The stories of Mars had followed Selene since childhood—whispers traded in candlelit halls, half-believed, half-feared.
It was Queen Scarlet, her late stepmother, who had first warned her.
> "There is a planet not far from us, my child," Scarlet had said, voice trembling with superstition. "A place cursed by the gods themselves. None who enter return. It is guarded by a beast that does not die."
Scarlet had meant it as a warning.
To Selene, it was an invitation.
Now, standing at the edge of a crimson horizon, the Demon Queen smiled.
> "If I could conquer galaxies," she murmured, wind tugging at her dark cloak, "then what is one cursed world to me?"
She stepped forward. Her boots sank into the rust-colored soil of Mars. The ground pulsed faintly beneath her feet—as though the planet itself drew breath. The air was heavy, thick with memory, charged with something alive… and watching.
Her silver eyes narrowed.
> "This place," she muttered, "breathes."
---
The Living Silence
Selene had brought ruin to countless worlds.
She had shattered thrones, turned kings to ash, and drowned empires in flame. Her name alone had made galaxies tremble.
But Mars did not tremble.
Mars waited.
The silence here was not empty—it was alive.
Every step she took stirred visions not her own: temples half-buried beneath red dunes, cages forged of starlight, shadows of beasts writhing in eternal torment.
Then came the eyes.
Golden. Ancient.
Burning with a fury so old it pierced her very soul.
Selene faltered—only for a breath.
The wind died.
And then came the growl—low, deep, and close.
> "You should not be here."
The voice did not travel by sound. It slithered into her mind like smoke.
Selene turned sharply, flames blooming in her palms.
> "Show yourself."
And then—he appeared.
---
The Beast
He emerged from shadow like something the gods themselves had buried.
A towering figure, half-flesh, half-night, horns curving like crescent moons. His skin was carved in scars that glowed faintly gold. His eyes—molten fire—locked on her without flinching.
Selene's lips curved.
> "So. The cursed beast is real."
His voice crawled through her mind again.
> "Leave."
She laughed softly, tossing fire between her hands.
> "Not a chance. I didn't cross the stars to be dismissed like a servant."
The Beast stepped closer. The ground trembled beneath his weight. When he spoke again, his voice was thunder made flesh.
> "You walk where you should not."
> "I never ask permission," she shot back.
His growl deepened, vibrating through the ground.
> "Mock me again, and this ground will be your grave."
Selene tilted her head, taunting.
> "You growl like a dog. Should I throw you a bone?"
Silence. Then—the impossible—he laughed.
A sound like an earthquake breaking its chains.
> "You seek power?" he rumbled.
Her flames flared.
> "No. I am power."
His golden gaze darkened. He studied her—slowly, intently—as though he could read the shape of her soul.
> "You are not what I expected."
> "And you," Selene whispered, stepping closer, "are exactly what I hoped for."
The air between them thickened—fire against shadow, pride against fury.
---
The Prophecy Awakens
Something stirred.
A whisper coiled through the air, ancient words brushing her ear like breath.
Selene turned toward a jagged outcrop of rock. There, half-buried in rust and dust, stood a monument etched with faintly glowing runes. The symbols pulsed—alive, aware.
She felt its pull before she understood it.
Power. Old. Hungry.
Ignoring the Beast's warning snarl, Selene reached out. Her fingers traced the carvings—and light burst across the stone. The runes flared to life, whispering their meaning into her mind.
> "The flame shall fall upon red soil,
And awaken what sleeps beneath.
He who is bound by blood and wrath,
Shall meet she who walks with death.
Together they will break the chain,
Or bind the stars in ruin."
Her flames faltered. Her breath caught.
> "Prophecy?" she whispered. "Or curse?"
The ground trembled behind her. The Beast's growl rose like thunder.
> "You should not have touched that."
Selene turned, her eyes burning bright.
> "Looks like fate disagrees."
The symbols blazed again—revealing more lines hidden beneath centuries of dust:
> A queen born of shadows, sinborne flame,
Marked by loss, yet without a name.
She shall cross into blood-red skies,
And wake the one whom death denies.
He, the Beast, once god, now chained,
His soul in fury long remained.
When light and darkness dare to kiss,
The stars shall tremble, worlds may twist.
---
Shadows of Memory
The words seared into Selene's mind.
Marked by loss…
Her chest tightened. Images flashed—the stillness of her mother's body, the echo of her screams, the blood of Jupiter's people staining her hands. Pain clawed its way back through the armor she'd built.
> "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I am no one's pawn."
But the prophecy clung to her, unrelenting.
The Beast's voice broke through the silence—low, filled with recognition.
> "You…" His golden eyes flared. "It was always you."
Selene's pulse quickened.
> "What are you talking about?"
> "This curse binds me to your arrival," he said, stepping closer, shadows twisting like chains around him. "I should kill you where you stand."
Her smirk returned, sharp and defiant.
> "Then try."
Silver clashed with gold. The air crackled between them—alive, electric. For the first time in centuries, Mars itself seemed to breathe again.
---
The Tension of Fate
Selene's voice was a dark whisper.
> "You think I came here by chance? No, Beast. The stars led me. Destiny brought me."
> "Destiny is a chain," he growled.
> "And chains," she murmured, "were made to be broken."
His claws curled into fists. The fury in his eyes warred with something softer—something dangerously human.
> "You're not what I expected," she said, studying him. "You're not just a monster. You're something… more."
> "Do not tempt me, demon," he growled, voice frayed at the edges.
Her smile deepened, wicked and knowing.
> "Who said I was tempting you?"
Their words cut and coiled, a duel neither would yield. Yet beneath the hostility, something else stirred—something neither could name.
---
The Prophecy's Final Line
The monument pulsed one last time, its final verse blazing across the stone:
> Two cursed souls shall meet beneath red skies.
One shall fall, one shall burn.
And from their war… fate shall rise.
Silence fell.
For the first time in centuries, Selene felt something she could not master—fear.
The Beast's eyes softened briefly before hardening again.
> "I warned you," he said quietly. "You should have stayed away."
Selene's smirk wavered, though defiance still dripped from her voice.
> "Then let the game begin."
He stepped closer.
> "This isn't a game."
Their breaths mingled in the charged air. Fire licked her fingertips; shadows coiled around him like armor. Even Mars seemed to hold its breath.
And beneath the cursed red skies, the Demon Queen and the Beast stood—
not as conqueror and guardian,
but as two cursed souls bound by prophecy.
Enemies.
Allies.
Something more.
The planet trembled, awaiting their choice.