CHAPTER ONE: THE UNMARKED
"Ink is the blood of the gods, and the skin is the battlefield. Every mark is a prayer written in flesh."
The scanner clicked once, then paused. The blue light passed over Naelii's chest again, humming softly as it traced the same circle for the third time.
"Is it broken?" she asked.
The technician didn't answer at first. His brows knit together, and he tapped the glass on the control pad with the side of his knuckle.
Click. Buzz. Scan complete.
The result blinked onto the display.
No Manifestation Detected.
Zero Probability of Awakening.
Classification: Unmarked.
Naelii stared. The room went quiet in her head, even though the buzz of other scanners and soft murmur of distant voices still filled the clinic around her. The technician didn't look at her, just cleared the result and gestured her out with a tired flick of the wrist.
"Next."
She stepped out into the waiting room.
Her mother was already standing. No hug. No questions. No reaction. Just the worn strap of a suitcase pressed into Naelii's hand, like a weight being passed off.
Naelii's voice was quiet. "That's it?"
"You won't be coming home," her mother said. "You won't survive long, but at least you'll do it in the city, not on our dime."
Naelii blinked and stared blankly at the woman who had given birth to her. She expected sadness. She expected anger. She didn't expect relief.
"No mark means no work. No future. No mercy."
A mark — any mark, even the weakest — meant a shot at life. A low-ranking tattoo could get you guild work. A stable job. Food rations. Medical access. Safety. Some families even threw parties for their kids' awakening results.
But no tattoo? No future. You were nothing but a burden.
She didn't cry. Not there. Not with her mother standing so tall and light like a weight had been lifted.
⸻
The city smelled like sweat, metal, and ink.
It was a city built for the Marked — not for those like her. Towering billboards showed warriors with glowing tattoos coiled around their arms, their backs, even their faces. Each was a promise: "Join the Hunt." "Clear Gates. Claim Stones." "Live Free. Die Inked."
Naelii had nothing but a cot in a subsidized shelter and a crumpled copy of her scan result. She didn't show it to anyone. She didn't have to. People could tell. The unmarked walked differently. They tried not to make eye contact, especially when the Inked were near.
A girl with a phoenix spiraling up her neck passed her on the street, laughing as guild recruiters hovered around her like bees to honey. Just a week ago, Naelii had imagined that being her.
Now she just kept her head down. Walking past a wall that someone had graffitied on. The words echoed through her mind.
"Unmarked today, hunter tomorrow. Or die."