The sun rose high in the sky over the mountains that stood above the small town nearby. As the light shone down on the plains and gardens in the town, the people were already rushing to get their business and lives on the upstart. However, in one large house in the center of the town, a single woman slept peacefully in a large bed, thick blue covers laid carefully over her thin body. 

Her name was Melody Lycancias, the wife of the newly appointed Lord of the town, Crimm Lycancias. The younger brother was appointed to be the newest Lord two years after he was married to Melody, to which he happily took the job. With the new position in the town, Crimm helped the people become even more healthy and successful. The people adored him, and even though he was far away, Crimm was still close with his older brother, writing letters to each other every week.

Slowly as the sun shone through the window by their bed, Melody opened her eyes to see the beautiful sky that lit up with a new day. She smiled and sat up in bed, stretching her arms and legs to prepare for the day, after all it was a very special day for her husband. For today would be the first time they would get to see the newest member of the family. Crimm's brother had a beautiful and healthy baby boy, to which they named Andrew Lycan. When Owen wrote word to his brother about his son's birth, Crimm and Melody were over the moon to meet their nephew.

Unfortunately, Crimm and Melody weren't so lucky when it came to bearing a child. They wanted children after the first two years of their marriage, but were not able to bear a single child. But at least with their nephew, they could feel the love of a family with a child until they could conceive their own.

Melody quickly got out of bed, got cleaned up and dressed, and then rushed down to her husband's office on the first floor of their house. She smiled as she carefully opened the door, only to see Crimm sitting at his desk writing something as he normally does. It's where he spends plenty of his time during the day.

"Crimm." Melody called and he looked up with a soft smile before putting down his quill.

"Melody, I didn't expect you up so early." Crimm said, walking up to his wife and giving her a good morning kiss.

"I know, but I'm just so excited to meet Andrew! This is our first nephew, I just wanted to be ready for their arrival this morning."

Crimm laughed, "I know, I know, my love. But first, we must prepare the rooms for them to stay in. They'll be here for two weeks during the spring festivals. We'll have plenty of time to get to know our nephew and catch up with our siblings."

Melody smiled and nodded excitedly, rushing around the house for the next couple of hours to clean and prepare for their family come over. After the sun had risen high into the sky, the entire house was cleaned so well that it practically sparkled, and a wonderful guest room was prepared for the new family to come.

Just then, as the couple went to the front door to walk around the town as they always do, they heard the people of their town exclaim happily. It was their family coming for their visit.

Crimm and Melody opened the doors and saw a crowd of people standing around a couple, the woman holding a baby wrapped in a soft blue blanket. The people of the town cooed over the baby boy, who was only a couple of months old, and the return of Owen Lycan along with the introduction of his wife, Freya.

"Freya!"

"Owen!"

The townspeople heard their Lord and Lady exclaim their siblings' names, and parted a way for them to get to each other. Owen smiled upon seeing his younger brother and quickly rushed to hug him tightly, the same with the sisters, but with Freya being careful to keep her son safe from their tight hug.

"It's so good to see you in the flesh, little brother." Owen said, "We would've been here sooner, but with Andrew--"

"I understand, Owen, I don't blame you for wanting to take care of your son." Crimm said and looked over to his sister-in-law holding his new nephew.

Freya smiled and pulled away from her sister, then pulled away the blanket to show off her son's barely awake face. 

"Meet Andrew Lycan, the newest member of the family. And hopefully not the last." Freya introduced her son. Crimm and Melody walked over to the baby and gazed upon his face.

He looked just like his father with his soft tuft of onyx black hair and dark eyes, but his had his mother's lightly tanned skin. Melody knew that this young baby boy would grow up to be a kind and strong young man in the future. Crimm couldn't wait until he and his wife were finally blessed with a child themselves, so that they could grow with their siblings' families.

They all went into the house and began to reconnect with their families while bonding with the newest member. Baby Andrew was a happy little boy, always smiling and laughing at everyone he met, a perfect addition to the Lycan family bloodline. But the longer they sat there and talked, the more the two brothers thought just about that: Their bloodline.

