There was only one way to become a Keeper - by obtaining the Codex. To do so, a Tainted, person infected by Rune Brand needed to get the Ascension Rune.
The Ascension Rune could only be found in the Astral Dimension. The Rune Brand was the bridge to becoming a Keeper since the Arcane Scripture collided this world with the Astral Dimension.
Now, through the sacrifice of one Keeper, the ever-disgruntled young man got his chance.
Before Kain knew it, shimmering symbols appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Kain
Codex: -
Mark: Forsaken Sacrifice
Rank: Tarnished
Core: Shattered
Traits: [Cursed Blood] [???] [???]
Runes: [Tainted] [Rune Brand]
-Tainted: You have touched the energy of the runes. The Astral Dimension awaits you.
-Rune Brand: A piece of the Arcane Scripture has awakened within you, but without a core, the energy will quickly become unstable.
-Cursed Blood (inborn): Your blood is cursed, no matter how much you try to influence your fate, you will always be haunted by misfortune. However... death will try to avoid you, as much as possible, so as not to bring down the wrath of the Blind Twin.]
Stunned, Kain stared at something unique available only to the Keepers or those afflicted by the Rune Brand - to the Tainted.
"My blood is cursed...?" Kain stammered, his gaze lost.
It was an explanation for all his troubles, but far more important was the Mark. Kain gulped, with trembling eyes going to look at it.
ROOOOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!!
The piercing roar of a wild beast reached his ears, causing him to turn around.
Kain's eyes went wide. "Vorg!"
Bared its fangs, the beast pressed at the iron beam - Vorg's only defense. An ordinary human didn't stand a chance against the Astral Creature.
Bam.
A stone flew into the monster's head, causing it to turn around.
"K-Kain...?" Vorg stammered, then horror covered his face. "Fuck! Run! You have to survive! I'll try to hold it off...!"
Before Vorg could do anything, the beast tore towards Kain's side at full speed.
'Argh?' Kain gulped. 'Why am I not moving...?'
His legs didn't even twitch, though he tried with all his might. His heart sank as he stared at the beast's bloodshot eyes, its leaps shaking the ground.
'Is this my death? Hah... There's hope for me.'
Suddenly, the monster stumbled over a piece of log, passing close to Kain, a little more, and its claws would catch him. It seemed as if someone or something had set it up.
Kain noticed the sword. 'That's a weapon from the squad! It must be an Artifact!'
But, the beast's shadow fell upon Kain already. A swipe of its tail knocked him to the ground, its jaw closing right in front of him.
"Bastard...!"
With his last strength, Kain clutched the monster's neck, fighting for every second of his life.
When a dark veil was about to cover his eyes he saw a ring of stone floating in the sky - clearly not born in this world.
In the blink of an eye, thunderbolts cascaded over the village, turning the monsters into handfuls of ash, bringing salvation to the few survivors of the rift explosion.
Vorg watching Kain pass out smiled bitterly. "Hah... What a lucky boy."
At the same moment, a multitude of figures in blue uniforms ran into the village. Behind them walked two men in white - the Keepers.
"Shit..." one of them hissed grudgingly. "Had to waste such a good artifact."
"It's worth it, looks like we saved a Contender."
He stepped forward, a flow of runes ran down his right arm.
"Enough talking. Work first."
"Sure."
...
A beam of light fell on Kain's face, not a pleasant sunny one, but from a flashlight whose sole purpose was to wake him up.
As soon as he opened his eyes he saw a girl, her stern gaze piercing him. "Kain Linch - my name is Misa Lass, I am a second rank private. You as a Contender have been brought here - at the Orlion Tower. You are instructed to follow me."
"What the...?"
Kain squinted, trying to get used to the light.
"The Contender, the tower? What are you talking about? Wait..." his eyes went wide. "My friends... Max, Daniel, and that greedy merchant, Vorg! What happened to them?! What happened in my village?!"
Misa put the flashlight away, straightening her back like a true military personnel.
"Report - 9 hours ago at the Glistmor Village, an unexpected rift rupture occurred. Squad No. 17 of the third dome was destroyed, including a Keeper - Reina Frantz. As far as I know, only you and the merchant survived in the factory area."
"Merchant... Hah..." Kain smiled nervously, "Fuck, I'm alone again..."
"I apologize, but I can't share your feelings," Misa said dryly, "I was ordered to bring you to Mr. Kserx. I'm afraid you have no choice - you are in danger, and so are all of us."
Soon they were at a large door in a wide passageway, with two youths sitting next to it - a girl and a guy. Kain didn't know why, but they were looking at him in disapproval, as if they were here because of him.
"Pfft, he finally showed up!" the girl blew on her bangs irritably.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Ignoring them, Misa stepped inside. Lastly, Kain cast a glance at the guy and the girl.
'This is the first time I've seen them! What are they so annoyed about? And... how well-dressed they are. Are they from the inner sphere of our dome?'
In the dim light was a muscular man with broad shoulders.
Misa put her palm to her chest. "Mr. Kserx - Kain Linch has arrived!"
"Have a seat," he said, pointing to the chair in front of him. His short beard and black hair made his gaze sterner.
Kain gulped, dropping into the seat. Only then did he notice that against the wall, stood another man, his hair blond and his eyes blue almost closed.
"And we spent an artifact to save him? Tsk. I hope it was worth it," the man shook his head.
Kserx folded his arms. "Hush, Loir. Kain is a Contender, and... his Rune Brand is already activated. Time is short."
'I see...' Kain gulped, looking at their white coats, 'So these two are the Keepers, the same as Reina...'
"May I ask...?" Kain stammered, "Where am I? What am I doing here? And... Who are those two in the passageway?"
"That's easy to answer. Neil Krist and Sylvia Moreau are Contenders like you. But, their Rune Brands are in a quiet phase, not an active one like yours." Kserx waved his hand.
"An active Rune Brand?" Kain flinched. "What does that mean?"
"Well..." Kserx pulled a massive cigar from his pocket. "Rune Brand has three stages: occurrence, activation, and unfolding. You know about the first stage, it means a person is diseased and between 3-7 days they will die. Such people are called Contenders. The third stage comes when the Contender finds the Ascension Rune, I'm sure you've heard about that too."
Click.
The steel lighter opened as green flames fell on Kain's tense face.
"Neil and Sylvia's Rune Brands manifested two days ago. Out of 72 hours, 54 hours passed, we won't let them reach the third day as they might die. But... you have a different situation, your Rune Brand has already been activated."
Kserx shrugged, "I'm not sure why exactly it happened, maybe the monster's blood got on you, maybe the energy from the Rift touched you, the options are many, but it's obvious. In the second stage you only have 24 hours before you die, the Rune Brand progresses very quickly."
"Fuck..." Kain turned pale. "But, if you're telling me all this. There's a way to fix this, right?"
"Sure. You only have two options."
He exhaled a puff of smoke.
"The first is we kill you right here and now. We carry out a quick, painless execution, paperwork, and all that."
"Or..." he glanced toward the door. "Tonight, you will head to the Astral Dimension with Neil and Sylvia. Maybe you'll find your Ascension Rune and become a Keeper, or maybe you'll regret not agreeing to the execution.
"So..."
Kserx shook off the ashes.
"What will it be?"