Neon & Marrow — Chapter 2: The Stuttering Pulse
Vane struggles to suppress his shifting form as the curse feeds on his hesitation, tearing through the floorboards with clawed fingers. Elara watches him with terrified confusion, recognizing the boy she once knew beneath the encroaching, ink-like corruption of his skin. To prevent his transformation from killing her, Vane slams his marked wrist into a heavy iron pipe, intentionally scarring the skin to force the curse to focus on healing rather than mutation. The self-inflicted wound buys him a