CHAPTER 4: The Flesh's Shadows

The moon, a silver disk that hung low in the sky, gave the mountains a ghostly hue. The chilly night air clung to Selene's skin as she sat outside her cabin, yet something within her felt strange—uncomfortably strange. Her gaze followed the moonlight's trajectory as it flooded over the woodland, creating lengthy shadows on the ground.

Absently, she traced her fingers over the deep, jagged scar that ran diagonally across her arm, like the remembrance of something old. It had always existed, concealed behind long-sleeved shirts, serving as a continual reminder of something she couldn't quite recall. However, the flesh around the scar heated up to the touch tonight as it burnt in the moonlight.

Selene flinched and withdrew her hand as a searing pain pierced her arm. She took another look up at the sky; something seemed... odd. Something she couldn't quite identify had thickened the air. Her pulse accelerated. Under the trees, the shadows seemed to move and undulate in strange ways.

"What's going on?" Her voice could hardly be heard over the soft rustling of the leaves as she spoke.

Once, twice, the scar under her skin pulsed, and then suddenly it was glowing. A subtle, unsettling light smeared over the body from under the surface, a dim silver gleam. Selene's breathing became labored. There was a little, unearthly gloss to her skin, as if it were glowing.

"What the—" she said, lifting her sleeve to get a glimpse. Beneath her skin, the scar flickered and shimmered like fire.

Then the image appeared.

A black figure loomed over her, her eyes gleaming with the same strange radiance she had seen previously; it was a flash, a recollection, or something else entirely. A strong, authoritative voice reverberated in her head. "You have a connection. whether or whether you are aware of it.

Selene stumbled back, gripping her arm as an unbearable, piercing agony pierced her body. The distinction between memory and reality became hazy in her view. Whispers in the darkness flickered in the corners of her vision as shadows coiled about her.

She coughed out, "No… no, this isn't—" but the images kept coming to her mind: pictures of woodlands turning into something far darker, of animals she didn't know, of luminous eyes observing her from the shadows.

Her breath caught. The light from her scar grew brighter until it seemed to be pulsing with life, an uncontrollable force. Something old moved deep inside her, and it felt alive under her skin—twisting, altering.

She said, "I don't understand," as the terror rose in her throat like vomit. "What am I?"

Now it appeared as if a thousand invisible eyes were observing her from the bushes. The trees swayed in strange rhythms, and the air shimmered. Just outside the edge of the cabin's light, shadows stretched and warped, creating forms that seemed to become closer and closer.

"We've waited for you," she suddenly felt—something icy, a presence whispering against her consciousness.

Selene's head jerked up, her gaze sweeping across the woods. She began to breathe shallowly as terror took hold of her. Someone or something was here, observing her. Nothing was apparent to the unaided eye, but she could sense it.

She shouted, "Avoid me!" as her voice reverberated off the mountains.

The invisible force, however, did not back down. Rather, it seemed to draw her closer to its hold. As the light became stronger and spread like an invading force throughout her body, the scar on her arm began to ache once again. As if to quell the overpowering feeling, she clutched her head as she staggered backward and fell to her knees as her eyesight clouded once again.

Then she saw it—the towering, menacing shadow rising from the woods. There was a shadowy creature with dimly lighting eyes, the same eerie golden eyes she had seen earlier.

"Who—who are you?" She made herself get up and demanded. Her voice faltered, but she looked directly into the creature's eyes.

The figure took a while to respond. It moved forward slowly instead, its presence radiating strength, an oppressive, unnerving energy that made the air around her thicker. It moved with an uncanny elegance, and something old and incomprehensible emanated from every inch of its shape.

At last, the figure stated in a cool, silky voice, "You've awakened." "You have the imprint of something ancient, hidden deep inside these territories. You are now ours.

Selene shook her head and murmured, "No." "I don't... I have no idea what you're discussing. I am not a part of anything—

"You do," the figure cut in, its voice becoming more urgent and sinister. Whether or whether you are aware of it. The secret is your scar. Something that has been waiting for millennia, a piece of you that is connected to this location. It now aims to soar once again.

Selene's heart was racing. "I don't—"

Unfazed, the figure went on. "Selene, the scar has power. Something buried deep under the soil is beckoning to you. There are forces beyond your comprehension that have been waiting a long time to take back what is rightfully theirs.

Her breath caught. "What do you mean? "Forces"? With me, what do they want?

The voice lowered to a lethal whisper as the stranger moved closer. "They want authority. Their goal is to reshape this planet to fit their vision. And you—" it hesitated, staring at her closely—"you're their key."

With her heart racing, Selene stumbled back. "No, this isn't possible."

The apparition went on, "In these mountains, you were never just a woman." "This is what you were born into. Your scar is a landmark, a sign. It is now speaking to what is below, something that has been sleeping for too long. It is waking up.

"No... She shook her head in disbelief and said, "This isn't real." "That isn't possible."

The person slowly and deliberately cocked its head. "Have faith in anything you want. However, it is now too late. The draw has been felt by you. The images are visible to you. You are bound to this location—bound to what is below.

Selene let out a gasp as a sudden, intense agony pierced her scar once again. The light became brighter until it engulfed her arm, radiating outward like luminous tendrils—light that was alive, blazing under her flesh. Around her, shadows twisted and stretched, beckoning and whispering.

"No!" she cried out, clenching her arm. "What am I experiencing?"

A twisted delight flashed in the figure's eyes. "Selene, your power is rising. You are now a part of something far bigger than you could have ever dreamed of, whether you like it or not. Additionally, it won't let you leave.

It was excruciatingly painful, blinding. Selene sensed that everything around her was tilting, the trees twisting and extending like if they were living things. As if responding to her scar, the woodland seemed to be pulsing with life—dark life—that twisted and shifted.

"No," she said as her chest began to tremble with panic. "What are you looking for from me?"

The figure's ruthless and cunning grin grew wider. You'll find out in due time. And there won't be any going back once you do.

The figure moved quickly, almost too quickly for her to see, and then, before she could react, it reached out and touched the glowing scar on her arm.

Sharper than ever, pain flared.

The world spun as shadows swallowed Selene, and her eyesight became blurry once again. The figure's luminous eyes, which were observing her with aloof, chilly amusement, were the last thing she saw before everything became

dark.

And she kept hearing the last words:

"Selene, we'll see you again soon."