The Beast Within

Chapter 5 : Our First Time

⚠️⚠️⚠️ WARNING!!! ⚠️⚠️⚠️

This chapter contains scenes of explicit mature content at the end of it. A warning sign will be put at the start of that particular scene. I do apologize if you are not a fan of such a genre.

I'm sorry for the long wait but this is another long chapter! Anyway, please enjoy the story.

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Kazuto's POV

There was a nostalgic warmth enveloping me. I opened my eyes to search for the source of the warmth. My blurry vision gradually cleared up and to my surprise, I was met with two pairs of familiar eyes watching over me from above. They were smiling and cooing at me. My parents...I've missed them so much. And now, they're right here, showering me with lots of love like they always do. Longing for their embrace, I instinctively reached up towards them, only to realize my hands were plump and tiny. I tried to call out to them but my voice ended up in a small coo. It was then I realized my physique had regressed into a baby.

"Honey, look. Our little Kazu is trying to speak. Isn't he just adorable?" My mother spoke. Her voice filled with so much joy as she held me in her arms.

"You're right. He'll definitely grow into a strong and energetic boy." My father replied with pride in his words as he gently rubbed my tiny head.

Why are they here right now? Is this a dream? Or a nostalgic memory? I continuously asked myself in my mind. My thoughts were cut off when I suddenly felt an itch on my nose, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut as I let out a sneeze.

"Kazu, are you still cold?" I opened my eyes when I heard my mother calling my name. We were at sitting by the river and at a campfire during the night. I was now around four years old, cuddling between my loving parents with a blanket draped over our backs. "This is why I told you not to play in the river for too long. You would have caught a cold if I didn't stop you." My mother gently chided.

"I'm sorry, Mama! But it was so much fun catching all those fish!" Those were the exact words I had said to my mother with a large grin on my face. This was one of the many nights we had spent camping out by the river not too far from the village. My parents would bring me here once in a while to restock on wild herbs, using the opportunity to make it our family outing. Those were the blissful days that I had dearly cherished, the precious moments that are now nothing but a fleeting memory.

Even so, I want to relive this dream as long as I could. I want them to stay by my side as long as I could before having to face a reality without them once again. I thought to myself, closing my eyes as snuggled closer to their bodies. The next thing I knew, I felt their warmth leave me. I hastily opened my eyes to find them walking away from me. "No..." I mumbled with trembling lips. "Don't...don't leave me!" Scrambling to stand on my feet, I reached my arms out towards the departing silhouettes of my late parents. I yelled at the top of my lungs for them to stop or at least turn their heads to look at me, but they didn't seem to hear me.

The environment around me abruptly turned dark and cold with my parents completely disappearing from my sight. A huge wave of black viscous water rushed towards me from behind. Before I could react, I was swallowed up by the water. I struggled as hard as I could but my body kept drowning, feeling the pain in my lungs as I was suffocating. When all had seemed hopeless and I had stopped my struggle, the dark water was suddenly drained away, leaving my cold and drenched body on the ground.

I coughed up the water, desperately gasping for air and slowly opened my eyes. My hands that were outstretched before me were now a pair of paws covered in a thick coat of black fur with golden gauntlets on my wrists. My eyes instantly squeezed shut, not wanting to accept the reality that was presented to me. The curse that came so suddenly without a reason, the curse that completely changed my life, the curse that signified the day that I lost everything I ever cherished, the curse that had haunted me for many years. At this moment, I wanted to disappear forever. My body trembled violently, tears overflowing from my tightly shut eyes.