Mark of the Beast :Destiny Awakening

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Mark

The village of Hoshigawa had always been peaceful. Nestled among rolling hills, it was a place where life moved at its own quiet pace. The sun painted the sky in hues of gold and orange every morning, and the laughter of children echoed through the narrow, winding streets. Villagers greeted each other with warm smiles, and farmers tended to their crops as if time itself had forgotten them. Yet, as peaceful as it was, there was always a whisper in the air, a warning that danger lurked just beyond the horizon. Beasts.

Beasts were the stuff of legends, told in hushed voices by the elders around campfires. Massive creatures of dark magic and raw strength that ravaged villages and terrified those who lived in their path. No one in Hoshigawa had seen a Beast in decades, but that didn't stop the stories from circulating. Most people thought of them as little more than fairy tales—wild imaginations of the old ones, too afraid to face the future. But for Ryu Hayashi, that peace was about to be shattered in ways he couldn't yet comprehend.

It was the middle of the afternoon when it happened. Ryu had just finished his work at the village blacksmith's shop, wiping the sweat from his brow as he walked down the cobbled streets toward his home. His hands were calloused from hammering iron, the scent of heated metal still clinging to his clothes. His mother had asked him to pick up a few things from the market, and as he walked past the marketplace, he noticed the usual bustle of vendors calling out to customers and children running about. Everything seemed normal.

Then, suddenly, a low rumble reverberated through the earth beneath his feet. It was so deep, so powerful, that Ryu felt it in his bones. He froze, his breath catching in his throat. The villagers around him began to stir, confused murmurs spreading like wildfire. The air grew tense, the jovial atmosphere of the market quickly replaced by an uneasy silence.

"What was that?" someone asked from the crowd.

Ryu's heart raced as he turned his gaze toward the direction of the disturbance. A thick cloud of dust billowed into the sky, obscuring the once clear view of the horizon. Then, as if the heavens themselves had split open, a roar ripped through the air—loud, guttural, and chilling. It was the sound of something enormous, something unnatural. The ground trembled again, and the market erupted into chaos.

"Run! Everyone, run!" someone screamed.

Ryu didn't need to be told twice. His instincts took over, and he dashed toward his house, pushing his way through the crowd of panicked villagers. His thoughts raced—what was happening? What was that noise? His feet moved faster than his mind could catch up, carrying him down the familiar path to his home. The dark, twisting clouds of dust grew thicker, and the rumbling from the earth seemed to get louder with every step.

When Ryu finally reached his house, he found his mother standing at the doorstep, looking out toward the mountains. Her face was pale, her expression one of deep concern.

"Ryu, you need to get inside. Now," she urged, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the house.

"What's going on, Mom?" Ryu asked, his voice tight with fear.

Before she could answer, a deafening crash rang out from the distance. The sound of trees splintering and rocks being thrown into the air echoed through the valley. Ryu's heart sank. This wasn't just some natural disaster. This was something far worse. The air itself seemed to thicken with a heavy, oppressive energy, and Ryu could feel it in his chest.

His mother locked the door behind them and hurried to the window. Her face turned a sickly shade of gray as she peered outside. Ryu followed her gaze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Through the dust and debris, a massive shape appeared on the horizon. It was a creature unlike anything Ryu had ever seen—a gigantic, serpentine monster with glowing red eyes and dark, spiked scales covering its body. It had a head that resembled a dragon, with fangs long enough to tear through the earth itself. The Beast was slowly moving closer, its claws tearing through the ground as it advanced toward the village, crushing everything in its path.

Ryu's breath caught in his throat. The stories, the warnings—everything that had been told about Beasts—was real.

"No…" he whispered, his voice shaking. "It's impossible."

His mother turned to him, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and sorrow. "Ryu, you've been marked," she said softly, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "You need to leave. Now."

Ryu stared at her in confusion. "Marked? What do you mean, marked? What's happening?"

Before his mother could respond, a loud, thunderous roar shook the house, followed by a deafening crash as a large tree outside was torn apart by the Beast's monstrous claws. The walls trembled, and Ryu's heart skipped a beat. Panic surged through him.

"You need to go," his mother repeated, urgency in her voice now. "Go to the mountains. Find the Hunters. They'll know what to do."

"Mom, what are you talking about? What are Hunters?" Ryu's voice cracked. His mind raced, trying to make sense of it all, but nothing made sense. His body felt cold, as though his mind couldn't quite catch up with what was happening.

Without warning, his mother placed her hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eye with intensity that stopped him in his tracks. "Ryu, you've always had the mark. You're not like other people. The Beast won't stop until it finds you. You're the one it's looking for."

"Me?" Ryu's voice was barely a whisper. "Why me? What did I do?"

"There's no time to explain. The mark on your hand is the key. The Beast recognizes it. You have to go—now."

Ryu's hand instinctively moved to his left wrist, where his mother's words seemed to come alive. He had always felt a strange sensation there, like a tingling warmth that would pulse with his emotions. But when his fingers brushed against the skin of his wrist, he froze.

The mark was there.

A glowing, intricate symbol that seemed to move beneath his skin, shimmering with a strange, ethereal light. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before—a series of interwoven lines and runes, forming a pattern that looked almost... ancient. A strange sense of power emanated from it, and Ryu could feel the pulse of energy as if the mark itself was alive.

The mark. The mark his mother had spoken of.

A wave of panic washed over Ryu, and he stumbled back, his eyes wide. "What is this? What does it mean?"

His mother took his hand, her grip firm. "It means you're not just anyone, Ryu. You're connected to something much older, something much more dangerous than you can understand. And now, the Beast is coming for you."

Without giving him time to react, she pulled him toward the back door. "Go. Run."

Ryu hesitated for only a moment before he nodded, his mind swirling with questions he couldn't answer. He didn't know what to do. Didn't know where to go. But one thing was clear—he had to survive. He had to escape. For the first time in his life, he realized that nothing in this village would ever be the same again.

His feet were already moving before he could think. He ran out of the house, not looking back, his heart pounding in his chest. The village had descended into chaos. Screams echoed from the streets as villagers scrambled to escape. The Beast's roar was deafening now, and Ryu could hear the sound of buildings crumbling to the ground as it advanced.

Ryu's eyes darted around, looking for any sign of safety. But there was none. Everywhere he looked, people were fleeing, running in different directions, but there was no way out. The Beast was too close.

Then, he spotted something—or rather, someone.

A figure standing on the edge of the village, silhouetted against the chaos. The person's face was partially obscured by a hood, but Ryu could tell they were watching him. Without thinking, Ryu ran toward the figure, desperate for any help. He didn't know who they were, but it didn't matter.

As he drew closer, the figure turned and began to move, walking calmly toward the village's outer gate. They didn't seem to be in a hurry, and Ryu almost faltered in his step. Who was this person? Were they a Hunter? Someone who could help him?

But before he could catch up, the Beast's roar grew louder, more intense. Ryu's breath caught in his throat as the earth beneath his feet shook once again.

Then, everything went dark.

A blinding flash of light enveloped Ryu's body, and the next thing he knew, he was kneeling on the ground, his hand pressed against the mark on his wrist. The world around him seemed to bend and twist, reality itself distorting as the energy surged through him.

And through it all, one thought echoed in his mind:

He wasn't alone