THE_PUNISHER: THE DEVIL'S CHOICE
Chapter 1 — The Boy Who Bled in the Woods
Rain slashed across the streets of Havelshade, a small mountain town swallowed by fog and silence. The world felt distant — gray, soaked, trembling. Beneath the flickering streetlights ran a boy of fifteen, his breath ragged, his heart screaming louder than the thunder that rolled above.
Kael Riven.
That name, in this town, was nothing but a curse.
"Freak! Monster!" someone shouted from behind him.
A bottle shattered on the wet pavement, spraying glass and mud. Laughter echoed. Three silhouettes, older students from his high school, chased him like wolves who had finally cornered their prey.
Kael didn't turn back. He was tired of fighting. Tired of pretending he didn't hear their words. He just wanted to be left alone.
He sprinted past an alley, rainwater soaking through his shoes. Every slap of his foot against the ground echoed his thoughts — why me, why always me?
The town had never accepted him. Even as a child, Kael's eyes unsettled people — too sharp, almost glowing faintly red when he was angry. He'd always felt something burning inside, something that whispered when the world went quiet.
His mother, Elara Riven, was the only one who ever smiled at him without fear.
> "Kael," she'd say, brushing the hair from his eyes, "there's light in you — even if the world only sees the shadow."
But shadows were all Havelshade knew.
---
Kael ducked into a side street, panting, clutching his backpack like a shield. His breath came out in clouds as the storm raged above. Behind him, the bullies slowed down.
"Let him go," one sneered. "He'll cry to his mommy again."
Their laughter faded into the rain.
Kael stood there for a long time, trembling. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch something. But instead, he just whispered into the storm,
> "Why do you all hate me?"
Only thunder answered.
He turned away from town, his legs carrying him down the road that led toward the forest — the one everyone called The Wailing Woods.
His mother had warned him countless times.
> "Never go there, Kael. That place remembers blood."
But tonight, he didn't care. He needed to disappear.
---
The forest greeted him with silence. The deeper he went, the thicker the mist became, wrapping around him like a living thing. Moonlight barely pierced through the twisted branches. The air was heavy — cold enough to sting his lungs.
Kael slowed his pace. His sneakers sank into the wet soil.
Something about this place felt wrong. The wind whispered like voices — faint, almost human.
He turned around. Nothing.
Then, through the curtain of rain, he saw it.
A shrine.
It stood crooked and half-buried in the earth — a slab of black stone carved with runes that pulsed faintly crimson. The symbol on its surface looked like a cross made of twisting flames.
Kael frowned.
> "What... is this place?"
He approached cautiously, brushing the moss away. An old rusted plaque was nailed to the base. The letters were nearly erased by time, but he could still make them out:
> "THE DEVIL'S MARK. DO NOT BLEED UPON IT."
Kael let out a weak, humorless laugh. "What kind of joke—"
He didn't finish. A sharp edge of rock, hidden under the moss, cut across his palm. He hissed as blood welled up and dripped — right onto the symbol.
The world stopped breathing.
The rain froze midair. The trees trembled. Then came the whisper — low, echoing, crawling straight into his skull.
> "Your blood… answers the call."
Kael stumbled back, clutching his hand.
> "Who's there!?"
No one.
Then the shrine erupted in light — a deep, hellish red that swallowed the forest whole. Flames spiraled from the markings, wrapping around Kael's arm like living serpents of fire. He screamed as pain tore through him — not the pain of burning, but of something being written into his very soul.
> "Your blood feeds the seal. The Punisher awakens…"
Kael's knees hit the ground. His vision blurred. He saw flashes — cities engulfed in black fire, creatures wearing human faces, wings made of bone and ash. A figure with glowing crimson eyes looked down at him, smiling.
> "Welcome, Kael Riven. You are chosen."
The words echoed until the world shattered like glass.
---
When he woke, the rain was falling again. The shrine was gone — only scorched earth remained. His cut was gone too, replaced by a faint crimson sigil glowing on his palm.
Kael stumbled to his feet, shaking, gasping for air. His clothes were dry. His heartbeat was wrong — too steady, too heavy. The forest looked sharper, colors too vivid. He could feel everything — every drop of rain, every heartbeat of the creatures hiding in the shadows.
Then he saw his reflection in a puddle.
His eyes were glowing red.
> "What… did I do?" he whispered.
For a second, something moved behind him — a shadow with wings of fire. When he turned, it was gone. Only the faint sound of a raven echoed through the trees.
It landed nearby, tilting its head. Its eyes burned like coals.
> "Who… are you?" Kael asked softly.
The raven cawed, spreading its black wings. For a moment, Kael could have sworn it spoke — not with a voice, but directly into his thoughts.
> "The Devil does not choose lightly."
Then it took off into the storm, leaving Kael alone in the rain, trembling.
He stared down at his hand. The sigil burned faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Something deep inside him whispered — a new voice, darker, smoother, full of hunger.
> "You've been judged, Kael Riven. Now it's your turn… to judge."
Kael's breath hitched. His reflection wavered in the puddle — and for a brief, horrifying second, he saw himself with black wings and fire in his veins.
He fell to his knees, clutching his chest. "Stop it… stop it!"
But the voice only laughed.
The thunder roared again, and Kael's scream was swallowed by the storm.
Somewhere far away, in the silence between lightning strikes, the Devil smiled.
The Punisher had been born.
---
TO BE CONTINUED