The storm raged outside, it howled like the cries of a dying beast. Rain hammered against the roof, and the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the humble cottage that had always been home to Taehyung. His father's frail form lay on the worn bed, the once strong man now reduced to little more than a whispering shadow of his former self.
Taehyung knelt by his father's side, his hands trembling as they gently held the old man's, a stark contrast to the strength they had once possessed. His heart pounded in his chest, a frantic rhythm matching the chaos outside, and his mind fought to make sense of what was happening. For years, he had been told his father was a warrior, a protector of the village, but now, in the quiet of the night, he saw how fragile even the strongest could become.
"Father…" Taehyung's voice cracked his throat tight with the unspeakable weight of the moment. His father's eyes fluttered open, dim and clouded with the approach of death.
"Taehyung..." His father's voice was faint, barely audible above the storm. "You… you must listen. There's little time."
Tears welled in Taehyung's eyes, but he held them back, not wanting to show weakness in front of the man who had always been his hero. "Please, stay with me, father. Don't talk like that."
The old man's lips twitched into the faintest of smiles, one that was more sorrowful than reassuring. His chest rattled with a cough, the rasp of a life slipping away. "My time… is done. But yours… yours is just beginning."
Taehyung's heart clenched, fear and confusion flooding him as his father's words seemed to stretch out into something that felt far too large to comprehend. "What are you saying? What do you mean?"
The dying man took a shaky breath, his eyes drifting to the window, the storm outside mirroring the turmoil that swirled in his son's heart. "You possess something rare, Taehyung. A gift. A power. But I never told you, never allowed you to know."
"Gift?" Taehyung's voice barely rose above a whisper. His mind raced. What was his father talking about? "What gift? What are you—"
"Listen… you… you can control them," his father gasped, his voice growing fainter with each word. "The beasts… the monsters…" He coughed violently, his frail body shaking from the strain. "They… they were never meant to harm you. They fear you, Taehyung. You… you are the Beast Master."
The words hit Taehyung like a blow to the chest. A gift? Control monsters? His father's breath was slowing, his heartbeats becoming staggered, and the storm outside seemed to echo the chaos building within him. He had heard the stories, of course—of the monsters that roamed the wilds, of the creatures that were feared and hunted by humans. But he had never once considered that he might be able to control them, to hold dominion over the beasts that had tormented the lands for centuries.
"Father, please…" Taehyung's voice broke, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "What are you saying? Why didn't you tell me this before? Why didn't you—"
But his father's eyes fluttered shut, his frail body shuddering as a final, shallow breath escaped his lips. The storm outside seemed to intensify at that moment, as if the heavens themselves were mourning the loss of the man who had protected his family, his village, for so long.
Taehyung's hands shook as he pressed his father's limp hand against his forehead. He wanted to scream, to shake him awake, but he knew—deep down—that it was too late. The life had gone from his father's body, and with it, all the years of secrets that had been kept hidden from Taehyung.
A strangled sob broke free from Taehyung's chest as the reality of the loss settled over him. The tears that he had fought to hold back now fell freely, mingling with the rain that poured down from the heavens. His father—his protector, his mentor—was gone.
"No… no, not like this…" Taehyung whispered through the sobs, his body shaking as grief overtook him. His chest felt hollow as if the very breath had been stolen from him. "You can't leave me alone…"
He clenched his fists, the raw emotion in him igniting into something darker, something more feral. Anger, burning like wildfire, surged through his veins. His family, and his village, were all gone. The memories of the laughter shared around the dinner table, of his father's steady guidance, of his mother's soft embrace—gone in an instant, ravaged by the ferocious beast that had destroyed everything in its path. The very beast his father had warned him about, the one Taehyung had been told to fear and stay away from.
But now, with his father dead and his life shattered, something inside Taehyung snapped.
"Who did this?" he growled through clenched teeth. His fists tightened, nails digging into his palms until the pain felt like a reprieve from the anguish that gripped him. The anger, the grief, the helplessness—it all mixed into a storm within him, swirling into a powerful, uncontrollable force. "Who did this to us? Who killed them?"
In the distance, beyond the storm, beyond the wreckage of his home, Taehyung could hear it—a growl, low and guttural, reverberating through the earth. His heart skipped a beat. He knew that sound. He had heard it once, long ago, in the forests beyond the village. It was the sound of the beast.
The beast that had come for them.
His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the new sensation that bubbled inside him. Power. Rage. A raw, untamed force he didn't understand but could feel deep within his bones.
Without a word, he stood, his legs unsteady beneath him as his grief pushed him to move. He had no plan, no strategy. All he knew was that he had to get to the beast. He had to find the creature that had killed his family, and his life, and make it pay.
But before he could even step away from his father's lifeless form, the ground beneath him shook violently, the walls of the cottage groaning as if the very earth itself was protesting his decision. He felt it—a presence, immense and powerful, pressing against him from all sides. The beast, it was near.
Taehyung's breath caught in his throat as he turned, his gaze falling on the doorway to the cottage. The wind howled, pushing open the door, and through the darkness of the storm, he saw it. A shadow, large and monstrous, standing just beyond the threshold. Its eyes gleamed like molten gold, watching him with a hunger that chilled him to his core.
His heartbeat thundered in his chest as the creature's growl reverberated through the very air, and Taehyung, for the first time in his life, felt the weight of his father's words settle in his soul.
"You… you are the Beast Master."
The beast's growl deepened, and at that moment, Taehyung knew that this was no mere chance encounter. This was fate. And now, with his gift awakened, the battle for his family's honor, for his revenge, was about to begin.
But how would he master the power within him?
And could he survive the vengeance he now sought?
The storm outside grew fiercer, and with a final, deafening roar, the creature charged.
The night, it seemed, was far from over.