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I awoke, or rather, I became aware, within a prison of my own making. Shadows wrapped around me, endless and suffocating. I couldn’t see or move. The beast prowled the edges of my mind, its guttural growls echoing in the dark expanse.

This was not a dream. It is my reality now.

The memories struck me like a storm, Withers, the council’s chants, the moment the walls within me crumbled. I glimpsed flashes of blood, fire, and terror. I saw Withers’ face contorted in fear, the enforcers falling one by one, their cries devoured by the chaos I had unleashed.

And then, there was Elara.

Her voice reached me, distant yet sharp, cutting through the beast’s rampage like a dagger. It wasn’t enough to halt the destruction, but it had been sufficient to make the beast hesitate, if only for a moment.

But now she had disappeared. Or perhaps I had.

The beast growled once more, its presence suffocating. It didn’t communicate in words but in raw emotions, rage, hunger, and an insatiable thirst for freedom. I could sense its satisfaction, its glee at the carnage it had wrought.

I attempted to fight, to claw my way back to control, but it felt like trying to grasp smoke. Every effort I made met with resistance, a tidal wave of power that pushed me deeper into the recesses of my mind.

The voice of the beast appeared to convey, not through words, but through the immense weight of its presence, that this is your true self. You were destined for this.

“No,” I whispered, though the sound scarcely travelled in the darkness. “This isn’t who I am. This isn’t, ”

“ Who you are? ” the beast interrupted, its tone mocking. “ Who do you think has held me back all these years? You’re not innocent in this, Kaelen. You’ve always been a weapon, and now... now you’re finally free .”

I wanted to deny it, but the memories of my own choices, the battles fought, the lives taken in the name of duty surfaced. The beast was not entirely wrong.

However, it wasn’t completely accurate, either.

“Elara,” I whispered, holding onto her image in my mind. She was my anchor, my light in the storm. If I could just grasp her, I could fight this. I could find my way back.

The beast roared, its fury trembling the very foundations of my mind.

“She cannot save you, Kaelen. Nobody can.”

The darkness started to shift, and I sensed the pull of the outside world, sounds and sensations bleeding into my confinement.

When I opened my eyes, the world was afire.

The forest was unrecognisable, its once lush and vibrant expanse reduced to smouldering ruins. Trees lay shattered and charred, and the air was thick with ash and the stench of blood.

I stood in the midst of it all, my claws dripping with crimson. All around me, the bodies of soldiers and enforcers lay scattered, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.

I gazed down at my hands, or what remained of them. They appeared monstrous, elongated and clawed. These weren’t my hands no more.

The beast hadn’t merely taken control; it had transformed me.

A low growl rumbled from my chest, and I realised with a sickening jolt that it wasn’t entirely my own. The beast re- mained, its presence entwined with mine, its hunger gnawing at the fringes of my consciousness.

I attempted to move, to run, but my body felt alien, unre- sponsive to my commands. Every step I took felt leaden, as if I were wading through quicksand.

“Kaelen.”

The voice was soft yet steady, cutting through the chaos surrounding me. I turned, my monstrous form moving with a speed and grace that were not my own.

It was Elara.

She stood at the edge of the clearing, her expression a blend of fear and determination. She bore no weapon, no armour, just herself, illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight.

“Elara,” I rasped, my voice distorted and thick with the beast’s guttural tones. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I had to come,” she said, stepping forward with caution.

“You don’t understand,” I growled, my claws sinking into the earth. “I’m dangerous. I’m... I’m not myself anymore.”

Her gaze softened, yet she didn’t halt her approach towards me. “I know you, Kaelen. I know who you are. This isn’t you, it’s them. The council did this to you. But you can resist it. You must fight it.”

The beast snarled, its presence surging to the forefront. My body tensed, my claws raising instinctively.

“Elara,” I said, my voice shaking. “Step back. I can’t... I can’t halt it.”

“You can,” she said, her voice resolute. “You have always been stronger than you realise. And you are not alone in this. I’m with you, Kaelen. Always.”

Her words pierced through the fog of rage and hunger, and for a fleeting moment, I sensed a flicker of control. The beast roared in protest, its power thrumming through my veins, yet I clung to that flicker as if it were a lifeline.

“Elara,” I whispered, my monstrous figure quivering.

But the beast was not finished. With a guttural roar, it surged forward, its hunger overwhelming my fragile control.

“Elara, run!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

She held her ground, her eyes fixed on mine. “You’re stronger than this, Kaelen. I believe in you.”

I lunge at her, and darkness enveloped everything.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself on my knees, the taste of blood lingering on my tongue and the weight of the beast’s power bearing down on me.

Elara stood before me, her hand resting softly on my monstrous claw.

“You’re still there,” she said, her tone unwavering. “And I shan’t give up on you.”

Elara’s touch, her very presence, was a force that the beast could not endure.

And in that moment, I realised that perhaps, just perhaps, I could fight this after all.

The weight of Elara’s hand on mine was grounding; her voice a lifeline in the storm. Her presence steadied me, even as the beast’s power surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me in its boundless rage and hunger.

But something felt rather... unusual.

“I’m here,” she interrupted gently, her gaze sharp yet warm. “You don’t have to face this alone, Kaelen.”

Her words carried the strength of conviction, yet they res- onated discordantly within me. The air around her shimmered faintly, almost imperceptibly, like the heat haze rising from sun-baked stone.

“Elara,” I said once more, my voice faltering. My claw quivered beneath her touch, and for a brief moment, I felt like the man I used to be. “I can feel you. But... how?”

She tilted her head, her expression softening. “Does it matter? I’m here, Kaelen. I shall always be here.”

Her smile, a blend of sorrow and reassurance, imprinted itself in my mind. Yet the shimmer intensified, her form wavering like a reflection on undulating water.

“No,” I muttered, shaking my head. The beast stirred once more, its power surging back to the forefront of my consciousness. “No, this isn’t real. You can’t be real.”

Her brow knitted in concern as she knelt closer, her hand pressing against my monstrous chest. “Kaelen, listen to me. What you’re feeling right now, the chaos, the pain, it’s real. But that doesn’t mean it has to define you. You can still fight this.”

I wished to believe her, to lose myself in the comfort of her words. Yet the shimmer had spread, distorting her edges, her voice carrying an ethereal echo that chilled me to the bone.

“Elara,” I whispered, my voice quaking. “You’re not here, are you?”

She hesitated, her expression wavering for the first time. “I’m with you, Kaelen,” she said, her voice softer now, almost pleading. “Isn’t that what truly matters?”

The beast growled, its laughter a dark and mocking sound

echoing through my mind. “ You’re slipping, Kaelen. Clinging to phantoms won’t save you .”

“Elara,” I said again, more insistently this time. “If you’re real, if you’re genuinely here, prove it.”

She stared at me, her figure shimmering, and for a moment, her expression was inscrutable. Then, slowly, she got to her feet, her eyes brimming with sorrow.

“You always did see too much,” she said, her voice tinged with regret. “I wish I could be here for you, Kaelen. Truly. But I’m not. I’m just...”

She faded away, her figure shimmering one final time before vanishing into the night.

And just like that, I found myself alone.