The Cursed Alpha's Guide

The Moon's Call

The silver light exploded through the shattered carriage. For a single heartbeat, everything froze. The monster, the students, the guards—even the rain beyond the broken roof—seemed to stop moving. A deep vibration rolled through the train, not from the tracks beneath it, but from somewhere far older. The air itself trembled.

The creature's crimson eyes narrowed. "Impossible." Its voice no longer carried confidence. It carried fear.

Lyra staggered backward, clutching the back of her neck. The crescent-shaped mark beneath her hair glowed brighter with every passing second. Silver patterns spread across her skin like streams of moonlight before fading again. She couldn't breathe.

Images flashed through her mind. A silver moon. A burning city. Seven figures dressed in white standing around an enormous stone gate. One by one, they fell.

A scream echoed across her soul. Then darkness.

Lyra gasped as the vision vanished. "What was that?" She had never seen those people before. Yet their pain felt strangely familiar.

The creature took another cautious step backward. Its monstrous body trembled ever so slightly.

"No," it whispered. "It cannot be you—"

The words were barely audible. Then its enormous head slowly lifted toward the sky, as if sensing something beyond the clouds.

"It has begun."

Finn looked between Lyra and the monster, completely confused. "Can somebody please explain what's happening?"

Nobody answered.

The surviving academy guards had stopped attacking—not because they were afraid, but because they had noticed something impossible. The beast was retreating.

One guard whispered in disbelief, "It's afraid."

The second guard tightened his grip on his weapon. "That creature destroyed Captain Roland with a single strike, and now it's afraid of a first-year Guide?"

Nothing about this made sense.

Without warning, the beast let out an earth-shaking roar. Not one of anger, but a warning. The sound rolled across the Blackwood Mountains like thunder. Miles away, deep within the endless Blackwood Forest, dozens of crimson eyes opened. Ancient creatures lifted their heads. Something had called them—something they had been waiting centuries to hear.

Inside Blackthorn Academy, every professor froze.

Professor Alaric Drake slowly lowered the training sword in his hand. The students around him looked confused. "Professor?"

He ignored them. His sharp eyes turned toward the distant forest. "That roar—"

Professor Celestia, standing on a nearby balcony, closed her eyes. Her face slowly lost all color.

"No," she whispered. "They found her before we did."

Far beneath the academy, in a chamber forgotten by history, an enormous stone door stood covered in ancient silver chains. Thousands of glowing runes had remained silent for centuries.

Now one rune flickered. Then another. Then another.

A voice echoed from the darkness beyond the gate. Soft, ancient, and patient.

"The Eighth has awakened."

The chains trembled. For the first time in hundreds of years, one of them cracked.

*Clink.*

The sound was impossibly small, yet it echoed through every corner of the underground chamber like the toll of an ancient bell. Silence followed.

Then the rune-covered stone door pulsed once with silver light before returning to darkness. Whatever lay behind it had awakened.

---

Nearly two hundred kilometers away, Kael Ravenhart sprinted through the rain. The academy grounds blurred around him as he crossed rooftops faster than ordinary eyes could follow. His black coat whipped violently behind him. Every heartbeat inside his chest grew louder. Not his own, but someone else's.

*Ba-dump. Ba-dump.*

A heartbeat filled with fear.

His Wolf Soul roared inside his mind. *Hurry.*

Kael frowned. "You've never spoken this clearly before."

The ancient presence within him answered with only one sentence: *If we're late, history will repeat itself.*

A chill ran down Kael's spine.

Back on the train, the monster suddenly stepped away from Lyra. Its monstrous body lowered into a respectful posture—not submission, but recognition.

Every guard stared in disbelief. One whispered, "Did it just bow?"

Before anyone could react, the creature spoke. "The scent—it is exactly the same." Its crimson eyes never left Lyra. "The world believed you were gone. But destiny—it has a cruel sense of humor."

Lyra's hands trembled. "I—I don't know who you think I am."

The monster remained silent. For the first time, sadness crossed its terrifying face. "No. You truly don't."

Without warning, a brilliant silver magic circle erupted beneath the train. Ancient symbols spread across the tracks, glowing brighter with every passing second.

The academy guards looked down in horror. "Emergency Moon Barrier! But who activated it? No escort mage is strong enough!"

The answer came a heartbeat later. A pillar of moonlight descended from the storm clouds, striking the monster directly.

The creature roared—not in pain, but in frustration. "So they noticed."

Dark smoke poured from its body as the silver light pushed it backward. The beast glared toward the distant academy. "You can delay fate, but you cannot escape it." Then it looked at Lyra one last time. "When the moon bleeds, I will return for you."

