Mountain mornings were always cold, but today felt quieter than usual. The old church was still veiled in mist when Father Eluon called Kael into the back room — where ancient tomes were kept.
> "Sit down, Kael."
Kael obeyed. Eluon's voice was heavy, as if burdened by a past never spoken.
> "What have you felt… since that night?"
Kael hesitated. Inside, he felt like someone who had just woken from a thousand-year sleep. He heard whispers, felt emotions that weren't his, and... understood things never taught.
> "I feel like this world is a shell. Like it's not my home."
"And the voice?"
"Sometimes… it feels like it's me, speaking back to myself."
Eluon stared sharply, then opened a small wooden chest. Inside was a book that looked more like a carved stone. The Mark of the First Core glowed faintly on its surface.
> "You need to know, Kael. The Church… has been hiding something. Even from me."
---
Meanwhile, from beyond the church walls, a stranger was watching Kael. He wore a gray robe and a pendant shaped like an inverted cross, a piece of glass embedded at its center.
His name was Anselm.
One of the "Watchers," agents of a branch within the Church unknown to the public. His task: observe anyone showing signs of a Mark.
> "His eyes... they've begun to change," Anselm whispered, writing in his small book.
"The Mark fuses with the body. But is this his will… or the Mark's?"
---
That night, Kael sat beneath the bell tower, staring into the dark sky. He felt empty, yet within the emptiness, something had begun to grow — a desire to know who he truly was.
> "If all this was planned… then who am I really?"
And for the first time… the air around him trembled. The mist swirled in circles, and from his fingers, a faint line of light emerged — nearly invisible, but carrying a sense that it could tear the world apart if pulled too hard.