Night had fallen over the quiet mountain village of Arvion.
The wind whispered between the pine trees, carrying the faint scent of rain and ashes.
A boy sat alone on a cliff edge, legs dangling over the abyss. The moonlight brushed his facena pale, sharp face with eyes too bright for a human child.
That boy was Arka.
He looked up at the stars that shimmered like scattered crystals across the black sky.
Each star felt strangely alive to him, as if they were watching no, listening.
✦ The Blood That Never Sleeps
Arka had always known he was different.
He healed faster than anyone in the village.
He could see in the dark, hear footsteps from far away, and sometimes, when his anger flared, his heartbeat echoed like a beast's growl.
The elders called it a blessing.
The priests called it a curse.
But Arka knew the truth: it was neither. It was a secret he could never tell.
Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he heard it
A deep, ancient voice whispering from within his veins.
"My blood… flows through you, little one."
"Do not fear the moon. Fear the day you reject it."
Those words haunted him for years, yet he had never seen the face behind the voice.
✦ The Night of the Eclipse
That night, something unusual stirred in the heavens.
The moon turned crimson, and the stars dimmed as if afraid.
From the forest below, beasts began to howl one after another until the entire valley trembled with sound.
Villagers screamed. Bells rang. The hunters grabbed their spears.
Arka stood frozen, watching the blood-red moon. Then, pain struck him like lightning.
His chest burned, his veins glowed faint silver, and his vision blurred.
He fell to his knees. The voice returned louder, deeper, undeniable.
"Awaken, child of the Star Wolf."
"Your time of silence ends now."
✦ The Awakening
From the ground beneath him, a circle of light erupted runes of ancient design, swirling like constellations come alive. The wind roared.
Within that storm of starlight, a colossal shadow emerged: the spectral form of a wolf, its fur made of shimmering constellations, its eyes like galaxies.
Arka's breath caught in his throat. "Who… are you?"
The beast lowered its head, its voice echoing inside his mind.
"I am what your blood remembers. I am the Star Wolf—the one your ancestors sealed away."
"You carry my blood, my strength… and my curse."
✦ The Mark of the Beast
The light wrapped around Arka, burning symbols across his arm a glowing mark shaped like a fang wreathed in stars.
Pain coursed through his body, but beneath the agony, he felt alive.
The wolf's voice grew softer.
"If you wish to survive… learn to embrace the beast within. The world will hunt you, but only through the beast can you become sovereign."
The vision shattered.
When Arka awoke, the eclipse had ended.
The village lay in chaos houses burned, beasts slain, and corpses scattered under the fading moonlight.
And in the middle of the ruin stood Arka his clothes torn, his eyes glowing silver.
He whispered to the empty night, voice trembling:
"Why… why me?"
But the only answer was the fading echo of the wolf's howl through the valley.