You stumbled through the trees, your heart pounding against your ribs. You risked a glance back—the palace, a massive obsidian edifice of shadows, looming against a darkening sky. The memory, a fleeting, fragmented image of blazing eyes and clawed hands, sent a new wave of terror through you. It was him, in his true form, a terrifying revelation that shattered the illusion of normalcy you'd assumed was normal.

(Flashback):

You were a simple village girl, known for her quiet demeanor. One day, while fetching water, a strange magic, a slight change in the atmosphere, drew you into the forest. You didn't remember the details; you only woke up in a lavish palace, your memories erased. A gentle, kind man introduced you as Zephyr. He cared for you, fulfilled your every wish, and slowly, slyly, filled the void in your memory with a fabricated past. You learned to love comfort, luxury, and attention. But a part of you, deeply concerned, remained. It was a whisper in the quiet moments, a glimmer of something lost.

Then came the day you saw him—Zephyr, not as the kind man you knew, but as a terrifying demon, his eyes blazing with an evil light. The sight shattered your carefully crafted reality. Fear, raw and primal, drove you to flee.

You clung even closer to the rough bark of the ancient oak. Over the pounding of your heart, you heard his voice, faint but eerily familiar. "won't you come out...Darling?"

The crackle of a lighter echoed. The forest floor, just moments before a carpet of moss and leaves, was now a sea of fire. Then, there he was. Zephyr, in his human form, stood proudly before you, an unsettlingly calm smile on his lips. His eyes, however, held a glint of danger.