Footsteps behind me. Sliding on the moss. I press myself against the stone. My palm burns: the Soul Mark pulses, a serpent in my flesh.
— Hand it over.
A rough voice. I see only a shadow in the mist. I swallow hard. My throat scrapes.
— I don't even know what it is.
— Liar. You felt the whisper, didn't you? We all feel it. The Mark calls. It wants me more than you.
Another figure appears, masked, breathless.
— Kill him fast. Before it sprouts.
The Mark vibrates, worming into my thoughts. Images I can't understand: a circle, blood, clasped hands. My temple pounds. Fear rises.
— I… I'll give it back! Take it, just let me go.
A dry laugh.
— Too late to beg.
A knife gleams. I stumble back, hit a rock. The Mark hisses inside me, hungry.
Run. Hide me. Feed me or I'll devour you.
My hand closes on the damp stone. A chill sweeps through me. I throw the rock blindly. It ricochets. I sprint into the darkness. Behind me, they chase.
— Stop him!
Metal clatters. I dive flat. The knife slices the air just above me.
— You won't get out alive, kid! You know what it does to the weak?
I crawl, mouth full of earth. A pulse echoes in my skull, a dull rhythm, the heartbeat of something not mine.
— It'll eat him from the inside, don't worry. We'll pick up the scraps.
The light fades. I slip into a crevice. The air grows heavy, thick with dust. My fingers brush a warm wall, pulsing.
Deeper. Further. Where they won't follow.
I push on, choking on fear. The hunters linger at the entrance.
— He's done for. This cave… no one comes out.
Their voices vanish. I stagger forward, guided by a damp, hot breath. The Mark purrs, both alien and intimate.
One step, two. My legs buckle. The ground gives way. I slide, nails screeching on living rock.
I fall into a round chamber, a stone belly. It breathes. Warm breath grazes my neck.
— What is this…?
An echo. Not mine.
Rest. Open yourself. Blend with me…
The wall closes, viscous. I want to scream, but the air thickens to honey, slow and heavy. My eyelids fall shut.
A final murmur, under my skin:
Twenty years or an instant. Let yourself sink…
All fades, except the dense rhythm of the cave's heart.