"Isn't it about time you learned, boy?"
The sound of Materdea's voice roused him from sleep.
"Learn what?" Cassian thought back as he sat up. The Sun was already high in the sky again, the bed had won. Again.
"About the mark on the back of your hand. I assumed you would figure it out on your own eventually, but you seem to require a bit of a push."
"Since when do you care about what I do?"
"Since I realized you fail to grasp just how weak you truly are," she said smoothly. "Chasing grand dreams like killing the Archon. As you are now, you wouldn't survive a clash with his lowliest guard."
Rude as she was, her words carried an irritating weight of truth. He had barely scraped by against a wild boar. How in the did he expect to take down the Archon?
"Fine. Teach me."
A faint, bubbling surge of anticipation washed over him, making his pulse quicken. The celestial entity residing in his head had finally decided to pay her dues.
"Well then, boy. Shall we get to work?"
Cassian held back his response, careful not to let the excitement lacing his thoughts spill over to her.
"Before we begin—what do you actually know about marks?"
"They are Korvus's gift to humanity," Cassian answered promptly. "They grant people power to fight Abyssal spawns."
"Hmm. Not entirely incorrect. Now, for the real question: do you know how they function?"
Cassian didn't take long to arrive at his answer. No. His sudden, violent departure from the temple had cut his education short before he could ever reach that level.
"Then that is where we begin. Marks operate on divine power."
"Divine power? Like prayers and rituals?"
"In a sense. But divine power is ambient—it exists everywhere. In the air, the trees, the very atmosphere. It has been in the world since the dawn of creation. Marks simply grant mortals a way to interact with it."
"Right."
A beat of silence followed, as if she were waiting for more.
"You don't sound particularly enthusiastic."
Cassian suppressed a faint smirk. At least he now had proof she couldn't read his inner emotions, only the thoughts he intentionally projected.
It was taking every ounce of his willpower to keep his mental tone flat and indifferent. He had waited his entire life for this moment. He was finally learning to wield a mark. He was finally gaining power.
"Maybe I'd be more enthusiastic if we got to the important part," Cassian retorted, raising his left hand to study the jagged, intricate linework etched into his flesh. "Like how to actually use this thing."
"We are getting there. You must understand the foundational concepts first. Wielding divine power comes with fundamental laws, rules that cannot be bent."
She paused, letting the weight of her next words settle. "Humans refer to the first principle as the Law of Equivalent Output."
She claimed it was human terminology, yet Cassian had never heard the phrase spoken once back at the temple.
"What is this law?"
"No power can be manifested without consuming an equal amount of energy."
Cassian waited, expecting an intricate breakdown, but she fell silent.
"That's it? That's the grand secret to wielding divine power?"
His mental voice turned mocking. He wanted practical knowledge, something useful, something lethal. He didn't have time for vague philosophy. He had things to do, temples to burn.
"That law is what keeps you from incinerating yourself, boy,"
Materdea snapped, her sarcastic edge replaced by a cold, flat severity. "Divine power is dangerous. Underestimate it, and it will be your undoing. Ignore the fundamentals, and you will end up killing yourself or everyone standing around you."
Cassian quieted down. "I'm listening."
"Good. Consider a simple hypothetical: suppose you bear the Mark of the Arcane. You are familiar with arcanists, yes?"
"I am."
"An arcanist seeking to conjure a flame requires divine energy. The volume of energy drawn directly dictates the magnitude of the blaze."
"So, more divine power equals a bigger fire."
"A gross simplification, but you grasp the basic premise. There are countless nuances, but we will stop there for today. Divine power is the catalyst for any mark. It is the kindling; without it, marks are nothing more than bizarrely placed tattoos."
Cassian had a dozen questions racing through his mind, but he voiced the most immediate one first.
"Can someone without a mark channel divine energy?"
"No."
"What happens if they try?"
"They can't. As I said, divine energy is kindling, and the mark is the hearth. The kindling enters, and the hearth burns.
Without kindling, what purpose is there to a hearth? What use is divine energy without a vessel to translate it?"
Cassian drew a slow breath, arriving at the core question—the one that would dictate his future. The answer that would determine whether he stood a chance at getting his revenge or remained weak forever.
"What does my mark do?"
In the quiet dark of his mind, Materdea let out a low, echoing laugh.
"You, boy... you bear the Mark of the Conqueror. Worry not, you will be strong.
The mark of the conqueror? Another term he'd never heard of before. He wanted to ask what it was when Garrett walked in.
"Oh you're up boy. I was starting to think you would never get up."
Cassian flashed a smile at him.
"You'd best come eat now, before your grub gets cold."
"Sure"
"What is this mark of the conqueror?" Cassian asked as soon as Garrett walked out
"You do not know of the mark of the conqueror?" She asked. Despite her notorious abuse of sarcasm, Cassian could tell she was genuinely surprised.
"There are six marks in total, none of them is called the mark of the conqueror."
Materdea was silent, as if she was digesting what she had just heard
"What are these six marks called boy?"
"The marks of body, sight, binding, shadows, restoration and arcane"
"Is that so" she said before adding
"Forget all you have been taught, boy. There are seven marks total. The six you listed, and your's, the mark of the conqueror."
Cassian didn't entirely believe her, but what other explanation was there?
He possessed the mark of the conqueror.
If what she said was true, and he did possess the mark of the conqueror, then
"Why is there no record of this mark anywhere?"