Kael’s breath was steady, but his mind was anything but.

The Mark wasn’t some curse that had befallen him. It was a weapon. A power. A legacy.

And it had burned an entire kingdom to the ground.

His fingers twitched as he turned away from the monolith. The glowing silver veins still pulsed, their light faint but undeniable. Like a heartbeat.

Like something that wasn’t dead yet.

Kael forced himself to focus on the man beside him—the one who had led him here, the one who had dropped this revelation like a blade at his feet.

"You’re telling me an entire empire had this power," Kael said, voice measured, "and they destroyed themselves with it?"

The man nodded. "That is the truth."

Kael’s fists clenched. "Then tell me why."

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The man exhaled, stepping away from the monolith. "Power never exists without consequence, Forsaken. The Mark is not an ability—it is a force. And it does not simply give. It takes."

Kael felt the words settle into him like a weight. "Takes what?"

The man’s gaze darkened. "That depends on the one who carries it."

----------------------------------------

A silence stretched between them.

The woman—the one who had guided Kael here—watched from the edge of the chamber, her expression unreadable beneath the hood.

Kael turned back to the monolith. He didn’t want to believe that his power was dangerous. But the Imperium had feared it. The last kingdom to wield it had collapsed.

And now it was inside him.

"How do I stop it?" Kael asked.

The man tilted his head slightly. "Stop it?"

Kael’s jaw tightened. "If this power is dangerous, then how do I stop it from taking control?"

The man studied him for a long moment. Then, he did something Kael wasn’t expecting.

He laughed.

It wasn’t mocking. It wasn’t cruel. But there was something knowing in it, something that sent a chill down Kael’s spine.

"You think you still have control," the man murmured. "But tell me, Forsaken—have you not felt it already?"

Kael’s fingers twitched.

The Mark had moved before he had commanded it. It had killed before he had decided to strike.

And deep down—somewhere he didn’t want to admit—he had liked it.

The man’s voice was quiet when he spoke again.

"The question is not whether you can control it, Kael." His eyes locked onto Kael’s. "The question is—will it control you?"