Chapter 8 - The Man Beside The Grave

Jason couldn't move.

The world around him seemed to fade into silence, the trees, the wind.

The distant sounds from the village.

Everything disappeared beneath the weight of those two words.My son.

His eyes remained locked on the figure standing at the edge of the clearing.

The face was unmistakable.He had seen it before.Not often.

Only in faded sketches hidden inside drawers. In memories that had grown weaker with time. In the quiet moments when his mother stared into the fire and thought nobody was watching.

Adrian Ravencrest, His father.

The man buried less than ten feet away.

Jason slowly turned toward the grave.

The stone marker remained exactly where it had always been.

Then he looked back at the stranger.

The resemblance was perfect,too perfect.

A chill crawled up his spine, No.

Something wasn't right.Because the eyes were wrong.The face belonged to Adrian Ravencrest.

The eyes belonged to something else.

Something ancient,Something hungry.Elena noticed it too.Her expression hardened instantly.

The grief that had filled her moments ago vanished.In its place stood pure determination.

Don't look into its eyes.The warning came sharply, Jason blinked, Its? The figure smiled.

A calm smile, Almost amused.

Still as stubborn as ever, Elena,The voice sounded familiar, Painfully familiar.

Yet there was an unnatural depth beneath it.

Like two voices speaking at once,One human.One not.

The lead enforcer stepped forward.

Silver energy flickered around his body.

Identify yourself.

The stranger ignored him completely.

His attention remained fixed on Jason.

Studying him, Measuring him.

For a moment, Jason felt exposed.

As though every secret inside him was being examined., Eighteen years.

The figure's gaze softened.I waited eighteen years.

The heartbeat returned.Boom.Jason staggered.

The sensation struck harder than before.

This time it wasn't coming from the mountain.

It was coming from the man standing in front of him.boom

Each pulse synchronized with his own heart.

The connection terrified him.The stranger took another step.

The enforcers immediately raised their weapons.

Stop.

The command echoed through the clearing.

Not shouted.

SpokenYet every warrior froze,Jason's eyes widened.

Even the Council Enforcers couldn't move.

The lead enforcer strained against whatever force held him.Muscles trembling.

Sword shaking.Nothing happened.

The stranger barely seemed aware of them.

His focus remained entirely on Jason.

The boy born without a wolf.

The last Ravencrest.The final heir.Jason's stomach tightened.Those words carried weight.

History,Expectation.Something enormous.

And he wanted none of it.Who are you?

The question escaped before he could stop it.

The stranger smiled sadly.

A smile that somehow looked genuine.

For the first time since arriving, emotion flickered across his face.

I was hoping you wouldn't ask that so soon.

Jason frowned.What does that mean?

The stranger looked toward Adrian's grave.

For several seconds he said nothing.

Then he exhaled.A sound filled with regret.

Because the answer will hurt.

The clearing fell silent again.

Jason noticed something strange.

His mother wasn't looking afraid anymore.

She looked angry.

Not the anger of a frightened woman.

The anger of someone confronting an old enemy.

You've already taken enough.

Her voice trembled.Leave him out of this.

The stranger's expression changed.

The sadness disappeared.Only exhaustion remained.You think I wanted this?

A sudden gust swept through the clearing.

Leaves spiraled through the air.

The temperature dropped sharply was imprisoned.

His voice deepened.Centuries alone.

Centuries buried beneath stone and darkness.

His eyes shifted toward Jason.

The only reason I'm standing here is because he awakened.

Jason felt the weight of those words.

Something clicked.The altar The shattered stone.

The voice beneath the mountain.

The heartbeat.

It had all begun that morning.

Whatever stood before him had somehow been released.

Or partially released.The realization made his skin crawl.

The lead enforcer finally broke free of theinvisible pressure.His sword rose immediately.

Step away from the boy.The stranger laughed.

Not cruelly.Just tired.You still don't understand.

The warrior's grip tightened.

Then explain.The smile vanished.

The answer came quietly.Ikkf I wanted him dead..

None of you would still be breathing.

Nobody spoke after that.

Because everyone knew it was true.

The corrupted wolf that attacked the village had been terrifying.This being felt far worse.

Jason could sense it instinctively.

The creature that fled had been a predator.

This thing was a storm.A disaster.

An ancient force wearing human skin.The stranger looked back at Jason.Do you remember the vision?

Jason froze.The burning cities.The armies.The throne.

His silence answered.Good.The stranger nodded.

That means the memories are awakening faster than expected.Jason's heart pounded.

Memories?They aren't mine.A long pause followed.The stranger tilted his head.

A faint smile returned.No.They belong to him.

Jason felt a knot form in his stomach.

Who?

The stranger slowly raised a hand.

One finger pointed directly at Jason's chest.

The true owner of that body.

The clearing seemed to tilt.Nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

For a moment Jason thought he had misheard.

Then laughter escaped him.Short.

Disbelieving.

What?The stranger didn't laugh.Didn't smile.

Didn't blink.Jason suddenly wished he had.

Because the expression staring back at him was completely serious.You're remembering another life.The words landed like a hammer.

The throne.The armies.The destruction.The ancient city.

The images flashed through his mind again.

More vivid this time.More real.

Fragments of faces appeared.

Voices.Names.Promises.Betrayals.

Jason staggered backward.Pain exploded behind his eyes.

He grabbed his head.A scream nearly escaped his throat.The memories weren't visions.

They were pieces.Pieces of someone.

Pieces trying to become whole.

The stranger watched silently.Then he delivered the one truth capable of shattering everything Jason believed about himself.

Your name is Jason Anthony Ravencrest.

But before this life..

You were the last king of the Ravencrest Empire.

And the people who murdered you are still alive.