THE BLACK HEART

THE BLACK HEART

Chapter One: The Girl Who Wasn't Afraid

Long ago, before the borders of kingdoms were drawn, there was a king who ruled seven kingdoms. He feared no one, and he knew no mercy. The people called him the Owner of the Black Heart, for his heart had never known compassion. Those who starved, he did not feed. Those who begged for mercy, he punished with greater suffering. And those who opposed him... never returned.

The people lived in poverty and hunger. Food was scarce, and guards distributed small rations just enough to keep them alive.

One day, among the gathered crowd, a lone girl appeared. Her clothes were worn, her body weak from exhaustion and hunger — but she carried something the others didn't.

A strength in her eyes.

When her turn came, she took only a small amount of rice. She didn't ask for more. She didn't cry. She didn't beg. She simply took it and walked away.

The king watched her from a distance. He was puzzled. Every day he saw people pleading for mercy — but this girl took the little she was given as if she possessed something worth more than food... Her dignity.

"Who is she?" the king said quietly.

The prince pointed toward her. "Bring her to me."

The guards approached. One of them said: "You — come with us."

The girl entered before the king. Everyone else bowed their heads in fear. But she... stood tall.

"Who are you?" the king asked.

"I am a girl, twenty years old. I live with my younger sister," she answered.

He glanced at the food she carried. "Do you want it?"

She looked at him calmly. "If you want it, take it. If you don't, do as you wish."

Everyone's expression changed. No one had expected anyone to speak like that before the king. But the king didn't grow angry. He felt curious.

"Strange... Everyone fears me — but you don't," he said.

She didn't answer. So he ordered a bow and arrow to be brought. "You have a test."

"If you hit the target, I will give you a reward enough to last you and your sister a lifetime," the king said. "But if you fail..." He didn't finish. Everyone already understood what he meant.

The girl took hold of the bow. All eyes were on her — the guards, the princes, the ministers, even the king. She raised the arrow. She wasn't thinking about fear. She was thinking about her sister. She released it. The arrow hit the target. Then she fired a second time. And a third. Until she had made five consecutive hits.

Silence fell. No one could believe what they had just witnessed. Even the strongest warriors couldn't do that with such ease.

The king stared at her for a long moment. Then... he smiled. "For years I haven't seen anyone like you."

The girl stepped forward. "Then... what is my reward?"

Everyone looked at her in shock. But the king simply smiled. "Your reward... is that you will never return to your old life. From this day forward... you will be my guard."

Chapter Two: Inside the Palace

The girl entered the palace gripping her little sister's hand tightly, as if afraid someone might take her away. The servants looked at her with contempt — until the king passed by and said in a cold voice: "Whoever insults her... insults my command." In an instant, every servant bowed.

The girl and her sister were taken to a warm room, where they bathed for the first time in years, and food was placed before them that they had never dreamed of seeing. The little sister ate with joy. But the girl... didn't touch the food. She felt that behind this mercy lay something terrifying.

Shortly after, the king summoned her. She entered the throne room. He sat on his throne, then said calmly: "Do not think the test is over."

He paused. Then looked at her directly. "Any mistake... no matter how small..." He gestured with his hand. The guards entered, holding her little sister. "Will cost her life."

For the first time... the girl's eyes trembled. The king smiled faintly. "I've found your weakness."

Then he rose from his throne. "I do not fear the strong... I fear traitors. Betrayal is the one thing I never forgive." He stepped closer until he was just one pace away. "From today... your tests begin. If you succeed... you will become the greatest guard in all seven kingdoms. And if you fail..." He looked toward her little sister. "You will both die." The king stood before everyone and said:

"From this moment... the first test begins."

He pointed to four warriors considered among the kingdom's strongest men.

"The four of you... and her."

Then he raised an old map.

"In the Black Forest live five legendary beasts. Each one has killed hundreds of humans."

Silence fell.

Then he said in a cold voice:

"After seven days... whoever returns with the head of the strongest beast... will be the winner."

Then he looked directly at the girl.

