### Chen Wei
The arrow hit the wall so hard that splinters flew into his hair.
Chen Wei pulled Lin Yue down behind the fallen table. His heart slammed against his ribs. The golden mark on his palm blazed bright, casting gold light across the dirt floor.
Another arrow punched through the wooden wall. It missed Lin Yue's head by a finger's width.
"Stay down," she whispered.
"No." Chen Wei pushed heat into his legs. The mark flared hotter. "I am done hiding."
He burst out the door before she could stop him.
The scout stood twenty feet away, a thin man in dark leather, a crossbow aimed at Chen Wei's chest. His face was narrow, his eyes cold and empty. He looked like a wolf that had not eaten in days.
"The king wants you alive," the scout said. "But he did not say unhurt."
Chen Wei ran straight at him.
The scout fired. Chen Wei twisted to the side. The bolt grazed his ribs, tearing through his shirt and skin. Pain shot through his side, hot and sharp. But the mark was already working. He felt the wound close before he reached the scout.
He threw a punch. The scout dodged easily, sliding to the left like water over stone. Then he kicked Chen Wei's knee from the side. His leg buckled. He crashed onto the ground, dirt filling his mouth.
The scout reloaded the crossbow with one smooth motion. He aimed it at Chen Wei's face. The bolt was inches from his eye.
"Stay down, insect."
Lin Yue came out of nowhere. She tackled the scout from behind, her knife flashing. The crossbow fired. The bolt flew wild, cutting across Chen Wei's shoulder. Blood sprayed.
The scout threw Lin Yue off. She hit the ground hard and rolled.
Chen Wei pushed himself up. His shoulder burned. The mark was healing it, but slower this time. He was running out of energy.
The scout turned back to him, reaching for another bolt.
Chen Wei grabbed the scout's arm and shoved his palm into the man's face. The golden mark exploded with light. A blinding flash, brighter than the sun, right into the scout's eyes.
The man screamed. He dropped the crossbow and clawed at his face. His eyes were red and weeping. He stumbled backward, blind and cursing.
Chen Wei grabbed Lin Yue's arm. "Run."
They ran.
Behind them, the scout screamed curses into the dark forest. His voice faded as Chen Wei pushed his legs harder, faster, the mark burning through his remaining energy. Trees blurred past. Branches cut his face. He did not stop.
They ran until the sky turned gray and his legs gave out.
---
### Chen Wei
He collapsed at the base of a large oak tree. His chest heaved. His vision swam. The mark on his palm was so dim he could barely see it.
Lin Yue dropped beside him, breathing hard but still on her feet. She scanned the trees behind them.
"I think we lost him," she said.
Chen Wei could not answer. His throat was too dry. His body felt like it was made of broken glass.
Lin Yue crouched in front of him and grabbed his chin. She turned his head left and right, checking his eyes.
"You are running on empty," she said. "The mark has nothing left. If we get attacked again, you will die."
"Then let's not get attacked again," he managed to say.
She almost smiled. Almost.
They rested for an hour. Chen Wei drank water from a stream. He ate the last of the dried meat. The mark slowly regained its glow, but the golden veins on his wrist had crept higher. They were now halfway to his elbow.
"We need to reach the hermit today," Lin Yue said. "No more delays."
They walked. The forest thinned as they climbed higher. The air grew colder. The trees became sparse, replaced by rocks and gray grass.
By midday, they saw the cabin.
It sat on a ridge, small and old, with a roof made of moss covered planks. Smoke rose from a stone chimney. A vegetable patch grew to the side, fenced with crooked sticks.
An old man stood outside, leaning on a wooden staff. His beard was white and tangled. His eyes were pale blue, almost colorless. He wore old robes that had been patched a hundred times.
He looked at Chen Wei's palm before Chen Wei even raised it.
"Dawn Fargement," the old man said. His voice was raspy, like stones grinding together. "And it is killing you. Come inside. We do not have much time."
Chen Wei stepped forward. The old man's eyes flicked to the trees behind them.
"But we are not alone."
Chen Wei turned. Three crows sat on a low branch, their eyes red as blood. They did not move. They did not make a sound. They just watched.
"The king's eyes," Lin Yue whispered.
The old man nodded. "He knows where you are. He always knows. But he will not come himself. Not yet. He is still watching." He turned and walked into the cabin. "Come. I will tell you what he wants from you."
---
### The Hermit
The cabin was small and warm. A fire burned in a stone hearth. Herbs hung from the ceiling. Books were stacked everywhere, on shelves, on the floor, on the table.
