Kael was ten years old the day his life changed forever. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows through the towering trees as he followed his father deeper into the woods. It was their weekly hunting trip, something Kael looked forward to. His father, a man of few words, had taught him everything about survival-how to track animals, where to set traps, and how to navigate the dense, untamed wilderness that surrounded their village.

"Stay close, Kael," his father said, his voice steady but soft, almost like the wind whispering through the trees.

Kael nodded and quickened his steps to match his father's long strides. He had always admired his father's confidence in the woods, how he moved silently, as if he were a part of the forest itself. Kael hoped one day to be just like him.

The woods were peaceful that evening. Birds called from the treetops, and the distant rustle of leaves spoke of animals moving quietly through the underbrush. Kael was used to the sounds of the forest-it had always felt like home. But as they ventured further from the village than usual, something felt different. The air grew heavier, the light dimmer, and an odd chill hung in the air despite the summer warmth.

"Father," Kael asked, breaking the silence, "why have we never come this far before?"

His father's face remained impassive, but Kael could sense the tension in his movements. "These woods are older than anything we know," he replied, his voice unusually stern. "Some places are better left alone."

But curiosity gnawed at Kael. He had heard stories-rumors whispered by villagers about ancient spirits and strange happenings in the deepest parts of the forest. As they walked, Kael noticed something up ahead. A rocky formation, barely visible through the thick foliage, with an eerie glow that seemed to pulse from within.

"What's that?" Kael pointed ahead, his eyes wide.

His father stopped and followed his gaze. A flicker of something-fear?-crossed his face, but he quickly masked it. "We turn back now," he said firmly, gripping Kael's shoulder. "This place is not for us."

But Kael was already moving toward the glowing rocks, drawn to it as if by some invisible force. His father called after him, but the boy's feet carried him forward, driven by a curiosity too strong to resist. As he approached, he saw that the glow was coming from within a small cave, barely large enough to stand in, its entrance half-hidden by ivy and moss.

"Kael, stop!" his father shouted, but it was too late.

Kael reached the mouth of the cave and peered inside. There, resting on a stone pedestal, was an ancient artifact-a small, blackened skull carved from stone, its hollow eyes glowing with an unnatural light. It was mesmerizing, and Kael couldn't tear his eyes away.

Without thinking, he reached out to touch it.

The moment his fingers brushed the skull, a cold shock shot through his arm, freezing him in place. The ground trembled, and a deafening crack split the air as the cave walls seemed to come alive, glowing brighter and brighter. His father's panicked shouts faded into the background as the light enveloped Kael.

A searing pain tore through him, starting from his face and spreading through his body like wildfire. Kael screamed, clutching his face as half of it burned with a pain so intense he thought he might die. His vision blurred, and he collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.

His father's hands were on him then, pulling him away from the cursed cave, but the damage was done. The ancient force had marked Kael.

When the pain finally subsided, Kael opened his eyes, his breath ragged and shallow. His father's face was pale, his eyes wide with horror. Kael didn't understand-why was his father looking at him like that?

"Father?" Kael's voice trembled.

But his father said nothing, just pulled Kael up and held him close, his grip tight, as though he could shield his son from whatever had befallen him.

"We need to go," his father whispered urgently. "Now."

They hurried back to the village, but Kael's world had already shifted. By the time they reached the safety of their home, Kael's mother gasped when she saw him. She rushed to his side, touching his face, but then pulled back in shock.

"Kael..." she whispered, her voice cracking with sorrow.

Confused, Kael stumbled to a mirror in the corner of the room, his heart pounding in his chest. What he saw there shattered everything he knew.

Half of his face-the side that had touched the cursed skull-was no longer his. Where soft skin had once been, there was now bone, stark white and grotesque, as if death itself had claimed half of him. A skeletal visage stared back at him from the glass, hollow and empty, the eye darkened and lifeless.

He screamed.

In the days that followed, the village spoke of nothing but Kael's transformation. Some said he was cursed, others whispered he was a monster, a harbinger of doom. His friends no longer played with him, their parents pulling them away in fear. The village became cold, hostile, as the whispers grew into something darker.

Kael's mother did everything she could to find a cure, but nothing worked. His father grew distant, his once strong, comforting presence overshadowed by guilt and helplessness. Kael was left to bear the weight of his new reality alone.

Eventually, the isolation became too much. His parents, seeing how the village had turned against them, decided to move to the woods, far from the judging eyes of those who had once called them neighbors. It was safer that way, away from the cruelty of the world, away from people who would never accept Kael for who he had become.

Years passed. Kael learned to live in the woods, hunting for food, living off the land as his father had taught him. But the boy who had once dreamed of becoming a great hunter, a man like his father, was gone. In his place was a shadow, a recluse who hid behind a mask, covering the skeletal half of his face whenever he ventured out.

The world outside the woods forgot about him, and Kael let them.

But the curse, the ancient magic that had twisted his fate, lingered still.

And deep in the woods, Kael waited.

For what, he did not know.

That night, as the wind howled through the trees, Kael's eyes flashed toward the faint sound of footsteps in the distance. Someone was coming, and for the first time in years, curiosity stirred within him.