"As for the loser..."

He smiled faintly.

"They won't be returning at all."

The four warriors trembled.

But she...

Was only looking at the map.

The king noticed she hadn't trembled, and hadn't asked a single question.

He smiled to himself and thought:

"This girl... either she does not fear death... or she is more dangerous than all of them. Chapter Three: The Legendary Beast

She entered the Black Forest, where the trees were taller than palaces and fog covered every path.

She heard sounds whose source she couldn't identify.

Then she stopped.

Before her stood the legendary beast.

A massive body... red eyes... and the marks of countless battles across its flesh.

And she saw something that made her heart stop for a moment.

Three warriors had been there... but they were no longer alive.

For the first time in a long while...

She felt fear.

She said to herself:

"I cannot defeat it by force... if I fight it like they did, I will die like they did."

Her mind began to work.

She watched its steps... the way it raged... how it attacked.

The beast lunged and struck her.

A single blow sent her crashing to the ground, pain shooting through every part of her body.

But she stood up.

And smiled.

Not because she felt no pain...

But because she understood something.

She started running.

The beast grew furious.

It charged after her, shattering trees and splitting the earth.

She knew this place.

She knew there was a deep crack in the ground ahead.

She kept provoking it until it lost all control.

The beast roared and hurled itself toward her with full force...

And at the last possible moment, she leapt aside.

The beast couldn't stop.

It fell into the deep crack.

Silence fell.

She looked down at it, breathless.

She had won.

But her body was bleeding.

She pressed her hand against her wound and said:

"Not now... I cannot stop... my sister is waiting for me."

She carried the proof of her victory and began the long walk back to the palace. The beast fell into the deep pit...

Not knowing that beneath it lay massive black thorns hidden among the rocks.

Its enormous body drove downward, and the thorns plunged into it with great force.

The earth shook for a moment...

Then silence reigned.

The legendary beast that had terrified everyone... was dead.

The girl stood at the edge of the pit, breathless.

Her wounds were bleeding, her hands trembling from exhaustion.

She looked at the beast's enormous head and said to herself:

"How am I going to carry this?"

It was far larger than she had imagined.

But she thought of her sister.

She clenched her teeth and gathered the last of her strength.

She severed the head with great difficulty, and carried it step by step.

Every step brought pain, blood dripping from her wounds — but she did not stop.

She wasn't thinking about the reward...

She was thinking only:

"I must return... my sister is waiting for me. The Black Heart – Chapter Four: The Girl Who Came Back

The palace gates were open.

The guards were waiting for the warriors to return.

They expected only one of them to come back...

Or perhaps none at all.

And suddenly...

They heard the sound of slow footsteps.

Everyone turned.

It was her.

The girl who had walked alone into the Black Forest.

Her clothes were torn, her face pale, blood covering her body.

But she was walking.

And behind her was something that made everyone fall silent...

The head of the legendary beast.

The guards froze where they stood.

One soldier said in a low voice:

"Impossible..."

A minister said in disbelief:

"That beast killed our strongest warriors..."

The girl entered the hall and placed the head before the throne.

The sound of it hitting the floor shook the entire room.

The king looked at her in silence.

He said nothing.

For the first time in years...

He had no words.

He had expected failure.

He had expected to see fear in her eyes.

But what he saw was something else entirely.

He saw a person broken on the outside...

But still standing on the inside.

The king said:

"You... you did this?"

She raised her eyes to him and said:

"I told you I would come back."

Silence fell.

Even the ministers couldn't believe her composure.

The king approached the head, examined it, then looked back at her.

And said:

"Three warriors entered that forest and never returned."

Then he took a step closer.

"And you... came back alone."

She didn't answer.

She simply stood there, even as her body screamed with pain.

And suddenly...

The ground began to spin around her.

She could no longer stand.

She collapsed.

A guard cried out:

"Bring the physician — quickly!"

The king looked at her lying there, unconscious.

And for the first time...

He didn't see her as merely a test subject.

He saw a human being.

