Chapter 1: "Exile"
The rain had already stopped by the time Kael stumbled through the gates. His boots, caked with mud, dragged with every step as he was shoved into the open wilderness beyond the capital walls.
"You're lucky His Majesty didn't have your head taken," the captain sneered behind him, spitting into the wet grass. "Don't show your face again."
Kael said nothing. His clothes were soaked through, and the cold air bit at the exposed skin of his neck where the royal collar used to sit. That ceremonial chain of polished gold, now tossed into the mud before him, was all that remained of his title.
He bent down, picked it up, and stared.
A few hours ago, he was a prince. The eighth and least important, true—but still one by blood. Now he was just Kael. Just trash.
He let the collar drop.
The gates groaned shut behind him with the finality of judgment. Kael turned his back on them without looking up again.
There was no path to follow. Only open woods, low mist, and the distant hum of unknown things. Kael walked until the walls of the capital were swallowed by trees. With nothing but a satchel containing dried bread and a waterskin, he forced his legs forward.
It was midday when he came to a clearing. His breath steamed faintly in the air. Cold. He dropped to the grass, his back against a mossy stump.
He didn't cry.
Not out of strength, but out of emptiness.
His stomach growled. He ignored it.
Time passed.
The sounds of the forest grew louder. Creaking branches. Leaves shifting. Somewhere far off, a howl. A lone one. Not wolf. Something bigger.
Kael didn't move.
He remembered the courtroom—how his brothers smirked behind folded hands, how the king's voice echoed with finality. Accusations of laziness, lechery, waste. Unfit. Unworthy. "A disgrace to the royal line."
They were right, maybe.
Kael never fought in wars, never led armies, never passed court exams. He didn't care to. His only talents were sleeping, avoiding responsibility, and irritating powerful people.
He laughed bitterly and rubbed his eyes.
Even insects seemed to avoid him.
The sun dipped low. Kael forced himself to stand and moved deeper into the woods, looking for shelter. The trees thickened, and thorned vines clawed at his legs.
He found something strange.
A stone pillar, cracked and leaning, poked out of the brush. Runes etched into its surface shimmered faintly as he neared. Beyond it: scattered ruins, overgrown with ivy, long forgotten.
He paused.
A breeze passed, though the trees stood still.
Something whispered. Not words, not breath—just the suggestion of sound.
He stepped forward.
Another stone. Then stairs. Downward.
Darkness greeted him below. The air turned colder. Damp. A narrow passage twisted left, then right, then opened into a circular chamber.
He lit a branch with flint. The walls glowed faintly. In the center of the room stood a broken pedestal. Upon it, a slab of obsidian, clean despite the dust.
Kael approached it slowly. His hand hovered over the surface.
He didn't know why he touched it.
Maybe it was instinct. Or apathy. Or curiosity.
Maybe some small part of him still wanted something.
His fingers brushed the stone.
It pulsed.
[System initializing...]
Kael flinched.
"What?"
[Beast Pact System activated.]
[User recognized: Kael, of no current title or rank.]
[Sanctioned exile detected. Enabling survival module.]
[Error: Bondless.]
[Mission: Establish your first Beast Pact. Time remaining: 5 days.]
He stepped back, heartbeat thudding.
The glowing script faded as quickly as it had come.
"What the hell was that?" he muttered.
The chamber remained still. No response. No voice. Only those strange, flickering messages in his head.
He rubbed his temples.
Magic? Old-world tech? One of the Ancients' relics?
Whatever it was, he had no choice but to accept it now.
Kael left the ruin as night fell. His fire-branch had burned halfway down, its light dim. The forest had changed. Stranger sounds. Nocturnal eyes in the shadows.
The system's words echoed in his mind:
Establish your first Beast Pact.
He didn't even know what that meant. Taming a creature? Making some sort of magical contract? It sounded like something his eldest brother would lecture about in court debates.
Kael stumbled over a root, barely catching himself. He hissed, sore and exhausted.
Then he heard it.
A whimper.
Low. Pained.
He crouched.
There—near a crooked tree, a lump of fur and limbs.
He crept forward.
It was a girl. Beastkin. Wolf ears, mottled gray fur cloak, and a long tail limp behind her. Blood stained her side. She held a crude dagger in one hand, her breathing ragged.
She didn't notice him at first.
He made no sound.
Then her eyes snapped open—golden, wild—and she bared fangs.
"Stay back," she rasped.
He raised his hands slowly.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
She tried to sit up but winced, collapsing again.
Kael stepped closer.
"You're bleeding badly."
"...don't touch me, human."
"You'll die out here."
She didn't answer.
He knelt beside her, ignoring the growl that trembled from her throat. Carefully, he reached into his satchel.
Just some water. Half a piece of bread.
He placed both beside her.
Then sat back.
Minutes passed.
Finally, she grabbed the bread with shaking fingers. Ate. Then drank.
Her eyes never left him.
"Why?"
He shrugged.
"No reason."
She looked away, biting her lip.
"...you're an idiot."
"So I've been told."
She laughed. Barely. Then winced again.
Kael noticed a slash along her ribs. Clean but deep.
"I can wrap it," he offered.
"You're not touching me."
He nodded. "Then I won't."
The fire dimmed further.
The silence settled like a blanket. Cold. Quiet. Tense.
Then—
[Potential Beast Pact candidate detected.]
[Compatibility: 62%]
[Initiate bonding sequence? Y/N]
Kael blinked. The text hovered faintly in the edge of his vision.
He looked at the girl.
Then back at the message.
He hesitated.
Then whispered, "...Yes."
[Initiating...]
The stone from the ruin pulsed within his chest. Not a burn—but a warmth. Like a heartbeat.
The girl froze.
Her eyes widened.
"What did you just do?"
Light shimmered between them, invisible to the world but clear to them both.
[Beast Pact forming...]
[Name: Lira (Wounded Wolfkin)]
[Status: Cautiously Accepting]
[Shared Bond Level: 1 — Fledgling]
[Skill Unlocked: Scent of Intent]
Kael gasped softly.
She stared at him, stunned. Her hand moved slowly to her chest, where the same warmth glowed beneath her skin.
"...What are you?"
He didn't have an answer.
Only a beginning.
And five days left.
End of Chapter 1