The neon lights of New Avalon flickered in the distance, casting their glow on the crumbling walls of the slum where Kael had collapsed. The storm of energy inside him hadn't settled. His body trembled as if fire coursed through his veins. His breathing was shallow, each inhale like dragging in shards of glass.
Kael clenched his fist, staring at the faint symbol glowing on the back of his hand — the rune that had appeared when the pendant shattered during the Gate attack. The mark pulsed, silver and violet threads weaving beneath his skin, vanishing and reappearing with each heartbeat.
He forced himself up, leaning against the broken wall. His mind was a haze of pain and confusion, but one thought cut through: If I stay here, I'm dead. The Gate-beast could return. Or worse — the local gangs who hunted the weak in these streets at night.
Kael stumbled forward, every step a battle. The slum's narrow alleys were quiet now, the earlier chaos swallowed by the night. He needed shelter. Somewhere to think. Somewhere safe, though he knew such places barely existed for someone like him.
He finally reached an abandoned storage shed near the perimeter fence of the district. Inside, the air was thick with dust and the scent of rusting metal. Kael slid to the floor, his back against a crate. The glow from the rune lit the dark room faintly.
The pain returned in waves — not just physical but deeper, as if something inside him was waking up. His thoughts blurred, fragments of strange symbols flashing behind his eyes. Whispers, soft but insistent, echoed at the edge of his mind. He couldn't understand the words, but they filled him with a sense of dread and wonder both.
Hours passed. Maybe more. When Kael finally opened his eyes again, dawn's pale light was creeping through the cracks in the walls. The rune's glow had faded, but the mark remained — etched into his skin as if it had always been there.
The world felt different. He could sense something he hadn't noticed before. Faint traces of energy in the air, like currents flowing beneath the city's surface. His gaze drifted beyond the shed's door. There — in the distance — a Gate shimmered at the edge of the ruined district, still open, its swirling mass of dark energy barely visible in the daylight.
Kael's pulse quickened. He had to understand what was happening to him. He had to learn what this mark meant.
A voice startled him — rough, tired, but human.
"You're lucky you weren't torn apart last night."
Kael turned sharply. A man stood at the doorway, armored in worn Hunter gear. His face was lined with age, a scar running from his brow to his cheek. He held a broken spear, the metal blade stained with dried blood.
"I saw you out there," the man said, stepping inside. "You've got a death wish, wandering near an active Gate with no weapon."
Kael said nothing at first. His throat was dry. "I didn't have a choice."
The man studied him, then let out a dry laugh. "No, I suppose you didn't. Not in this part of the city."
The Hunter crouched beside him. His eyes flicked to Kael's hand, narrowing at the faint mark. "That's new. Let me guess — the Gate tried to kill you, and now you're different."
Kael hesitated. "I think… I awakened. There was a pendant. It broke. And this—this happened."
The man's expression darkened. "Runes from relics don't appear by accident. You're marked now, kid. That mark will draw attention — some good, most bad."
Kael looked out at the distant Gate. "What do I do?"
"You learn fast or you die faster," the man said simply. He rose, glancing back at the street. "The academy's recruiting. Even the trash classes might be safer than these streets. With that mark, they'll have to take you. Go. Before someone else sees that rune and decides to carve it off you."
Kael stared at the man, unsure whether to thank him or question him further. But when he looked again, the Hunter was already gone, his silhouette fading into the city's haze.
Alone once more, Kael clenched his fist over the rune. He had no choice now. The world had changed, and so had he. If the academy was his only chance to survive — to master this power — then he'd take it. Whatever it cost.
He stepped out into the morning light, the weight of the city pressing down on him. Neon Avalon loomed ahead, a city of secrets and ruin, of power and betrayal. And Kael Thorn, marked by a rune he didn't understand, had just taken his first step toward the unknown.
End of Chapter 2