Chapter 198 — The Unfinished Mark
Brook had been staring at the fourth mark for almost an hour.
It hadn't disappeared completely.
That was different.
Every other time it appeared, it had burned brightly before fading away.
Now—
a faint outline remained.
Brook turned his arm under the moonlight.
Three established marks.
One unfinished.
Four Sources.
Except the fourth didn't feel like the others.
Michael.
Lucifer.
Death.
He could feel their presence inside him.
The Earth was different.
The Earth wasn't simply inside him.
It was everywhere.
Brook lowered his arm.
"That's going to be a problem."
"You're finally realizing that?"
Brook turned.
Tala stood behind him.
Brook sighed.
"You really like appearing without making noise."
"You're usually too distracted to notice."
Brook looked back at his arm.
"Can you tell me what this is?"
Tala approached.
"The mark?"
"Yeah."
She studied it.
"It isn't complete."
"I figured that out."
"It isn't incomplete because you're missing power."
Brook looked at her.
"Then why?"
"Because you're missing understanding."
Brook stared.
"That sounds worse."
"It is."
They walked through the palace grounds.
The others were asleep.
Brook had chosen to stay awake.
He didn't trust the mark.
Tala didn't seem concerned.
That somehow made him more concerned.
Brook finally asked:
"Why does it keep appearing?"
"Because the Earth Source is trying to establish itself."
"And why isn't it?"
"Because the other three are already established."
Brook looked toward her.
Tala continued.
"You were never meant to awaken them in this order."
Brook stopped.
"So that's the problem."
"Yes."
"What was supposed to happen?"
"The Earth Source."
"First?"
"First."
Brook thought about it.
"Then Michael?"
"Yes."
"Lucifer?"
"Yes."
"Death?"
Tala nodded.
Brook looked at his arm.
"So everything happened backward."
"Not entirely."
"What does that mean?"
Tala turned toward him.
"The Earth Source should have prepared you first."
"For the others."
"Yes."
Brook stared.
"Then something interfered."
Tala didn't answer.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"You know what."
"I know there was interference."
"From who?"
"I don't know."
Brook sighed.
"Of course."
He continued walking.
"So what does the Earth Source actually do?"
Tala looked around.
"The Earth."
Brook waited.
"That isn't an explanation."
"It is."
Brook stopped again.
"Tala."
She smiled slightly.
"You keep trying to turn everything into a weapon."
"Because weapons are useful."
"The Earth isn't a weapon."
Brook looked toward the mountains.
"Everything can become a weapon."
Tala's expression became serious.
"That is exactly what you shouldn't do."
Brook frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if you treat the Earth Source like Michael or Lucifer…"
She paused.
"You will misunderstand it."
Brook remained quiet.
Tala continued.
"You don't create fire."
"You don't create death."
"You don't create Heaven."
"But you can create something with those powers."
Brook nodded.
"The Earth is different."
"Yes."
"Because it's already here."
"Yes."
Brook looked down.
"And because it recognizes me."
Tala smiled.
"Exactly."
Brook raised his hand.
A small stone lifted from the ground.
He didn't move his fingers.
The stone simply rose.
He walked.
The stone followed.
He stopped.
It stopped.
Brook smiled.
"That part I understand."
Tala nodded.
"Then try something harder."
Brook looked at her.
"What?"
"Don't ask the Earth to move."
Brook frowned.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Ask yourself."
Brook stared.
Tala pointed toward a tree.
"Why did it move toward you yesterday?"
Brook thought.
"Because it recognized me."
"Why?"
"Because…"
He stopped.
Tala waited.
Brook looked at the tree.
"Because I belong to it?"
Tala smiled.
"Closer."
Brook frowned.
"I am part of the Earth."
"Yes."
"So is everyone."
"Yes."
"Then why does it only react to me?"
Tala didn't answer.
Brook's expression changed.
"That's the question."
Brook closed his eyes.
He stopped trying to move the stone.
Stopped trying to use power.
Stopped trying to force anything.
He simply stood.
The wind moved through the trees.
Leaves rustled.
The city continued behind him.
Nothing happened.
Brook waited.
Then—
the stone beside him moved.
It rose.
Slowly.
Brook opened his eyes.
