Chapter 4: Mark of the Celestials

The marketplace lay in ruins, smoke curling from toppled stalls and shattered carts. Kael Ardyn wiped the sweat and blood from his brow, his chest heaving with exhaustion. He had survived—but barely.

As he straightened, he noticed something strange. A faint, ethereal glow pulsed on the back of his left hand. He brought it up to his eyes, squinting in confusion.

“What… what is this?” Kael whispered. The mark shimmered, delicate yet alive, its edges flickering like a tiny flame.

He flexed his fingers experimentally. The mark seemed to respond, pulsing faster as if sensing his movement. Kael’s mind raced. Had the Crimson Wolf left this behind? Was it some sort of curse? Or… something else entirely?

Kael clenched his fists. A mix of fear and curiosity surged through him. “If this is power… if I can learn to use it… maybe I won’t be weak anymore.”

A merchant cautiously approached him, eyeing the glowing mark. “Are… are you…?”

Kael shook his head. “I don’t know yet. But I’ll find out.”

The city guards arrived, surveying the destruction and the lone hunter standing amidst it. Kael stepped back, unsure if he would be hailed a hero or blamed for the chaos.

“Did you fight these monsters?” one of the guards asked, astonishment in his voice.

Kael nodded, his grip tightening on his sword. “I did what I had to do. And I’ll do it again.”

The mark pulsed once more, almost as if affirming his words. Kael felt a strange warmth, an invisible tether to something greater. It was not just a mark—it was a promise, a hint of the potential he had yet to understand.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. The path ahead was unclear, dangerous, and full of monsters he could not yet imagine. But with the mark shimmering faintly on his hand, Kael felt the first real spark of hope.

“I don’t know what this power is,” he whispered to himself, “but I will master it. I will become stronger… and I will survive.”

As night fell over Astria, Kael walked through the ruined streets, the glow of the mark lighting his path. Each step forward was a promise to himself, the first step toward the hunter he was destined to become.