The banquet hall was no longer loud with voices, only silence remained after the guests and reporters had been escorted out by the hotel security.
The police officers had long dragged Harrison Mills out, even as he was still yelling threats but his final words lingered in the air like a storm cloud.
"You've already been marked."
Marcus Kane stood still, the weight of those words settled over him like a storm. Something inside him shifted, not with fear, but with confirmation.
The Shadow Syndicate.
A name Marcus had only heard once, years ago, buried in the ramblings of Elder Chen. Back when Marcus was still new to the truth of who he was. Back when he still believed he could live a life somewhere between mortal and divine.
Elder Chen had warned him about the humans who didn't want gods to be worshipped… but caged.
"There are mortals whose greed outmatches any demon. Mortals with empty hearts will always chase what they can't understand," the old man had said once, his voice low and husky due to age. "And if they find you, they won't kill you. They'll keep you, twist you, study you and strip the god from your soul."
And now, those very mortals were watching him. Marcus clenched his jaw. He had felt their presence before. They were like eyes that watched without blinking and silence that followed him even in crowds. He'd just never had a name for them until now, and now Harrison Mills had said it all.
Across the city, in a private hospital room under tight security, Sophia Chen sat beside her fiancé's bed. Victor's face was pale and still, almost too still.
The doctors scurried around, carrying out one test or the other but still, they had no name for what he was suffering from. There was no signs of poison, no brain injury, no heart condition. Just… silence in the body. It was like a forced sleep as if something had been taken from him that medicine could never restore.
Sophia stared at him, trying to understand what was going on with Viktor Blackwood. Everything was going smoothly until Marcus arrived, and since then, it all turned bad.
She also had seen something when Harrison accused him and something in the way Marcus stood. In how he barely moved, barely blinked, like judgment itself had taken form and simply… waited.
Victor Blackwood's body had collapsed hard, but the doctors said there was no heart failure, no poison, no clear trauma, and yet his body had collapsed as if the soul itself had been pulled halfway out.
Sophia wasn't sure what she believed anymore, but one thing she knew, Marcus Kane was not the same person he was. He was something else entirely, it was like prison changed him entirely, and now, he was out, dishing out judgements and punishments.
Something had definitely changed about Marcus and it wasn't ordinary. The way he carried himself, it was like a higher power had possessed him.
Back at the hotel, Marcus still stood in place, watching the aftermath of everything.
Alessandro Romano returned to his side, slipping his phone into his pocket. His lawyers had already left with the evidence, and now the press was being kept outside by security, but Alessandro's expression was still sharp, unreadable.
"They'll come again," Alessandro said quietly, not looking at him. "They don't know what you are, but they know you're dangerous. That's enough for them."
Dr Martinez rushed towards them, looking troubled, "Master," he acknowledged Marcus Kane, "there's trouble."
"What is the problem?" Marcus asked calmly, like he didn't sense the tension from the doctor.
"It's about the herbs you instructed us to find." He said, "Not only is it rare, but the few pieces that exist are guarded seriously. There's a high chance that it could get into the wrong hands and it'll be used for destruction."
Marcus nodded but he didn't respond, he already knew that it wouldn't be so easy to find but he'd handle that some other time. For now, there was something far more interesting he had to handle. His eyes were scanning the room and watching. He felt it then, before it happened.
There was a shift in the atmosphere, a presence that made him alert. The main entrance creaked open again, slowly and Marcus turned toward the door, anticipating the intruder.
A man stepped into the hall, wearing a black suit. He looked mysterious and he walked quietly like he was floating on the air and like he belonged to the shadows. People turned to look, but somehow, no one asked who he was. It was like something in their minds couldn't focus on him for too long.
He stopped halfway across the room and looked straight at Marcus. "You're him," the man said calmly and controlled. "The one who bears the jade ring of power."
Alessandro moved protectively, but Marcus lifted a hand. There was no need, mortals couldn't protect gods.
"If you know about the ring, then you know who I am" Marcus said, voice steady and filled with authority. "So, who are you?!"