Cursed Mark: Rise of the Forgotten Prince

A Glimpse Beyond Fate

The day should have ended with victory.

I had shattered their expectations. I had stepped out of the shadows of my past.

And yet—

As I walked through the empty corridors of the Imperial Academy, the echoes of whispered voices clung to me like ghosts.

"The cursed prince... S-Rank?"

"This changes everything."

"What kind of monster is he?"

No matter how much I proved myself, the whispers never changed.

I tightened my grip around my forearm, where the Cursed Mark still pulsed beneath my skin.

It had reacted during the examination.

A warning. A reminder.

No matter how far I walked forward, the curse would always pull me back.

---

An Unwelcome Encounter

"You're making quite the spectacle, little brother."

I stopped.

I knew that voice.

Turning, I found myself face-to-face with Adrian Ardent.

The Crown Prince stood with his arms folded, golden eyes unreadable. Behind him, a few royal knights lingered like silent shadows.

The air between us cracked with unspoken tension.

"You should be celebrating," Adrian continued. "You finally crawled out of the abyss you were rotting in."

I didn't flinch. "What do you want?"

Adrian let out a soft chuckle.

"What do I want?" He took a step closer. "That's the real question, isn't it? What exactly should I do with a little brother who was supposed to be irrelevant but suddenly decides to shatter an enchanted pillar?"

I said nothing.

But I saw it.

In his eyes.

The flicker of calculated wariness.

Adrian wasn't angry.

He was interested.

And that was worse.

Because interest meant attention.

And attention from Adrian Ardent was like a moth catching the notice of a burning flame.

It never ended well.

"You're hiding something," he mused, studying me. "That power—"

A flicker of energy crackled between us.

And then—

Another voice.

---

An Intervening Light

"Is there a reason you're cornering your brother, Your Highness?"

Soft yet firm.

I turned, already knowing who it was.

Eleanor Vael.

She stood at the corridor's entrance, bathed in the dim glow of the setting sun. The golden light danced across her silver hair, giving her an almost unearthly radiance.

Adrian's expression shifted.

Eleanor was the High Priestess's daughter.

One of the few in this empire who could speak to Adrian without immediate consequence.

She stepped forward, her emerald eyes locking onto the Crown Prince's with unwavering confidence. "Surely, you have more pressing matters than interrogating your own blood."

Adrian tilted his head.

Then, to my surprise—he smiled.

"Lady Eleanor," he greeted smoothly. "You misunderstand. This isn't an interrogation. It's a brotherly conversation."

Her gaze didn't waver. "It didn't sound like one."

A pause.

And then, Adrian laughed.

It was quiet, thoughtful. But when his gaze flickered back to me, there was something sharp beneath the surface.

"Very well," he said. "I'll leave you to your... company."

With a final glance in my direction, he turned and disappeared into the dimming halls.

Only when his presence fully faded did I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"You shouldn't provoke him," I murmured.

Eleanor smiled, tilting her head. "I didn't provoke him. I merely reminded him that he isn't the only one who can play games."

Her confidence was... unsettling.

And yet—

I found myself grateful.

---

A Dangerous Dance

"Why?" I asked.

Eleanor raised a delicate brow. "Why what?"

"Why are you involving yourself with me?"

She stepped closer.

There was something intoxicating about her presence—a light that refused to be dimmed.

"Does it bother you?" she asked, voice soft.

"...I don't understand it."

Eleanor studied me, as if searching for something in my expression.

Then, she smiled.

"Because I see something in you, Kael Ardent." Her voice dropped, almost a whisper. "Something that even you don't fully understand yet."

The air between us shifted.

She was too close.

Too near.

The scent of sacred incense lingered around her, a stark contrast to the cursed abyss that clung to me.

Light and dark.

Two forces that should never coexist.

And yet—

She wasn't afraid.

"...Be careful, Eleanor," I finally said, forcing myself to step back. "You don't know what you're playing with."

She only smiled.

"I think I do."

---

A Warning from the Shadows

Later that night, long after the halls had emptied, I found myself standing before a dimly lit mirror in my quarters.

Slowly, I pulled back my sleeve.

The Cursed Mark pulsed beneath my skin.

Dark veins coiled around it like shadows writhing just beneath the surface.

It had grown again.

Stronger.

More consuming.

A reminder that no matter what I did, no matter how much I proved myself, the curse was still there.

Waiting.

Watching.

I exhaled slowly.

"What exactly should I do with a little brother who was supposed to be irrelevant?"

Adrian's words haunted me.

He wouldn't let this go.

And neither would the others.

Lucian. Damien. Eleanor.

They had all noticed me now.

I had entered the game.

And in this world, once you stepped onto the board—

There was no turning back.