The moment everything crashed to the floor, Kazi gasped, she fell backwards against the doorframe. Her room became still and quiet, unnaturally so. The strange symbols she saw on the wall had vanished, as if they'd never existed. Her books were scattered throughout the room, along with her clothes. But one thing remained.

The tattoo on her arm was glowing.

She held it out, trembling.

The mark, the tattoo on the inside of her forearm, was lit with a soft, pulsing amber light. It wasn't hot, but she could feel it… alive. Responding to something.  As thought it were calling out to someone; her.

"Kazi?" Luma's voice came from behind her. "What's happening?"

Kazi didn't answer. Her eyes were locked on her arm. The swirling design within it had begun to shift slightly, rotating just beneath her skin, like the ink had come to life.

She pressed her fingers to it. The glow pulsed harder in response.

"I think…this is what it wanted" she whispered, eyes fixed on the amber light radiating from the mark.

Luma peeked in, then froze. "What the hell is that?"

Kazi rolled down her sleeve, even though it barely dimmed the light beneath. "It’s the tattoo I've had for years. I thought it was just a design, just something cool to get. But now…"

"You never told me it did that," Luma said cutting Kazi off, her voice unsteady.

"Because it never did. Not until tonight.” Kazi said.

Kazi backed away from her bed, her eyes scanning the room like whatever had caused this might still be hiding somewhere. But the air had gone still again. The hum was gone. The glow of the mark was fading, still present, but softer, like it had served its purpose and was waiting for the next moment.

"I think this is connected to that dark figure I saw," she said. "It didn't just find me... it triggered something."

"You need to get rid of it," Luma said quickly. "The tattoo. Or the energy, or whatever this is."

Kazi shook her head slowly. "It's not that simple. I don't think this is something I can just walk away from."

Outside the window, a soft rumble echoed in the distance. Thunder? No, it was too rhythmic. Like footsteps. Or chanting.

Luma moved closer to the window and peeked outside. "There's no one out there."

But Kazi didn't need to see to know that something had shifted. Her tattoo had only ever been a design. A symbol she chose without meaning. But tonight, it had meaning. It had power.

And something had recognized it.

The memory of the dark figure pointing at her flashed in her mind again.

“It knew?” she said

And now she did too.