He said quietly:

"Save her." The Black Heart – Chapter Five: The King's True Face

When she heard that her sister was safe...

She closed her eyes for a moment, as though a heavy burden had lifted from her heart.

For the first time in days, she felt some peace.

She ate a little food and drank water — but one question remained in her mind.

She looked at the guards and said:

"We were five in the test... where is the fourth warrior?"

Silence fell.

The guards exchanged glances.

Then one of them said in a low voice:

"Don't ask..."

But she insisted:

"I want to know."

The guard looked down and said:

"He didn't flee... but he failed."

She felt something strange stir in her heart.

She left her room and followed the guard to a distant place behind the palace.

And there...

She stopped.

She couldn't speak.

She saw bodies hanging.

Among them was that warrior.

But the greater shock wasn't him...

It was what had happened to his family.

The punishment had reached his family as well.

Even the children had not been spared.

The girl froze in place.

She had faced a beast that killed three warriors and hadn't trembled like this.

But now...

For the first time she felt true fear.

She said to herself:

"This is not the heart of a human being..."

"This is the Black Heart."

In that moment she understood why people feared the king.

It wasn't only his power they feared...

It was the mercy that simply didn't exist within him.

The king's voice reached across the entire city:

"Let everyone know..."

"The price of betrayal is high."

His words were cold.

The girl returned to her room in silence.

She looked at her little sister sleeping peacefully.

She placed her hand on her sister's head and said:

"I must win..."

"Not for myself."

"For her."

And that night...

She wasn't thinking about beasts.

She was thinking about something far more dangerous.

How do you defeat a king with a black heart? The Black Heart – Chapter Seven: The Nightmare Mist

Days passed...

The group continued their journey through mountains and dense forests. With every passing day, the path became more dangerous.

Exhaustion began to show on the soldiers' faces.

That night, they lit a small campfire and gathered around it to rest.

The girl quietly watched everyone before noticing the quiet young man.

She walked toward him and said,

"I want to ask you something."

He looked at her coldly.

"What is it?"

She hesitated for a moment.

"You're strange... Who are you?"

He remained silent for a few seconds before replying,

"Why does it matter?"

She answered,

"I don't know... I just feel like you know something that the rest of us don't."

He stared at her for a moment.

Then he said only one sentence.

"Don't fall asleep tonight."

She frowned.

"What?"

But he stood up and walked away.

"Just remember what I said."

She watched him in confusion.

She didn't understand why...

But something in his voice made her believe him.

At midnight...

Her eyelids grew heavy.

She struggled to stay awake.

But exhaustion was stronger.

She closed her eyes for only a moment...

Then suddenly opened them.

Something was standing before her.

It wasn't human.

A mass of black mist floated silently...

And a terrifying whisper echoed from within it.

She immediately realized that this was no ordinary dream.

It was...

The Nightmare Mist.

A monster that invades people's dreams.

Anyone who falls asleep in its presence...

Never wakes up again.

She quickly looked around.

Five soldiers were lying on the ground.

None of them moved.

She rushed toward them...

Then froze in horror.

They were dead.

Their eyes were wide open, their faces frozen in horrifying smiles, as if they had died while witnessing the worst nightmare imaginable.

A cold shiver ran through her body.

She wasn't afraid of the monster.

She was terrified because she had finally understood the truth.

This trial was never just about finding the Rose.

It was a test...

To survive.

She slowly turned toward the young man.

He was standing there, as if he had known everything from the very beginning.

He spoke calmly.

"Now you understand?"

She looked at him in silence.

He continued,

"Everyone here has their own reason for coming."

"Some seek the Rose."

"Some seek the reward."

"And some..."

"...only want to stay alive."

He paused before adding,

"Don't trust everyone."

The girl looked once more at the lifeless soldiers.

For the first time...

She realized that the journey toward the Rose of Death was far more terrifying than the monsters themselves. The Black Heart – Chapter Eight: The Stone Beasts

Morning arrived...

The group continued their journey.

Their numbers had greatly diminished.

