Kael stared at the monolith.

The Mark on its surface matched the one burned into his flesh. It wasn’t a coincidence. It wasn’t a trick of the mind.

This was connected to him.

And if that was true—then the Imperium’s greatest secret wasn’t just a lie.

It was his lie.

The air in the chamber felt heavier now. Charged. As if the stone itself was holding its breath, waiting for him to act.

Kael exhaled sharply and turned to the man who had led him here. "Start talking."

The man didn’t flinch. "I already told you—the Imperium erased history."

"Then tell me what they erased."

The man stepped closer to the monolith, running his fingers along its glowing silver veins. "Before the Imperium, before Solmaris, there was another kingdom. A kingdom ruled not by men, but by those who bore the Mark."

Kael felt his pulse spike.

The Mark was not a curse.

It was a birthright.

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"Impossible," Kael muttered. "The Imperium says the Mark is heresy. It’s unnatural—"

"The Imperium lies," the man interrupted. "You know this already. The Mark has existed far longer than the Eternal Sovereign’s empire. It was not feared. It was worshipped."

Kael’s hands clenched. His entire life had been shaped by the Imperium’s laws, its order. Even after his betrayal, part of him still believed the world worked the way he had been taught.

But now—this changed everything.

"The kingdom that came before Solmaris," Kael said slowly. "What happened to it?"

The man’s expression darkened. "It burned."

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

A tense silence settled over them.

Kael glanced at the monolith again, its eerie glow pulsing slightly—almost like a heartbeat.

He didn’t want to ask the next question.

But he had to.

"Did the Imperium destroy it?"

The man exhaled. "Not exactly."

Kael’s brow furrowed. "Then what—"

"They destroyed themselves," the man said quietly. "Because of the Mark."

A cold weight settled in Kael’s stomach.

"This power you carry," the man continued, gesturing toward Kael’s hand, "is not a blessing. It is not a tool. It is a force older than any empire, any ruler. And when the Mark awakens in full, it does not bring salvation." His gaze locked onto Kael’s.

"It brings ruin."

Kael’s chest tightened. No. That couldn’t be true.

"Then why does the Imperium fear it?" Kael demanded. "If the Mark is so destructive, shouldn’t they want it gone?"

The man’s lips pressed into a thin line. "They do not fear the Mark itself. They fear what will happen if it finds the right host."

Kael took a step back, his mind racing.

The right host.

The Eternal Sovereign had ruled Solmaris for centuries. He had crushed rebellion after rebellion, eliminated every threat to his rule.

Yet the Mark—the one thing the Imperium couldn’t control—was the thing he feared most.

Because it had happened before.

And if the Sovereign was afraid…

That meant Kael was exactly what the Imperium feared.