The enchanted forest lay beneath a skin of mist.
The sky was gray, heavy with rain.
Deep among the trees, Ryan sat motionless, his body taut, breath short. In his hands, the wand trembled—threadlit with a pale blue glow.
Inside him, the transformation stirred.
He was trying to wrest control over it, to bend it to his will—but every attempt sharpened the pain, turning it vicious, unrelenting. The force inside him resisted, surging back each time he tried to guide it.
Hoarse, he muttered through clenched teeth:
"I decide… not you.
I won't let you swallow me again."
The wand shivered violently.
Birds burst from the branches, wheeling in panic as if they sensed something otherworldly thickening the air. Ryan shut his eyes and dragged the damp air deep into his lungs, trying to center the current within himself—
—but the current would not obey.
It surged through his veins like fire.
A strangled cry tore from his throat as light exploded from his body, wrapping the clearing in blinding brilliance.
For a heartbeat—
the forest forgot how to breathe.
His features changed rapidly.
His hair lengthened, dark strands brushing his shoulders. His eyes burned brighter, filled with a power he had never known. His chest swelled as something vast and ancient flooded him.
The wand changed with him—longer, heavier, its carved lines interlacing with a living glow, humming as if alive.
Panting, Ryan laughed breathlessly.
"There it is… the power I've been hunting.
It's mine."
But his body couldn't hold it.
The light flickered.
The force ebbed, slipping from his grasp degree by degree. The wand's hum weakened, dwindling toward silence.
Ryan dropped to his knees, drenched in sweat, shaking violently.
"Stop… don't leave me now…"
But it left.
The glow drained from his body and the wand alike. His limbs gave out, and he collapsed onto the forest floor, breaths ragged, muscles trembling.
The forest reclaimed its hush.
The enchanted woods slept again—
—but something inside Ryan had awakened forever.
⸻
Far away, beneath towering boughs, a girl walked softly through the trees.
Eileen.
Silver hair fell to her waist, dampened slightly by the mist. Her eyes were the blue of a sky after rain. A simple white dress moved with the forest breeze, and in one hand she carried a small basket, already filled with healing herbs she had learned to gather since childhood.
She hummed as she walked—
until the melody broke.
A strange chill slipped into the air. The light dimmed. The wind began to whisper.
She stopped, clutching her basket, heart tightening.
"What is this…?" she murmured.
"The forest wasn't like this before…"
Then a voice came—gentle and deep, as if rising from the roots themselves.
"Eileen…"
She froze and spun around.
"Who's there?!"
The voice returned, closer now. Warmer. More dangerous.
"Come closer… don't be afraid.
I want to show you something beautiful."
Something inside her screamed to run.
But her body no longer listened.
Her feet began to move on their own. Her eyes glazed, glassy and distant. The basket slipped from her fingers, herbs scattering across the forest floor—
—and she didn't notice.
"Closer… yes. That's it…"
The voice slid into her mind like a dream.
The world shifted.
Colors bled and twisted. The trees vanished. Circles of light revolved around her as if the space itself were breathing.
She tried to scream—but no sound came.
"Where am I…? What's happening?!"
The voice vanished.
Eileen looked around.
She stood in a strange realm—ground lit by moving colors, a sky shaped like a living ring of twilight. Her hands trembled before her face.
"This isn't real… it isn't real…"
The voice returned, now edged with mockery.
"Why fear?
Isn't this what you wanted—to see the truth?"
The ground shuddered.
Lines of shadow etched themselves into the earth, then rose, forming a towering shape—smoke and bone for a body, eyes burning red.
The voice roared from everywhere at once:
"Run… before it devours you!"
Eileen screamed and ran.
The ground vanished beneath her feet as the beast thundered after her, its roar shaking the sky.
"You won't escape!"
Rain-like tears streamed down her face as she ran.
"Stop—please, stop!"
Laughter chased her through the void.
"Run farther… I want to taste your fear."
Suddenly, the light shattered.
Colors died.
Eileen crashed to the ground—
back in the real forest.
Rain soaked her hair and face, mingling with tears. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath.
She looked back.
The beast was still there—emerging between the trees.
She screamed and fled.
⸻
Elsewhere, Ryan's strength was fading fast.
The light had gone. The wand was nothing but plain wood again.
He tried to lift his head, but his body felt impossibly heavy. He rolled weakly onto his side, eyes half-closed.
"The power… I couldn't…"
The air grew colder. Rain began to fall, drops pattering across his face, mixing with sweat.
His breathing slowed.
Darkness pulled at him.
Above, birds circled, trilling a mournful pattern—calling, as if summoning someone.
And someone was coming.
Eileen burst into a clearing, stumbling through the brush—then stopped.
At its center lay Ryan, motionless.
Fear and confusion filled her eyes.
"What… who is that?"
She crept closer, shivering from rain and cold.
Behind her, the forest stilled. The beast was gone.
She knelt beside him and pressed a hand to his chest.
"He's breathing…"
Hesitating only a moment, she whispered a healing charm.
A warm green light unwound from her palms, settling over him like living thread.
Ryan's breath steadied.
Slowly, his eyes opened—clouded, searching.
"Who… are you?" he rasped.
She swallowed her fear and answered softly:
"My name is Eileen.
I found you here… I helped."
Rain fell between them as they stared at one another.
From the darkness beyond the trees, a shadow watched—perfectly still. A faint smile curved across its smoky face.
"Good," a whisper breathed.
"The beginning has begun."
Ryan's voice was weak, but steady.
"Why did you help me?"
Eileen hesitated.
"I… I don't know," she admitted.
"I just had to."
Hidden in the dark, the whisper curled once more.
"Perfect.
It begins."