Chapter 4 – The Curse Awakens

Selene

The darkness of the Blood Forest felt alive and suffocating, like something was pressing in on me.

 A low growl echoed closer, vibrating through the old trees, and every little noise felt like a bad sign. Something big is out there, and it's getting closer. I can feel it.

"Who's there?" I called out, my voice a shaky whisper swallowed by the oppressive silence of the woods. 

The sound of my fear hung in the air for a moment, unanswered, absorbed by the ancient trees. Please, just answer me. What do you want? Show yourself.

Only the dry rustle of unseen leaves replied, a mocking whisper that seemed to creep through the forest floor. There's no wind. What's making that sound? It feels… intentional.

Suddenly, two red eyes cut through the darkness, burning like embers.  Not the familiar, comforting golden eyes of the pack wolves. These were wild, blood-red, with a hungry look that terrified me. Rogue. Oh no. Not rogues. I'm trapped. There's nowhere to run.

More red eyes appeared from the dark, one after another, until I was completely encircled. They moved smoothly, like living shadows, a beautiful but terrifying sight that made them even more threatening. 

Their low growls were a deep, rumbling threat that resonated deep within my bones, a warning that shook me to my core. Oh no, I’m surrounded. What should I do now? 

"Leave me alone," I whispered, stepping back slowly, my hands raised in a futile attempt to ward them off, like a child trying to stop a storm. 

My heart was banging in my chest, a wild, desperate beat against the heavy silence, a countdown to the inevitable attack. Please, just let me go. I don't want to fight. I can't fight.

One of them moved closer, showing its teeth in a quiet, mean snarl that looked like it would hurt. Then it jumped real fast, a dark shape with teeth, and I saw a flash of red in the dark coming closer.. They're attacking! I have to move. Now!

I was so terrified, it felt like my blood was freezing, and suddenly I was running super fast, faster than I ever had before. I tripped and stumbled through the messy plants on the ground, thorns scratching my clothes and skin like hidden claws, but the sharp pain didn't matter as much as how scared I was.

The angry growls of the creatures chasing me kept getting louder and closer, making me run even faster with a wild energy, just to stay alive. My lungs are burning. I can’t breathe. I just have to keep moving. Don't stop.

"Why are you hunting me?" I choked out, my breath hurting and coming in gasps, each one reminding me I was running for my life. 

I tripped on a twisted root that felt like a skeleton's hand reaching out to grab me from the ground. A sudden pain shot up my leg, and I almost fell over. Whoa, nearly fell! Gotta watch it. It's too dark to see anything.

All they did was growl at me angrily, a way of showing they were hungry and dangerous, and it made me shiver, remembering how wild and powerful they were.

They just kept coming after me, and their bloodlust was so strong, it felt like a heavy feeling in the cold air. They won’t stop. They want me dead. I can feel it in their eyes and their growls. I knew, with a sickening certainty, that I could not outrun them forever.

I ran so much my chest burned like crazy, and each breath was super painful. My legs felt like they were yelling at me, and my muscles felt like they were tearing with each step, which hurt so much. The forest was just a confusing maze of dark shadows and twisted trees, full of old secrets and dangers, and every turn just got darker.

I was so tired, I felt like I was going to collapse into the dark, but then I saw a little glow ahead, different from the total darkness of the woods.  Light? What is that? A way out?

It was a huge stone. An ancient broken stone, with vines and thick moss hiding parts of it, like something from a long, long time ago, when the forest was growing all around. A building? Maybe I can hide there. Maybe I'll be safe.

I walked towards it, a little bit of hope lighting up inside me, like this was my last chance to get away. An ancient ruin, a forgotten sanctuary, maybe somewhere to hide for a bit from the scary, never-ending chase. Please let it be safe. Please don't let them come after me.

The shadows here felt weird, heavier and older, like they were alive and holding onto the broken walls. And when I stepped inside the circle of ruins, I got a really bad feeling, like something was watching me in the dark. 

I almost thought the shadows were moving by themselves, swirling around and making shapes I could just barely see, whispering things I couldn't understand, a quiet, creepy sound. This place… it feels wrong. Ancient. Powerful. But I have nowhere else to go.

A whisper brushed against my ear, soft as a breath, yet somehow distinct from the rustling of the leaves outside, a voice that seemed to resonate from within my own mind, a chilling intimacy. "Selene…" Did I just hear my name? Inside my head? That can't be real.

