Because of all the events of the night, Kazi couldn't sleep.
Furthermore, even with the amber glow from the mark dimmed to a faint shimmer beneath her skin, she could feel it, pulsing with every beat of her heart, humming low in her bones. The kind of feeling that didn't come from adrenaline or fear, but from something deeper. Something ancient.
She sat on the floor of her room, knees pulled to her chest, eyes fixated on the spot where the floating objects had once hovered. The symbols that had burned on the walls were gone, yet they lived in her memory, etched with perfect clarity.
They didn't look like any language she recognized. Not quite runes, not quite glyphs. But somehow… familiar. Like something she'd seen in a dream long ago and forgotten until now.
Luma brought her a glass of water and sat nearby, watching her with quiet concern.
"I've known you since we were kids," Luma said softly, "and I've never seen you like this."
Kazi didn't look at her, but responded, "That's because I've never felt like this."
"Maybe we should talk to someone," Luma suggested. "Like a shaman. Or a healer. Someone who understands energy or spirits."
"You think this is just energy or spiritual?" Kazi finally turned to face her. "Luma, this tattoo has been on me for years. It never did anything... until tonight. And the second it lit up, that thing… that presence... it found me."
"You don't know that" Luma said with a concerned look.
"I do," Kazi said. "I felt it. Like it was searching for someone or something; and the moment my mark activated, it knew exactly where I was."
Luma looked down, chewing her lip, deep in thought. "So, what now?"
Kazi didn't have an answer. But deep inside, something had shifted. A stirring sense that her life, as she knew it, was over.
She eventually stood up and walked to her mirror in the corner of her room. She rolled up her sleeve to look at her tattoo. To her surprise, it looked different. It looked like a mark was inked just beneath the skin, making it look… sharper. As if the edges had been re-etched from within. It was still her tattoo, but somehow, she no longer felt as though it was just hers.
She reached out her hand towards the mirror, almost expecting the glass to ripple. But nothing happened.
Only her reflection staring back at her differently now. She was still Kazi, same eyes, same long black curls, same fierce energy, but something new lingered in her gaze.
…Awareness.
"Whatever this is," she said aloud, "I need to know the truth."
But suddenly, the wind outside picked up. The streetlamp began flickering again. Then her phone buzzed.
It was a text from an unknown number and no contact name.
Kazi, read the message, "Do you feel it now?"
Kazi's hands began to tremble.
Luma leaned over her shoulder, read the message and gasped. "Who sent that?"
"I don't know," Kazi said slowly. "But I think it's time I found out."