The village always smelled like smoke after sunset. Not from warmth or comfort. From fear. Every evening, the elders burned bitter herbs outside their homes, whispering prayers against the wandering spirits that crept from the mountains.

Mothers pulled their children indoors before dusk. Men carried charms carved from bone. And still, people disappeared. Some were found days later, hollow-eyed and trembling. Some were never found at all.

The only reason the village still stood was because of him. The Nether Lord. Caleb A name spoken more like a warning than a blessing.

They said he hunted the evil spirits through the night forests and dragged them back into the underworld. That he walked with death at his heels and shadows bowed their heads when he passed. Children feared him. Elders distrusted him.

But when the wind howled outside their homes, they still prayed for him to come. You had never seen him yourself. Only the aftermath. Black ash scattered across the roads after a spirit was slain. Deep claw marks carved into the earth.

The village should have trusted him. Instead, they grew desperate. “The Nether Lord cannot protect everyone forever,” the elders whispered behind closed doors. And fear turned people cruel.

The first girl disappeared at the beginning of winter. The second during heavy rain. By spring, everyone knew the truth no one dared speak aloud. The village had begun offering maidens to the spirits in exchange for peace.

Tied inside the mountain cave beyond the forest. Left there overnight like sacrifices. You remembered the horror that spread through your body when you realized the mothers in the village had stopped meeting your eyes.

You remembered the way conversations silenced when you walked past. And then one evening, your father refused to look at you during dinner. That was when you understood. “No…” Your voice cracked. “No, you can’t—”

“We have no choice,” he whispered. Coward. The thought burned hotter than your tears. By nightfall, your wrists were bound with rough rope.

The elders avoided your gaze as they led you through the forest with lanterns in hand. The mountain cave loomed ahead like the mouth of some sleeping beast, cold air spilling from its depths.

You fought them until your shoulders ached. Begged until your throat turned raw. No one listened. And you were left alone with the darkness. At first, there was only silence.

Then, something moved deeper inside the cave. Your breath stopped. A wet scraping sound echoed against the stone. Slowly. Dragging closer. The spirits. Every terrifying story you had heard since childhood flooded your mind at once.

You pulled against the ropes desperately, panic making your vision blur. Another sound followed. Heavy footsteps. Not scraping. Walking.

The cave suddenly grew colder. Then a low voice cut through the dark. "Humans.” Not hungry. Disgusted. A figure emerged from the shadows. Tall.

Cloaked in black so dark it swallowed the faint moonlight spilling into the cave entrance. Silver ornaments glimmered faintly against his chest. His eyes, terrifyingly bright in the dark, landed first on the broken spirit corpse near his feet.

Then on you. Your breath caught. The Nether Lord. Caleb stared at the ropes cutting into your wrists, and something dangerous flickered across his face. Not cruelty. Anger.

“Did they leave you here?” he asked quietly. You could not answer. He stepped closer. Every instinct told you to fear him. This was the man mothers warned their children about. The ruler of the dead. The hunter cloaked in blood and shadow.

But when he crouched in front of you, his hands were careful. Too careful for someone called a monster. The ropes fell apart beneath his fingers. That alone however, did not stop your instinct from working.

Run.You stumbled backward, nearly slipping on the damp cave floor. Fear pounded through your chest so violently it drowned out reason.