Marked for Death

Kael stood motionless.

The air was still, thick with the scent of blood and scorched earth.

Beneath him, the dirt was darkened, and soaked crimson. His fingers twitched at his sides, coated in something warm and wet.

Rendrik lay at his feet.

Still and motionless.

Meanwhile, the last system prompt still flickered in Kael's mind.

[Consume or Resist.]

[Absorb Hollow Energy to Stabilize Target?]

[(Yes / No?)]

The answer was missing. He knew what he had chosen. But the system—or maybe his own mind—refused to let him see it now.

Ding.

A hollow chime echoed through his skull. Then a voice.

The voice—calm, synthetic, impersonal—spoke directly into his mind.

[System Notice: Level Up!]

Kael's breath caught.

"What?"

The words etched themselves into his vision. Faint, pulsing lines of light outlined his new status. He stared, unblinking.

[Hollow Core System: Status Update]

[Name: Kael Solis]

[Class: Chosen (Corruption 15%)]

[Level: 2 → 4]

[Attributes]

[Spirit Level: 8 → 14 (+6) – [Unstable Growth Detected]]

[Affinity: Shadow Manipulation – Evolving…]

[Strength: 6 → 10 (+4) – [Hollow Adaptation Pending]]

[Agility: 5 → 12 (+7) – [Abnormal Surge Detected]]

[Resolve: 10 → 16 (+6) – [???]]

[New System Notifications]

[Hollow Adaptation Detected.]

[Status Unknown.]

[Spirit Level Spike Unnatural – Warning: Energy Regulation Failing.]

[Shadow Affinity is Mutating. Proceed with Caution.]

[Your survival was not guaranteed. Adjusting System Parameters…]

"What the hell is this? Hollow--Core System?"

Kael's pulse pounded in his ears.

This wasn't normal.

Chosen didn't level up.

And Spirit Levels increased through training, experience, and exposure to sunlight. Even the strongest warriors took years to reach high levels.

But Kael's had jumped by six points in a single night.

His strength. His speed. His mind. All of it had shifted.

And the strangely, but familiar, system was warning him.

"Hollow Adaptation Pending. The hell does that mean?"

His stomach turned.

He hadn't just survived. Something had changed.

Kael exhaled through his nose, steady and slow. His heartbeat was dull, and distant, as if muffled by layers of steel.

This was his fault.

What ever was happening to him--what happened to his unit--was his falt.

All of it.

'Maybe if I'd just died that day... maybe--'

A sharp gust of wind cut through the ruined convoy site, sweeping his thoughts away. It stirred the ashes, carried the whispers of a battle that should have never happened. Then, somewhere beyond the wreckage, something shifted—a faint scraping noise against stone.

However, Kael didn't look back.

Instead, he turned.

And walked away.

His boots pressed against the broken ground, each step unsteady but deliberate.

The sun was beginning to rise again, but Kael barely felt it.

He moved through the wreckage like a ghost, picking through charred metal, shattered armor, and the remains of people who, hours ago, had names.

There was nothing left of them now.

He forced himself to focus. His hands worked on instinct, searching for anything—supplies, weapons, information.

Then, buried beneath a torn combat vest, he found it.

A comm device. Still intact.

Kael frowned, lifting it carefully, his fingers brushing against the cracked screen. Then, slowly, he pressed the activation rune. The device crackled, and a flicker of light flashed before a broken voice filled the silence.

"Unit 13 has been marked."

Kael froze.

'What?'

"Proceed with full elimination. No survivors."

A cold weight settled in his stomach.

His fingers curled around the device. Tight. Too tight.

'This was a suicide mission?"

He already knew the answer. Drevan had told him. But hearing it—hearing it confirmed—

They had been sent to die.

A sharp laugh nearly escaped him, but it caught in his throat, turning into something raw instead.

He dropped the device. Let it shatter against the ground.

"We were set up. They died for nothing!"

He turned his gaze forward.

And walked.

Kael didn't remember when his legs had started shaking.

His body was spent. Every step felt heavier. His vision blurred at the edges. But stopping wasn't an option. Not yet.

The sun climbed higher. Stretching his shadow long against the sand and stone.

Except—

He wasn't alone.

A presence lingered at the edges of his senses. Not close, but not far enough.

He wasn't being hunted. Not yet.

But he was being watched nonetheless.

Kael continued walking, measuring his heartbeat. His fingers flexed at his sides as his focused, not allowing his steps to falter.

Then—

"You look like hell, Solis."

Kael's hand was on his knife before the words had finished leaving the air.

The figure leaned against the remains of an old transport truck, arms crossed, a cigarette burning lazily between two fingers.

"Arvin?"

Kael exhaled, releasing the blade.

"Funny." His voice came out rough. "That's exactly how I feel."

Arvin took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling smoke that coiled into the warming air. His expression was unreadable, his sharp eyes flicking over Kael's form.

"You survived," he muttered.

Kael's stomach turned.

"Yeah," he said flatly. "I got lucky."

Arvin studied him for a long moment. Then—he flicked the cigarette away and started walking.

"Come on," he said. "You need to rest."

Kael hesitated.

'Shit! He can't find out.'

Then, slowly, he followed.

****

The room was small. Barely more than a storage space carved into the canyon wall, hidden behind stacks of crates and scavenged supplies.

Arvin stood by the entrance, arms crossed as Kael sat on the ground, back against the stone.

Neither spoke.

And for a while, the silence stretched.

Then—Arvin finally exhaled.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Kael's fingers curled against his knee.

"I think... we were--sent to die," he said. His voice was too even.

Arvin didn't react.

"I know."

Kael's head snapped up.

"What?!"

Something flickered in Arvin's expression. A shadow of something old.

Kael's pulse slowly began to pound, as suspicion rises. He let him go--AND HE KNEW!

"How long?" His voice was quiet, but sharp.

Arvin didn't look away.

"Long enough."

Kael's mind shattered.

Yet, he didn't press further. Not yet.

Instead, Arvin shifted his stance, and his tone changed.

"Listen, kid."

Kael's jaw clenched at the word, but he let Arvin continue.

"Survival ain't about strength. It's about being useful."

Kael froze, but Arvin held his gaze.

"You weren't useful dead. I'm assuming that's why you're still here."

Kael's hands tightened into fists.

The words struck something raw inside him.

The system's last message flickered at the edges of his mind.

"Absorb Hollow Energy to Stabilize Target?"

Kael exhaled. His shoulders sagged, fingers twitching.

Then—

He stood up.

He grabbed Arvin by the collar and slammed him back against the stone wall.

"Don't." His voice was low, dangerous. "Don't act like you know why I'm here."

Arvin didn't flinch.

Kael's grip trembled.

His pulse hammered.

Then—

He let go. Stepped back.

Kael turned away. His hands curled into shaking fists at his sides.

His mind flashed—to the wreckage, the blood, and the silence.

Rendrik's body, still and breathless.

Kael's own hand pressing against the wound, shadows spilling into the skin.

The system had whispered to him.

And he had answered.

'Fine I'll do it,' he remembered saying.

Rendrik had lived.

Kael had saved him.

But at what cost?

He didn't know.

Not yet.

The wind shifted. Kael felt it before he saw it. Something had been scratched into the wooden crate nearby.

A sigil. Carved into the grain. A sigil he had seen before.

Kael's eye narrowered, and he stepped past Arvin, brushing his fingers against the mark.

Cold realization bgan settled in his gut.

Someone knew.

Someone was watching.