The night was cold. The wind cut like a sharp blade through the quiet village at the edge of the human lands. The moon was a thin silver sliver hiding behind dark clouds. Every breath Coker took felt heavy. His heart was like a storm inside his chest—wild, angry, and full of fire. The village had always hated him.
Coker stood near the wooden gate staring beyond the tall wall that separated the human world from the dark demon lands. His eyes were full of something no one understood—pain, anger, and a burning question he never dared say aloud. Why was he still alive when the hero was dead?
The gate guard looked at him with cold eyes. "You shouldn't be here, boy. Go home before you get hurt." Coker's fists clenched. "I don't care if I get hurt," he said, voice low but fierce. "Nobody here cares about me anyway." The guard didn't answer. He only shook his head and turned away.
Coker didn't wait. He climbed over the wall. No one stopped him. No one even tried. Maybe they wanted him gone. Maybe they wished he would just disappear. That thought hurt more than any blade ever could.
The world called him a curse. A monster. The boy who killed the hero. But Coker knew the truth was not so simple. Beyond the wall, the air was thick and heavy. The trees were twisted and dark. Their branches looked like claws scratching the sky. The ground was cracked and dry. Strange how the land looked like it was dying, yet filled with danger.
Coker took a deep breath. Every step into the demon land made the strange fire inside him grow hotter. It was not like the magic others had—fire, water, earth, or wind. No. This power was dark and mysterious. It fed on hate and pain. It whispered secrets in his mind when he was alone.
"You don't belong with them," the voice said. "You are the curse. You are the demon." Coker shook his head. "Shut up. Shut up!" he shouted. But the voice never left.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a creature jumped. Its claws were sharp and shiny like knives. Coker barely had time to react before it lunged at him. Then a bright light flashed. A sword cut the air slicing the demon in two.
"It's you, Coker!" a voice called out.
Coker turned and saw the hero. The boy everyone loved. The golden warrior of the village. The one who saved people from demons and danger. The hero ran to him eyes wide and full of worry.
"What are you doing here?" he asked gripping Coker's arm. "This place is not safe. You could die!"
"I just wanted to see," Coker said quietly. "See what's beyond."
The hero shook his head. "You're reckless. Come with me now!"
But Coker pulled away. "I don't need your help." Before they could move, another demon appeared. Faster than before silent and deadly. The hero pushed Coker aside but the demon's claws struck deep into his back. Coker screamed heart pounding as he caught the hero before he hit the ground.
The hero smiled weakly his breathing shallow and fast. Coker..." his voice was soft but steady. "I chose this... This was my fight."
Coker shook his head desperate. "No! It's not your fight alone! We can run! We can live!" The hero's hand found Coker's and squeezed it faintly. "You have a power inside you... a power no one understands," he said with effort. "It's not a curse. It's your strength." Coker swallowed his sobs. "I don't believe that. They hate me... They want me dead." The hero's eyes softened. "Don't listen to them. You have to live—not for them, but for yourself. Live... and become stronger than me." Tears blurred Coker's vision. "But I killed you... I'm the reason you died!"
"No..." the hero whispered. "You didn't kill me. I saved you... Because I believe in you."
The hero's hand went limp in Coker's.
"No..." Coker cried holding onto him tightly as if he could keep him alive with his grip.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
A cold wind blew carrying away the hero's last light.
Coker stayed there long after the hero was gone shivering broken and alone.
His heart shattered into a million pieces.
The boy who should have died was still alive.
When Coker returned to the village the world felt colder than ever.
People didn't see him as a boy who lost a friend or a protector.
They saw a monster. A curse.
"You should have died instead of the hero!" they shouted.
"You ruined everything!"
Their words cut deeper than the demon claws ever could.
Coker lowered his head and walked away.
He wanted to yell to fight to explain. But no one listened.
Alone in his small room he cried.
But with each tear something inside him grew stronger.
A fire fed by hate pain and loneliness.
"I will be stronger," he whispered. "Stronger than anyone."
So he left his home behind leaving the village to their hatred.
He walked back toward the demon lands not to run away but to fight.
Because inside him a power was waking.
A power that no one could understand.
A cursed power.
Days turned to weeks.
Coker trained every day.
He faced demons not just to kill them but to learn.
Each fight was a battle not just with his enemies but with himself.
His cursed power whispered tempting him to give in.
To lose control.
But Coker held on.
He remembered the hero's words.
"You will be stronger than me."
Power came with a price.
Coker's body changed.
His eyes darkened glowing faintly red in the night.
His skin sometimes shimmered with black smoke.
When he used his cursed power his mind filled with voices.
Voices from the past. Voices of the Demon King trapped inside him.
They told him to give up.
To become the monster the world said he was.
But Coker fought back.
He was not just a curse.
He was a boy with a choice.
One evening while resting near a fire Coker heard a voice.
Soft clear and full of anger.
"Why do you fight boy?"
He looked up.
A shadow moved near the trees.
Two glowing eyes stared at him.
"Who's there?" Coker asked gripping his sword tightly.
The shadow stepped closer revealing a small demon with twisted horns.
"You carry the Demon King's curse," it said with a sneer.
"Why don't you just give in? Let the power take you."
Coker stood fists clenched.
"Because I am not a monster," he said.
"I will control the curse. Not the other way around."
The demon laughed.
"Many have said that before you. All fall in the end."
Coker's eyes burned with determination.
"Then I will be the first to break the curse."
The demon smirked eyes glowing red.
"Then you will have to face me."
It lunged at Coker.
The fight was fierce.
Claws sword and cursed power clashed under the dark sky.
Coker pushed himself harder than ever before.
He felt the fire inside him roar.
He felt the demon power rise.
And then—
A sudden pain like ice pierced his chest.
He stumbled.
The demon smiled ready to strike again.
But Coker closed his eyes.
And a voice inside whispered—
"You are stronger than this. You are not alone."
Coker opened his eyes.
The world was silent.
But the fight was far from over.
The dawn broke.
Coker was still standing.
Breathing hard.
Wounded but alive.
His cursed power pulsed through him like never before.
He knew the journey would be long.
He knew the road would be full of pain and loss.
But he also knew one thing.
He would never give up.
Because inside him burned a fire brighter than hate.
A fire called hope.
And as the sun rose Coker looked toward the horizon.
His heart beating with new strength.
His eyes shining with new purpose.
"I will be stronger than the hero," he whispered.
"And I will make the world see me not as a curse but as a legend."
Far away in the shadows something darker watched him.
Eyes filled with malice.
A voice cold and deep spoke—
"The vessel awakens and soon the true battle begins."