The storm had been growling above the village since sunset, but Kael felt something far older hiding inside it. Something watching him. The air smelled of wet soil and iron, the kind of smell that came before a hunt. Kael pulled his cloak tighter and hurried across the empty path, the torchlight flickering as if afraid to burn. The village of Eldermoor slept early, especially on nights like this—nights when even the dogs refused to howl.
He reached the old well and leaned over the stones, catching his breath. His chest burned. The mark on his skin throbbed again. It always did when the shadows grew too deep. The Shadowbrand, the curse he had carried since birth, crawled like cold fire along his ribs. The priests said he was born poisoned by darkness. His mother had died the day he came into the world; the villagers always whispered that no normal child could kill a mother before even opening his eyes.
Kael touched the mark through his shirt. "Not tonight," he muttered. "Please, not tonight."
But the shadows didn't listen.
A ripple passed along the ground, so soft that any normal person would have missed it. The torches lining the well dimmed. The sky shuddered. Kael straightened slowly. His heartbeat changed rhythm—fast, then slow, then silent for a terrifying moment. The silence was unnatural. No rain. No wind. No insects. The world had paused like a dying breath.
Then he heard it.
A scream.
Not human.
A cry from something ancient, monstrous, and starving.
Kael turned toward the forest just as the trees bent outward—as if something enormous was pushing between them. The ground trembled. Birds burst into the sky, fleeing into the black clouds above
"No… no… not now…" Kael whispered.
A door slammed open behind him. Old Mara, their healer, stepped out, her face pale. "Get inside! Everyone, inside your homes! Close your doors—NOW!"
But the village was too slow.
The creature arrived before the fear could.
It crawled out of the forest on six malformed limbs, its body a twisted mass of sinew and bones wrapped in pulsing black mist. Its eyes—if those pits could be called eyes—glowed with a sickly red light. The villagers called monsters like this Cursebeasts, though none had seen one in decades. Everyone believed they were only legends told to scare children.
This one was not a legend.
It turned its skull-like face toward the village and roared, the sound splitting the sky in two. Roofs shook. Windows shattered. The torch near Kael exploded, sending burning shards into the air.
Kael staggered back, falling to his knees. The Shadowbrand pulsed—once, twice—each beat sharper, darker, heavier than before. His vision blurred. He felt the darkness inside him rising like floodwater.
"No… please… stop…" his voice broke.
But the curse never stopped.
The beast charged, tearing through the first house like it was made of straw. Screams filled the night. Men ran for weapons, mothers pulled children indoors, but nothing slowed the creature. It devoured anything it touched. Wood, stone, flesh—it didn't matter. Everything dissolved into black ash.
Kael struggled to stand. His legs felt weightless, cold. The mark on his ribs burned like molten metal. Shadows leaked from it—thin threads at first, then smoke, then something thicker.
Old Mara grabbed Kael's shoulders. "Listen to me—RUN! You must run!"
"can't…" Kael gasped. "It's waking… the darkness… it's waking again—"
She froze. Her eyes widened in horror. "Kael… your shadow…"
He looked down.
His shadow was moving on its own.
It stretched outward like a living creature, tendrils writhing across the ground, reaching toward the monster.
"No, no, no—stop!" Kael cried, stepping back.
But the shadow only grew darker and more real.
The beast turned toward him as if sensing something bigger than hunger. Its red eyes locked on to Kael. It roared again, but this time the sound faltered—like it was confused… or afraid.
Kael stumbled backward until his spine hit the well. The Shadowbrand throbbed again, so violently he screamed. Darkness burst from his skin in a wave. The air thickened, trembling like liquid night.
The beast lunged.
Kael raised his hands without thinking.
And the shadows obeyed.
A blast of black force erupted from him, slamming into the Cursebeast with enough strength to crush a house. The monster flew backward, crashing through the side of a barn. The villagers gasped. Mara fell to her knees, whispering prayers that shook from terror.
Kael stared at his own hands, trembling violently. "What… what did I just—"
The answer did not come from him.
It came from the darkness.
A whisper curled into his ear, cold and ancient.
"At last… you awaken."
Kael spun, but no one was behind him. Only the shadows moving like breath.
The beast rose again, angrier, faster, hungrier. It charged straight for Kael, tearing through earth and fire.
Kael tried to run, but his legs gave out. He hit the dirt, helpless.
Then—
A figure appeared between him and the monster.
A tall man in a dark cloak, holding a staff made of black crystal. His voice was calm as winter
"Stay down, boy
He slammed the staff into the earth.
A ring of shadowfire exploded outward, slicing through the Cursebeast. The monster shrieked, collapsing in two smoldering halves before dissolving into black dust.
Silence returned.
The man turned to Kael. His eyes glowed faint silver—a color that didn't belong to humans.
"You have the mark," the man said. "The Shadowbrand. I felt it awaken."
Kael couldn't speak.
The stranger knelt. "Listen carefully. Your village is gone. More beasts will come. The world has finally sensed you."
"W-why me?" Kael whispered.
The man gave a faint smile.
"Because, Kael… you are the last Shadowborn."
The words hit him harder than the monster's roar.
The stranger rose, offering his hand. "If you wish to survive… come with me."
Kael looked around—at the ruins, the ash, the bodies, the broken sky.
The world he knew was gone.
He reached for the man's hand.
And the night swallowed them both.