Beastbound: The Flesh of Power

The previous night played on a loop in Leo's mind. His best friend, Raze, had been accused of being a harbinger of doom by the village seer—a claim so abrupt, so shocking, that Leo had been paralyzed in disbelief. Watching Raze's stunned face, the betrayal in his eyes, and the way he'd run off into the night… it all lingered like a bad dream.

Leo had wanted to follow him, to explain, to apologize for doing nothing. But when he approached Raze's parents the next morning, they only shook their heads gravely.

"It's for the best," his mother said. "Let him stay away until the main ceremony is over. The village is already tense."

Leo clenched his fists but said nothing. Arguing with them would only make things worse. Reluctantly, he returned to the festival grounds, joining the crowd gathered for the most anticipated moment of the celebration—the ceremony surrounding the Ancestor's Egg.

The open field had been transformed into a sacred site. The centerpiece was the egg, placed reverently atop a stage. It was about the size of an ostrich egg, its blackish-green surface gleaming with a strange, otherworldly luster. Every flicker of light reflected off its smooth shell, mesmerizing the crowd. The egg was a symbol of the village's heritage, its existence stretching back longer than anyone could remember.

Hundreds of villagers had gathered, seated close together on the grassy ground. Their attention was fixed on the shaman sitting cross-legged before the egg, his voice weaving a melodic chant that seemed to resonate in the very air. The energy of the moment was palpable, a collective anticipation thick enough to cut with a knife.

Leo closed his eyes, letting the shaman's words wash over him. It should have been a peaceful moment, but an unease prickled at the back of his neck. His instincts, honed from years of hunting and combat training, screamed at him that something was wrong.

His eyes snapped open. For a brief moment, the egg's gleam distracted him, but then his gaze shifted upward—and his breath caught in his throat.

A massive, reptilian creature was descending from the sky, its leathery wings blotting out the sunlight. The dragon's scaled form gleamed with a dark iridescence, and its maw stretched wide, rows of jagged teeth glinting like blades.

Before Leo could even react, the creature was nearly upon him. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto the field below, a predatory hunger emanating from its every movement.

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Raze had been sitting by the river when it happened. The sharp crack of his dreamlike haze shattered as the distant sound of screams carried through the trees. He froze, his heart lurching.

The village.

Without hesitation, he bolted, his legs pumping hard as he sprinted toward the festival grounds. The closer he got, the louder the chaos grew—the unmistakable sounds of panic, shouting, and something else… something monstrous.

When he finally broke through the treeline and reached the open field, the sight before him made his stomach drop.

The dragon had landed.

The massive creature had crashed into the very heart of the gathered villagers. Its enormous body had slammed into the crowd, sending shockwaves through the earth. The sickening sound of flesh being crushed beneath its weight was deafening, an unholy symphony of snapping bones and squelching flesh.

Blood sprayed in every direction, painting the once-cheerful festival grounds in a horrifying tableau of gore. Limbs jutted out at unnatural angles, mangled bodies littering the ground like discarded dolls. The bonfire, once a source of warmth and joy, now cast an eerie glow over the carnage, illuminating the visceral scene in stark detail.

The stench of blood and fear was suffocating. Villagers who had survived the initial impact scrambled to flee, their screams filling the air as they tripped over the remains of their neighbors. Some were caught by the dragon's talons as it swung its massive claws, tearing through flesh as if it were paper.

Raze could only stand there, frozen, his breath hitching as the horrifying reality sank in. This wasn't just a tragedy—it was an annihilation.

And in the midst of it all, the egg remained untouched on the stage, its surface gleaming eerily under the dragon's shadow, as if mocking the chaos surrounding it.