One hour later…
Aethron had finally returned to his neighborhood.
He was tired.
The shopping bags in his hands felt heavy.
But what caught his attention the most…
Was his surroundings.
Something was wrong.
The neighborhood was unusually quiet.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have thought much of it.
After all, it was already past eleven at night.
Most people would be asleep.
But the problem was…
This wasn't a normal neighborhood.
It was a place where young wealthy people, university students, and young professionals usually lived.
There were many young residents.
The average age was, at best, around twenty-five.
Because of that…
There were parties almost every week.
Music…
Laughter…
Shouting…
Late-night celebrations…
Those were normal here.
But tonight…
None of that existed.
The streets were empty.
No music…
No voices…
No laughter…
Only the faint sound of the wind could be heard.
What was even stranger…
Were the lights.
Normally, many houses would still have their lights on at this hour.
But now…
Almost none of them did.
The entire neighborhood was submerged in darkness.
It looked abandoned.
Aethron slowed down.
His steps became more cautious without him realizing it.
An unexplainable uneasiness rose inside him.
"This… isn't normal," he thought.
His heart began to beat faster.
And unconsciously…
He quickened his pace toward home.
If Aethron said he wasn't scared, he would be lying.
Because right now, his surroundings looked exactly like something out of a horror movie.
Silence…
Darkness…
Empty streets…
And an unsettling feeling coming from nowhere…
His heart had started racing without him realizing it.
His breathing became slightly irregular.
Even though he tried to calm himself, the uneasiness inside him kept growing.
"Don't be stupid, Aethron…" he murmured.
"It's just late, that's all…"
But even his own voice didn't sound convincing.
He walked quickly for about five minutes.
His pace had unconsciously increased.
He just wanted to get home as soon as possible.
And finally…
He reached his house.
But what he saw made his anxiety grow even stronger.
The lights were off.
The house was completely dark.
That alone made him uneasy.
Because he knew very well that his mother would never go to sleep after calling him urgently.
Jennifer wasn't like that.
If something was important…
She would definitely wait for him.
Leave the lights on.
Sit in the living room…
And wait for the door to open.
But now…
The house was dark.
Silent.
Motionless.
Aethron slowly reached into his pocket.
He took out his key.
His hands were trembling slightly.
He leaned forward to unlock the door.
Just as he was about to insert the key…
He noticed something.
The door wasn't locked.
It wasn't even fully closed.
It was slightly open.
A thin line of darkness seeped through the gap.
Aethron's throat went dry.
His heart pounded hard in his chest.
"Th-This…" he whispered.
"This isn't normal at all…"
He swallowed.
Took a deep breath.
And with a trembling hand, slowly pushed the door open.
The moment Aethron slowly opened the door…
A powerful smell hit his face.
It was so intense that he almost stopped breathing.
A strong metallic scent…
The heavy, suffocating smell of fresh blood…
It felt as if the entire house was soaked in it.
His stomach twisted instantly.
He felt dizzy.
His eyes widened uncontrollably.
And then…
He saw it.
The inside of the house…
Looked like a battlefield.
Deep claw marks covered the walls.
Furniture was shattered.
The floor was soaked in blood.
The carpets…
The corners…
The stairs…
Blood was everywhere.
It was as if something had hunted brutally inside this house.
And worse…
There were clumps of torn hair on the ground.
Long, light-colored hair…
His mother's hair…
In one corner, there was a blood-covered arm.
His trembling eyes slowly moved toward it.
And at that moment…
His heart shattered.
On that arm's wrist…
Was his father Alex's watch.
The watch he always wore.
The one he never took off.
The one he treasured the most.
Aethron's world collapsed in that instant.
His mind went completely blank.
His ears rang.
His legs trembled.
He couldn't breathe properly.
He tried to step back.
Tried to run.
Tried to escape.
Tried to wake up from this nightmare.
But…
His body didn't listen.
His feet felt glued to the ground.
He couldn't move.
It was as if his soul had been ripped from his body.
Tears began pouring from his eyes like a flood.
Endlessly…
Uncontrollably…
His sobs stuck in his throat.
With a trembling voice, he screamed.
"Mom…!"
"Dad…!!"
His voice echoed through the house.
It bounced off empty walls.
But no answer came.
Only silence.
A deathly silence.
At that moment…
Shouting loudly was probably the worst decision.
Normally, he should have stayed quiet.
He should have run.
He should have gone outside to get help.
But Aethron had completely lost his reason.
Fear…
Shock…
Pain…
Despair…
All crashed down on him at once.
He was no longer capable of thinking.
He was just…
A broken child.
At that moment…
Aethron heard a strange sound coming from inside the house.
It wasn't human.
It was deep…
Rough…
Disturbing.
A kind of growling.
A heavy, beast-like breathing.
His heart froze instantly.
He didn't want to believe his ears.
But the sound grew clearer.
From within the darkness, a hoarse and mocking voice echoed.
"So… you finally came…"
"You little bastard…"
The moment he heard it, Aethron's entire body trembled.
He slowly turned his head toward the source.
And then…
He saw it.
What stood in the middle of the living room…
Was no longer a person.
Nor an animal.
It was something else.
A gigantic werewolf, nearly three meters tall.
Its body was covered in messy, dirty black fur.
Its muscles were grotesquely swollen.
Its arms were unnaturally long.