Its body dissolved into black mist. The hundreds of crimson eyes outside vanished with it. The forest became silent once more.

For several long seconds, nobody moved. Nobody even breathed.

Then the emergency barrier disappeared. The shattered train creaked loudly. A child began crying. Someone collapsed from shock.

One of the surviving guards finally lowered his weapon. "It's over."

"No." The oldest escort officer shook his head. "This was only a warning."

Lyra's silver glow slowly faded. The burning mark behind her neck became cold again. Her knees gave way.

Before she hit the floor, Finn caught her. "Easy. I've got you."

She looked up weakly. "Everyone—are they okay?"

Finn laughed softly despite the chaos. "You almost fainted and you're worried about everyone else?"

She managed a tiny smile. "I guess I always have been."

Finn shook his head. "You're definitely weird. But I think that's a good thing."

For the first time since the attack began, a few frightened students smiled. Hope, however small, returned to the carriage.

---

Far beyond the clouds, hidden where no human eye could see, a lone figure stood upon a crescent-shaped platform of silver stone. Its face remained hidden beneath a white hood. It watched Lyra through a pool of glowing moonlight.

After a long silence, it whispered, "The final Guide has awakened."

A second voice emerged from the darkness behind it. "And the Cursed Alpha has already begun moving."

The hooded figure slowly closed its eyes. "Then the prophecy has entered its first chapter."

The train remained motionless. Rain once again tapped softly against the broken metal roof, as if nothing had happened. Yet everyone inside knew nothing would ever be the same.

Emergency healers rushed through the damaged carriages. Blue healing circles illuminated the dark compartments as injured students were carefully carried onto stretchers.

The academy guards silently counted the survivors. "Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight."

One guard swallowed hard. "Captain Roland—"

No answer came. Everyone already knew he hadn't survived. The carriage fell into another painful silence. This was the first time many students had witnessed death.

Blackthorn Academy hadn't even begun.

Lyra sat quietly beneath a blanket while a healer examined the mark on the back of her neck. The elderly Guide frowned. "Strange."

Another healer looked over. "What is it?"

"There are no burns. But she was screaming in pain." He gently touched the crescent-shaped birthmark. It looked completely ordinary—almost as if it had never glowed at all.

The healer slowly stepped back. "I've never seen anything like this."

Not far away, two academy officers spoke in hushed voices.

"The creature ignored everyone. It came only for the girl. And then it retreated."

The older officer's expression darkened. "No. It wasn't retreating. It was—" He struggled to say the word. "confirming."

The younger officer looked confused. "Confirming what?"

The older officer stared toward Lyra. "That she really exists."

Finn walked over carrying two steaming cups of tea. "I figured hot tea fixes at least twenty percent of all life problems."

Lyra couldn't help smiling. "Only twenty?"

Finn nodded seriously. "The remaining eighty percent requires food."

Despite everything, she laughed. A real laugh. Several nearby students turned toward them. For a brief moment, the fear inside the carriage became just a little lighter.

Suddenly, the train speakers crackled. A calm, authoritative voice echoed through every compartment.

"Attention. This is Headmaster Orion Valerius."

Every academy escort immediately stood at attention. Even the injured guards straightened despite their wounds.

The Headmaster continued, "The situation is under control. Blackthorn Academy has activated its highest defensive barriers. All first-year students will be escorted directly inside the academy upon arrival."

There was a brief pause. Then his voice became noticeably colder.

"And until further notice, no one speaks about what happened today."

The students exchanged uneasy glances. Why would the Headmaster hide something this serious?

---

Deep inside the locomotive, the train conductor stood alone. His hands trembled as he unlocked a small iron box hidden beneath the control panel. Inside rested an old communication crystal. Unlike the shattered escort crystal, this one still glowed.

He whispered, "Headmaster."

A familiar voice answered immediately. "Report."

The conductor took a shaky breath. "It wasn't a Shadow Beast."

"I know."

"It recognized the girl."

A long silence followed. Finally, the Headmaster asked one question: "Did it kneel?"

The conductor slowly closed his eyes. "Yes."

On the other end, no reply came. Only silence—heavy, ancient, and almost resigned.

---

Miles away, standing atop a rain-soaked cliff, a man wearing a crimson wolf mask watched the train disappear toward Blackthorn Academy. A massive sword rested across his shoulder.

He chuckled softly. "So the prince has finally awakened."

Behind him, another masked warrior asked, "Should we attack now?"

The masked man slowly shook his head. "No." His crimson eyes narrowed beneath the mask. "The board has only just been set. The game begins inside Blackthorn."

As lightning split the sky behind him, the symbol of a black moon surrounded by seven broken stars briefly gleamed on his cloak before vanishing back into darkness.