The whisper did not fade.
It grew louder.
Arin froze. The golden light no longer flickered softly — it pulsed, like a heartbeat hidden inside the forest. The trees around him seemed taller now, their shadows stretching unnaturally across the ground.
"Arin…"
This time, the voice was clearer.
He swallowed hard. The stories had never mentioned a voice. They only spoke of a light — beautiful, distant, silent.
But this was different.
The wind stopped.
The forest stopped.
Even the insects that once hummed in the dark had fallen silent.
The golden glow began to move deeper between the trees. Not floating randomly — but guiding. Calling.
Every step Arin took felt heavier than the last, yet something inside him refused to turn back. The deeper he walked, the colder the air became. His breath formed faint mist in front of him.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him shifted.
Crack.
The earth split slightly, revealing thin golden lines spreading like lightning under the soil.
Arin stumbled back, heart racing.
The light surged upward, forming symbols in the air — ancient, unfamiliar, yet strangely recognizable. They circled him slowly, glowing brighter with every second.
Then the voice returned.
"You were chosen."
A sharp pain shot through his chest. Not physical — but something deeper. A memory that wasn't his own flashed before his eyes.
A burning forest.
A shadow rising behind the trees.
And the same golden light… fighting it.
Arin gasped.
The symbols suddenly rushed toward him and dissolved into his skin like sparks. The pain vanished.
Silence.
The forest slowly came back to life — the wind whispering again, the insects humming cautiously.
But the light was gone.
Only one thing remained.
On the palm of Arin's right hand, a faint golden mark glowed softly — the same symbol he had seen floating in the air.
This wasn't a warning.
This wasn't a trap.
This was a beginning.
And somewhere far beyond the trees, something had just awakened.
What do you think the golden mark truly means — is Arin chosen to protect the forest, or is he becoming part of something far more dangerous?