Episode 2: The Mark That Should Not Exist
756 Words
The world didn’t calm down after the sighting.
It only got louder.
Rumors about the Invasives spread through every kingdom like a sickness that couldn’t be stopped. At first, people spoke in whispers. Then in fear. Then in panic.
Even Ashfall could no longer pretend it was just another distant problem.
The word Invasive was becoming real.
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We stood in the training field again.
Same place as always.
But something felt different.
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Hanori: “They’re saying Varelden saw it again.”
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Draight: “Saw it? Like it just appeared and left?”
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Hanori: “It didn’t leave. It vanished on its own.”
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Silence followed.
Even Draight didn’t joke this time.
I tightened my grip on the wooden sword.
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Shin: “If it exists… it’s not something we can fight normally.”
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Draight scoffed, but there was less confidence in it now.
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Draight: “So what? We just sit and wait for it to reach us?”
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Hanori looked between us.
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Hanori: “No. We get stronger.”
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That sentence stayed longer than it should have.
Because for the first time, it didn’t feel like training.
It felt like survival.
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We began sparring harder.
No holding back.
No warm-up.
Draight attacked with full force.
Hanori read movement carefully.
I reacted faster than I should have been able to.
Too fast.
Almost like my body moved before I decided to move.
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Then—
A sharp pain hit my head.
Everything tilted.
My grip loosened.
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Hanori: “Shin!”
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My knees gave out.
And everything went black.
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When I woke up, the sky was still the same.
Draight and Hanori were beside me.
Both tense.
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Draight: “You just dropped mid-fight.”
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Hanori: “We didn’t hit you hard enough for that.”
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I slowly sat up.
My body felt heavy… like something had passed through it.
Then I saw it.
A faint mark on my hand.
Dark.
Unfamiliar.
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Shin: “…What is this?”
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Draight raised his hand.
His eyes widened slightly.
He had the same mark.
Fainter.
But real.
Hanori looked at his arm next.
He had one too.
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Hanori: “None of us felt it appear…”
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The marks pulsed once.
Then faded.
Like they were never there.
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Draight: “Okay… this is definitely not normal.”
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We didn’t say anything after that.
But we all understood the same thing.
We would not tell anyone.
Not yet.
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We returned home in silence.
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That night, our uncle called us into the small hall.
His expression was heavier than usual.
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Uncle: “Listen carefully.”
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We stood still.
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Uncle: “The kingdoms are no longer treating this as rumor.”
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He exhaled slowly.
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Uncle: “Varelden is openly preparing for Invasive contact. Solmire and Thorneveil are still uncertain, but they have already sent their Nexus units to investigate.”
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That word again.
Nexus.
The strongest warriors of each kingdom.
Above soldiers. Above elites.
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Uncle: “Ashfall is also sending a Nexus member.”
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Draight frowned.
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Draight: “Only one?”
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Uncle: “That is all we have.”
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Then he added:
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Uncle: “His name is Gareth Volen.”
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A silence followed.
Even Draight stopped joking completely.
A Nexus from Ashfall.
One of the strongest our kingdom could offer.
And still… only one.
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Uncle: “If even the Nexus cannot confirm what these creatures are… then we are dealing with something far beyond us.”
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That sentence lingered.
Far beyond us.
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After the meeting, we walked outside.
No one spoke at first.
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Then Draight finally broke it.
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Draight: “If Nexus are already being sent out… then this isn’t just a rumor anymore.”
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Hanori: “It never was.”
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Draight clenched his fist.
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Draight: “Then we need to get stronger. Not later. Now.”
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I didn’t answer.
But I felt the same thing.
Not fear.
Pressure.
Like the world was slowly pushing down on us.
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I looked at my hand again.
The mark wasn’t visible anymore.
But I could still feel it.
Like something inside me was waiting for permission to wake up.
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Shin (thought): …what are we?
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And somewhere far beyond Ashfall…
something watched as the world began to move again.
Quietly.
Patiently.
Like it already knew how everything would end.
- Writer