I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat like a scared bird trapped in a cage of bone, my eyes anxiously scanning the oppressive darkness, searching for the source of the disembodied voice. 

"Who said that? Is someone there? Show yourself!" My voice was a desperate plea swallowed by the ancient stones. Who are you? What do you want? Please, just leave me alone.

Everything was silent. The only sounds were the leaves rustling outside the ruins, a dry, sad sigh in the night air that I couldn't see moving, and my heart pounding really fast in my ears, a fast beat that sounded like the old, strange beat of the forest. Just the wind... and me being scared and making things up in my head.

But then I heard another whisper, closer this time, like it was coming from the stones I was standing on, a low humming sound that made my bones vibrate. It felt strange and also a little familiar, like a dream I almost remembered. 

"Selene… you are awake. The time is near. Your blood calls you home." The stones… they're talking to me. My blood calls me home? What does that even mean?

I was afraid, but I also had this strange feeling like I recognized this place, maybe from a dream or a memory hidden deep inside me. It felt like something was going to happen that I couldn't control, and I didn't know what it was. This feels… like something I should know. Something important.

The air within the ruin began to hum with a low, strong energy. I could feel it vibrating, and it made the tiny hairs on my arms stand up. It felt like this invisible force was waking up something deep inside me that had been asleep.

The shadows around me started moving faster, swirling and coming together like they were alive. It was like they were being pulled by this unseen power, responding to an ancient, irresistible call. 

A mystical force, ancient and powerful beyond comprehension, began to come together in the middle of the ruined circle. It was a swirling mix of dark and soft, glowing light, crackling with wild energy, and it was so strange I was both scared and interested in it. What is this? I can feel it… changing something.

I screamed, a sound that was both terrified and a little bit like "wow," a deep scream like something was moving around inside me. It felt like the power reached out with invisible fingers and pulled me into its wild, transformative embrace. 

It felt like fire and ice were running through my blood at the same time, like I was being ripped apart and put back together, and it hurt like crazy.

My bones made sick cracking sounds as they moved, and my muscles felt like they were screaming as they bent in ways that felt impossible. Then, a strong, wild feeling I'd never had before came over me, something scary but also awesome, a power I didn't know I had, like a dark secret was finally set free. It hurt so bad! I'm being broken apart! Made new!

It wasn't just fear. This was... becoming something else. Like I was becoming someone totally different, in a way I never even thought of in my worst dreams. It was a dark,  terrifying awakening. My body... it doesn't feel like mine anymore. Something else is going on.

The pain was awful, like every tiny part of my body was screaming as I was twisted and changed against my will. It felt like who I even was was being violently changed inside me, in every little cell.

I dropped to my knees on the hard, cold stone. I couldn't see anymore, and the whispers got louder and kept talking, like a chorus of ancient voices that felt a little familiar, telling me what was happening during this awful, terrifying process. 

"Awaken, child of the blood… the blood remembers its birthright… the mark will guide your path… the power will be unleashed… embrace your destiny..." Child of the blood? What blood? What mark? I don't understand any of this!

Then, mercifully, everything went dark. It was a relief from the terrible pain of transformation, like a fall into the void from which I would be reborn into something… else.

When I finally opened my eyes, the blood-red moon was right above me, like a silent, crimson witness to the profound change that had occurred within me, making the ruined circle glow with a creepy, weird light.

The pain was gone, vanished without a trace, replaced by a strange, weird feeling of being... complete, a feeling I'd never had before, a deep, strong sense of power buzzing under my skin like a sleeping beast finally stirring. The pain… It’s gone. I feel… different now. 

I looked down at my left arm. There was a mark on my skin that glowed a little with a pulsing, silvery light. 

It was like a broken crescent moon, with sharp, rough edges, but it still felt like it had a strong, ancient power, a sign of something forbidden and mysterious, something deeply connected to this terrifying night. What is this? It’s beautiful… and terrifying. It feels… like it’s always been a part of me.

And as I stared at it, a surge of energy, wild and untamed, coursed through me like lightning, a power I had never known existed, a force that both terrified and thrilled me in equal measure, a dark, potent gift from the very heart of the cursed Blood Forest.

The whispers echoed in my mind, but now they didn't scare me. They felt familiar and friendly, like the voices of long-lost ancestors finally returning, guiding me towards a destiny I could not yet comprehend, a path shrouded in darkness and terrifying possibility. 

"The blood remembers… the curse awakens… the time of reckoning is at hand… the Omega has risen..." Omega… but I feel… more than just an omega now.