The chamber pulsed with an eerie, golden light, the air thick with the hum of ancient magic. Elena's breath came in short, rapid bursts as she scanned the room, her fingers brushing the jagged mark on her wrist. The walls, carved with intricate glyphs, seemed to breathe in sync with the energy surrounding her. Adrian stood by her side, his sword raised and his eyes sharp, while Sienna's fingers twitched near the hilt of her twin daggers, her stance tense and ready.
And then, the voice came again.
Low. Steady. Unshaken.
"You were never supposed to find this place, Bloodmarked."
Elena turned sharply, her heartbeat a war drum in her chest. The voice had no source. It echoed from the very walls, the very air—until suddenly, the light in the chamber condensed into a swirling mass in front of them.
The air rippled. A figure took form.
Kael.
His sharp features were untouched by time, but his translucent form flickered at the edges like a dying flame. His spectral presence filled the chamber, his eyes fixed on Elena with a gaze that sent a shiver down her spine.
"You've led them right to us," he said, his voice calm but laced with restrained fury.
Elena stepped forward, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. "Us?"
A shadow moved from the edge of the chamber. A tall figure, his silhouette cut sharply against the golden glow, stepped into the light. His dark cloak billowed slightly, but what struck Elena most was his mark.
Unlike hers—a single band wrapping around her wrist—his stretched from his hand to his collarbone, pulsing with deep crimson light.
Riven.
Another Bloodmarked.
Elena's throat went dry. She had always believed she was alone. The only one cursed—or blessed—with this burden.
But she had been wrong.
Riven's gaze was sharp, unreadable. He studied Elena for a long moment, then spoke.
"You feel it, don't you?" His voice was rough, edged with exhaustion. "The pull. The whispers."
Elena swallowed hard. The mark on her wrist ached, as if responding to his presence.
"What are we?" she asked.
Kael's spectral form flickered slightly. "Not just bearers of power, but pieces of something far greater."
"The lock," Riven finished.
Elena frowned. "What lock?"
Riven lifted his hand, and his mark flared brighter. "The Bloodmarked were never meant to be warriors. We were meant to contain something. Something the immortals want."
Kael's gaze darkened. "Excidium."
The name sent a chill through the air.
Elena had heard it before—in whispers, in legends. Excidium was destruction incarnate. A force beyond mortal comprehension, sealed away centuries ago.
And now, it was trying to break free.
"Every Bloodmarked is a fragment of the seal," Kael explained. "As long as we live, as long as our marks remain intact, Excidium remains bound. But if the immortals gather us… if they break us…"
"The lock shatters," Riven finished grimly. "And Excidium is reborn."
Elena felt the world tilt beneath her feet. She was a part of the seal. They were the chains holding back a god.
And the immortals wanted to set it free.
Elena's mind reeled. Every attack, every loss—it had all been leading to this.
"My mother's death," she whispered, her voice hollow. "Adrian's injury. They were never just trying to kill me. They were trying to push me toward unlocking my mark."
Kael nodded. "They need the Bloodmarked to be at their strongest before they can break you."
Riven's fists clenched. "Which is why we must act before they do."
A surge of power rippled through the chamber as Riven stepped forward. His mark blazed brighter, and Elena's responded in kind.
"There's a way to reinforce the seal," Riven said. "But it requires two Bloodmarked to synchronize their marks."
Elena hesitated. The pain she had felt when her mark first activated had nearly destroyed her. She could barely control it on her own.
"What happens if we fail?" she asked.
Kael's spectral form wavered. "Then your marks will consume you both."
Silence filled the chamber.
Elena looked at Adrian. His jaw was tight, his grip on his sword unwavering. Sienna shifted uneasily, glancing between Elena and Riven.
Elena turned back to Riven. "We don't have a choice."
Riven nodded. "Then brace yourself."
Their marks flared at once, and a surge of energy burst through the chamber.
The trial had begun.
The moment their marks connected, agony speared through Elena's body.
Her vision blurred. Her pulse pounded.
She could feel him—Riven's pain, his doubts, his rage. Memories not her own flashed through her mind—battles fought in the dark, a voice whispering in his ear, blood on his hands.
And he felt her in return.
The loss. The fear. The weight of responsibility.
Their marks rejected each other.
Riven staggered back, eyes wild. "You're resisting me."
"So are you," Elena gasped. "We have to—"
The chamber trembled. A crack splintered across the ground.
Riven's mark pulsed dangerously. "I won't let them use me," he growled.
Elena clenched her fists. "Neither will I. But we have to work together, or we both die here."
The energy between them surged violently, caught between conflict and unity.
Then—
A scream from outside.
Sienna's head snapped up. "They've found us."
The immortals were here.
The chamber doors exploded inward. Figures in dark robes poured in, their eyes burning with unnatural light.
Kael's spectral form flickered wildly. "You must finish the trial now!"
Riven gritted his teeth. "Then let's end this."
Elena closed her eyes. Focused.
And let go.
Their marks fused in a flash of crimson and gold.
The energy roared through them, searing through their veins. For a single, agonizing moment, they were no longer two—but one.
And then—
A pulse of pure power erupted from them, blasting the immortals back.
The seal had been reinforced.
But the sanctuary was falling.
Kael's form flickered as he pointed toward the far end of the chamber. "The artifact—take it!"
Elena turned, her eyes locking onto the small pedestal at the room's center. Upon it rested a shard of Excidium's original seal.
She snatched it just as the walls began to crumble.
They ran.
Through collapsing corridors. Through fire and smoke.
By the time they reached the surface, the sanctuary was in ruins.
Kael's voice echoed in the wind. "Find the Veilwalkers."
Elena clutched the shard to her chest. "Where?"
Riven exhaled. "I know where to start."
Elena nodded. "Then let's go."
But as she turned, a strange sensation crawled up her spine.
The shard pulsed in her hands. A whisper curled in her ear.
"The lock is breaking. Find the key."
Her mother's voice.
Elena's breath hitched. And then—
A vision exploded in her mind.
A hidden temple. A cloaked figure. And the symbol—the three-lined mark.
The journey wasn't over.
It was only beginning.