Louis stood over the beast's massive corpse, his breath ragged and steam rising off his sweat-drenched skin. The air was thick with smoke and scorched earth. Trees were uprooted, ground cracked, and craters pockmarked the battlefield—testament to a fight no one could've imagined.
He dropped to one knee, clutching his chest. The glowing mark on his palm slowly dimmed… but then pulsed again—once.
A chill ran through his spine.
Suddenly, a surge of darkness rushed from the beast's corpse, forming a cloud of shadow that swirled violently in the air before darting into Louis's chest.
"Wha—AGH!" Louis cried out, doubling over as a searing pain shot through him. His eyes flared crimson for a second. His mind blurred.
Inside his head, he could hear a heartbeat. But it wasn't his own.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
Like something else was alive… within him.
He slammed his palm to the ground, teeth clenched. "What… what did you put inside me?"
But the voice from earlier was gone. No echo, no answer—just the subtle burn in his soul.
Louis forced himself up and turned toward the others. Betty lay motionless in Locob's arms, her scarf drenched in blood.
"Betty!" Louis yelled.
Locob looked up, his face pale and panicked. "She's alive… barely. But her pulse is fading."
Louis ran over. "Give her to me. I'll carry her."
"You're hurt—" Locob protested.
"I can still move!" Louis shouted, his eyes wild. "I won't let her die!"
Gently, Locob passed Betty into Louis's arms. She was light—too light, as if the fight had drained every drop of strength from her.
The moment Louis cradled her, the mark on his palm glowed again—and his legs moved.
Not walked. Not ran.
Blitzed.
He became a streak through the forest, moving so fast the trees blurred past him. Wind tore at his face, but he didn't stop. His mind screamed with urgency. Every heartbeat mattered.
She can't die.
Not after everything.
---
Back at the Wings of Nori – Medical Clinic
The clinic's front doors burst open with a loud crash, startling the healers inside.
Louis stumbled in, panting, holding Betty tight. "She's dying! Help her—please!"
Healer Marian, an older woman with graying hair and sharp eyes, rushed forward with her assistants. "On the table, quickly! What happened?"
"Beast attack," Louis gasped. "She was struck… lost a lot of blood."
Marian placed her hands on Betty's chest, her fingers glowing faint green. "She's slipping… Start the blood bind ritual. Apply pressure to the wound."
Assistants moved quickly, preparing salves, runes, and enchanted cloths.
Locob staggered in moments later, arm bleeding, limping heavily. "She… will she live?"
Marian didn't look up. "If we're fast. Her heart is strained. She needs to rest—two, maybe three days, minimum. Any more stress, and it's over."
Louis stepped back, body shaking—not from exhaustion, but from the aftershock of what had just happened. His hand still glowed faintly. His chest burned with that dark pulse.
"What's… happening to me?" he muttered.
Locob turned to him. "You were a blur. I barely caught up."
"I ran," Louis said. "No—I flew. It felt like the wind itself was carrying me."
The healer waved them off. "Sit down before you pass out. You're both half-dead."
---
An Hour Later
Betty lay in a quiet room, her body swathed in healing wraps. Her breathing was slow, but steady. Machines pulsed softly beside her. Louis sat at the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on her face.
"She'll be okay, right?" he asked.
Marian nodded, wiping her hands. "The worst is over. But she came close. Whatever hit her… it was savage."
Louis stared down at his own hands. His fingers were shaking. "I couldn't protect her…"
"You did," Locob said, seated on a chair across from him, arm now bandaged. "She's alive. Because of you."
Louis didn't answer. That eerie sensation inside him hadn't faded. The shadow from the beast still lingered. It didn't feel like just energy—it felt… sentient. Watching.
"I felt it enter me," Louis said softly. "The beast's soul. Or part of it."
Locob blinked. "You absorbed its… what?"
"I didn't choose to. It forced its way in. And now it's like… something else is breathing alongside me."
Locob stared at him, then lowered his voice. "Louis. That kind of thing… doesn't just happen. Only people with ancient soul channels can inherit power like that."
"I don't have a soul channel. At least, I didn't…"
"Are you sure?" Locob asked. "Because your body… your speed, that power—you fought like an A or S-rank today."
Louis didn't respond.
Locob sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I thought you were a B-rank. When i joined you. That's what the guild said. But you're not, are you?"
Louis stared at the glowing mark on his palm. "I didn't lie. I didn't even know what I was. Until recently."
"Then what are you?"
Louis looked up at him. "I think… I'm the Chosen."
A pause hung in the air.
"Then we're in deeper than we thought," Locob muttered. "Because something out there knows who you are—and it's not waiting anymore."
Louis sat in silence as the mark glowed faintly again.
Inside, he heard it once more.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
That alien heartbeat, calm and terrifying.
And deep within the rhythm… a whisper.
"More will come."
To be continued…