A sight I won’t forget

Twisted, mesmerizing, adorned with intricate engravings—each groove and symbol marked into them as if by the hands of an ancient craftsman. They did not seem like an abomination, nor a curse. No, they were *art*, dangerous and fascinating.

But before I could fully absorb what I was seeing, his hands clamped down on my shoulders. Hard.

The force of it nearly sent me reeling, but he held me firm, his grip unyielding. Then, without warning, he *breathed in*.

A deep, slow inhale.

Not through his nose—no, this was something far worse.

I *felt* it.

Something inside me was being drawn out, siphoned through the air like invisible threads unraveling from my soul. A dizzying wave of exhaustion crashed over me, my limbs going heavy, my vision darkening at the edges. My eyes burned as if something vital was being wrenched from them, something unseen but crucial.

My head swayed, my breath shallow, and then—his voice, a whisper, yet it echoed inside me.

*"You don’t wear his mark any