Zayven felt his body beginning to change — his skin burned with heat, and the heaviness in his chest grew wild, uncontrollable.
The full moon was still two nights away, but the curse laid upon him waited for no one's permission.
Each time the moon drew near, pain surged through his body like fire. That familiar ache reminded him he would never be normal again.
To protect others — and himself — Zayven had built a small wooden house deep in the forest. Far from towns. Far from people.
He couldn't bear to see the terror in their eyes if they ever discovered what he truly was.
He hated the curse.
He hated the beast inside him.
He hated knowing he could hurt someone without meaning to — especially when his anger got the best of him.
Often, he sat alone in the silence of the forest, his head buried in his hands, whispering into the cold:
> "Why me? What was my offense?
Wouldn't it be better if I were dead?
What am I even living for?"
---
Far away, in a peaceful town beyond the edge of the woods, Elnara lived a quiet, ordinary life.
Until one fateful day — everything changed.
She felt an unusual pain in her chest, like a kingdom collapsing inside her heart. It grew harder to breathe, as though someone... somewhere... was calling out to her without words.
It felt strange.
Unnatural.
Frightening.
And yet... familiar.
Then she remembered something a wise woman had once told her:
> "Your heart is not like others. It was made for something greater."
Elnara had never understood what those words meant —
Until now.