Its claws…
As long as knives…
Sharp…
Like shining weapons of death.
With every breath, its chest expanded and collapsed.
Its eyes were bright yellow.
But there was no intelligence in them.
Only madness…
Hunger…
And brutality.
It looked nothing like the werewolves from movies.
Compared to this monster, even those seemed harmless.
This creature…
Was sick.
Corrupted.
As if nature itself had rejected it.
But the most horrifying thing…
Was in its right hand.
Aethron's trembling eyes moved there.
And in that instant…
His mind shattered.
In the monster's hand…
Was his mother's head.
Jennifer's head.
It was covered in blood.
Her hair was messy.
Her eyes were closed.
Her face was pale.
The face that once smiled at him…
Was now lifeless.
Motionless.
Aethron's heart broke apart.
Something snapped inside his brain.
His ears rang.
The world started spinning.
Reality lost all meaning.
"N-No…" he whispered.
"This… isn't real…"
But it was.
No matter how much he wished otherwise…
No matter how much he denied it…
This wasn't a nightmare.
It was reality.
At that moment…
Aethron completely lost his sanity.
Fear…
Pain…
Rage…
Hatred…
Despair…
All exploded at once.
Everything he had been holding inside…
Burst out of control.
His eyes turned bloodshot.
He clenched his teeth.
A beast-like scream tore from his throat.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Without thinking…
Without planning…
Without fear…
He charged at the monster.
He didn't care anymore.
Would he die?
Would he be torn apart?
It didn't matter.
He had only one thought.
"You will pay for this…"
"No matter the cost…"
"You will pay!!"
And like a broken, maddened child…
He threw himself at the beast.
The werewolf tilted its head slightly as it watched Aethron charge at it like a madman. The sick expression on its face slowly widened; its lips stretched back, revealing teeth that glinted faintly in the darkness. It was a smile… but not a human one. There was amusement in it, contempt, and a cruel curiosity. As if the creature before it wasn't a threat, but merely a broken toy making its final attempts.
When Aethron threw his first punch, the bones in his hand screamed in pain. The impact was strong. He had poured all of his rage into it. But the result… was nothing. The werewolf's body barely moved. It didn't stagger. It didn't shift. It felt as if Aethron had punched a concrete wall.
Second punch.
Third.
Fourth.
Each strike grew more desperate, more savage. The skin over his knuckles split. His joints throbbed violently. But he didn't even feel the pain. The only thing he felt was the black void exploding in his chest. His mother's lifeless face wouldn't leave his mind. His father's watch… the blood on the floor… the suffocating scent of death inside the house…
"DIE!" Aethron screamed, his voice no longer entirely human.
His punches were no longer attacks — they were screams. Each blow was denial. Each strike shouted, "This can't be real!" But reality stood unmoving before him.
The werewolf still didn't budge.
It simply watched.
Its yellow eyes were locked onto Aethron's face. There was the patience of a predator in them. As if it were waiting for a small animal to exhaust its final burst of energy. Its heavy, growling breath washed over Aethron's face, hot and oppressive.
Aethron's punches began to slow. His arms grew heavy. His breathing became uneven. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Because if he stopped… he would have to fully accept what had happened.
And he wasn't ready for that.
The rage and hatred inside him were so intense that the last fragments of his logic were melting away. The fact that the werewolf wasn't reacting didn't slow him — it drove him even more insane. It felt like the world itself was mocking him.
He threw one last punch.
He felt something crack in his hand.
But still…
Nothing changed.
The werewolf lowered its head slightly more, its twisted smile widening.
And in that moment, for the first time…
Aethron truly felt small.
The werewolf seemed to have enjoyed Aethron's desperate struggle long enough. That sick smile did not fade — it deepened. Like a being patiently waiting for a child to break, it had watched the final flickers of resistance burn out. Aethron's breathing was ragged, his shoulders trembling, his hands bloodied — yet hatred still burned in his eyes. And perhaps that hatred was exactly what had amused the creature.
The next moment…
Aethron saw nothing.
No muscle movement.
No step.
No warning.
Only a shadow.
With a speed beyond perception, enormous claws wrapped around his neck. The grip was like iron. His feet left the ground instantly. His breath vanished. A broken, strangled sound escaped his throat.
The world shrank.
The floor fell away.
The ceiling seemed closer.
There was no air.
His eyes widened.
He grabbed at the creature's wrist, but it was like pushing against a mountain. His fingers slipped. His strength meant nothing. His lungs burned. His vision darkened at the edges.
The werewolf brought its face close to his. Yellow eyes filled his world. There was not even a fragment of mercy in them.
"That's enough playing…" it growled.
Then it tilted its head slightly.
As if finishing a trivial task.
As if brushing away an insect.
A sudden, brutal motion—
An explosion of pressure at his neck.
Pain.
Sharp, overwhelming, devouring.
Then…
A strange lightness.
He felt his body losing control.
Sounds drifted away.
Colors faded.
He felt like he was falling, but didn't know where.
Time stretched.
Memories flickered chaotically before his eyes. His mother's smile. His father's hand on his shoulder. Lilveth's flushed face. Lyra's unreadable gaze.
"I… don't want to die…" he thought.
But the thought never finished.
Darkness seeped into the edges of his consciousness.
And Aethron Marlow's world…
Fell into silence.