Crimm and Melody haven't had a child yet, so his secret was safe for the time being. But Owen, with the birth of his son, sooner or later his secret about being an Ultima would come out in the form of his son's eyes and powers awakening. It was risky not telling her his secret, but Owen was too scared to lose not only his wife but his son as well.

The day went quickly as the family connected and when the day was over, the night festivities were roaring. A great festival to celebrate the beginning of spring that would last at least a week, beginning with dancing and food, then continuing with games and spring crafts and contests. It was a happy time for the entire town. But then once the festivities were done, the wives and Andrew went to sleep for the night, and the brothers stayed up in the lounge.

"I've missed the spring festival so much." Owen sighed as he sunk into the plush chair, "Don't get me wrong, the festivals in Sevokia are wonderful, but you can't go wrong with your hometown festivities."

"That's right. The town has grown so well since I came back home." Crimm said as he took a sip from his glass, but then he frowned and got the meat of the issue.

"Owen, does Freya know about the curse?" He asked and Owen frowned as well. He sat up and hunched over while sighing in defeat. He couldn't lie to his brother.

"No, I haven't." He answered, "I haven't told her anything about my curse. I haven't even told her that I was a werewolf." Owen looked up at his brother, "What about you? Have you told Melody anything about the curse?"

Crimm shook his head, "No, and I bet it's the same reason that you haven't told Freya. We're both afraid of their reactions."

"That's right. But with our son, I don't think that I have a choice in telling her. What if he activates his eyes and Freya looks into that crimson color."

"Then you should tell her, big brother. Keeping it a secret until it's too late won't help in the future." Crimm smiled softly as his brother, "How about we tell them both? I'll tell Melody and you tell Freya. Tell her the entire story. They love us, don't they? Surely they will understand why we kept the curse secret from them."

Owen was still nervous about telling his wife about the Ultima curse, but seeing the strength and kindness in his brother's eyes and smile, it reassured him that things would be well. After all, he and Freya married each other because they loved each other, surely she would understand his curse and accept him for who he is.

~~~~~~

It took a few days for the two brothers to gather their courage to talk to their wives, but both brothers agreed to do it together. So when Owen finally decided to talk to Freya, Crimm did the same with Melody. It was day five of the spring festival and when the day's festivities ended, the brothers took their wives to separate rooms to talk about their curse.

In the master bedroom, Crimm spoke softly as he and Melody sat on the bed. He told her everything he knew about his curse as was told from his father. From the beginning of the curse's creation, to the present and the utmost certainty that their child would have the curse as well. He even showed her his werewolf ears and tail, but didn't transform his eyes to its crimson color. Most people would be terrified and run out of the room after hearing this news, but not Melody.

The woman had thought that something was different about her husband, even before they got married. At first, she thought that it was something that didn't mean anything, but now with the news about him being an Ultima werewolf, all of her suspicions became clear. However, she didn't think any different about Crimm. Instead, she hugged him tightly and rubbed his back lovingly.

"I don't care about your curse at all." She said into his chest, "Cursed or not, human or werewolf, you are still Crimm Lycancias. The Lord of this town, my husband, and perhaps one day the father of our future children. That will never change. I still love you nonetheless."

Crimm was stunned by his wife's words, but he was grateful nonetheless. He hugged Melody tightly, his tail wagging in his joy knowing that his wife, his one and only love, still loved him despite being an Ultima and the certainty that if they had a child would have the curse.

But in the other room, things for Owen and Freya were slightly different. After Owen told her about his curse, Freya smiled and bit her tongue, saying similar things that her sister said to her husband. As they hugged and Owen smiled into his wife's golden locks, Freya couldn't help but glance down at her son, a child that would be cursed as well. Later on that night, Freya snuck out of their room and paced the hallway thinking about her future and how this child and her husband would ruin that future. 

"I married a monster." She whispered, "I had a monster's child. How is this even possible? How did I not see the signs? This can't happen. I won't be poisoned by a monster and his spawn."

With those thoughts in mind, she put a plan in action, sneaking into Crimm's study and writing a letter to the people, but made sure that no traces could be made back to her.

