### Chen Wei
The golden veins on his wrist pulsed with every heartbeat.
Chen Wei stared at them. Thin lines of light crawling up his arm like roots searching for soil. They didn't hurt anymore. That was worse. Pain meant something was wrong. No pain meant his body was getting used to dying.
Lin Yue grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder. "We need to move. Now."
"Where?"
"North. The mountains. The hermit is our only chance." She looked at his wrist. "That mark will reach your shoulder in three days. Your heart in five. We do not have time to waste."
Chen Wei stood up. His legs were steady. He felt fine. That was the scariest part.
They walked fast. The forest was gray and damp. Fog hung between the trees like old curtains. Every sound made Chen Wei flinch. Every shadow looked like a man with a sword.
Lin Yue moved ahead of him, her knife in her hand. She checked left, right, left again.
"Chen Wei," she said without turning around. "You are Step 7 now. Because you have a Fargement. That puts you in a different category than normal people."
He looked at his palm. "What does that mean?"
"It means you are on the ladder. The Steps only exist for Fargement users. God descendants. People like Huang Zhen. Normal fighters do not have Steps. They are just strong or weak."
"So that scout from last night? The one with the crossbow?"
"He is not a god descendant. He has no Fargement. He is just a trained killer. Dangerous, but not on the Steps."
Chen Wei nodded. That made sense. The mark was what separated him from ordinary people.
"Huang Zhen is Step 3," Lin Yue continued. "He has survived four trials to get there. From Step 7 down to Step 3. That is four."
"Four trials?"
"Four. Most Fargement users never survive one. He survived all four. That makes him one of the strongest known Fargement users in the region."
Chen Wei looked at the golden mark on his palm. "And me? What trials do I need to take?"
Lin Yue stopped and turned to face him. Her scar looked white in the gray light.
"None. Not yet. If you try to enter a trial right now, the mark will burn you from the inside. You need to find out why it chose you first. Then you need to stop it from killing you. Then, maybe, you think about trials."
She started walking again.
They walked in silence for an hour. The forest grew thicker. The trees were older here, their trunks wider, their roots pushing up through the dirt.
Chen Wei's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since yesterday.
Lin Yue pulled a piece of dried meat from her bag and tossed it to him. He caught it and tore off a chunk with his teeth. It was tough and salty.
"The hermit," Chen Wei said between chews. "What does he know?"
"He studied Fargements for forty years. He knew my father. He wrote books about the god families and their marks." Lin Yue stepped over a root. "If anyone knows why a non descendant has a Fargement, it is him."
"And if he doesn't know?"
"Then you die."
Chen Wei swallowed the meat. It tasted like dust.
They walked until the sun was directly overhead. The fog burned off. The forest looked less threatening in the light, but Chen Wei knew better. Danger did not care about the sun.
Lin Yue stopped at a small stream. She crouched down and splashed water on her face. Chen Wei did the same. The water was cold and clean.
"How much further?" he asked.
"One more day. Maybe two. The mountains are close, but the hermit's cabin is hidden. We will have to search."
Chen Wei looked at his wrist. The golden veins had not spread further. Yet.
"Lin Yue," he said.
"What?"
"Why did Huang kill your family?"
She was quiet for a long moment. Then she stood up and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"Because my father studied things the king did not want studied. The god families. The Fargements. The true history of the Steps." She looked at Chen Wei. "Huang Zhen is a god descendant. His family had the Phoenix Fargement. But the gods killed them all. He is the last. He wants to know why. And he thinks the answers are in my father's books."
"The books that burned?"
"The books that I saved." She tapped her bag. "Not all of them. But enough."
Chen Wei looked at her bag. Small. Worn. But carrying knowledge that a king would kill for.
"Let's keep moving," she said.
They walked.
---
### Huang Zhen
The throne room was cold and silent.
Huang Zhen sat in his black stone chair, his eyes closed. His breathing was slow. He looked like a statue.
Left Hand stood in the shadows, waiting.
Right Hand knelt in the center of the floor. His head was bowed. His sword rested on the stone beside him.
"Report," Huang said without opening his eyes.
"The insect is heading north," Right Hand said. "The girl is leading him toward the mountains. There is an old scholar living up there. A hermit. He studied Fargements decades ago."
Huang opened his eyes. "The same scholar who taught Lin Yue's father."
"Yes, my king."
Huang uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. "Send a second scout. Faster than the first. More aggressive."
Right Hand looked up. "What are his orders?"
"Find the insect. Do not kill him. But hurt him. Make him bleed. Make him desperate." Huang's voice was quiet and calm. "Desperate people make mistakes. And mistakes are where I find answers."
Right Hand bowed his head. "As you command."
He stood up, grabbed his sword, and walked out of the throne room.
Left Hand stepped out of the shadows. His yellow eyes glowed in the torchlight.
"A second scout, my king? The first one failed."
"The first one was a test. Now I know the insect can fight back. Now I know his limits." Huang stood up from the throne. "The second scout will push him harder and faster. I want to see how much pain the mark can heal before it breaks."
Left Hand tilted his head. "And if the scout kills him by accident?"
Huang walked down the steps. His boots echoed on the black stone.
"Then he was never worth my time."
He reached the bottom and looked at the burned painting on the wall. His family. Dead. Gone. He said nothing. He did not need to.
"Send the scout," he said. "Tell him to make the insect suffer. But do not let him die. Not yet."
Left Hand bowed and melted back into the shadows.
---
### Chen Wei
They made camp in an abandoned hut as the sun went down.
The walls were old wood, cracked and rotting. The roof had holes. The floor was dirt and dead leaves. But it was shelter.
Lin Yue built a small fire in the center of the room. The smoke curled up through the holes in the roof. Chen Wei sat with his back against the wall, his palm facing the flames.
The golden mark glowed softly. The veins on his wrist had not spread further. Yet.
"We are close to the mountains," Lin Yue said. "One more day. Maybe two."
Chen Wei nodded. He was tired. Not just his body. His soul.
"Lin Yue," he said.
"What?"
"Thank you. For helping me. For not leaving me behind."
She looked at him. Her face was hard, but her eyes were soft.
"Do not thank me yet. We are not safe. And the king is still watching."
Chen Wei looked at the fire. The flames danced and twisted.
"I know," he said.
They sat in silence. The fire crackled. The wind blew through the holes in the walls.
Midnight came. The sky was black. No stars. No moon.
Chen Wei closed his eyes.
Then he heard it.
A whistle. Sharp. Fast.
He opened his eyes and rolled to the side. An arrow slammed into the wall where his head had been. Splinters flew into the air.
Lin Yue was already moving. She grabbed Chen Wei's arm and pulled him down behind a fallen table.
Another arrow. It hit the table and stuck there, vibrating.
Outside, a voice called out. Calm. Amused.
"Come out, little insect. I promise not to kill you. Much."
Chen Wei looked at Lin Yue. Her face was pale, but her eyes were hard.
"A scout," she whispered. "Same as the last one. Better with that bow."
Chen Wei raised his palm. The golden mark blazed.
"Then we run," he said.
"Not yet." Lin Yue pulled out her knife. "First, we hurt him."
She crawled toward the door.
Chen Wei followed.