The Wielder’s Center

The hairs on Ark's neck stood, and his body trembled slightly. His mind was still a mess considering what had happened just a few seconds ago. 

'It wanted my mark…'

Was it even possible to steal marks?! It was totally unheard of, once one was marked it was irreversible. 

But Ark was sure of what he felt. If his father had not interfered would he have lost his mark?

There was no time to bother with such thoughts.

'How long was I in that place?'

Ark had no watch so there was no way to tell so instead he bolted forward and right out of the alley. 

In front of him he could see his destination. 

'I'll get to the Center first and then worry about other things later.'

There was nothing he could do currently after all. 

Ark could already see the shaded path that stood not too far from the Center. Finally—

Just as he entered underneath the shade Ark slammed into something sending him spiraling down. 

He brought his hands forward to stop himself from falling face first and placed one underneath the person's head on impulse. 

Ark slowly opened his eyes that he hadn't realised he had closed on impulse. 

There was something not too far from his face…

He quickly scrambled to his feet, letting go of the girl's head which bumped slightly against the floor. 

But Ark didn't notice. 

He was still flustered about being so close to having a rather cliche moment. 

The girl sat up and smiled, but it wasn't exactly a smile. It was more like the mixture of a smile and a glare. 

Her wavy orange hair that had been properly styled for whatever reason was now tousled and her emerald green eyes glinted with malice. 

She reached forward as if to grab invincible strings and Ark foolishly brought his head forward out of curiosity. 

Once her hand made contact with his face, it moved like lightning snaking its way to his ears. 

"Owww!"

Once she got hold of it she twisted it so hard that Ark felt it might fall off. 

It was in that moment that her shirt trembled slightly due to the twisting force she was applying, that Ark saw something below her collar bone. 

Towards the left was a small mark that resembled a star. Ark could tell at once that it was not a tattoo, there was just a way the mark drew people in. 

She was marked…

She finally let go of his now red ears and left him with some parting words. 

"Watch where you're going next time."

The girl then asked him a rather strange question.

"What direction is the Wielder's Center?"

She was standing right in front of it and yet she was asking…

"Behind you."

She awkwardly turned around. 

"Oh. Thank you!"

Then she began to walk towards the building at a pace considerably slower than normal. 

Ark let out a sigh. 

"I haven't even gotten inside and I'm already meeting weirdos."

"Well, I can't be late."

He too rose to his feet and jogged up to the large doors of the Center. 

The center was Incredibly spacious, a large complex built with the tax money of the civilians. 

It contained many different facilities, some of them

Including; an office segment, halls for addressing new wielders, a training centre and high standard dormitories. 

Just before Ark could enter though something caught his eye. 

It was a quiet thrum that was noticeable and pleasant. A dark sedan, a model Ark had never seen in the city even once pulled right in front of the Center. 

Just one glance was enough to tell that the car reeked of money. The car's body was curved making it resemble a panther about to pounce, its headlights were bright and had a rather unique pattern and the plate number was hidden. 

The driver, whom Ark thought was the owner of the car at first due to the expensive suit he was wearing, came under the beating rain, pulling out an umbrella from the car door. 

The umbrella had the car's branding upon it. 

He opened the umbrella to shield himself from the rain and walked to where the passenger seat was. 

Then he opened the door. 

Out of the car came what would be the most beautiful girl Ark had ever seen. 

Skin so spotless that it resembled porcelain, intense blue eyes and pitch black hair, the colour of raven feathers. 

The girl gracefully walked forward underneath the umbrella until she was under the shade. She adjusted the black gloves she had been wearing properly and stared at the Center in front of her. 

The guards at the door were already bowing at the sight of her but she gave no reaction. 

Her eyes simply roamed around until it landed on Ark. 

She watched him a little longer than the rest, Ark was sure he saw her scowl slightly before walking into the building. 

'It was then he realised he was still wearing his patchy nylon poncho. 

'Damn it.'

Ark took off the nylon and shoved it into the bag. The shade protected him from the rain so he no longer needed it after all. 

After the apocalypse descended on earth the word shook right down to its foundation. Apocalypse monsters could be valuable in some way. 

Due to their hide and body parts that could be used for different forms of armour and medicine those who could hunt them became extremely rich. 

And as such families such as the one who had arrived were born. The first generation of curse bearers. 

Apart from that, there was another reason why these families were so rich, and that was because of—the second realm. 

Ark was already veering late so he adjusted his backpack and walked up to the guards at the door. 

"Good morning. I'm here for the trial."

"…"

"Hello?"

A young man with dark blue hair and a probably steamy personality from the way he was gnashing his teeth walked up beside Ark. 

"I'm here for the trial."

"Head right in."

They gave way for the boy but once Ark wanted the pass he was blocked off by the guards. The blue haired boy snickered as he walked off, murmuring the word "slum rat" as he did. 

Ark's features darkened. 

"I'm here for the—"

"No entry! Get the hell out of here..."

"…Slum rat."