The Kingdom of Velmora had not seen hope in many years.
War had emptied villages.
Famine had turned fathers into thieves.
And fear ruled stronger than the king himself.
But inside the royal arena…
people still gathered.
Because suffering always loved a spectacle.
That morning, thousands filled the ancient stone coliseum beneath a gray sky.
Nobles sat draped in gold.
Poor families crowded the upper levels.
Children hid behind their mothers whenever the beast roared beneath the arena floor.
King Edric sat high above them all on the royal balcony.
Cold.
Proud.
Untouchable.
Beside him stood chained banners from conquered kingdoms and the massive throne forged from black iron.
Then the royal announcer stepped forward.
“Whoever kills the beast will receive one kilogram of the king’s gold!”
The crowd erupted.
That amount of gold could feed an entire village for years.
But nobody moved.
Because everyone knew the truth.
The beast below the arena was no ordinary monster.
It had killed warriors.
Knights.
Even trained executioners.
Some claimed it was cursed.
Others whispered it was created by dark magic hidden beneath the castle.
Then suddenly—
gasps echoed across the arena.
A boy had entered the sand.
Small.
Barefoot.
Wearing torn gray clothes covered in dust.
The crowd laughed nervously.
Some thought he was insane.
Others pitied him immediately.
King Edric barely glanced at the child.
Until the iron gate opened.
The monster emerged slowly from the darkness beneath the arena.
Massive claws.
Black skin scarred by chains.
Eyes glowing like burning coals.
Every step shook the ground.
Women screamed.
Men stepped backward.
But the boy did not move.
He simply stared at the creature.
Then something impossible happened.
The beast stopped.
The entire arena fell silent.
The creature’s heavy breathing slowed.
Its glowing eyes locked onto the boy’s shoulder.
Slowly…
the boy pulled back the torn fabric from his skin.
And revealed a dark scar shaped like a sword burned into his shoulder.
King Edric stood instantly.
His face drained of color.
“That mark died with my son…”
The arena exploded into confused whispers.
Because sixteen years earlier, the king’s only son, Prince Kael, had supposedly died in a fire during a rebellion.
His body was never recovered.
And only members of the royal bloodline carried the Mark of the First Sword.
The symbol burned onto chosen heirs at birth.
The king stared at the child below as though seeing a ghost.
The boy finally spoke.
“My mother said you would recognize it.”
The king’s breathing became uneven.
“What is your name?”
“Lorian.”
The name hit the king like a blade.
Because Kael once promised that if he ever had a son…
he would name him Lorian.
The beast suddenly growled again.
Guards rushed forward nervously.
But instead of attacking—
the monster slowly lowered its enormous head before the boy.
Like it knew him.
Like it remembered him.
Fear spread across the nobles.
The king’s royal advisor stepped forward quickly.
“Your Majesty,” he whispered urgently, “the boy must die immediately.”
The king turned slowly.
“Why?”
The advisor hesitated.
Because hidden behind his fear was guilt.
Years ago, it was he who convinced the king that Prince Kael planned to overthrow the throne.
He forged letters.
Created lies.
Manipulated the kingdom into believing Kael was dangerous.
And on the night of the palace fire…
soldiers were secretly sent to kill the prince.
But Kael escaped.
Barely alive.
Far beyond the kingdom, he disappeared into exile.
The king never knew the truth.
And now—
his grandson stood alive in the arena.
Lorian looked up toward the balcony.
“My father is dead,” he said quietly.
“But before he died… he told me to find the beast beneath the arena.”
The king frowned.
“What do you mean?”
The boy slowly approached the creature.
Then gently placed his hand against its scarred face.
The monster closed its eyes.
And suddenly—
the king realized something horrifying.
The creature was crying.
Tears rolled down beneath the chains embedded in its flesh.
The entire arena stood frozen.
Lorian looked toward the king.
“He said the kingdom turned a man into a monster.”
The king felt his knees weaken.
Because beneath the creature’s burned skin…
he recognized something impossible.
A royal mark.
Hidden beneath the scars.
The beast was not born a monster.
It had once been human.
The advisor suddenly shouted:
“Kill them both!”
Archers raised their bows instantly.
But before they could fire, the beast roared and shielded Lorian with its massive body.
The crowd screamed.
Chaos exploded across the arena.
Then Lorian shouted with tears in his eyes:
“STOP! He’s my father!”
Silence crashed over the coliseum.
The king stared in horror.
Impossible.
Prince Kael had not died.
For sixteen years he had been imprisoned beneath the castle…
experimented on by royal alchemists trying to create an immortal warrior.
The advisor had hidden everything.
Every lie.
Every crime.
Every scream beneath the arena floor.
The king slowly descended from the balcony into the sand.
His hands trembled as he approached the chained creature.
“Kael…?”
The beast looked at him silently.
And despite the monstrous face…
the king recognized his son’s eyes.
The same eyes he had failed years ago.
King Edric collapsed to his knees.
The entire kingdom watched their ruler cry for the first time in his life.
“I thought you were dead…”
Kael slowly reached forward with his enormous clawed hand.
And despite the monster he had become…
he gently touched his father’s face.
Like a son forgiving the man who abandoned him.
The advisor tried to flee the arena.
But the crowd blocked every exit.
Because now they understood the truth.
The real monster had never been beneath the arena.
It had been sitting beside the throne all along.
Months later, the underground prisons were destroyed.
The royal experiments ended forever.
And the kingdom slowly began to heal.
But the most beautiful moment came at sunrise one quiet morning.
Far beyond the castle walls,
Lorian stood beside a lake with his father.
Kael’s monstrous form had weakened.
The experiments had damaged him beyond saving.
He knew he did not have much time left.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be the father you deserved,” Kael whispered.
Lorian shook his head, tears falling.
“You came back for me.
That’s enough.”
Kael smiled softly.
For the first time in sixteen years,
he looked peaceful.
As the sun rose over the water,
the curse that twisted his body slowly faded away.
And before the light fully touched the lake…
Prince Kael became human again.
Only for a moment.
Long enough for his son to finally see his real face.
Long enough for a father to hold his child.
Then quietly…
he was gone.
