Aria woke up in her own bed.
The sheets smelled like woodsmoke and rain — the same scent that cling to her skin after the fire three years ago. The roof above her was patched with mismatched shingles, the window cracked but still holding , a stubborn little house in the village End, clinging to life like a scar.
Outside, the night was quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the crickets seemed to hold their breath.
Aria sat up, knees pulled to her chest, bare feet pressing into the cold floorboards. Her toes curled against the rough wood — grounding her. She wasn't dreaming for years ago after the attack of the tsumiki She wasn't seeing anything again she thought Something was wrong, but didn't mind it since it has been years
But suddenly She'd been dreaming again — of her father, kneeling and whispering to her, "You're not just human, Aria. You're not just beast. You're both." there are triple power in you that you have to discover it yourself the tsumiki are your only family, if you find urself in trouble run to them, they will save you
Lies, All lies. She soloquized
The Tsumiki weren't her family.
They were monsters. Her father was called a traitor because he married a half human and half wizards. He was killed by his own people.
The dream faded, but the feeling lingered, like a hand pressed against her spine.
She stood.
Her nightgown hung loose, threadbare at the hem. Her hair was tangled, her eyes heavy but sharp — like someone had poured ice water into her veins.
She walked to the window.
Moonlight poured through the cracked window, painting silver stripes across the floor.
Half moon? She murmured. She knew it a broken promise and a warning.
Suddenly she heard it, in her ears.
A whisper — low, rhythmic — like a heartbeat.
"Come to us, Aria. We've waited. The Binding Stone is awake. The Devourer stirs. The Shadow Pack Lord calls you as his queen."
She gripped the window frame until her knuckles turned white.
Her father's voice echoed — hollow, broken and lying.
The Tsumiki's whisper, poisoned and deadly made her skin tingled when the rain falls.
And it made her heart beat faster when she saw the moon.
She wasn't half‑beast. She's a tragajan
She turned from the window.
Her boots sat by the door — mud‑caked, scuffed — the same ones she'd worn the night she ran from the wolves. She slipped them on, laced them tight.
She opened the door.
The night air hit her like a slap — cold, sharp, alive.
The village was asleep, the tavern's lights were out and the blacksmith's forge was cold.
But the forest — the forest was awake.
She could feel it — the trees leaning in, the wind carrying whispers, the ground humming with power.
She stepped onto the dirt path.
Her footsteps echoed — not loud — but heavy — like drums.
She walked past the village square, the well and the shoe marker where the old mayor died three winters ago — killed by Tsumiki.
She walked until the houses thinned, the trees thickened, and the sky opened above her — wide, dark and watching. On getting there the odour was unbearable that she almost turn back to leave. then — she saw it.
The ruins.
The ancient stone circle half buried, half crumbling.
And at its center was the Shadow Pack Lord waiting.
Smiling.
His eyes — half human, half wolf — glowed like lanterns in the dark.
"Welcome, aria ," he purred. "You came faster than I expected."
Aria didn't bow.
Didn't kneel.
She stared — straight — into his eyes.
"I'm not here to join you," she said, voice low, steady. "I'm here to stop you."
The Shadow Pack Lord laughed — a sound like bones snapping.
"You think you can stop us? You? A girl who doesn't even know what she is?"
"I know what I'm not," Aria said. "I'm not a monster. I'm not a slave. I'm not a tool for your evil." You deceived my father, and kill him. But you didn't seem to be satisfy with that. Why are you using his voice to summon me, what do you want from me she yelled. The heaven turned white immediately sending thunder strikes as message to earth.
The Shadow Pack Lord's smile faded.
"You're a fool," he hissed. "Your father thought he could hide you, think he can control you. But you belong to us. Your blood remembers. Your soul remembers. And when the moons align — you'll kneel."
Aria raised her hand, Just her will
And from her palm, a violet light pure, raw and ancient —burst forth of from a book, not from a ritual from her own soul.
It wasn't loud.
It wasn't flashy.
It was quiet.
It was real.
"You're wrong," she whispered. "I don't belong to you. I belong to myself. And I'll burn your world before I let you win."
The Shadow Pack Lord's eyes widened — just for a moment — before he vanished — into smoke.
The Binding Stone vanished into the earth
The ground shook.
And the night went silent.
Aria stood alone — in the ruins — under the half moon — her heart pounding — her soul on fire — knowing she'd just lit the fuse. The unknown would come intervene and The war would begin
Because she knew — the Tsumiki were evil.
But didn't know she was the only one powerful enough to face them.
She turned back toward the village.
She was just a girl , who remembered her father's last words,not as truth but as a warning.
And who chose finally, to choose herself.