The stone floated beside him.
Another stone rose.
Then another.
Brook smiled.
He hadn't commanded them.
He hadn't even asked.
They simply responded.
Tala watched.
"You're learning."
Brook looked at the stones.
Then—
the ground beneath him trembled.
His fourth mark appeared.
Not violently.
Calmly.
Brook stared.
The mark remained.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Tala's expression changed.
"That's the longest."
Brook looked toward her.
"What?"
"The mark."
Brook looked down.
She was right.
It wasn't fading.
It was becoming clearer.
Brook felt something moving through his body.
Not power.
Something deeper.
He could feel the ground.
Not just beneath his feet.
Everywhere.
The entire region.
He could feel roots.
Water.
Stone.
Life.
Then—
he felt something else.
A memory.
Brook's breathing stopped.
The world around him disappeared.
He was standing in an ancient forest.
The trees were enormous.
Older than any forest Brook had ever seen.
The sky was different.
The air was different.
Everything felt untouched.
Brook looked around.
"Tala?"
No answer.
He turned.
Someone stood between the trees.
The Earth Vessel.
But not Tala.
The figure looked ancient.
Their body was covered in markings.
Their eyes reflected the sky.
Brook slowly approached.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
Brook stopped several feet away.
The figure placed their hand against a tree.
The tree immediately grew.
Branches stretched toward the sky.
Flowers appeared.
Brook watched.
Then the figure turned toward him.
Brook felt something familiar.
The same feeling as Tala.
But stronger.
Older.
The figure looked at Brook.
Not the Brook standing there.
The figure seemed to be looking through him.
As if seeing something behind his existence.
Then—
the forest changed.
It became a battlefield.
Fire.
Blood.
Bodies.
Brook watched figures fighting in the distance.
He saw angels.
Demons.
Humans.
Creatures he couldn't identify.
Then—
three flashes.
Michael.
Lucifer.
Death.
Brook froze.
The vision shifted.
The three Sources appeared.
But something was wrong.
They weren't inside him.
They were outside.
Separated.
Then—
the Earth appeared.
A fourth presence.
The vision shattered.
Brook stumbled backward.
He returned to reality.
He fell to one knee.
Tala immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"What happened?"
Brook breathed heavily.
"I saw them."
"Who?"
"Michael."
"Lucifer."
"Death."
"And?"
Brook looked at her.
"The Earth."
Tala became still.
Brook continued.
"They weren't inside me."
Tala's expression changed.
"What?"
"They were separate."
Brook looked toward his arm.
"The Sources existed before they were connected to me."
Tala nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Brook stared at her.
"Then why are they inside me now?"
Tala didn't answer.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"You know."
"No."
"Tala."
"I know what you know."
Brook stood.
"That's not enough."
She looked toward him.
"You want the truth."
"Yes."
"Then you have to survive long enough to find it."
Brook stared at her.
"That's becoming a pattern."
Later that night—
Brook entered his inner world.
The darkness surrounded him.
Michael stood in the distance.
Lucifer sat against nothing.
Death remained motionless.
Brook walked toward them.
He stopped.
"You're not talking."
None of them moved.
Brook's frustration grew.
"You know about the Earth."
Silence.
"You know why the Sources are inside me."
Nothing.
"You know why the order is wrong."
Still nothing.
Brook clenched his fists.
"You know something about the fourth mark."
Michael's eyes remained closed.
Lucifer didn't smile.
Death didn't move.
Brook stepped closer.
"Then why won't you tell me?"
Silence.
Brook looked at them for several seconds.
Then—
he noticed something.
Their attention wasn't on him.
They were looking beyond him.
Toward the darkness.
Brook slowly turned.
Nothing.
He turned back.
Michael remained silent.
Lucifer remained silent.
Death remained silent.
Brook finally understood.
Whatever they were watching—
they didn't want him to see it yet.
Brook opened his eyes.
He was back in Asteria.
The fourth mark remained on his arm.
Still incomplete.
Still growing.
But now—
Brook understood something important.
The Earth Source wasn't becoming stronger because he was forcing it.
It was becoming stronger because he was finally learning how to recognize it.
And somewhere beneath Asteria—
the Earth recognized him too.
End of Chapter 198