~~~~~

The next few days were strange for the brothers. Whenever they walked around in town, the people would give them forced smiles or try to avoid them.

"I'm sorry... Lord Crimm, but I must prepare for tonight's banquet."

"Pardon me, but my child got ill last night."

Those were only a couple of the many excuses the people would use to get away from the brothers, and even Owen's baby boy. At first, they didn't think much of it, thinking that it was just because it was near the end of the Spring Festival and the people wanted to make it great. But then, on the eighth day of the festival, things took a turn for the worst.

Crimm, Owen, Melody and Andrew were in the lounge, talking about the future travel plans for Owen and Freya, when all of a sudden a ball of fire crashed through the window near Owen's head. Owen quickly covered his son as Crimm and Melody protected themselves from the ball of fire. When they looked up, they saw that it was a stone covered in oil that continued to burn.

"To the front door, quickly!" Crimm shouted and they all rushed to get to safety. As they rushed to the front door, even more oil covered stones were thrown into the house, setting it ablaze quickly. The three burst through the front door, only to see the townspeople gathered in front of the house, all with hate filled scowls on their faces, the children terrified as they held stones in their hands while the men and women all held torches high in the air.

"Ultima!" They screamed.

"Monstrous creature!"

"You have some nerve hiding in our town!"

"Down with the cursed line!"

The people screamed and shouted their insults, but the brothers were more stunned by how they got the information. Crimm turned to Melody, but she shook her head with fear in her eyes. From the sincerity in her eyes, Crimm and Owen knew that she was telling the truth, so the only one that could tell the secret to the people was...

Owen caught a glimpse of gold in the distance. He looked over towards one of the nearby houses and saw his wife, his dear Freya, standing in a hooded cloak with a sinister smile spread across her face. An evil glint in her eyes and no sense of sympathy or love anywhere in her gaze. She quickly turned and ran off, disappearing into the darkness of the night and leaving him behind to suffer his fate.

In that moment, Owen felt the most betrayed. The one who told the people about their curse was his own wife, the one woman he loved more than anything. And she gave him up to the wolves of hatred.

But then it hit the brothers. The people said 'Ultima' as in singular. Freya didn't tell them anything about both brothers holding the curse. Owen silently panicked as the people called for their blood, their deaths, but Crimm already had a plan in mind. He turned to Melody, who seemed to understand what he was thinking.

"Back into the house, now!" Crimm shouted and they all went inside, going through the house to the back where the fire hadn't spread yet. They caught their breath and Owen looked up at his brother in terror.

"It was Freya, she told everyone about our curse." He said.

"ARe you sure that it was my sister?" Melody asked.

"I'm sure. I spotted her outside and then she ran off. She had this sinister grin on her face with no remorse or love, not even a shred of sympathy. The only ones that knew about our curse were you and Freya." Owen said in defeat, no longer able to keep his tears of pain and betrayal in. Andrew woke up screaming and crying, somehow feeling that his mother was gone and that his young life could be snuffed out right away.

But Crimm had a plan. After all, he had less to lose. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders and forced him to be calm again.

"Owen, listen to me carefully brother." Crimm started, "Take Andrew and go. Run as fast and as far as you can, and when you can't go any farther, keep going."

Owen's eyes widened, "What are you saying, Crimm?"

"They only spoke about one Ultima. If they knew about the both of us having the curse, they would've said 'Ultimas' or used creatures instead of the singular version. Only one has to take the heat."

"but I can't do that to you, Crimm. What about Melody?"

"And what about Andrew?" Melody stated, "Think about it, Owen. Your son is the inheritor of this curse, he is your only child. He can't grow up without his father. He needs you, Owen."

Crimm smiled in pride at his wife, if had to go through this with someone, he would rather be with her in the end. The younger brother pat his older brother on this shoulder.

"Go with your son and continue living for the both of us. Just know that I will love you always." Crimm said, pulling back his own sadness and tears to appear strong for the brother he would be leaving behind, for leaving the nephew he would never get to see grow up.

