Nicks_Novels

Synopsis: DREADMARK
“When fear becomes real… so does the boy inside it.”

In a world where nightmares bleed into reality, fear is more than emotion — it’s power.

Kaito, a 17-year-old survivor with a mysterious mark, can see 15 seconds into the future. His fists are faster than sound, and his curse is worse than death. Branded by the unknown and hunted by shadows, he wanders a broken world where nightmare beasts, dream-possessed killers, and reality-warping magic twist every corner of existence.

But when Kaito marks someone with his curse… they see him — or rather, the version of him that should have died.
A child.
Silent.
Smiling.
And terrifying.

That’s Dreadmark Kaito — a physical ghost of Kaito’s past that appears only to those doomed to face him. And once he smiles at you? You’re already too late.

Yet behind the blood and terror, Kaito is just a boy looking for answers. Who burned his home? Why does this mark exist? And why does the girl following him — the one drenched in blood and smiling like a lover — know more about his past than he does?

With vengeance in his heart, monsters at his heels, and a cast of twisted allies and enemies, Kaito’s journey is one of survival, betrayal, and the haunting question:

Is the real monster the one you fear… or the one you used to be?

Black veil Kaito

Chapter 5: Firebird, Fury, and a Cruel God

Kaito lay asleep in the barn, wrapped in straw and silence. His chest rose slowly. His hands still shook from the energy blast days ago.A sheep chewed his ponytail with zero shame.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Haku opened it casually, chewing on a toothpick.

The woman standing there made the air itself freeze.

Tall. Mysterious. Beautiful. Her cloak billowed despite no wind. Her eyes locked onto Haku's like she was peering into time itself.

Haku's pupils morphed into literal hearts.

"OHH! A LADY!! Welcome to my humble—uh—farm!"He puffed his chest, winked, instantly 20 years younger in his head.

"So! I see you came to see me, eh?"

THUD.Haku collapsed backward like he'd been shot.

"SUCH A CRUEL GOD!!" he cried to the heavens, writhing in betrayal.

Without invitation, the woman stepped inside. Her eyes darted around the room.

"There's another heartbeat. Faint. Controlled. But dangerous."

"Wait—what? You're one of those sensing types?" Haku started.

Before he could blink, she vanished.

BLITZ.She flashed across the entire farm like lightning. Chickens scattered. The well water rippled. The barn door creaked open—

Still asleep, still glowing faintly with lingering Dreadmark energy.

The sheep? Still chewing his ponytail.

"I found you," she whispered, unsheathing a blade.Her eye glowed a deep, crimson red. The blade pulsed.

She raised her weapon to strike—

But just before the blade fell—CLANG.

Haku's sword intercepted it. Sparks flew.

Though barely 4-foot-2, he held the blade with enough strength to shake the barn's walls.

"I see… The legendary Haku. Thy Destroyer. Alive after all these years… Faked your death, did you?"

"Ain't nothin' stoppin' these old bones, lady! Sure, I was part of the Legendary Era… most of 'em died off, the rest are doing… y'know… old people things."

He leapt back and raised his sword to the sky.

"But me? I keep these bones flowing!"

His blade lit with blazing flames.

"FIREBALL: FIREBIRD!!"

He launched into the air like a rocket. The flames swirled into a massive burning phoenix, wings stretching across the sky, its scream echoing across mountains.

"That's his move…!" the woman whispered."No one's ever survived using it… except him."

The bird crashed toward her like the sun itself.

She dove out of the way, just in time—But GERO jumped in.

Two blades spinning.One scratch on his eye still fresh.

Gero clashed with her mid-air, spinning into a flurry of primal monkey sword style.

He opened his eyes slowly.The world was shaking. Light flashed. Blades rang.

He sat up to see chaos outside the barn door:

Haku flying through the air. Gero clashing midair. A massive firebird in the distance.

There it was. His katana.Still basic. Still plain.

But his training burned in his memory.

The tree he cracked.The boulder he flicked.The 10,000 push-ups with a teacup on his back.

He grabbed the sword.Took a breath.

As he ran, Haku spotted him and screamed:

He tightened his grip on the sword.

He looked at the battlefield ahead—Then looked down, thinking.

"Wait. Would this be a bad-ass moment to sacrifice myself?"

"NO YOU IDIOT STAY ALIVE!!"

Up next in Chapter 6:

Who is this assassin woman really?

Gero's new scar means something deeper...

Kaito's first real sword strike — and maybe a burst of Dreadmark again...