The dungeon had gone completely silent.<\/p>\n
Dust drifted through the freezing air while terrified soldiers stared at the barefoot boy standing before the monstrous wolf-like beast.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Nobody breathed.<\/p>\n
The creature\u2019s glowing red eyes remained locked on the child as its massive body trembled beside him.<\/p>\n
Moments earlier, it had torn through iron gates like paper.<\/p>\n
Now\u2026<\/p>\n
it looked afraid.<\/p>\n
The old prison keeper slowly backed away, shaking uncontrollably.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026\u201d he whispered. \u201cIt remembers him.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the guards lowered his crossbow nervously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
The prison keeper\u2019s pale eyes never left the boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifteen years ago\u2026 the king ordered a child sealed inside this prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thunder rumbled above the ancient castle.<\/p>\n
The walls continued cracking apart around them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why?\u201d another soldier asked.<\/p>\n
The old man swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the beast refused to eat him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence crashed over the dungeon.<\/p>\n
The soldiers stared at the child in disbelief.<\/p>\n
The boy gently rested his hand against the creature\u2019s scarred face.<\/p>\n
Its growling stopped instantly.<\/p>\n
Like a loyal animal obeying its master.<\/p>\n
The child finally spoke for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name is Kael.\u201d<\/p>\n
The monster slowly closed its burning eyes.<\/p>\n
One young guard stumbled backward in fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2026 named that thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy looked at him calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe protected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n
BOOM.<\/p>\n
A violent explosion shook the prison corridors above them.<\/p>\n
Dust poured from the ceiling as distant screams echoed through the castle.<\/p>\n
The prison keeper\u2019s expression turned terrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy slowly turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho found me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the old man could answer, armored footsteps thundered through the collapsing hallway.<\/p>\n
Then they appeared.<\/p>\n
Elite royal knights wearing black armor marked with the king\u2019s silver crest.<\/p>\n
At their center stood a tall commander holding a long execution blade.<\/p>\n
His cold eyes locked onto the child immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wolf-like beast growled violently, flames pulsing beneath its cracked black fur.<\/p>\n
The commander raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo NOT attack the creature.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soldiers looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut commander\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat monster isn\u2019t the danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed directly at the boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHE is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dungeon went silent again.<\/p>\n
The barefoot child stared at the knights without fear.<\/p>\n
The commander slowly removed an old folded paper from his coat.<\/p>\n
A faded drawing.<\/p>\n
A child surrounded by shadows.<\/p>\n
And beside the drawing\u2026<\/p>\n
the royal seal of the dead king.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prophecy warned us,\u201d the commander said darkly. \u201cThe child imprisoned beneath Blackthorn Castle would one day awaken the Beast of Ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prison keeper fell to his knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026 the king promised the bloodline ended.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commander\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy frowned slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat bloodline?\u201d<\/p>\n
The commander looked directly into his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe royal family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soldiers froze.<\/p>\n
The child standing inside the destroyed dungeon\u2026<\/p>\n
the child feared by monsters themselves\u2026<\/p>\n
was not a prisoner.<\/p>\n
He was the lost prince of Blackthorn Castle.<\/p>\n
And somewhere deep beneath the collapsing ruins\u2026<\/p>\n
something ancient had just awakened his return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The dungeon had gone completely silent. Dust drifted through the freezing air while terrified soldiers stared at the barefoot boy standing before the monstrous wolf-like beast. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The creature\u2019s glowing red eyes remained locked on the child as its massive body trembled beside him. Moments earlier, it had torn through iron gates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}