When they killed the monster... the disaster began.

Far to the north, there was a remote village called "Valley of Shadows," surrounded by towering mountains on all sides. The villagers lived peacefully for decades, until winter came and changed everything.

It began when a shepherd spotted a strange creature on a rocky outcrop. At first, he thought it was a stray dog, but it was larger than any dog ​​man had ever known. It was black as coal, its eyes glowed a blood-red, and its long fangs protruded from its mouth even when it was closed.

The following night, three sheep vanished from the pens without a trace. Then, animals began to die mysteriously, as if something had drained the life from them.

As the days passed, the creature drew ever closer to the houses. Every night, the villagers heard its terrifying howl, a howl that made their blood run cold. It wasn't the howl of a wolf or a dog, but rather the scream of tormented souls.

Then disaster struck.

A young boy disappeared on his way back from the river. The villagers searched for him for days until they found his torn hat near the entrance of a cave in the mountain. Then they all knew the monster was responsible.

The brave men of the village gathered, armed with rifles, spears, and torches, and set out for the cave.

Inside, they found the creature sitting in the darkness. Its eyes gleamed like two burning embers. As they approached, it charged with incredible speed. Two men fell dead within seconds, but the rest continued fighting.

The battle raged for hours until one of the hunters managed to plunge his spear into the monster's heart. The creature let out a tremendous howl that shook the entire mountain, then collapsed to the ground.

But before it died, it raised its head with difficulty and looked at the men with its bloodshot eyes. In a voice that was neither animal nor human, it said:

"You have spilled the guardian's blood... and you will pay."

Then it breathed its last.

The men returned to the village, believing the horror was over.

But the real horror had only just begun.

On the first night after his death, one of the men awoke to scratching sounds behind his front door. When he opened it, he found no one, but enormous footprints stretched across the snow until they disappeared into the darkness.

On the second night, another man found his walls covered in black lines resembling giant claws.

On the third night, the men who had killed the monster began seeing it in their dreams. It stood at the foot of their beds, staring silently at them, then smiled a terrifying grin that revealed its fangs.

A week later, the first of them died for no apparent reason. They found him in his bed, his face frozen in terror, as if he had witnessed something beyond description before his death.

Then the second one died.

Then the third.

With each death, the villagers heard the black dog howling above the mountain, even though they had seen it die with their own eyes.

The village elder tried to break the curse, so he climbed to the ancient cave. There, he discovered a centuries-old stone inscription that told the truth about the creature.

It was no ordinary monster.

It was an ancient guardian who imprisoned something far more evil beneath the mountain.

When the men killed it, the seals it guarded were broken.

That same night, the elder disappeared.

A few days later, strange shadows began to appear among the houses, and the people heard whispers coming from the earth.

The survivors realized the terrifying truth:

They had killed the monster that had protected them.

The curse was not its revenge...

It was the very thing they had released from its prison.

And from that day forward, the village was deserted.

Travelers who pass by at night say they can still hear the howl of a black dog coming from the mountaintops...

Followed by the sound of laughter from something else, something that should never have come into this world.