Hunt Race

"I felt something."

Kael kept staring at his palm.

The sensation had already disappeared.

Darius didn't react immediately.

"What did you feel?"

Kael closed his eyes again, trying to find it.

"It was there for a moment."

He concentrated.

Nothing.

Kael opened his eyes.

"Then it vanished."

Darius walked closer.

"Don't chase it."

Kael looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because you felt it naturally the first time."

Darius pointed toward Kael's palm.

"If you force yourself to find it now, you may only end up forcing your mana into the Mark."

Kael nodded.

"So what do I do?"

"Try again."

Kael closed his eyes.

He slowed his breathing and kept his body completely still.

This time, he didn't search for the sensation.

He simply waited.

Seconds passed.

Then a faint pulse returned beneath his skin.

Kael's fingers twitched.

"There."

Darius's eyes narrowed.

"Don't move."

Kael remained still.

The sensation was strange.

It wasn't like mana.

His mana flowed through his body like a current, but this felt deeper.

The Mark itself seemed to have a presence.

A quiet, almost dormant pulse beneath his skin.

Kael focused on it.

The pulse became slightly stronger.

Then something unexpected happened.

A faint thread of black spread from the crescent before disappearing again.

Kael opened his eyes.

"You saw that?"

"I did."

Kael looked at his palm.

"What was it?"

"I don't know."

Kael looked at Darius.

"Seriously?"

Darius gave him a calm look.

"I told you. I don't know what your Mark is."

Kael sighed.

"Right."

Darius crouched slightly, examining the Mark without touching it.

"Did it feel different this time?"

Kael nodded.

"Yes."

"How?"

Kael thought carefully.

"Like it was responding to me."

Darius's expression became more focused.

"Responding how?"

"I don't know."

Kael looked down.

"When I focused on it, it felt like it noticed me."

Darius stood again.

"That's important."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because until now, you've been using the Mark through instinct."

Darius looked at the black crescent.

"This is the first time you've deliberately reached toward it without activating one of its abilities."

Kael nodded slowly.

"So I'm learning to control it."

"Don't call it control yet."

Kael gave him a look.

"You're really determined to ruin every good moment."

Darius almost smiled.

"Call it awareness."

Kael looked at his palm again.

"Awareness."

He repeated the word quietly.

Darius nodded.

"Before you can control something, you need to understand it."

Kael closed his hand.

"Then I'll start there."

Darius stepped away from him.

"Good."

Kael looked at him.

"How long does it take?"

"For mana sensing?"

"No. This."

Darius glanced at the Mark.

"That depends on you."

Kael sighed.

"Everything depends on me."

"You're the one using it."

Kael couldn't argue with that.

He looked at his palm again.

The Mark had returned to its usual appearance.

Silent.

Still.

Almost ordinary.

But Kael knew better now.

There was something inside it.

Something that had responded when he reached toward it.

And for the first time, he had felt it without drawing blood, activating Blood Reinforcement, or using any of the Mark's known abilities.

That alone was enough to make him curious.

Kael looked at Darius.

"Can I try something?"

Darius nodded.

"What?"

Kael's eyes remained on his palm.

"I want to see if I can make it respond again."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!