The flames had died, leaving behind only smoke and silence.
The village that once laughed and sang beneath the stars was now a graveyard of ash.
Arka stumbled through the ruins barefoot, his body trembling. His fingers were still glowing faintly with silver light, and the mark on his arm pulsed like a second heartbeat.
Everywhere he looked, there were bodies people he knew, people who once smiled at him.
He knelt beside the body of the old priest who had once called him "blessed." Now the man's lips were frozen in fear.
Arka whispered, his voice raw, "I didn't do this… did I?"
The wind didn't answer. But the voice inside him did.
"No, child. You survived. That is what they fear most."
The same deep, echoing voice the Star Wolf.
Arka clutched his chest, anger and grief colliding inside him. "Why did you come to me? Why now?"
"Because your blood could no longer sleep. The eclipse tore open the seal within you. Now the world will come for you and only strength will keep you alive."
Arka's breath came sharp and ragged. "Then teach me. If I'm cursed to bear your blood, at least let me control it."
The voice chuckled softly.
"Control? No, Arka. You must become it."
✦ The Stranger in the Smoke
A sudden sound boots crushing ash snapped him from his trance.
A figure emerged from the smoke, tall and cloaked in black, a silver insignia gleaming on his chest.
His voice was calm but cold.
"So, it's true. The beast blood has awakened."
Arka froze. The man's eyes glowed faintly gold hunters' eyes.
"You…" Arka whispered. "You killed them?"
The man smiled faintly. "No. Your awakening did. But we'll say it was the beasts. Easier for the kingdom to swallow."
He raised his hand, mana swirling around his palm. "I'm ordered to bring you to the capital. Dead or alive."
Arka took a step back, instinct roaring in his veins. The mark on his arm burned, silver light seeping from his skin.
The man sneered. "There it is the curse."
✦ The Wolf Stirs
Before Arka could react, the hunter's spell ignited chains of light snaking through the air, wrapping around his limbs. The ground split beneath him as his power surged out of control.
"Arka," the Star Wolf's voice thundered in his mind, "you hesitate because you fear yourself. That is why you'll die."
Arka's eyes flashed open, now bright as twin moons. His voice was layered half human, half beast.
"Then… I'll stop fearing."
The chains shattered.
Wind howled. The hunter's cloak tore apart as the boy's aura exploded outward feral, raw, divine.
For the first time, Arka moved not as a human, but as something far beyond it.
The wolf's howl echoed through him, and his strike nothing more than a swing of his hand sent the hunter flying into the burning trees.
When the smoke cleared, Arka stood in silence, chest heaving, surrounded by swirling motes of silver light.
He looked at his hands in disbelief. "What… am I?"
The wolf's answer came softly, almost proud.
"You are the heir of the Star Wolf. Neither human nor beast. A being that the world will never accept but will always fear."
✦ The Beginning of Exile
By dawn, the flames were gone.
Arka stood at the edge of the forest, the ruined village fading behind him.
He didn't look back.
He couldn't.
He tightened the torn cloak around his shoulders and began walking toward the mountains.
Every step was heavy, but inside, a strange calm had settled.
"Where do I go now?" he asked silently.
"North," the voice whispered. "To the Frozen Peaks. There, the beasts still remember my name."
Arka took a deep breath and lifted his gaze to the pale horizon.
"Then that's where I'll begin."
The wind stirred, carrying with it a faint, distant howl neither friend nor foe, but something watching.