Chapter 2: The Mark and the Message
Rayven sat on the curb, staring at the mark on his palm like it might vanish if he blinked hard enough.
It didn't.
The symbol glowed faintly, an intricate pattern of curved lines and sharp angles, shifting just under his skin. It didn't hurt. Not exactly. But it felt… alive.
The girl—no, the warrior—stood silently a few feet away, blade still out, her cloak billowing slightly in the breeze. She watched the monolith at the center of the crater like it might get up and walk.
Rayven cleared his throat. "So, you gonna explain what the hell that thing was? The monster, the metal obelisk, the lightshow in the sky—any of it?"
She didn't turn. "Your mark reacted. That thing was drawn to it."
"Yeah, you said that already. But what is it? A curse? A tracker?"
She looked at him then, eyes sharp. "A call."
Rayven frowned. "A call?"
"The city is awakening. And it's calling its heir." She pointed at his hand. "That mark means you're chosen."
He snorted. "Me? Look, I'm nobody. I deliver food, I dodge muggers, and I live in a shoebox apartment. Whatever cosmic lottery this is? They got the wrong guy."
She finally sheathed her blade. "The city doesn't make mistakes."
Rayven opened his mouth to argue, then paused. A low hum filled the air. Faint, almost musical, coming from the monolith. The runes on it shifted, rearranged. One floated off the surface and hovered in front of him.
"Step back," the woman snapped.
But Rayven didn't move. Something about the rune pulled at him. Not like a magnet. Like memory. Like something ancient buried deep inside him recognized it.
The rune flared, then flew into his chest.
Rayven gasped, stumbling backward as heat surged through his veins. Images flooded his mind—cities made of glass, men with glowing veins battling beasts in the sky, a throne made of shadow and steel.
And fire. So much fire.
He dropped to one knee, panting.
The warrior knelt beside him. "You just received a memory shard. The city's way of showing you the past. Don't fight it. Let it settle."
Rayven gritted his teeth. "Easy for you to say… you're not the one getting flash-burned by a magic PowerPoint."
She smirked—barely.
"Name's Rayven," he said after a minute, still trying to catch his breath.
She hesitated. "Selene."
He nodded. "You always save random guys from monsters and drop cryptic lore dumps, or am I just lucky?"
"You're not lucky," she said. "You're marked."
"Still not helpful."
Selene stood. "Walk with me."
He hesitated. "Where?"
"Somewhere safer than here. That pulse you felt? Every awakened entity in the city felt it too. The others will come."
Rayven stood slowly. "The others?"
"Not all of them will be friendly."
They walked in silence for several blocks. The city, still trembling from the crash, had pockets of chaos—flickering traffic lights, strange electrical pulses, distant sirens. But the streets were emptier than they should've been. Like something in the air warned people to stay indoors.
Rayven looked at her sideways. "How long have you known about all this?"
"Since I was ten," Selene said. "My family has been part of the Guardians for generations. Our job was to watch for signs of awakening… and protect the heir when the time came."
"Why me?" he asked, rubbing the mark on his palm.
"There's a bloodline," she said. "Ancient. Tied to the city's core. It's passed down through generations. You're the last known carrier."
"Great. So I'm royalty in a broken city no one believes is alive."
"You're more than royalty," she said quietly. "You're the city's last hope."
That shut him up.
They stopped in front of an old cathedral—abandoned, overgrown with ivy and rust. Selene pushed open the heavy doors. The air inside was still, cool, and strangely clean.
"Safe house?" Rayven asked.
"Sanctuary," she said. "This place is built on one of the city's Vein Lines. Strong protective energy flows here."
He dropped onto a wooden bench. "So, what now? I go full superhero? Start training montages and learning secret powers?"
She gave him a look. "That depends. Do you even believe what's happening?"
Rayven was quiet for a long time. "I don't know," he admitted. "But when that thing attacked me, and that rune flew into my chest… I felt something. Like… the city knew me. Like I belonged here in a way I never have before."
Selene sat across from him. "That's the awakening. The city remembers its heir. Even if the heir doesn't remember the city."
Rayven leaned back. "I've got no family. No past. Just a job that pays like trash and dreams I never chase. But tonight? I felt alive. Even if it scared the hell out of me."
Selene nodded slowly. "Then we train. We prepare. Because that thing you saw tonight? It was only the beginning."
Rayven looked out through the cracked stained-glass window. The sky still shimmered faintly with that strange blue web.
He clenched his fist.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Let's wake up the city."