Chapter 5 – The Rebellion of the Marked

One Death, One Power: The Cycle of the Chosen

Chapter 5 – The Rebellion of the Marked

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Riku sat across from Valen, heart pounding as her words echoed in his mind:

> “You’re not her champion. You’re her experiment.”

The room felt colder now. The black-flamed lantern above them cast warped shadows on the walls. It made Valen’s expression unreadable—half-hidden in flickering gloom.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She poured a thick, dark liquid into two stone cups—tea, or something stronger—and slid one toward him.

“Lirith doesn’t grant power out of mercy. She’s testing. Watching. Every marked soul is a gamble. She gives you everything—at the price of your own death—to see what you’ll become. A weapon. A tyrant. A god. Or… a monster.”

Riku didn’t touch the drink.

“I thought she was trying to save this world,” he said.

Valen snorted.

“No. She’s trying to remake it. Velmora is broken, yes—but she’s tearing it down and rebuilding it with souls like ours. Expendable ones.”

Riku felt sick. “And the others like me? The Marked?”

Valen stood, brushing her cloak aside. A long map was nailed to the wall—red marks dotted the surface. Some had been crossed out in black.

“There were thirty-seven of us. That’s how many she’s summoned in the last decade.” She pointed to the map. “Only seven are still alive.”

He stared. “What happened to the others?”

“Most went mad. Some got hunted. One became a king. Another turned into a dragon.”

“…What?”

Valen didn’t repeat herself.

“But the worst,” she said, “are the Cleansers.”

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She drew a symbol on the table—three interlocking rings around a burning sun.

“The Cleansers are Velmora’s holy order. They believe the Marked are abominations. To them, you’re not reborn—you’re possessed. They hunt us. Burn our bodies. Break our souls. They don’t fear you because of what you are. They fear what you might become.”

Riku exhaled, trying to calm the panic rising in his chest.

“So… what do you want from me?”

Valen leaned in. “Join us.”

“Us?”

She tapped her collarbone, over her faded mark.

“The Ash Rebellion. We’re all former Marked. Survivors. We’ve kept our heads down, but we know something’s coming. Something worse than demons, worse than the Cleansers.”

Her gaze hardened.

“A god is about to awaken. And only those who have died and returned might stand a chance.”

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Riku stood, overwhelmed. He looked at his hand—still faintly stained with monster blood.

“I don’t even know what I’m doing yet,” he said quietly. “I just wanted power. I didn’t sign up to be part of a war.”

Valen didn’t flinch.

“Then leave,” she said coldly. “But remember this—your power isn’t just a gift. It’s a curse with a purpose. You’ll be hunted no matter what. So the only real question is…”

She met his eyes.

> “Will you die again as a pawn… or rise again as a king?”

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End of Chapter 5

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Chapter 6 next, where Riku escapes Greyhollow, only to be ambushed by a Cleansers’ elite knight who has already killed several Marked—and he must decide whether to die again for a new power?

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