The ocean roared beneath the cliff.
Ancient waves crashed endlessly against black stone.
Moonlight illuminated the jagged coastline.
Mist drifted through the darkness.
The entire shoreline felt abandoned by the world.
Kel descended carefully.
His masked face remained expressionless.
His black cloak fluttered behind him.
The silver-haired youth moved through the rocky terrain beneath the cliff.
Searching.
Observing.
Listening.
Nothing.
No traces.
No footprints.
No movement.
No monster.
Only the sound of waves.
Inside his mind.
Seiren frowned.
"Something is wrong."
Kel nodded.
"Someone is avoiding me."
The Guardian crossed her arms.
"You think she knows you're here?"
"Most likely."
A pause.
"Or she simply wishes to remain hidden."
The ocean wind blew harder.
Several minutes passed.
Still nothing.
Eventually.
Kel stopped.
Then sighed.
Inside his mind.
Seiren immediately became suspicious.
"That sigh means you're about to do something."
"Yes."
"Something stupid?"
"Probably."
The Guardian groaned.
Then Kel began speaking.
Not loudly.
But loud enough.
Loud enough for the darkness to hear.
"A noble family."
The waves crashed.
No response.
"Two sisters."
Silence.
"One married a nobleman."
Still silence.
"The other loved a fisherman."
The sea continued roaring.
Then Kel continued.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Constructing the story he had pieced together.
"The younger sister became pregnant."
"The child belonged to the elder sister's husband."
The air suddenly felt colder.
Seiren noticed immediately.
"Something reacted."
Kel continued.
"The fisherman discovered the affair."
"The younger sister betrayed him."
"The elder sister lost everything."
The darkness remained silent.
Yet.
Something was listening.
The silver-haired youth continued walking.
His voice echoed against the cliffs.
"The elder sister was a student of dark arts."
"The grief destroyed her sanity."
"She sought revenge."
"The fisherman died."
"She found his corpse."
"The woman attempted resurrection."
A pause.
"But she failed."
The ocean seemed to grow quieter.
Almost unnaturally quiet.
Kel continued.
"Instead."
"She used monster cores."
"Ancient rituals."
"Forbidden methods."
"And transformed the fisherman into something else."
His golden eyes narrowed.
"A monster."
The sea exploded.
A distorted scream echoed across the shoreline.
"STOP!"
The voice shook the rocks.
The water trembled.
The ocean itself seemed disturbed.
"STOP!"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT STORY AGAIN!"
Silence followed.
Then—
Something emerged.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
From the darkness.
From beneath the waves.
From the shadows hidden between stone formations.
Something stepped forward.
And for the first time.
Kel saw it.
The real monster.
Not a rumor.
Not a legend.
Not a story.
Reality.
The creature was horrifying.
Truly horrifying.
Its body appeared twisted beyond recognition.
Human features remained.
Barely.
A feminine silhouette.
Long hair.
Arms.
Legs.
Yet everything looked wrong.
Warped.
Distorted.
Mutated by centuries of corruption.
Its skin resembled dark scales.
Fragments of monster flesh grew from its body.
Its eyes glowed faintly beneath layers of shadow.
Additional limbs seemed partially formed beneath its back.
Like failed attempts at evolution.
The creature was neither human.
Nor beast.
Something in-between.
Something impossible.
Even Kel felt his body react.
His heart rate increased.
His instincts screamed.
His mind warned him.
Danger.
Danger.
Danger.
For a brief moment.
The sheer wrongness of the creature nearly overwhelmed his senses.
Then.
A cool wave spread through his mind.
Seiren.
The Guardian's power stabilized him instantly.
"Focus."
Kel took a slow breath.
The pressure vanished.
The creature stared.
Then spoke.
Its voice sounded distorted.
Like multiple voices speaking simultaneously.
"I know that story."
"I hate that story."
The creature stepped closer.
Moonlight finally illuminated its face.
Or what remained of it.
The sight was tragic.
More tragic than horrifying.
Because beneath the monstrous appearance.
Something human remained.
Kel spoke calmly.
"Who are you?"
The creature froze.
For several seconds.
It simply stared at him.
Then laughed.
A bitter laugh.
A broken laugh.
"I am the lady."
Silence.
Kel remained calm.
"The dark arts lady?"
The creature nodded.
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
No hesitation.
No denial.
Only acceptance.
Acceptance of what she had become.
Kel frowned slightly.
"Then something doesn't fit."
The creature tilted her head.
Kel continued.
"You said I was wrong."
A pause.
"You aren't the fisherman."
The monster laughed again.
A sound filled with centuries of bitterness.
"Of course I am not."
Then she spoke.
And the true story began.
"My younger sister was beautiful."
The words came slowly.
Heavy.
Painful.
As though every sentence reopened old wounds.
"My husband desired her."
"I discovered it too late."
The creature lowered her head.
"I thought the fisherman was the victim."
A pause.
"I was wrong."
The waves crashed behind her.
"My sister became pregnant."
"The child belonged to my husband."
Kel listened quietly.
The creature continued.
"The fisherman learned the truth."
"He came to kill her."
The silver-haired youth narrowed his eyes.
The story had changed again.
Yet this time—
The source was the person who lived it.
"My sister begged."
The creature's voice became colder.
"She cried."
"She pleaded."
"She promised."
A pause.
"She promised she would become his."
"Completely."
"Forever."
The creature laughed bitterly.
"The fool believed her."
Silence.
"My sister used her beauty."
"Again."
"And again."
"And again."
The monster's claws dug into the stone.
"My husband."
"The fisherman."
"They were both the same."
The hatred in her voice felt ancient.
Raw.
Untouched by time.
"They forgave everything."
"Because she was beautiful."
The ocean roared.
The creature's body trembled.
"My husband betrayed me because she was beautiful."
"My sister betrayed me because she could."
"The fisherman forgave her because she was beautiful."
A pause.
Then came the words she had carried for centuries.
The words she could never forget.
"My husband stood before me."
Her voice cracked.
"He smiled."
Silence.
"He told me."
The creature's claws tightened.
"If I could..."
Tears appeared in her monstrous eyes.
"...I would make your younger sister pregnant again."
Another pause.
"And again."
"And again."
The ocean grew silent.
Even the waves seemed distant.
The creature lowered her head.
"He was proud."
The words barely escaped her mouth.
"He was proud of betraying me."
Silence.
The night felt colder.
Darker.
Heavier.
Then the creature continued.
"I never loved my husband."
"It was a political marriage."
A pause.
"But they were family."
Her voice broke.
"My sister."
Another pause.
"My precious little sister."
The hatred vanished.
Leaving only grief.
Raw grief.
Centuries old.
Yet still alive.
"They were the only family I had."
Kel remained silent.
Because sometimes.
No response was appropriate.
Only listening.
Only understanding.
The creature slowly looked toward the ocean.
Then whispered.
"I performed the ritual."
"I consumed monster flesh."
"I consumed monster blood."
"I destroyed myself."
A pause.
"Then I hunted them."
Moonlight reflected within her monstrous eyes.
"I killed my sister."
"I killed her unborn child."
"I killed the fisherman."
The cliff fell silent.
Only the waves remained.
Then the creature looked directly at Kel.
For the first time.
Not as prey.
Not as an intruder.
But as someone willing to listen.
And in her eyes.
Kel saw the truth.
Not a monster.
Not entirely.
Just a woman.
A woman who had suffered for far too long.
And who had carried her grief for centuries beneath the cliff.