Chapter Title: The Mark That Follows
They did not get far before it started again.
At first, it was nothing obvious.
No shifting sky.
No breaking ground.
No overwhelming presence descending from above.
Just… a feeling.
Subtle.
Persistent.
Wrong.
Azrael slowed slightly, his eyes narrowing as his senses stretched outward. The land ahead remained unchanged, open and quiet, the same endless stretch they had been walking through.
But something beneath that—
Moved.
“…You feel that?” he asked.
The woman didn’t answer immediately.
Which meant she did.
“…Yes.”
Her voice was quieter this time.
More cautious.
Azrael exhaled slowly.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“It followed.”
The word lingered between them.
Followed.
Not chased.
Not attacked.
Not hunted.
Just… present.
Quinn spoke, it
