The scaled patch on Adrian's wrist pulsed like a caged animal, each throb sending jagged needles of pain up his arm. He clenched his fist, watching how the new scales caught the dim light - not the flat grey of fish scales, but the iridescent black of a beetle's carapace. When he pressed too hard, a drop of something thick and shimmering welled up from between them. Not blood. Not anymore.

  Kaelis moved like a shadow ahead of him, the demonic claws of his left hand glinting with residual energy from the wards he'd carved. The greenish light of the Abyss played across the scars that covered every inch of exposed skin, each one a story Adrian wasn't sure he wanted to hear.

  "Keep up, boy," Kaelis growled, his voice rougher than it had been an hour ago. "The Depths don't like losing their prey, and we're leaving quite the scent trail."

  Adrian opened his mouth to respond when the ground shuddered violently. His boots sank ankle-deep into suddenly soft earth as the skeletal trees behind them began twisting in agony, their bone branches snapping and reforming like a grotesque puzzle. The stench of rotting meat intensified as bubbles burst across the swamp's surface, each one releasing a puff of shimmering spores.

  Then came the sound - a wet, tearing noise that set Adrian's teeth on edge. Something massive was rising from the center of the disturbed water, sending waves of thick sludge rolling toward them.

  Kaelis didn't turn. "Rule one of the Abyss, kid. Don't look back."

  Adrian looked back.

  The creature emerging from the depths had the approximate shape of a man, if a man could be stretched twice as tall and given four arms. Its skin was the grey-white of a drowned corpse, stretched taut over too many joints. Where its face should have been was only smooth flesh and a single vertical slit that peeled open to reveal rings of needle teeth.

  "ADRIAN."

  The voice wasn't sound. It vibrated directly in his bones, making his teeth chatter. The scaled patch on his arm burned white-hot, the pain so intense he nearly blacked out. His vision swam with afterimages - a car's headlights, broken glass glittering like stars, a pair of glowing eyes watching from the darkness beyond the crash.

  Then Kaelis' claw clamped around his forearm with enough force to draw blood. "Run or die, your choice!"

  The world narrowed to the pounding of his heart and the slap of their boots against the unnatural ground. Adrian's lungs burned as they crashed through walls of hanging moss that clung like spiderwebs, each strand leaving searing welts where it touched exposed skin. Behind them, the creature's footsteps made wet squelching noises, far too fast for something that size.

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  Kaelis suddenly veered left, dragging Adrian into a narrow crevice between two towering growths that looked disturbingly like rib bones. They collapsed together in the damp hollow as the creature's footsteps paused outside.

  Adrian held his breath. The scaled patch on his arm throbbed in time with his racing heart.

  A long moment passed before Kaelis exhaled sharply. "Temporary reprieve. That one's bound to the Depths - can't leave its territory." He examined Adrian's arm with a clinical detachment. "Hmm. Spreading faster than usual."

  "What does that mean?" Adrian hissed, trying to ignore the way the scales seemed to ripple under Kaelis' scrutiny.

  "It means you're interesting," Kaelis said with a humorless smile. "Most new Hunters take weeks to show this much corruption. You? Not even a full day." He tapped one claw against the newest scales. "Either you're uniquely weak to the Abyss...or uniquely strong."

  The words hung between them as Adrian studied his changing arm. The scales weren't just spreading - they were evolving. Tiny ridges were forming along each one, almost like...

  "Are these...feathers?" Adrian asked, horrified.

  Kaelis' smile vanished. "Not feathers. Not quite." He stood abruptly. "We need to move. There's a Sanctum outpost nearby."

  As they picked their way through increasingly treacherous terrain, Adrian noticed disturbing changes in the environment. The occasional pools of water now reflected scenes that weren't there - a hospital room, a funeral, a dark highway at night. When he paused to look closer, the visions shifted to show his own face, but wrong. Older. Harder. With eyes that glowed faintly red.

  Kaelis yanked him away from the next pool. "Don't. Whatever it's showing you, it's not help."

  "But what if-"

  "It's the Abyss," Kaelis interrupted. "It doesn't show truths. It shows needs. Your needs, twisted into weapons against you."

  They traveled in silence after that, until the black stone caverns gave way to rough-hewn tunnels that smelled of torch smoke and iron. Kaelis paused at a fork in the path, his demonic arm glowing faintly as he traced symbols in the air.

  "Sanctum's close," he muttered. "Remember - they'll test you. Probably hurt you. Don't fight back."

  Adrian barely had time to process the warning before they rounded a corner and blinding white light flooded his vision. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the source - a massive gate of polished bone, covered in intricate carvings that hurt to look at directly. Before it stood three figures in pristine white armor, their faces hidden behind featureless masks.

  The lead guard tilted their head. "Kaelis. Back so soon?" The voice was genderless, distorted by the mask. "And you've brought...what exactly?"

  Kaelis shoved Adrian forward. "New Hunter. Already showing corruption."

  The guards exchanged glances. One drew a dagger made of what looked like frozen light. "Let's see then."

  The pain was instantaneous as the blade touched Adrian's scaled arm. White fire raced along his nerves as the guards murmured approvingly.

  "Rapid progression," one noted. "The High Inquisitor will want to see this."

  As they dragged him toward the bone gates, Adrian caught one last glimpse of Kaelis' face. The veteran Hunter looked...apologetic?

  Then the gates closed behind him with a sound like a tomb sealing, and Adrian's real training began.