The moon hung low over the forest, its pale light casting a silver sheen over the towering trees and the forgotten path below. It was in this place untouched by the hands of men that Kael wandered, a solitary figure burdened by the weight of time and memory. His broad shoulders, draped in worn leather armor, seemed to stoop under the crushing load of a past he could not escape. The beast within him stirred, as it always did when night fell, but he could no longer remember the man he had once been, the man who had stood tall in a king's court, proud and strong.

Now, he was little more than a shadow a beast of myth and rumor.

Every evening, as the sun dipped behind the distant hills, Kael would retreat into the woods. It was there, alone among the whispers of the wind and the distant calls of nocturnal creatures, that he could truly feel free. Or perhaps, it was simply where he could hide away from the world that had turned its back on him.

He paused for a moment, his breath heavy in the cool night air. His clawed hands gripped the thick bark of a tree as his amber eyes scanned the quiet clearing ahead. He could hear them the hunters. They always came after him, driven by their own need for a prize, a monster to slay, a legend to claim. They had done so for years, chasing him through the night as though he were nothing more than prey, but he had never let them catch him.

Not yet.

His massive form shifted, the muscles rippling beneath his skin, a constant reminder of the curse that had twisted his body beyond recognition. Once, he had been a man a knight in shining armor, a protector of the realm. But now, all that remained of that life was the name he rarely spoke: Kael. Now, his name was nothing more than a whisper, carried on the wind to the ears of those foolish enough to seek him.

The beast this twisted form of him was a curse he could not break, nor could he outrun the memories it carried. The rage, the despair, the betrayal. They lingered in every corner of his mind, like the flickering embers of a fire that refused to die.

Years ago, when the curse first took hold, he had fought it. He had fought it with every ounce of strength he had, but it was useless. The magic was too strong, too ancient, and the transformation too overwhelming. He had been a man of honor once, but now… now he was something else. A beast, with claws and fangs, a creature of the night.

And the kingdom that had once hailed him as a hero? They had abandoned him. When the curse had come, it had not only transformed him physically but had also turned the hearts of those he had served against him. His comrades had turned their backs, fearing the very thing he had become. They had called him a monster, a threat to their safety, and cast him into the wilderness to fend for himself.

Kael had not fought back. There had been no need. He had not wished for the power that had ravaged him. All he had wanted was peace.

But peace had not come.

As the forest around him grew darker, Kael's mind wandered to that fateful day, the day his life had changed forever. He had been kneeling before the king, preparing to swear his loyalty once again, when the betrayal had come. The magic had struck without warning a flash of light, a roar of agony, and in an instant, his world had shattered.

The king's advisor, a man once trusted above all others, had cast the spell that had cursed him, transforming him into the very beast he now was. The advisor had been a master of dark magic, and Kael, in his naivety, had never suspected the treachery that had festered in the shadows.

The betrayal had come from a place Kael had never expected: the hands of those he had once called brothers.

A sudden rustling of leaves pulled Kael from his thoughts. The hunters were closer now, their torches flickering in the distance, casting long shadows over the forest floor. He could hear their voices, sharp and eager, as they tracked him with the precision of those who knew no mercy.

Kael's pulse quickened, but there was no fear in his heart. Only a deep, gnawing emptiness. For what was fear, when one had already lost everything?

He took a deep breath, and for the briefest moment, his mind went quiet. He would not run tonight. He would face them. Perhaps it was time for the hunters to understand that the beast they sought was no longer the one they believed him to be.

The village on the outskirts of the forest was still. Only the faintest flicker of light escaped from the cracks in the wooden huts. In the market square, a figure moved with purpose. Aria, a young woman with dark hair tied loosely behind her head, stood at the edge of the village, her eyes focused on the trees in the distance. She had heard the tales of the beast of Kael and she had heard the stories from those brave enough to venture into the woods.

But Aria was no ordinary villager. She was a healer, a woman whose talents had been sought by kings and commoners alike. Yet, in all her years, there had never been a challenge like the one she now faced. The cursed warrior, the beast that haunted the edges of her village, had become the subject of her curiosity.

Unlike the others, who feared Kael and spoke of him only in whispers, Aria had always felt something different. She had heard the anguish in his roars, the loneliness in his silence, and had felt a strange pull toward the creature that the villagers feared. She knew that there was more to him than the stories told.

And so, she had made the decision. She would venture into the forest, not to hunt the beast, but to find him, to see with her own eyes the creature that had once been a man.

The night was still.

As Aria crossed the threshold of the forest, her heart pounded with anticipation. She could hear the sounds of the world around her the rustling of the leaves, the distant calls of creatures hidden in the dark. But there was something else, too. A presence. It was as if the very trees had parted to make way for her, as though something someone was watching.

And then, through the veil of mist, she saw him.

Kael stood at the edge of a clearing, his amber eyes glowing softly in the moonlight. His massive form, once a symbol of strength and pride, was now a creature that seemed to belong to another world. He was no longer the man he had once been, but the power and sadness in his gaze spoke of a life that had been shattered, a life that had never truly been his own.

Aria felt her breath catch in her throat. She had expected a monster, but at that moment, she saw a man a man who had been broken by the world, a man who had lost everything.

And in that moment, she knew that her journey had only just begun.