The night air was thick with tension as Kael and Yuna moved swiftly through the outskirts of a ruined city. The echoes of distant footsteps reminded them they were being hunted—not by regular scouts, but by Trackers from the Ascension Order.
They found a brief respite near an abandoned church, its towering structure now little more than a shell, crumbling under the weight of time. The only light came from the faint glow of Kael's hand, still shining softly, betraying their presence to anyone who might be looking.
As they crouched in the shadows, Kael's mind raced. "Why are these people coming after us?" he asked, his voice tight with fear, his face pale in the dim light.
Yuna, ever composed, turned her gaze to him. "You're like a wild signal. Unstable, untraceable… and dangerous to them," she explained, her tone steady but with a hint of urgency.
Kael's brow furrowed in confusion. "But why? What do you mean? What's a signal?"
Yuna glanced at him, her expression hardening. "Because your power didn't have a sigil. You were glowing like a flare, but there was no mark. No order. That's impossible."
"Sigil?" Kael repeated, the word foreign on his tongue. "You mean the marks I've seen on other people? I think I got one."
"Where?" Yuna asked, her voice sharp with impatience.
Kael hesitated, then revealed the mark on his palm.
Yuna's eyes widened in disbelief. She stared at the sigil, her mouth hanging open as she took a step back. For a moment, she was silent, processing the sight before her.
After a beat, Yuna's sharp gaze never left the sigil. Her eyes narrowed as she studied it more closely. She had seen many sigils in her life, but this one… it was different. It wasn't wild or unstable, like most other untrained marks. No, this sigil had an unnatural clarity to it. It was controlled. Refined.
"Glow Sigil," she murmured, her voice filled with awe.
Kael, still uncertain, glanced at her with wariness. He was ready for anything—especially another attack. But Yuna didn't move. Instead, she stepped forward, her own sigil flaring to life. A faint red glow ran along her forearm, her Burn Sigil pulsing like heated iron—steady and combat-forged.
"In this world, sigils are everything," Yuna began, her voice dropping to a whisper as she explained. "Everyone who awakens bears a sigil, and those sigils define who they are. They represent your power, your identity, and your place in this world."
Kael listened intently as she continued.
"Most people begin with nothing—a Blank Sigil, or maybe a weak Flicker Sigil. Over time, with training and hard work, they rise. Some, like you, awaken with something higher." She paused before continuing. "Burn Sigils mark those who can fight reliably. They're practical, dependable."
Kael's eyes widened. "And what about mine?"
"Glow Sigils," Yuna said, her voice quiet but firm. "Like yours. They're higher-tier. Advanced users capable of wielding powerful energy with control and precision."
Kael absorbed her words, the weight of them sinking in. "So, this power I have... it's not just random?"
Yuna shook her head. "No, it's not. Your sigil has the potential to evolve."
Kael's heart skipped a beat. "Evolve?"
Yuna hesitated before speaking again. "There are rarer sigils—ones that most people never see in their lifetimes. The Eclipse Sigils." Her voice lowered. "Fusions of opposing forces. A balance of light and darkness. Creation and destruction. They're dangerous, and most people never even encounter one."
Kael's mind whirled. Eclipse Sigils—the very thought made his skin crawl. But something within him stirred as Yuna spoke, something deep inside that hinted at greater power.
He looked at his glowing hand and then back at her. Yuna had seen the truth in his eyes. His sigil wasn't just a Glow Sigil. It was something more.
Yuna could feel it—his energy wasn't like other Glow Sigils. It surged, quietly but powerfully, like a storm waiting for the right spark to ignite it.
Before they could talk further, the ground beneath their feet trembled.
Yuna stiffened. Her instincts kicked in. "Sigil hunters," she muttered, her voice low with concern.
Kael's breath caught in his throat. He didn't understand the full depth of this world, but he knew one thing for certain: staying meant death.
Yuna turned towards the woods. "We need to move, now."
Kael rose to his feet, his legs shaky but determined. He didn't fully understand this new world of powers, rankings, and sigils, but there was one thing he knew for sure. There was something waiting for him out there, something tied to the glow on his arm—and to the storm building inside him.
As they disappeared into the trees, the only sound was the steady rhythm of their footsteps, the night closing in around them.