Chapter Four: The Fire Beneath

"The world was too big. Too loud. Too much. And yet, I had no choice but to step into it."

The air outside the cavern pressed against me like an unseen force, thick with the scent of damp earth and something metallic, almost like blood. My legs felt weak beneath me, my body still adjusting to the sensation of movement. I was real. I was here. But I was also lost.

Sable walked ahead, her steps silent on the uneven terrain. The cloak she wore shifted like a living thing, drinking in the faint moonlight. She hadn't spoken since we left the cave, and I wasn't sure if I wanted her to. I needed time to process what had just happened.

I had been hunted.

I had been claimed.

And I wasn't sure which scared me more.

---

The Scavengers' World

The landscape stretched wide before us—rugged cliffs, tangled woods, and a sky unlike any I had ever seen. The stars swirled in unfamiliar patterns, and a distant, pulsing light burned on the horizon.

I didn't belong here.

Sable must have sensed my unease. "Stay close. The scavengers are only part of the danger."

I frowned. "You mean there are worse things?"

She glanced at me, her expression unreadable. "Always."

We traveled in silence, the only sounds the distant cry of unseen creatures and the whisper of wind through the trees. The ground beneath my feet was uneven, and I stumbled more than once. Each time, Sable kept walking, never offering a hand, never waiting for me to catch up.

She wasn't going to carry me through this.

I had to learn.

---

The First Lesson

By the time the sun—if it was a sun—began to rise, my entire body ached. My throat burned with thirst, and my stomach felt hollow.

Sable finally stopped beside a narrow stream, kneeling to drink. I hesitated, watching her.

She glanced up. "You're going to need to start acting like you want to live."

I swallowed. "I do."

"Then drink."

I dropped to my knees and cupped the water in my hands. The coolness shocked my skin. When I brought it to my lips, the taste was sharp, almost electric, as if the water itself carried power.

Sable sat back on her heels, watching me. "Do you know how to hunt?"

I froze. "...No."

She didn't seem surprised. "Then you'll learn."

She handed me a dagger. I took it carefully, the weight unfamiliar in my hands.

Sable stood. "Come on. There's something I want you to see."

---

The Scavenger Ambush

I followed her through the trees, my fingers tightening around the dagger. The forest was different from anything I had known—massive roots curled through the ground like the bones of ancient beasts, and the leaves shimmered as if touched by distant starlight.

Then, without warning—movement.

Figures stepped from the shadows, surrounding us in a loose semicircle. Scavengers.

I recognized one of them—the man who had tried to claim me the night before. His lip curled in something between a sneer and a snarl. "Told you she wasn't marked," he said to Sable. "That means she's free game."

Sable didn't move. "You don't want to do this."

The man took a step closer, his hand on the hilt of his weapon. "Oh, I do."

I tensed. This time, I wasn't tied up. This time, I had a knife.

Sable sighed. "Then you're dumber than I thought."

She moved faster than I could see. One moment, she was standing beside me. The next, she was behind him, her blade pressed against his throat.

He froze.

The others hesitated.

Sable leaned in, her voice almost gentle. "Run."

They did.

She let him go. He scrambled away, panting, eyes wide with terror.

I exhaled, my heart pounding.

Sable turned to me. "Lesson one: There will always be people who think they can take what isn't theirs. You either let them—or you make them regret trying."

I gripped the dagger tighter. "And if I'm not fast enough?"

She smiled, slow and sharp. "Then we make you faster."

---

The Nightmare

That night, we camped in the ruins of an old outpost. I barely had the strength to sit upright, let alone speak.

And when I slept, the dream came.

The sky burned.

Figures surrounded me, shadows with hollow eyes. I felt their hunger, their rage. I tried to move, but my body was heavy, as if chained to the ground.

Then, a voice—deep, ancient, filled with something colder than hatred.

"You are the Vessel."

A figure loomed above me—tall, with burning golden eyes. Power radiated from it, suffocating, endless.

"You should not exist."

Pain exploded through me. I screamed—

---

The celestial chamber trembled. The Demi-Gods, each representing their kind, stood in a loose circle beneath the Ethereal Veil, the cosmic force that separated their realm from the lower world. The stars above shifted, realigning in response to the turmoil of their discussion.

"We should have never created her at all," the dark voice repeated. It belonged to Dakar, the Vampire Demi-God, his crimson eyes narrowed with unspoken fury.

"She is the only way to restore balance," countered Lyara, the Nymph Demi-Goddess, her voice like a river's whisper. "Or have you forgotten why we stand divided in the first place?"

"Balance?" sneered Varos, the Dragon Demi-God. "You speak of balance while the Vessel walks blind? She is nothing but a newborn in a world that will devour her."

The chamber crackled with restrained power. The air itself seemed to hold its breath.

Seraphis, the Celestial Demi-God, stepped forward. Unlike the others, his presence did not flicker with aggression, nor did he raise his voice. Instead, his golden gaze held something far more dangerous—certainty.

"She is awake. She has survived her first trial. And now, she will carve her own path."

Dakar bared his fangs. "You would risk everything on a girl who knows nothing?"

"She will learn."

"Or she will fail," Varos muttered.

Lyara's gaze drifted toward the swirling sky above them, where the veil between realms grew thin. Something pulsed beyond it, an ancient force watching.

"We are not the only ones aware of her now."

The chamber fell into an uneasy silence.

For the first time in eons, they all felt it—a shadow, moving beneath the stars, waiting.

---

The Awakening's Cost

I woke gasping.

The nightmare still clung to me, a phantom weight pressing against my chest. My body ached worse than before, but it wasn't just exhaustion. Something was wrong.

I pushed up on my elbows, my breath coming fast. The fire had burned low, casting flickering shadows across the ruins we had made camp in.

Sable sat nearby, sharpening a blade, her expression unreadable.

"Good," she murmured without looking up. "You're awake."

I opened my mouth to respond, but a searing pain bloomed across my collarbone. I gasped, clutching at my skin. It felt like fire—like something had been burned into me from the inside out.

Sable's gaze snapped to mine, eyes narrowing. She set down the blade and moved toward me, pulling my fingers away from my collarbone.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Well," she said, voice flat. "That's new."

I swallowed. "What—?"

She reached into her cloak, pulled out a small metal mirror, and handed it to me. I hesitated before looking.

Across my skin, just above my heart, was a mark—thin lines forming an intricate sigil, glowing faintly with silver-blue light. The shape pulsed, as if alive.

A celestial brand.

I stared at it, my pulse hammering. "What the hell does this mean?"

Sable exhaled slowly. "It means they know where you are now."

---

Trial by Fire

Morning came too soon.

My body was stiff, every muscle aching as I followed Sable deeper into the ruins. She had given me no time to process the mark, no time to ask questions. Survival came first.

"We start today," she said.

I frowned. "Start what?"

She gestured to the ruins around us. "Your first real lesson. If you want to survive, you need to know what you're up against."

I squared my shoulders. "I'm ready."

Sable smirked. "We'll see."

She took a step back—and threw a dagger straight at me.

I barely had time to move. I twisted, the blade slicing the edge of my sleeve. My heart slammed against my ribs as I stumbled back, eyes wide.

"What the hell?!"

Sable raised an eyebrow. "You think your enemies will warn you first?"

Heat flooded my veins, frustration flaring. I clenched my fists. "You could've killed me."

"Then you better learn faster."

Without another word, she lunged.