Owen, his heart breaking from this idea, knew that it was the only way for at least one of them to survive. And even though the curse would still be there in his son, his son didn't deserve to be killed just because of a curse he didn't choose to have. None of them deserved something so harsh. But the time was now, and their decision was needed.

So with a heavy heart, Owen hugged his brother, their last moment of contact.

"I love you, little brother." He said and turned to Melody, "Take care of him for me, would you?"

Melody smiled and nodded, "In life and in death."

Crimm and Melody looked down at their nephew, still crying and wailing. Melody placed a gentle kiss on the baby's head, which seemed to help calm him down a little, as Crimm gave the baby one last smile.

"You should get going, before the fire gets worse." Crimm said as the family all stood up together. 

Owen nodded and stared at his brother and sister-in-law for one more moment, burning their smiles into his mind before rushing out the back door and saying goodbye to his childhood home. Meanwhile, Crimm took in a deep breath, took Melody by the hand and looked at her fondly.

"Are you sure you want to be by my side through this?" He asked.

"I made a vow on out wedding day. I promised to stay by your side through life and beyond." Melody gripped his hand harder, "I will not go against that promise."

Crimm nodded and the two walked to the front door, standing in front of the people of the town as they called for the head of the Ultima. Crimm and Melody stood in front of the people.

"I am the Ultima you seek!" Crimm announced, "If you want my head, then you can take it! If you wish for my death, then you can have it! But will that truly keep your fear at bay?! Will that satisfy your need for justice?!"

The people were silent for a moment, and before they could scream for his head again, a single voice echoed from inside the crowd.

"There is no need for his death." The voice said, its tone being cold but strong, sinister but confident. It gathered the attention of all the people. All eyes turned to where the voice came from, and in the back of the crowd was the owner of the voice. 

The owner of the voice was a man with sinister eyes colored an emerald green, a robe colored a deep purple with gold lining, and a hood to hide his face save for the smile he had. He walked up to the front of the burning house, looking directly at Crimm who tried to hide Melody behind him.

The mysterious man turned back towards the crowd of people, "I understand that you are afraid of this curse, but even if you kill him, the curse will simply transfer to another innocent soul. I am a man of magic and I specialize in curses. Allow me to take the Ultima and his wife into my custody. I am sure that I can remove this curse, and allow the people of this land to live peacefully without fear."

