The night had started like any other. The streets were quiet, the air cool but not cold, and the occasional sound of a dog barking or a distant television carried through the empty blocks. No one walking by gave the impression that anything unusual was about to happen.
Kael moved through the dimly lit streets, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. He didn't know why he hadn't gone home yet—some nights just made the walls of his house feel too small, too suffocating. Tonight was one of those nights.
He was halfway across the main street when the first streetlight flickered. It was a small, almost unnoticeable twitch in the electric hum that normally filled the neighborhood. Kael paused, glancing up, but it returned to normal almost immediately. Just a glitch. He thought nothing of it.
Then every light went out.
All at once.
Streetlights, houses, the small corner store—all dead. Even the traffic light at the intersection went dark. The hum of electricity disappeared, leaving the streets in a silence so complete it pressed against the ears. Even the wind seemed to pause.
Kael froze, unsure if he should move. He expected some reaction from the few people still awake, but no one came out of their homes. No car lights moved along the street. It was as if the world had stopped breathing.
Something shifted in the darkness across the street.
At first, Kael assumed it was just a shadow. Perhaps a trick of the empty street and his own tired eyes. But the shape didn't move like a shadow. It slid smoothly across the pavement, tall and unnaturally thin, stretching higher than any person should. There were no details—no face, no features—just a darker patch in the blackened street.
Kael's chest tightened. He wanted to look away but couldn't. Something about the figure demanded attention. It stopped and tilted slightly toward him, and for a moment, Kael felt the weight of a gaze, invisible but undeniable.
And then the lights came back.
Suddenly, blindingly bright. Cars rolled past. The corner store's fluorescent lights buzzed back to life. Somewhere, a television flickered on. The world had resumed as if nothing had happened. Kael blinked against the sudden brightness, scanning the street.
Nothing remained. No figure. No movement. Only pavement and parked cars. The quiet weight of the night had vanished.
Kael stepped under a streetlight and lowered his sleeve, rubbing at his wrist. Thin black lines had appeared along his arm, stretching upward from his wrist to his forearm. They weren't scratches, nor were they ink. They seemed to exist beneath the skin itself, branching subtly like cracks in glass.
The lines pulsed once, a subtle warmth running under the surface. Kael froze. They didn't fade. They didn't spread. They simply stayed there, silent and patient.
For a moment, he wondered if anyone else had seen the blackout, if anyone else had noticed the figure. But the street was normal again. Cars rolled past, lights shone from homes, and the occasional laugh floated out from a window.
No one else had seen it. No one else had felt it. No one else had the mark.
Kael didn't know what had happened that night, but one thing was clear: something had chosen him. And whatever it was, it wasn't finished.