. A beast recognized you. That could mean hundreds of things, and all of them are dangerous."
Ethan clenched his jaw. "I know that. I just—"
"You're not alone in this," Kael cut in. "Stop acting like it's you against the world."
Ethan didn't know what to say to that. He had always operated alone—even when Lyra and the others fought beside him, that isolation never faded. Being marked made him different. And no one truly understood what it felt like.
Kael sighed and turned back toward the Guild Council chamber. "Let's go. They're waiting."
---
Inside the chamber, the air was colder. The High Council sat at a long obsidian table—five seasoned hunters, draped in armor and cloaks woven with Riftbeast leather. Master Vex sat at the center, his fingers steepled, expression unreadable.
"Ethan Virel," he began. "You've returned with… complications."
Ethan stood upright. "Yes, sir. The Rift breach at the Karthas border wasn't natural. The beasts were coordinated. They… they were waiting for us."
"Unusual," Vex said. "But not impossible."
Ethan hesitated. "One of them spoke to me."
That got a reaction. The room tensed. A whisper rippled between the other council members.
"Spoke?" Vex leaned forward, his voice calm, but curious. "What exactly did it say?"
Ethan swallowed. "It said I carried the mark. Like my mother."
Silence. Then Master Elwin, the oldest of the five, leaned in. "Your mother. Who was she, Ethan?"
"I never knew," Ethan admitted. "I was told she died during a Rift raid when I was a baby. But if what that beast said is true… maybe she was marked too."
Another murmur. Vex raised his hand, silencing them all.
"This changes things," he said. "You will remain under surveillance. You're forbidden from entering future Rifts without a council escort."
Kael frowned. "That will only slow us down."
"It is not up for debate," Vex said coolly. "If Ethan's blood truly carries the Beastmark… then we need answers before another Rift calls to him."
---
That night, Ethan couldn't sleep. His quarters in the Guild tower felt colder than usual. He stared at the ceiling, running through the memory of the beast's face—if you could call it that. It had bone plates, eyes like burning pits, and a mouth that spoke in broken human tongue.
And it had known him.
He turned on his side and reached for his mother's old pendant—the only thing she had left behind. He held it up to the moonlight. It was simple: a crescent shape with a tiny glowing crystal embedded in the center. Lyra once said it was attuned to Rift energy.
He had never dared activate it.
But tonight… he pressed the crystal.
Nothing.
Then—pulse.
The air shimmered faintly. A soft hum filled the room. Ethan sat upright, heart hammering. The pendant vibrated in his palm. Symbols glowed along its edges—strange glyphs he didn't recognize. And suddenly…
A voice.
"Ethan…"
He staggered back. The voice wasn't in his ears. It was in his mind.
"Mother?" he whispered.
The pendant pulsed again, and a faint holographic projection emerged. It was hazy, flickering. A woman's silhouette, cloaked and hooded. She looked directly at him, though her face was veiled.
"If you're hearing this… then the mark has awakened. I'm sorry I wasn't there to guide you. But you must listen carefully—your blood is not cursed. It is chosen."
Ethan's breath caught.
"You were born not only of a hunter, but of a Riftblooded. One who was once human… and became more."
The image flickered.
"The Guild knows. Some of them may want to protect you. Others… will not."
"Wait—" Ethan stepped forward. "Tell me more! Who are you? What happened to you?"
But the message was ending. The woman's voice trembled now, as if she knew time was running out.
"Find the city in the sands. The tomb of the First Beastmarked. Only there will you learn the truth of what you are."
And then—darkness.
The pendant dimmed. The room fell silent.
Ethan stood still, heart pounding. His blood felt like fire in his veins.
He was part Riftblooded.
Part beast.
No wonder they looked at him differently. No wonder he heard whispers in the Rift.
Beastmarked.
And now… he had a path.
---