Three months had passed since Prince Kael left the royal palace.
The people had begun to whisper his name again — not as a monster, but as a wanderer-king, a man who knelt before farmers and mended roofs with his bare hands.
But peace was never meant to last in Eldoria.
1. The Village of Ashvale
Kael's journey brought him to Ashvale, a small village that had once supplied the royal kitchens. What he found there was ruin — homes blackened by fire, livestock gone, and a strange chill clinging to the air though it was summer.
A child, no older than ten, ran to him, eyes wide with fear.
> "M'lord, don't stay! The Night Wind comes!"
Kael frowned.
> "What is the Night Wind?"
The boy pointed toward the forest. "It howls at dusk. It smells like… death."
That night, Kael stayed behind when the villagers fled to the hills. He built a small fire and waited. The wind began to rise, carrying a low hum — like whispers crawling across the leaves. Then he saw it.
A shadow, long and writhing, sliding through the mist. It didn't walk — it flowed. And when it neared the light, Kael's heart froze. The shadow's shape… mirrored his own beast form.
> "You thought you could bury me," it hissed, voice deep and familiar. "You burned the crown, but not the darkness that made it."
Kael drew his sword, its edge trembling in his hand.
> "If you are part of me, then you'll fall by my hand."
The shadow lunged — a blur of smoke and claws — but as Kael struck, the blade passed through it. The creature only laughed and vanished into the trees, leaving the fire flickering low.
When morning came, Kael found the royal crest scorched into the ground — the same sigil the sorceress had branded upon the palace years ago.
The curse… was returning.
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2. The Queen's Guilt
Back in Eldoria, Queen Selara's health waned. The once-proud ruler barely left her chambers. Lyra sat by her bedside, reading letters Kael sent from his travels — tales of helping villages and healing the land.
But that night, the queen awoke screaming. Her reflection in the mirror had changed — her pupils slit like a serpent's once more.
> "It's the price," she gasped. "The curse demands balance. If Kael fights it, someone else must bear it…"
Lyra clutched her mother's hand. "Then let it take me instead."
The queen smiled weakly. "You are too pure, my dove. That's why it will never stop hunting him."
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3. The Sorceress' Prophecy
Deep in the woods, the old sorceress stirred her black cauldron. The pool shimmered with visions of Kael fighting the shadow and Lyra praying over her mother's bed.
A faint smile crept across her face.
> "Every curse has two hearts," she whispered. "One that binds… and one that chooses."
Her fingers traced an invisible sigil in the air, and the flames around her turned blue.
> "When the moon bleeds, the beast will rise again — not as a curse, but as a king reborn."
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4. The Howl of the Beast
As the full moon climbed the sky, Kael awoke in a cold sweat. His hands trembled. His vision blurred. And when he looked at his reflection in the river, golden eyes glared back.
He fell to his knees.
> "No… not again…"
The beast's voice whispered from within:
> "You cannot destroy the darkness, Kael. You can only rule it."
The wind howled, the ground trembled, and from the depths of the forest came the sound of hundreds of unseen beasts answering the call.
The curse had not returned by accident — it had been waiting for a king.