Come Wayward Souls || The Beast x GN! Reader

Prologue

"Come, wayward souls,

Who wander through the darkness,

There is a light for the lost and the meek,

Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten,

When you submit to the soil of the earth."

These were the verses that once echoed hauntingly throughout these now decrepit forests during the nightfall, an enchanting tune filled with vacant and unfulfilled promises, sugar-coated words sung so tantalizingly by a being that nobody dared to speak of. They did not know of the true name of this entity, but with quivering lips they simply called it by the only thing befitting such an unspeakable monster...

"The Beast".

Yet two of the last wayward souls, a pilgrim and a charming little boy with his slippery, croaking companion, who just as many unwary children before them embarked into the seemingly endless unknown brought with them a shimmer of hope, of life, and were guided through their journey by a single bluebird. It was not long before they stumbled across the mournful woodsman, who was entrapped in the silver threads of The Beast.

The Beast, clever and ceaselessly working behind the scenes, kept a watchful eye on the lost boys for many days and many nights. His pull on the woodsman's strings weakened, and it was not long before the true source of the Edelwood was realized... And for the first time, the woodsman refused to accept The Beast's bargains.

Grow, tiny seed,

You are gone to the trees,

"Give me my lantern." The deep, deceivingly soothing voice of The Beast bellowed from the void of the forest, hollowed milky eyes piercing through the glooming darkness.

"Your lantern...?" The pilgrim questioned, before the bluebird interjected.

"No way, we need this thing!"

Rise,

'Till your leaves fill the sky,

Contemplating for merely a moment, the pilgrim agreed,"Yeah, i'm keeping this! I have to get Greg home."

"Your brother is too weak to go home." The Beast stated firmly, raising his hands to emphasize his words,"He will soon become a part of my forest."

Clutching the lantern's handle tightly, the pilgrim kept his gaze firm on The Beast, outwardly he was determined, but on the inside he could feel the anxiety creeping in, slow like a snake stalks its prey,"I won't let that happen!"

Until your sights,

Fill the air in the night,

The Beast leaned down slightly, his glowing pearly orbs unblinkingly striking deep into the pilgrim's weary soul,"Well then, perhaps we better make a deal."

As the woodsman wailed weakly, limp on the unforgiving soil and barely conscious, the conversation continued,"Deal?" The pilgrim uttered, uncertain.

"I can put his spirit in the lantern. As long as the flame stays lit, he will live on inside." With a hand as black as the starless sky, The Beast extends it towards our pilgrim,"Take on the task of lantern bearer... Or watch your brother perish."

Lift your mighty limbs,

And give praise,

The pilgrim's gaze lowers to the lantern in his hand, a look of defeat crosses his expression as he allows a low sigh to cross his lips. He was willing to sacrifice anything for his dearest brother.

"Okay."

The bluebird tried to gain the pilgrim's attention, however her words were but muffled sounds, empty and devoid of meaning in that very moment. That was, until... The pilgrim came to a sudden realization. Snatching the lantern back before The Beast could hook his claws into him... His stare hardened.

To the fire...

"Wait. That's dumb." The pilgrim argued, taking a few steps away from the shadowy figure that towered menacingly above him.

Although unseen, a sickening sneer appeared on The Beast's expression,

"What?"

"That's dumb! I'm not just gonna wander around in the woods for the rest of my life." The pilgrim continued, keeping his gaze stern.

The Beast loomed closer, his usual deep, hauntingly calm voice turning into something more deadly... Menacing and filled with a promise of the most deadliest of torments. "I'm trying to help you."

Connecting the details, it took only a moment for the pilgrim to put the pieces together, and for The Beast's guise to bleed into a puddle across the cold earth beneath them,"You're not trying to help me. You just have some weird obsession with keeping this lantern lit. It's almost like... Your soul is in this lantern."

Dramatically, the air shifts, becoming deathly cold and suffocating as The Beast let's out an ear-splitting growl that shakes the trees around them with an earth shattering force. His body violently contorts in a mixture of foul, disgustingly unfathomable horrors and the pilgrim is subjected to the whims of his darkness as the light that illuminates from the lantern dissipates abruptly.

A look of terror crosses the poor pilgrim's face, as The Beast's form grows higher and higher, his now distorted voice scathing against his ears like hot coals,"Are you ready to see true darkness?"

Shaking with horror, and voice wavering, the pilgrim does not back down,"A-Are you...?" He cleared his voice, before standing his ground more firmly. He narrows his eyes, pulling the glass open on the lantern,"Are you?" With a deep inhale, he readies to blow out the lantern's intense flame.

Suddenly, The Beast retracts,"Don't...! Don't!" The desperation was clear, and it was abundantly obvious our pilgrim uncovered the harsh truth. The Beast was a liar, a deceiver, and the woodsman was merely a tool to prolong his inevitable end. With a scoff, the pilgrim handed the woodsman the lantern to deal with The Beast on his own. For the pilgrim cared for one thing and one thing only right now: His brother.

Breaking his brother free from the branches of the Edelwood, it was now merely the woodsman and The Beast.

The Beast attempted to ensnare the woodsman into his strings once more, but they were all but cut off, irreparable. No longer would the woodsman be his puppet and him the puppeteer, and in a fit of anguish and seething rage, the woodsman blew out the flame forevermore so that The Beast could never come to harm anyone ever again. He destroyed the lantern and threw it down a river, where it sunk to its depths and was swept away by the currents to never be seen. To never return.

All the wayward souls were finally free, the horrors of The Beast lost within time and soon to be long forgotten.

... Or at least, that was how it should have been.