Raine barely had time to process what had happened before the guards shoved him forward. His chest still burned from the branding, his body feeling different, heavier, yet… stronger.
The other survivors were just as shaken. Some stared at their own marks in horror, others looked around in paranoia, as if expecting their bodies to suddenly tear apart.
But Raine wasn't just afraid.
He was curious.
That moment, when the tendrils of darkness had burrowed into him—something inside him had changed. He could feel it in the way his senses sharpened, in the way his muscles tensed with unfamiliar energy.
And most importantly—
He could still feel the hunger.
A deep, gnawing emptiness that hadn't been there before. It was subtle, but it was there. And he knew, instinctively, that it wasn't just hunger for food.
It was hunger for something else.
And that terrified him more than anything.
---
The guards led them down another corridor, the air growing colder, the stone walls narrowing. Then, without warning—
The ground disappeared beneath their feet.
Raine's instincts kicked in a second before he dropped, twisting his body midair.
He landed hard, rolling across rough, damp earth. The moment his hands touched the ground, he pushed up, springing to his feet.
The others weren't so lucky. Several groaned in pain, some struggling to rise.
A few didn't get up at all.
The pit they had been dropped into was vast, dimly lit by flickering torches embedded into the walls. The ceiling was too high to climb, and the walls were slick with some kind of dark, pulsing substance.
Raine's stomach twisted.
Where the hell are we?
A voice echoed from above.
"The first stage of your rebirth begins now."
The voice belonged to the same hooded figure who had led the branding ritual. His face remained unseen, but the amusement in his tone was clear.
"There is only one rule."
A pause.
"Kill, or be killed."
Then—
The walls began to move.
Or at least, that's what Raine thought at first.
Until he saw them.
Emerging from the shadows, their bodies twisted and inhuman, were creatures unlike anything Raine had seen before.
Some had elongated limbs that twitched unnaturally, their flesh a sickening mixture of rotted muscle and dark, shadowy essence. Others crawled on all fours, their jaws unhinged, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.
Their eyes gleamed with hunger.
And there were dozens of them.
Panic spread through the survivors like wildfire. Someone screamed. Someone ran.
Raine didn't move.
Think. Assess. Survive.
His hands tightened into fists. His mark was burning again.
And then—
The creatures charged.
---
The first monster lunged.
Raine barely had time to react before it was on him.
Its clawed hand swiped at his throat. He twisted, narrowly dodging, feeling the wind pressure graze his skin.
His muscles moved on instinct, faster than he expected.
The mark flared.
And then—
He moved.
One second, he was dodging. The next, he was behind the creature.
What—?
No time to think. He slammed his elbow into the back of its skull. The force sent it sprawling, but it wasn't enough to kill it.
Another one came from the side. This time, he saw it coming.
He ducked low, grabbed a jagged rock from the ground, and drove it into the creature's throat.
Black ichor sprayed.
The creature gurgled, convulsed, then collapsed.
And then—
That same hunger returned.
Raine felt it.
Something pulling.
He didn't understand what he was doing, but his mark responded. The shadows themselves moved.
The monster's corpse twitched. The inky blackness leaking from its wound rushed toward him.
And then—
It was absorbed into his mark.
A pulse of energy shot through him.
Raine's eyes widened as his fatigue vanished.
His muscles felt lighter, stronger.
He looked down at his hand.
What the hell is this power?
The other survivors weren't faring as well.
The creatures ripped through them, tearing apart the weak, the slow. Blood sprayed. Screams echoed.
Some fought back. Others ran.
Raine moved through the chaos like a phantom.
His instincts screamed at him—don't hesitate. Don't stop moving.
He weaved through lunging claws, sidestepped snapping jaws. His mark burned hotter with every kill. The more he fought, the faster, stronger, and sharper he became.
The hunger never faded.
But now, he understood.
It was part of him.
The mark wasn't just a curse. It was a weapon.
Another creature lunged. Raine didn't dodge.
He moved forward.
His hand shot out, grabbing its face. And then—
The shadows responded.
The monster convulsed, black tendrils latching onto its body. It shrieked, struggling—
And then, it crumbled into nothing.
The energy flooded into Raine. His breathing quickened.
He could feel it. The power growing inside him.
And for the first time since waking up in this hell—
He felt alive.
---
The battle didn't last long.
When the dust settled, when the screams had faded—
Only three remained standing.
Raine.
The sharp-eyed man from before.
And a girl with short, dark hair, her knuckles dripping with black ichor.
The rest? Dead.
The voice from above returned.
"Good."
A pause.
Then, the gates opened.
"Welcome, initiates."
And just like that, it was over.
The three of them stood in the blood-soaked pit, breathing heavily, eyes burning.
And Raine knew.
This was only the beginning.