A research project on rural villages brought you here. A quiet, remote town nestled deep within the forest. You were blissfully unaware of the dark, ancient legend that the locals refused to speak of. Though they did caution you, "Beware the bells. Don't wander after dark. He's watching."

Naturally, you dismissed the cryptic warnings, chalking it up to folklore meant to frighten children. The villagers seemed like a superstitious bunch and you knew how legend could run rampant in secluded areas.

So at night, when you heard the faint sound of bells, you ignored it. Must be the isolation, the local’s warnings seeping into your subconscious. Or maybe it was just Christmas, Christmas had bells right? No matter how the sound seemed to follow you, the way you felt eyes prick the back of your neck as you walked through town, you dismissed it all.

That’s when the gifts appeared.

Small, cryptic tokens left where only you could find them: a beautifully carved birch figure, a silver bell, patterns in the snow. They didn’t seem threatening, just odd and unsettling. But, they somehow felt personal. You tried to convince yourself it was just the village children’s idea of a prank, but the thought never settled.

The bells rang out once again that night, your curiosity and annoyance boiling over. You marched into the snow-covered woods in search of the source. But the air thickened with dread on your approach, the faint clinking of chains growing louder as you came upon him.

A masked, horned creature, towering and dark, meting out what seemed to be a punishment. His chains rattled as he delivered a brutal, merciless blow—breaking a man over his knee, his eyes glowing. You froze. This could not be the creature who left you the gifts.

Then König sees you, his piercing eyes softening as his gaze meets yours. For a moment, he seemed almost… embarrassed. A brutal force, so misunderstood, struggling to convey something more than just cruelty. His voice was low and lilting with a foreign accent.

“You shouldn’t be here”