Chapter 6: The Sigil's Awakening
Raviel's fingers twitched. They were coming.
The whispers slithered through the air, thick with something wrong, something that made his skin crawl.
Horizon stood beside him, sword still dripping with dark, sluggish blood. He sighed. "So, prince, do you actually fight, or do you just glare dramatically?"
Raviel scowled but said nothing. His gaze flickered to the rubble. His instincts screamed at him—whatever was under there, it was his.
But first…
His eyes snapped to the figures emerging from the shadows.
Their skin was cracked, their limbs too long, their eyes pits of swirling black mist. The Forsaken.
Raviel had never seen them before, but he knew what they were.
Creatures that had been here too long. Things that had once been human, beast, or god, but had rotted in this forsaken land until nothing but hunger remained.
And now, they saw him as their next meal.
A shiver of rage curled in his gut.
They dared?
They dared to look at him, the son of the Demon God, as if he were nothing more than prey?
His lip curled.
A Forsaken lunged.
It was fast—faster than a normal mortal—but not fast enough.
Raviel's body moved instinctively, dodging the first claw. The second came straight for his throat. He ducked, his heartbeat thundering. Too slow. Too human.
Horizon's sword flashed.
The Forsaken's head hit the ground with a dull thud. Its body collapsed a second later.
Horizon exhaled, resting the blade on his shoulder. "Okay, so you do dodge. That's something."
Raviel clenched his fists. This was wrong. He was supposed to be faster. Stronger. But this weak, frail body—
I need my power back.
Another Forsaken lunged. Horizon stepped forward to intercept—
"No."
Raviel moved first.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He grabbed the Forsaken's wrist mid-swing, twisting with raw force. The creature let out a gurgled hiss as its bones cracked.
Raviel snarled. Not enough.
With a sharp pull, he ripped its arm clean off.
The Forsaken screeched, black mist pouring from its wound—not blood, not smoke. Something in-between.
It flailed, but Raviel caught its throat, fingers tightening. His arms trembled, his muscles screaming—his body wasn't made for this anymore.
But his rage was.
He crushed its throat.
The Forsaken shuddered once, then went still.
The other creatures hesitated.
Raviel stood, breathing hard, his hands slick with something thick and dark. He felt no satisfaction. No triumph.
Only emptiness.
This was nothing. A flicker. A pathetic display. He needed more.
His gaze flickered back to the rubble.
It's calling me.
Without another word, he moved.
Horizon let out a low whistle. "Well, that was violent."
Raviel ignored him.
His hands dug into the debris, ignoring the sharp edges biting into his skin. Stone cracked beneath his fingers. He didn't know what he was looking for—he only knew that it was here.
Then—
Heat.
A pulse of power surged up his arms, and the rubble shattered outward.
Horizon cursed, stepping back. Dust swirled around them, thick as smoke.
And in the center of it all—
A sigil.
Floating. Glowing. Pulsing.
Waiting.
Raviel's breath caught.
I know this.
The symbol burned with a deep, dark red, twisting and shifting, not carved into stone but hovering above it. A seal. A brand. A piece of himself.
Memories clawed at his mind.
His father's voice, deep and commanding.
"This is your inheritance, my son. The mark of our blood. The proof of your birthright."
His fingers trembled.
The sigil was weaker than it should have been. Fractured. But it was his.
And he would take it back.
His hand reached forward.
The moment his fingertips brushed the sigil—
Power exploded through him.
The world shattered.
—
Flashes of red lightning. Chains snapping. Voices screaming his name.
—
Raviel's eyes snapped open, his body burning with raw energy.
He could feel it. Not all of it—not his full power—but enough.
Enough to kill.
The Forsaken shuddered, sensing the shift. They turned—
Too late.
Raviel moved.
The air cracked as his hand shot forward, fingers twisting into a clawed grip. The closest Forsaken froze mid-step, its body suddenly jerking upward—
Lifted. Suspended.
It writhed, clawing at its throat, but Raviel wasn't touching it. His fingers simply curled tighter, and the creature's body folded inward, crushed by an invisible force.
Another twitched, trying to run—
Raviel snapped his fingers.
The creature's head twisted violently, spinning all the way around before it crumpled.
Horizon let out a low whistle. "Well. That's new."
Raviel exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. The power still thrummed under his skin, weaker than before, but still—he was not powerless anymore.
The remaining Forsaken hesitated, then scattered into the darkness.
Raviel watched them go, his crimson eyes glowing faintly.
Good. Run.
Horizon rested his sword against his shoulder. "So… I'm guessing you found what you were looking for?"
Raviel looked down at his hand. The sigil had vanished, absorbed into his blood.
His birthright.
His first step back to the throne.
He turned to Horizon, his expression cold.
"Let's keep moving."
Horizon smirked. "Thought you'd never ask."
And together, they stepped deeper into the ruins.