Only a handful remained after surviving the Nightmare Mist.

They walked through the silent mountains until the young man suddenly stopped.

He raised his hand.

"Stop."

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

One of the soldiers frowned.

"Why are we stopping? There's nothing here."

He didn't answer.

His eyes were fixed on the ground.

Then he said quietly,

"Something is moving."

Everyone looked around...

Suddenly, the rocks began to tremble.

But they were not rocks.

They were enormous stone beasts, perfectly camouflaged as small mountains.

Their stone eyes slowly opened, and terrifying growls echoed through the valley.

The soldiers froze.

The girl whispered,

"I've never seen anything like this before..."

The beasts charged toward them.

Their bodies were as hard as solid rock, and every strike shattered the earth beneath them.

The soldiers fought back...

But five of them fell within moments.

The girl looked around in horror.

Every escape route was blocked.

Yet the young man didn't draw his sword.

Instead, he did something unexpected.

He picked up a container of water.

Everyone stared at him.

"What are you doing?"

Without answering, he threw the water onto the stone beasts.

In an instant...

The monsters staggered backward.

Their movements became slow and unstable.

The girl suddenly understood.

No matter how powerful they looked...

They were still made of stone.

And water weakened them.

The young man glanced at her.

"Strength isn't always about delivering the strongest blow."

Then he drew his sword, made a small cut on his hand, and shouted,

"To the river! Quickly!"

They ran toward the rushing river.

The stone beasts chased them furiously.

But the moment they reached the water's edge...

They stopped.

The girl shouted,

"They're afraid of the water!"

The young man looked at her calmly.

"Nothing that seems invincible is without a weakness."

One after another, they jumped into the river.

When they looked back...

The stone beasts stood helplessly at the riverbank, unable to follow.

The girl let out a shaky breath.

Out of twenty-five people...

Only seven remained alive.

And now she understood one thing.

This journey wasn't only about finding the Rose of Death...

It was about deciding who was truly worthy of reaching it.

---

The Black Heart – Chapter Nine: The Silent Island

After hours of swimming...

The seven survivors finally reached a distant island.

They crawled out of the water, barely able to stand.

The girl collapsed onto the warm sand.

"I can't even feel my legs anymore..."

Everyone was completely exhausted.

Then...

Figures emerged from between the trees.

The group immediately tensed.

The girl whispered in surprise,

"People...? Here?"

She turned toward the young man.

"Can you see them?"

He remained silent for a moment.

Then he answered,

"Yes... I can."

But his eyes remained filled with suspicion.

The islanders approached with warm smiles.

"Welcome," they said gently.

"Don't be afraid. We've lived here for many years."

They offered them food, clean clothes, and a place to rest.

Everything seemed perfect.

Yet the young man refused to touch anything.

The girl noticed.

"Why don't you trust them? They helped us."

He looked at her.

"Because I've learned something..."

"Not everyone who smiles at you is your friend."

Her expression changed.

He stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"Didn't you notice something?"

She looked around.

"Notice what?"

He answered,

"Their tongues."

She remembered.

Their tongues were blue.

"I thought it was some kind of illness."

He slowly shook his head.

"But every single one of them has it... the men, the women, even the children."

He paused.

"That's not natural."

Then he added,

"Don't eat anything they offer you. And don't drink either."

The warning reached the soldiers.

For the first time...

They truly believed him.

One of them whispered,

"Then this island isn't safe..."

Just then, the islanders returned carrying trays of food.

They smiled kindly.

"You must eat. You're exhausted."

The girl sat in front of the meal.

She picked up a small piece of food and pretended to eat it.

But she never took a bite.

Suddenly...

She froze.

Beyond the trees...

She saw something.

A tall black shadow.

Its shape wasn't human.

It looked like a creature born from nightmares.

Her eyes widened in terror.

The young man noticed immediately.

He stepped beside her.

"You saw it... didn't you?"

She slowly nodded.

He looked toward the darkness and quietly said,

"I told you..."

"Sometimes... people are far more dangerous than monsters."