One Year Later

A full year had passed since Meili, Xue, and Ren came to the orphanage.

It didn't feel like it had been that long, but the days blurred together—filled with classes, chores, and cold mornings warmed only by stew and tea.

They spoke the local language fluently now. Meili had picked it up first, then Xue and Ren caught on quickly after. Sometimes they still spoke in their native tongue when they were alone, or when they didn't want the others to understand. But for the most part, they fit in now.

Avyakta had turned ten a week ago.

It had come and gone quietly. No party, no gifts. Just an extra piece of sweet bread from Sister Dalia and a light pat on the head from Father Johan. That was fine. Avyakta didn't like crowds anyway. The others mostly ignored his birthday… except Meili.

She gave him a small sketchbook and a charcoal pencil, wrapped in brown paper. She didn't say anything when she handed it to him. Just smiled, gently.

That night, something strange happened.

Meili got her Stigma.

It appeared on her arm while she was meditating near the old oak tree behind the chapel. It was unlike anything anyone had seen before—shimmering white patterns wrapped around her arm like scales, with glowing symbols embedded in each curve. The moment she touch the paper which help people to know what symbol does the child got , wind had stirred around her. Faintly, briefly, people swore they saw the outline of a great white dragon above the tree.

But no one could recognize the symbols on her mark—not even Father Johan. Even the church's old books had no record of it.

Xue and Ren had already gotten theirs a month earlier. Xue's took the shape of a fiery phoenix on her back. Ren's appeared as a long, curling blue dragon wrapped around his sword arm. They were the same age as Avyakta—but he still hadn't received a Stigma.

He didn't complain.

He just watched quietly as the others celebrated.

---

That afternoon, the four of them sat under the tree together, near the hill behind the orphanage. The wind was soft. The sun peeked through pale clouds.

Meili had been staring at her arm for a while, tracing the strange markings on her skin.

Then she turned to Avyakta.

"Do you think people are born good or evil?" she asked him.

Avyakta looked up from his sketchbook. He had been drawing the tree, lazily shading the leaves.

He blinked. "I don't think anyone is born anything."

Meili tilted her head. "But some people do evil things."

"Yeah," he said. "But that doesn't mean they are evil."

She looked at him curiously. "So what's good, then?"

Avyakta paused, resting the charcoal against his lip, thinking.

"Good, bad, evil…" he said slowly, "I think those are just names people use when they don't understand something. Or when they want others to agree with them."

Meili didn't answer right away. She looked down at her hand again, the strange mark glowing faintly in the sunlight.

"If someday… someone calls me evil," she said softly, "what should I say?"

Avyakta smiled. Just a little.

"You should say I am just me."

Meili looked at him for a long moment. Then, without a word, she smiled back.

—

Down the hill, loud grunts and shouting echoed through the field.

Xue and Ren were fighting again.

Sparring, technically—but with them, it always looked like a real fight.

Xue moved fast, her steps light, a trail of heat following her every kick. Her fists glowed with faint flame as she darted in and out of Ren's range.

Ren stood firm, holding a wooden practice sword in both hands, the grip calm and steady. Blue energy rippled along the blade like waves, matching the rhythm of his breath. His movements weren't flashy—but they were precise.

"Don't hold back just 'cause I'm smaller!" Xue shouted.

"I'm not!" Ren shouted back, blocking her strike and countering with a smooth, downward swing.

Xue ducked, spun, and swept his legs.

Ren leapt back just in time, landing hard on the grass.

Meili laughed quietly. "They've been like this all morning."

"They'll probably keep going until dinner," Avyakta said, watching them calmly. "Or until someone loses a tooth."

Meili crossed her arms, still smiling. "We should stop them before that happens."

Avyakta closed his sketchbook. "Let them be. They're having fun."

And for the first time in a long time, the air didn't feel heavy.

They weren't just orphans anymore.

They were something else now.

Something like… a family.

---

Later that night, the chapel bell rang softly, marking the end of the day.

Dinner had been quiet but warm. Teacher Sabrina made her special vegetable stew, and Sister Dalia had let them have an extra piece of bread. Some of the kids chatted in the dining room, others were already asleep, and a few were still finishing chores. The candles were starting to burn low.

Avyakta brushed his teeth, folded his clothes, and crawled into his small bed. The sheets were cold, but he didn't mind. Ren was already sleeping on the other side, curled up with his blanket, his breathing slow and steady.

Avyakta lay on his back, eyes open, staring at the wooden ceiling beams. The shadows danced gently across the room as the candle near the window flickered.

Then he closed his eyes.

---

When he opened them again, everything had changed.

He was no longer in the orphanage.

He was sitting in a wooden chair, all by himself, in the middle of a vast open field. Grass stretched out in every direction, swaying gently in the wind. The sky above him was dark—nighttime—but not like the night he knew.

The stars were brighter. Sharper. Endless. And a massive red moon hung in the sky, glowing with a strange, quiet intensity.

He turned his head slowly.

Far in the distance, beyond the fields, he could see snow-covered mountains. Their peaks glittered under the red moonlight. The air was cold, but not freezing. Just enough to make him feel small.

He looked to the north.

That's when he saw it.

Something massive… black… swirling in the sky like a storm made of smoke and shadows. It wasn't moving fast—but it was growing. It seemed to pull the light out of the stars and the moon itself, devouring it slowly. The red moon dimmed slightly as if recoiling from it.

