Chapter 9: Awakened Elite
The pain slowly subsides, and I stand up.
The first thing I feel is the cold. Not the searing agony of the Marks carving themselves into my soul and flesh, no, that's already settled into something deeper, something that won't fade.
What I feel it the actual cold air against my skin, sharp and biting, because the top half of my robe is gone, burned away by whatever divine force decided to brand me like its prized animal.
I flex my fingers, clenching and unclenching my fists, and even that feels different. My body isn't just stronger; it's more efficient. More precise. My heartbeat is steady, controlled, calculated. I inhale, and my lungs feel powerful, like I could run for hours and never get tired. When I take a deep breath, I can sense the exact shift in temperature, the subtle burn of incense still lingering in the chamber.
Even the world around me looks clearer. The candlelight flickers, and I swear I can see each individual ember curling in the air before it vanishes. The quiet shuffling of the other kids I came here with echoes too loudly in my ears, like I could pinpoint the exact location of each one without even looking.
I wasn't just weak before. I was blind.Deaf. Practically a child.
And now? Now, I understand.
This is why Elites call themselves Gods.
Because compared to everyone else? They might as well be.
I shake my head to clear those thoughts.
"What's gotten into me??"