Snow howled against the broken shrine.
Within, the fire burned black-blue, fueled by essence Aren had harvested from fallen spirits. At the center of the chamber, Kaeliah knelt in silence, her shadow flickering across the ritual circle etched in old Sovereign glyphs.
[Initiate Shadowbind Ritual – Custom Protocol Detected]New Feature: Marked RiteStatus: Prototype
Materials Required:– Host Willingness ✔– Shadow Catalyst (Provided) ✔– Soul Ink Glyphs ✔– Domain Anchor: Hollow Throne ✔
Risk: MediumResult: Formal Faction Initiation + Passive Link Creation
Proceed?
Aren placed a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't like before. Once we do this, you'll carry part of my will."
Kaeliah looked up. "That's why I'm here. I was born to be forgotten. Let me stand for something instead."
[Command Accepted: Begin Rite]
The room dimmed.
The glyphs around the circle pulsed with violet light, shadows coiling like snakes across stone. The system whispered ancient code into the walls.
Aren extended the Thornbrand fragment. Not to wound—but to mark.
He drew a thin line across her collarbone—black light flowed from it, not blood.
[Shadow Sigil Engraved]
Class: Marked – First AscensionRole: Shadebound Vassal
Ability Unlocked:➤ Shared Domain Awareness➤ Echo Veil (Passive) – Lesser presence to Spiritbound detection
Loyalty Lock: Tier I – 62%
Kaeliah collapsed as her spirit reformed again—this time not as a Wane-Fawn, but as something new:
A Twilight Stag, horned and spectral, half-shadow and half-mist.
Spirit Evolution: CompleteShadowform Tier: 1ATrait: Nightstride – Can move undetected between shadow nodes
Aren watched as the ritual completed and the mark on her chest pulsed once, syncing to his system.
He wasn't just a Sovereign anymore.
He was a leader.
That night, Kaeliah stood beside him on the shrine's ledge, staring into the vast forest below.
"We'll find more," she said. "Others like us."
Aren nodded. "Not just outcasts. Not just the broken. I'll take those the spirits rejected—and turn them into weapons."
The system responded.
[Faction: The Marked – Status Updated]Members: 2
Reputation (Global): UnknownReputation (Spiritbound): Null Threat
Faction Trait: Shrouded Legacy➤ Until exposed, your group is considered a myth.➤ Actions within your domain increase Shadow Sovereignty.
Sovereign's Path Progression: 19%
Back in the Spiritbound capital, the Council analyzed the latest reports.
"Three more spirit links lost near the Frostgrave region."
"And survivors?"
"None."
The High Seer frowned. "Increase the purging force. Prepare the Lightbrand Executioners. Whatever stirs in that dark—it must be snuffed out before it learns to speak."
But Aren had already begun to speak.
Not in words.
In marks.