Then he heard footsteps behind him.

Soft. Slow. And steady.

Avyakta turned his head and saw a figure walking out of a twisting shadow nearby. The darkness didn't seem to touch him—it followed him. Like it clung to him. He walked calmly, like he had all the time in the world.

He wore black armor. Not polished like a royal knight's, but worn and darkened from use. A deep blue dragon symbol was carved across his breastplate. His helmet was shaped like a dragon's head, sleek and fierce, with horns curling backward and eyes that reflected the starlight.

The figure stopped a few feet away.

Avyakta stood up slowly, staring at him.

In his mind, a single name came forward.

Sir Archen.

He didn't know how or why, but something about this man felt the same as the painting. The black armor. The dragon crest. The stillness. Even though the man didn't say a word, his presence was heavy.

Then, finally, the figure spoke.

His voice was deep. Calm. Distant, like it came from far away—even though he was right in front of Avyakta.

"He is watching you."

Avyakta's chest tightened. He felt the wind around him shift, colder now.

"Who?" he asked.

There was a pause.

The armored man didn't answer. Or maybe he did—but no words came. Just silence.

Then, slowly, the stars above started to flicker. The mountains began to fade. The chair beneath him disappeared. The red moon pulsed one last time before vanishing behind a wave of shadow.

The dream began to crumble around him.

The swirling black mass in the distance grew louder, like it was breathing. Like it was alive. Then everything collapsed into darkness.

---

Avyakta's eyes shot open.

He was back in his bed.

The room was quiet and dark. Ren was still sleeping beside him, curled up under the blanket. The candle near the window had burned out. Only a faint bit of moonlight came through the gaps in the wooden shutters.

Avyakta didn't move at first. His heart was beating fast. His breath was slow and shaky.

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to make sense of what just happened.

That dream—it didn't feel like a normal dream.

It felt real.

Too real.

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Then something caught his attention.

His right hand.

There was something on it.

He raised his hand and looked at it carefully.

A black symbol had appeared, dark and sharp, like it had always been there but was only now visible. In the center was a swirling spiral, just like the one he had seen in his dream—twisting and pulling in on itself. Around the swirl were small dots, arranged like stars. Surrounding them were faint shapes of the sun and the moon, and he could see lines connecting them, like constellations. The swirl was swallowing the light of the stars, the moon, and the sun.

He had never seen anything like it before.

He blinked, stared at it, then said out loud without thinking, "So… this is my Stigma."

Ren jolted awake beside him.

"Wha—what?" Ren said groggily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What did you say?"

Avyakta turned his hand toward him. "I got my Stigma."

Ren's eyes widened. "You—you got it?! Really?!"

He leaned over, trying to see it, but of course, he couldn't. Only the person who received a Stigma could see their own mark.

"I need to tell everyone!" Ren shouted, already jumping out of bed.

"Wait—" Avyakta tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Ren had already run out the door, his footsteps echoing through the hallway.

---

By morning, the whole orphanage knew.

Kids gathered in the hall outside the dining room, whispering and crowding around.

Father Johan and Sister Dalia were already there, along with Teacher Sabrina. A special parchment was laid out on the long wooden table—one that reacted to magic. When someone with a Stigma placed their hand on it, their symbol would appear on the paper for everyone to see.

Avyakta stood quietly near the front, still half-asleep. Meili stood next to him, her arms crossed. She didn't say anything, but she looked at him with a calm expression. Xue and Ren were behind them, practically buzzing with energy.

Zaden, one of the older boys with messy brown hair, leaned over toward Yula, the girl archer with sharp green eyes and a short ponytail.

"I didn't think he'd ever get one," Zaden whispered.

"Be quiet," Yula muttered. "Let him do it."

Dempis, the round-faced boy with a fire symbol on his wrist, stood on tiptoe to get a better view. "I bet his symbol is super weird."

Sient, a quiet girl with black hair and brown eyes, stood beside him, her healer mark faintly glowing under her sleeve. She didn't say a word—just watching them closely.

Father Johan raised a hand. "Avyakta, are you ready."

Avyakta stepped forward.

He placed his right hand on the parchment.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then—dark ink spread across the paper, forming the same black spiral he had seen on his hand. The same one from his dream. The swirl, the stars, the sun and moon, and the lines between them—every part of the strange pattern appeared, glowing faintly before settling.

Everyone stared at it.

Zaden blinked. "What is that?"

Yula frowned. "It doesn't look like anything we've seen before."

"It's not a symbol of a mage… or swordsmanship… or a healer…" Dempis mumbled.

Ren leaned toward Xue. "It looks like a portal."

Xue nodded, but didn't say anything.

Father Johan's eyes narrowed slightly. "This… is unlike any mark I've seen."

Sister Dalia stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Avyakta's shoulder. "Does it hurt? Are you feeling anything strange?"

Avyakta shook his head. "No. It doesn't hurt."

Teacher Sabrina stepped closer to the parchment. "There's something… odd about this symbol. "

Meili was still quiet. Then she asked calmly, "Do you feel dizzy?"

Avyakta looked down at the paper, then at his hand.

He didn't tell them about the dream.

He just shook his head.

"No," he said.

But deep down… he had a feeling.

Whatever this symbol was—whatever it meant—it wasn't something normal.

And someone, or something, had given it to him.