It was night.
But the darkness... was deeper than the night itself.
Moonlight seemed to have abandoned the world — as if that sky, wounded and full of scars, had refused light itself.
And amidst that lifeless darkness, a body lay — corpse-like, injured, incomplete... but still alive.
The ground was cold.
And in that cold, he stirred — slowly, restlessly.
As if someone had buried him in the soil… and then suddenly breathed life back into him.
His eyes opened — dry, red, and blurry.
Everything seemed to sway… trees, stones, the broken temple roof... even his own breath.
"Who... am I?"
Even his own voice felt unfamiliar — hoarse, weak, and distant from himself.
But the deepest unfamiliarity lay in one thing — in the center of his chest, a burning mark.
Not like fire, but no less than it.
An ancient symbol: ࿇
He touched it with his fingers — his body felt like it would turn to ash.
The pain wasn't just physical... it went deeper — something old, something alive, something forgotten.
Then—
The air changed.
A cold whisper arrived.
And within it... something was alive. Clinging silently. Breathing.
"So... you've finally awakened."
The voice was human.
But within it was something else — a venomous calm, a wilderness-like desolation.
The boy turned.
And for the first time... he saw him.
A terrifying form on four legs — dire wolf.
Black fur, eyes holding more understanding than most humans.
The mist parted around him, as if his existence was part of the darkness itself.
"You... you're an animal?" Aarya's throat was dry.
"Animal?" The wolf narrowed his eyes.
"Animals are what you are. I... am Feran."
Aarya stepped back, clutching his chest.
"You... you're speaking...?"
"You can hear me," Feran said, moving forward.
"That means... the Mark has awakened."
"This mark?" Aarya looked at his scorched chest.
"What is it?"
Feran remained silent.
"Name?" he asked.
Aarya looked within — everything was empty. Every memory was a stranger.
"I don't remember..."
"Until then, you are just the Beastbound," something lit in Feran's eyes.
"And your Eternal Hunt... begins now."
Aarya thought — Hunt? Of what?
But before an answer could come... Feran turned behind.
Beyond the broken roof, a face shimmered.
A girl.
White hair. A long cloak-like robe. Like a goddess made of snow.
On her shoulder sat another shadow — a small Ice Fox, its tail gleaming with frost.
"This is all... happening again," the girl said, exhaustion and a trace of sadness in her voice.
Feran asked with his eyes, "Why are you here, Eris?"
"I came to see... if he's really alive." She looked at Aarya.
"Seems like... not yet."
Aarya tried to step forward — but there was no strength in his legs.
"You two... who are you? What is all this... what's happening?"
"Right now, your questions are small," Eris said.
"And your time... even smaller."
She gestured to one side.
The ground began to tremble — as if the earth was birthing something.
From beyond the mountains, a shadow rose.
The first Trial Beast.
A snake-like body — two heads, eyes dyed in blood.
Its breath seemed to poison the ground.
Aarya saw that form... and something broke within him.
Something old, something monstrous.
"You either Tame it... or kill it," Feran said.
"And if neither?"
"Then you'll die again," Eris's smile held only pain.
"Just like you did last time."
Last time...?
But there was no time to ask.
The Trial Beast's scream shattered the silence of night.
The Divine Hunt — had now begun.
His blood was still warm on the ground — flowing from his wound.
Aarya gently touched it — it wasn't just blood... it was something else. Something deeper.
His hands were trembling — but his eyes were calm.
In the beast's eyes, there was understanding — rarely found in humans.
Feran stood ahead.
Not just a dire wolf... something far older. Far deeper.
His fur like white snow — eyes blazing.
And beneath his neck, a small symbol — 🜂 — softly glowing on its own.
Aarya said nothing. Just watched.
Feran didn't move either.
Both of them seemed to be gazing into a long-lost truth.
Then... a breath-like whisper.
Brushed past his ear.
"Tame them... or kill them."
That same old woman's voice.
From the temple's broken wall... or from inside Aarya himself.
Feran stepped forward.
His eyes no longer hungry — only... protective.
Aarya raised his hand — no sword, no mantra.
Only one desire — to understand.
"You... were in my dreams?" he asked softly.
Feran bowed his head. As if saying yes.
Then... something connected.
Aarya's chest mark — Granthnishaan (࿇) — suddenly flared up.
Flames filled his veins.
"Aaaagh!"
Aarya collapsed. Groaning in pain.
Feran approached... but did not strike. Just watched.
As if waiting for a decision.
And then... a jolt.
Of memories.
A battlefield.
Night.
A beast, its body burning in moonlight.
A boy — the same mark in his hand. Eyes... full of darkness.
"Aarya..." someone had called out.
But the face... was blurred.
When he came to... Feran was sitting beside him.
Not a hunter. Not a prey.
Just the meeting of two paths.
Aarya reached out his hand. Slowly.
Feran touched his forehead to that hand.
Just then... symbols on the temple wall lit up.
Ancient beast-bonding mantras.
An energy circle formed in the air — like a primeval chakravyuh.
Feran's neck mark 🜂 lit up.
And so did Aarya's chest mark — the Granthnishaan.
Both lights merged.
Suddenly... a scream echoed.
From afar. A woman's.
"FERAN!!"
Aarya looked — a girl was standing at the temple entrance.
Age — around 18.
White hair. A faint blue aura. Eyes as cold as ice... and beneath them, something burning.
On her shoulders sat an Ice Fox — Kitsune.
The girl looked at Aarya and Feran.
"He... touched you?" there was shock in her voice.
Aarya didn't move.
"He didn't kill me," he said. "Nor did I kill him."
The girl's eyes narrowed.
"You don't understand. He... is Feran. The Temple Guardian. He never leaves anyone alive."
"Then why am I alive?" Aarya asked.
A silence fell.
Kitsune's tail kept swaying — sending a ripple of frost through the air.
The girl softly said,
"Because... maybe you are... the Beastbound."
In that moment... the roof of night fell again.
Another part of the temple collapsed.
A star fell from the sky.
And somewhere in that faraway darkness...
Another Beast awakened.
—
To Be Continued...