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Chapter 19 — Marlo: The Quiet Light in the Nightmare
Before the sleep, before the blood, before the chaos—there was a boy who lived for someone else.
Marlo had always walked in the shadow of his older brother, Eli. Where Eli was fierce and loud, Marlo was silent and gentle. While Eli fought bullies, Marlo drew quiet sketches in his notebook—dreams of places he'd never go, monsters he'd never fight, people he'd never become. Eli protected him from the world, and in doing so, became Marlo's world.
Their life wasn't easy. A drunk father. An absent mother. Hunger was common, but so was laughter—because Eli knew how to make Marlo laugh when everything was crumbling.
But when Eli was killed during a random mugging gone wrong, something inside Marlo shattered. He blamed himself.
If only he had walked home faster.
If only he had said something.
If only he had fought back.
He spent weeks in silence. Then months. The world became noise. Meaningless. He began questioning people, their motives, their smiles. He saw manipulation in kindness, emptiness in comfort.
He became careful. He became cold.
When the call for the Pillars came in that strange dream—when the world began to distort and the rules of reality began to fade—Marlo didn't panic. He watched.
He calculated.
He waited for the perfect moment to choose his side—and when he saw Chester acting the fool, joking and skipping and smirking behind that ridiculous mask, he didn't laugh. He didn't scoff.
He remembered Eli's smile.
And he hated Chester for it.
But he joined his group. Watched. Waited. And when the chance came to betray, Marlo didn't hesitate.
Because survival meant control.
And control meant not feeling that pain again.
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Tier One: Shadow Step
Marlo moves like a ghost. With a blink, he's behind you. He doesn't use it often, but when he does, it's surgical—silent teleportation within 20 feet. No trace. No sound. Just a chill in the air.
Tier One: Quiet Vein
He can mute his presence—his heartbeat, his breathing, his footsteps. Predators walk into his space, unaware the prey has already drawn the knife.
Tier One: Ghost Thread
A subtle, invisible tether he can cast onto objects or people. When active, he senses the position, direction, and even emotions of the target—like a spider reading vibrations in her web.
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That night, while the others slept—or pretended to—Marlo stood outside, looking up at the jagged stars above this nightmare world. A part of him wished Eli could see him now. The broken boy with a hidden blade, balancing betrayal and survival like daggers in the dark.
He closed his eyes.
"I'm still not like you, Eli. But I think… I finally understand what you fought for."
And somewhere in the distance, a soft wind passed by, like a whisper.
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In the darkest of nightmares, Marlo Ewen shines the brightest.
Even if he doesn't know it yet.
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