The old man sat on a wooden stool and pointed at two others. Chen Wei and Lin Yue sat across from him.
"Show me your hand," the hermit said.
Chen Wei held out his palm. The golden mark glowed softly. The veins on his wrist pulsed.
The hermit studied it for a long time. He did not touch it. He just looked.
"You are not a god descendant," he said. It was not a question.
"No," Chen Wei said. "I don't even know what that means."
"It means you should not have this mark. The Fargements belong to the 55 god families. Only their bloodlines can carry these powers without dying." The old man leaned back. "Someone gave you this mark. Someone planted it in you like a seed. The question is why."
Chen Wei looked at his palm. "Who would do that?"
"I do not know. But I know why they would choose you." The old man's pale eyes locked onto Chen Wei's. "Because you are expendable. If the mark kills you, no god family loses a descendant. If the mark survives, they have created a new weapon outside the control of the Steps."
"The Steps," Chen Wei said. "Lin Yue told me they are a ladder. Trials. Survival."
The hermit nodded slowly. "The Steps are not natural. They were created to control people. To limit how strong a Fargement user can become. Each trial is designed to kill anyone who might threaten the order of things."
"Whose order?"
The old man was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "The gods. The ones who rule from above. The ones who decide who lives and who dies."
Lin Yue leaned forward. "Huang Zhen wants to break the Steps."
The hermit looked at her. His face was tired. "Yes. He is a god descendant. His family had the Phoenix Fargement. The gods killed them all because they were getting too powerful. He is the last one left. He has spent over a century trying to find a way to destroy the system that killed his family."
He turned back to Chen Wei.
"That is why he is watching you. He thinks your anomaly might be the key. A Fargement that appeared on a non descendant. A mark that should not exist. If he can understand how you got it, he might find a way to break the rules for himself."
Chen Wei felt cold. "So I am bait."
"You are bait, a tool, and a ticking bomb." The hermit pointed at the veins on Chen Wei's wrist. "That mark is spreading. When it reaches your heart, you will die. Unless you find a way to stop it."
"How?"
The old man stood up. He walked to a shelf and pulled down a thick book. The cover was cracked and faded.
"There is a legend," he said. "About the first Fargements. Before the Steps. Before the trials. When the gods still walked the earth. There was a way for a non descendant to claim a Fargement without dying."
He opened the book and flipped through yellowed pages.
"It requires a pilgrimage. Three trials, but not like the ones the gods created. Older trials. Hidden trials. If you survive them, the mark will accept you as its true owner."
Lin Yue stood up. "Where are these trials?"
The hermit pointed out the window, toward the mountains. "In the cursed land. The forbidden continent. No one has returned from there in five hundred years."
The fire crackled. The wind howled outside.
Chen Wei looked at his palm. The golden mark pulsed.
"Then that is where I am going," he said.
The old man closed the book. "You will die."
"Everyone keeps saying that." Chen Wei stood up. "I am tired of running. I am tired of hiding. If I am going to die anyway, I might as well die trying to live."
Lin Yue grabbed his arm. "Chen Wei."
He looked at her.
"If you go to the cursed land, I am going with you."
He almost smiled. "Good."
---
### Huang Zhen
The scout knelt in the throne room. His face was burned. His eyes were red and weeping. He could barely see.
"The insect escaped," the scout said. "He used light. Blinded me."
Huang Zhen stood up from his throne. He walked down the steps slowly. His boots echoed on the black stone.
"You failed," he said.
The scout begged. "Mercy, my king. I will find him again. I will not fail twice."
Huang raised one finger. A small flame danced on his fingertip. He touched the scout's right hand. The man screamed as his skin blackened and cracked.
"Next time, you lose the whole arm." Huang turned away. "Now get out of my sight."
The scout crawled away, whimpering.
Left Hand stepped out of the shadows. "The insect reached the hermit, my king."
"I know." Huang walked to the window and looked out at his kingdom. "Let him learn. Let him grow. The more he knows, the more I will learn from him."
"And if he tries to flee to the cursed land?"
Huang smiled. Thin and cold. "Then I will follow. The cursed land holds secrets even I do not know. Maybe the insect will open the door for me."
He placed his palm on the cold glass.
"Send word to all scouts. I want him cornered. But do not catch him. Not yet."
Left Hand bowed and melted into the shadows.
Huang stood alone, watching the dark sky.
Somewhere in the mountains, a boy with a golden mark was planning to walk into death.
Huang's smile did not fade.