The forest was older than time itself.
That's what the villagers used to say — that once you stepped beyond the last stone of the village path, you entered a world that didn't belong to men anymore.
And now, Arav was walking straight into it.
Each footstep cracked against dry leaves. Above, the canopy was so dense it drowned the sun, letting in only thin shafts of light like silent watchers. There was no wind. No sound. No birds.
Only… whispers.
Soft. Cold. Familiar.
> "He comes…"
"The cursed one…"
"He carries death…"
Arav clenched his fists. His breath fogged in the air even though it wasn't cold.
He didn't turn back.
---
For hours, he walked.
There was no path, but somehow, his feet knew where to go. It was as if the forest wanted him deeper. The marks on his body throbbed, guiding him through the thick fog. Trees looked like twisted shadows, some bent as if bowing to him.
And then — he saw it.
A stone gate. Ancient. Half-buried under moss and vines. Carvings lined the arch, the same symbols that burned on his skin.
He stepped closer, and the moment his foot crossed the arch…
> BOOM
The ground shook. The trees groaned. And a wave of cold hit him like a wall.
Suddenly — the sword appeared. Not in his hand, but floating before him, shimmering like moonlight forged into steel. It pulsed once. Then dropped to the ground.
> CLANG!
Arav stared at it.
> "Again," he whispered. "You found me again."
He bent down. The moment his fingers touched the hilt, a flood of visions crashed into his mind.
---
Flashback – A thousand years ago
He stood in a battlefield. Not his own. His hands — older, bloodstained. Around him, bodies littered the earth. Fire rained from the skies. And at the center — a girl, her eyes gold, her skin glowing with divine light, screaming his name…
> "Kael!"
And then — darkness.
---
He gasped, falling back. The sword clattered next to him.
> "Kael… who is that?"
"Why do I remember a name that's not mine?"
But before he could think more, he heard it.
A scream.
High. Sharp. Human.
> "Zia?!"
He grabbed the sword and ran.
---
The forest opened into a clearing — and there she was.
Zia. Trapped. A black mist had her ankles bound, rising like smoke-made chains, pulling her down. Her eyes were wide with terror, trying to fight, but failing.
Standing before her — a creature.
Not man. Not animal. Tall, cloaked in bones, with a skull for a face and hollow green flames for eyes.
> "Give. Her. To. The. Forest…" it hissed.
Arav didn't hesitate.
> "Let her go!"
He ran forward, the sword igniting in black flames. The creature turned, letting out a shriek that shook the trees.
> SLASH!
The blade cut through the mist. Zia gasped and collapsed. The creature growled, retreating, but Arav followed.
Their blades — bone against cursed steel — clashed again and again. Sparks flew. Blood spilled. And when it lunged, Arav let the sword decide.
He closed his eyes.
The blade moved.
With a single strike, he cleaved through the creature's chest.
It screamed — no, roared — as it burned from the inside, its soul torn into ash.
> "This… is not over…" it rasped before vanishing into dust.
---
Zia opened her eyes slowly.
> "Arav…"
> "I told you to stay in the village," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.
> "I had to know you were alive. And… I saw that thing drag someone else from the path. I tried to help."
Arav looked around. The clearing was still.
> "What was that?"
> "A Whisper Fiend," came another voice.
Both turned.
From behind a tree, a figure stepped out — a woman, older than Zia but younger than Arav remembered anyone from the village. She wore black robes, a mask on her belt, and her eyes glowed faintly.
> "You've awakened the marks. That makes you a Sealed One."
> "Who are you?"
> "I'm Elira. One of the last Watchers. And you…" she pointed at Arav's chest, where the marks now glowed faintly, "…are no longer just a boy. You are the Key."
> "Key to what?"
Elira walked closer, looking him up and down.
> "To either sealing the Rift forever… or opening it wide enough to let all the dead crawl through."
---
That night, the forest opened a path. A path not visible to humans — but now visible to him.
Zia stayed close.
> "You said I carry death," Arav asked Elira, as they walked beneath twisted trees. "Is that what this sword is? A curse?"
> "It's both. Curse and gift. That blade was forged in the final war of the gods. Only one bearer at a time. And the last one died over a thousand years ago."
> "Kael," Arav whispered.
Elira froze.
> "How do you know that name?"
> "I… saw him. In my head."
> "Then the sword has chosen you for more than power. You carry his memories. His pain. His war."
Zia looked between them, confused and worried.
> "So what happens now?"
Elira stopped at the edge of a glowing lake, mist rising in spirals.
> "Now?" she said. "Now, we test if he can survive the next trial."
> "What trial?"
Elira turned, raising her palm.
The ground shook.
The mist turned to ice.
And from beneath the lake, something rose — a creature of shadows, three times the size of the last.
> "This is the second soul," she said. "The first of the Seven Cursed."
> "If you can defeat it," Elira added, "you might live long enough to understand what you've become."
---
Arav stepped forward.
The sword pulsed.
Zia tried to hold his hand. He gently moved it away.
> "Stay back. I don't know what I'll become."
The creature roared.
And Arav, once again, became the boy who defied death.
---