why me??

The creature rose fully from the altar—a twisted form of bone, smoke, and echoes.Its face was a cracked porcelain mask, grinning with no mouth. Its spine curled unnaturally, and from its hunched back, long tendrils of smoke-like shadow coiled through the air.

Its roar didn't come from a throat.It came from everywhere.From the ground, the trees, the cursed runes themselves.

Aiden braced himself, red light flaring faintly at his chest.

"Memory beast," the girl said again. Her voice remained calm—almost bored."Born from grief and sealed rage. Fed by those who die without justice."

Aiden threw her a quick glance. "You seem calm for someone about to be shredded."

She tilted her head, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.

"Because it's not coming for me."

The beast's burning eyes snapped to Aiden—recognizing the curse in his blood like a wolf sniffing raw meat.

"It's hungry for you, Gravemire."

Aiden cursed under his breath, stepping forward. Crimson sigils shimmered faintly along his forearms now, humming in sync with the beast's unnatural growl.

"Then let it choke."

The air around the beast twisted as it lunged—silent but fast.

Aiden raised his palm—and a blast of red light erupted outward, slamming the creature sideways into a broken wall.

But it recovered too quickly.

"This one's stronger than the last…" Aiden muttered, staggering back.

"It remembers more than death," the girl said, stepping beside him now, cloak flaring behind her."It remembers you."

He glanced at her fully this time—and for a moment, the cursed monster was no longer the most terrifying thing present.

She stood tall, cloaked in ash and moonlight. Her long hair, black as crow feathers, cascaded behind her in wild strands. Her face was striking—sharp cheekbones, full lips, skin pale like winter frost—but her presence… carried weight. Not beauty. Power.

Even blindfolded, Elara was electric.And dangerous.

"Elara," she said softly, as if offering her name was a ritual."Seer of silence. Slayer of echoes. And if you die now…" —she smirked—"…it'll be really disappointing. I just found you."

The beast roared again.

Aiden gritted his teeth, raising his hand."Then don't blink."

"Can't. Eyes don't work, remember?" she teased.

A pulse of dark silver burst from her fingertips—pure moonlight magic—and slammed into the creature's face just as Aiden's curse flared with crimson flame.

Together—red ruin and silent moonlight—they struck the beast with dual force.

It shrieked, unraveling into smoke and ash, its mask breaking in two.

Silence fell again.

Aiden panted, blood dripping from his nose, but still standing. Elara brushed soot off her cloak like nothing had happened.

"You're reckless," she said, turning to him.

"You're insane," he replied.

They both paused.

Then—a smile.

"Perfect match," she said.

The last embers of the curse-beast still smoldered in the wind, like the forest itself was trying to forget it ever existed.

Aiden slumped down beside a half-burnt stone well, chest rising and falling, his skin still glowing faintly where the sigil pulsed under his shirt. He wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his sleeve and stared into the blackened dirt where the summoning circle once burned.

"Why…" he muttered under his breath, voice cracking slightly.

Elara stood across from him, brushing ash off her gloves like she hadn't just helped slay a creature born from death itself. Her blindfold fluttered gently with the breeze, and her smile was… crooked. Dangerous.

"Why what?" she asked, voice lilting with amusement.

"Why me?" Aiden said louder now, not looking at her."Why was I born with this? Why the curse? Why the mark? Why… all of it?"

There was a long pause.

Then Elara walked toward him slowly, her boots clicking faintly over the stone and dirt. She stopped in front of him, tilted her head, and crouched down—much too close.

"Mmm…" she purred, her tone playful, teasing, as if he'd just asked something scandalous."You really want the truth?"

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Maybe the stars got bored… and decided to drop a little chaos into a noble bloodline."

"Or maybe," she continued, her fingers lightly tapping his knee, "the gods looked down and thought—hmm, let's wrap destruction in something pretty."

Aiden blinked. "Excuse me?"

She grinned, wicked and warm.

"What? You are pretty. Even with the blood and the brooding."

Aiden flushed slightly and looked away. "That's not an answer."

Elara laughed—a low, soft sound that sent a chill up his spine. Then her tone shifted—still playful, but colder beneath the velvet.

"You were cursed… because your family made a deal. Long ago.A pact sealed in silence and blood. One child, every few generations, would be born marked—vessel of something ancient.""You were chosen to carry it. To suffer for their legacy. To bleed so they could rise."

She leaned closer, breath brushing his ear.

"And they called you cursed… but sweetheart… they're the ones who invited the devil to dinner."

Aiden's heart thudded.

He turned to look at her—really look this time.

"And what about you?" he asked quietly."What are you, Elara?"

She straightened up slowly, smirking.

"I'm the girl who hears what the gods whisper when no one's listening.""The one who didn't run from her curse… but kissed it."

She winked—yes, she actually winked behind the blindfold—and added:

"And lucky for you, I'm in the mood to help tragic, cursed boys with anger issues."

Aiden groaned. "You're unbelievable."

"Mmhm," she sang, walking ahead with a sway in her step."And still the most fun thing that's happened to you all week."

He stood reluctantly, shaking his head—half-exhausted, half-curious.

"This is going to be a nightmare," he muttered.

She called back over her shoulder.

"No, darling—this is only the prologue.