The townspeople, Crimm and Melody were confused and stunned by this revelation, but the townspeople were more than happy to rid themselves of the Ultima. Crimm and Melody were not convinced, but they didn't have a say. Before they could say anything against this man, there was a bright flash of light and the two lost consciousness.

~~~~~~

Crimm and Melody woke up in an unfamiliar place, a single room with a bed and dark grey walls. At first, they were scared, confused and nervous about what would happen to them. They stayed in that room for an hour trying to figure out where they were, before finally the door to their room opened. The one who came through was the man in the purple robe.

He smiled at the two of them, before he snapped his fingers and two more men rushed into the room, grabbing Crimm by the arms. And when he struggled, one of the men injected him with a sedative. Crimm fell asleep for a little bit and when he woke up again, he was strapped to a table with bright lights shining into his eyes. The man was there by his side, still smiling.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

"What are you going to do? Where is my wife?"

"Your wife will be fine, and as for you...." He bent down and whispered in Crimm's ear, "You are going to make the perfect weapon for my cause."

That is where the pain started. Every day the man would use different potions and injections to try and break Crimm enough to control him, but every time he would get close, the Ultima curse would activate, and the potions would reverse themselves, and the process would repeat.

The experiments and torture continued for several months, but then everything changed one day, when news came to both Crimm and the mysterious man. 

"I'm pregnant." Melody said to Crimm one night when the moon was full. Crimm was excited, but terrified. If their child had the curse as well, then that child would go through the same pain as he was going through. But they couldn't get rid of their child, they've wanted a child for so long.

And so... the child was born months later. A healthy baby boy, to which the couple named him after his grandfather, Damien Lycancias was his full name. But sadly, the boy also had the Ultima curse, his eyes turning red at the age of two. That is when the trend and pattern was put into play. The mysterious man took Damien for testing, to see how powerful the Ultima curse was in him from a young age. Turns out, that even though it was a small percentage, Damien's curse seemed to be stronger than his father's.

Damien was returned to his parents, but seeing as the mysterious man had a stronger test subject, there was no need for the old ones to live. Crimm and Melody knew that their lives were coming to an end, so they did the only thing they could do for their son: They told him the truth about everything. About the curse, about the man, and about how much they loved him.

The day Crimm and Melody were scheduled for elimination, they had some time to say one last thing to their son.

"This curse will not last forever." Crimm said, "My father once said that one of our ancestors was visited by a goddess. She told him that one day this curse would be broken, and until that day comes, we will survive."

"Remember this, Damien." Melody said, "No matter what happens to us, to you or to your future family, you must continue on. This pain will end, and when it comes for you to join us, we will watch over our family line together."

"Know that we love you, son. With everything we have." They both said. Suddenly, two men came in a subdued the couple, while the man in purple grabbed Damien. With the raise of his hand, he conjured his dark magic, and used it to take the lives of Damien's parents.

"Get rid of them. We will begin the new experiments tomorrow." He said, then took Damien to another room, where he would stay and suffer the same fate as his mother and father.

That is how it went for several thousands of years. When Damien was ten years old, the mysterious man would bring in an orphan girl, a child that no one would miss or remember. A child with no meaning. It was like another curse. The girl fell in love with Damien, the two of them sharing the same pain of not having a family to love them. Eventually when they came of age, they both brought together a new life in the form of their son. Their son was tested for his curse strength at the age of two, only to find that his curse was just a little bit stronger than his father's. When the boy turned four, Damien and his beloved were killed in the same way as his grandparents, but not before Damien told his son the story of their curse, and the hope that it would end one day thanks to the promise of the goddess.

And so the cycle continued. A son was born stronger than his father. The parents would be killed. The child would grow up. A girl would be brought in to be loved and to love him. Each time the girl was different. A runaway, an orphan, it didn't matter as long as they were healthy enough to conceive a new Ultima child. The son would be born and the cycle continued again and again and again.

This continued for several thousands of years, the mysterious man continuing his experiments for all that time but never getting close enough to learning how to control the Ultima in its purest form: The Black Wolf with Crimson eyes.

But one day, the wheels of fate began to turn for one specific Ultima man by the name of Selenite Lycancias. At age ten, he too was united with a young girl. But she wasn't the same as the other girls from previous generations. 

"Hey! Let me go, you sick murderers!" A girl's voice shouted from outside the door. It opened and a young girl was thrown into the room before the door shut behind her. She stood up and banged on the door loudly.

"You can't keep me in here you sick freaks! Let me out of here right now or I swear you'll regret it!" The girl shouted again and again.

"That's not gonna work." Selenite said grabbing the girl's attention. When she turned around, Selenite was stunned by her beauty. She was about the same age as him, but she was radiant.

Her blue hair that reminded him of the color of the sea he would read about in books the people would give him every now and again. Her skin was tanned and her face was heart-shaped. And her eyes were split in half, one half being pink while the other half was a vibrant green. She was unlike anyone he had seen before.

"What do you mean it's not gonna work!? They can't keep me locked in here for who knows how long. And who the heck are you? Did they kidnap you after killing your parents, too?"

Selenite sighed and shook his head, "My parents were killed right in front of me, right where you're standing actually."

The girl was shocked for a second, but then she looked at him with sadness and sympathy.

"They did the same thing to me." She said, taking a seat next to him against the wall, "They killed my parents too, right in front of me then left them in the snow all alone. That was five days ago."

Selenite and the girl were silent for a while, but then turned to each other. The girl could clearly see the sadness in his black eyes that shone with a hint of silver around the rim of the iris, the way his black hair fell and the werewolf ears and tail he had.

"My name is Selenite Lycancias. Who are you?"

The girl shook off her shock for a second, then gave him a small smile, "I'm Mireya. Mireya Aine."

And their story continued... changing the fate of the entire world as they knew it in time.