The Midnight Seal;

As Eva left Elly's house, her mind was in chaos. Elly's mother knew something. Elly knew something too. But no one was talking.

It was expected that there would be a reason for the townspeople's hatred toward her family.

"Eva, wait!" Elly ran after her, grabbing Eva's arm.

Eva turned, her eyes holding both anger and a wounded expression. "What, Elly? What other secret do you want to keep from me?"

Elly swallowed hard, her eyes welling up. "I... I don't want to tell you. Because it will hurt. And you've already suffered so much."

"Then why did you start?" Eva's voice cracked. "Why did you tell me those tales?"

"Because you need to know!" Elly cried out desperately. Then she lowered her voice, looking around them. "But... I don't want to be the one to tell you. I have just one favor to ask."

Eva exhaled sharply in frustration and waited.

"Your grandmother must have had a small chest." Elly's voice trembled. "Do you remember? Wooden, small, old. Did she give it to you?"

Eva's breath caught. Memories of the funeral day flooded back.

Yes. She remembered.

Eva had taken the chest with her, but she hadn't been able to open it. She couldn't.

Because that chest was the last thing remaining of her grandmother. Opening it... it would be like truly saying goodbye to her grandmother. And Eva wasn't ready.

For days, that chest had sat on top of the cabinet. Eva looked at it every day, but couldn't bring herself to touch it.

"Yes," Eva said slowly. "I remember."

Elly reached out and grabbed Eva's hands, squeezing them tightly. "Open that chest, Eva. What's inside... will show you the truth. And whatever you find, whatever you learn..." She looked into her eyes. "If you need help facing what's there, I'm here. Okay?"

Eva swallowed. For the first time, she didn't put on her mask of strength. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"I know," Elly said softly. "But some truths cause pain. Others... set you free."

That night, Eva gripped the steering wheel with trembling hands. The mountain road was icy, but her mind was elsewhere. The chest.

When she finally arrived home, darkness had fallen. She rushed inside and lit the fireplace. As the flames came to life, Eva's eyes drifted to the cabinet above.

There it was. The small wooden chest.

For a long time, she just stood and stared. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Finally, she climbed onto a chair, took down the chest, and stepped back to the floor.

Its weight was surprisingly light. But in Eva's hands, it felt like it weighed tons.

She crouched in front of the fireplace. She placed the chest in her lap. She took a deep breath.

"Okay, Grandma," she whispered. "Let's see what you left me."

She unlocked it. The lid creaked open.

The first thing she saw was an old journal. Its leather binding was worn, its pages yellowed. Eva carefully opened it and froze.

The writing... wasn't familiar. An ancient language, perhaps Latin, perhaps something else. Symbols, drawings, diagrams. She didn't understand it, but she could feel something: this was no ordinary journal.

Beneath it were old books. In the same language. Notes and marks along the page margins.

Then strange tools. A small dagger, shining like silver but much lighter. Dried herbs, crystallized liquids in small bottles. And... gerbera flowers. Dried, but still retaining their color.

Eva's hands trembled. Grandma, why did you hide these?

Then at the very bottom, she saw something wrapped in red velvet fabric.

The moment she unwrapped the fabric, the room filled with light.

Her breath caught.

In the center lay a dazzlingly radiant medallion. But it was no ordinary medallion.

It was oval-shaped, its edges covered in intricate silver engravings. Runic symbols, wolf heads, moon and star motifs... But what made it truly captivating was the crystal section in its center.

Inside... there was a liquid. Amber-colored, phosphorescent, alive. When she gently shook the medallion, the liquid stirred inside, moving as if it were living.

It emitted light. A yellowish, warm light.

Eva stared as if hypnotized. She extended her finger and slowly touched the crystal.

Suddenly, lightning flashed through her mind and images began to flow.

Burning amber eyes, glowing in the darkness.

A massive wolf, howling beneath the moonlight.

Her grandmother's face, young, tears streaming down. "I will protect you. I promise."

And then... that voice. Deep, raspy, wounded:

"I will wait for you. Rose's daughter..."

Eva screamed and jerked backward. The medallion slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, but the light didn't go out. It still glowed, as if breathing, pulsing like a heartbeat.

She couldn't understand what she had just experienced. Eva was breathless. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest. Her hands trembled. "This can't be real. It can't be!" she murmured. She clutched her head between her palms and huddled in the corner of the chair.

But what she had seen was so vivid... Those eyes. That wolf. Her grandmother.

She could feel it. It was all real.

Eva jumped up, went to the kitchen, and with trembling hands grabbed the wine bottle from the cabinet. She didn't search for a glass. She drank straight from the bottle.

The wine burned her throat, but she didn't care. She took another gulp. Then another.

She returned to the fireplace and collapsed to the floor. She held the bottle between her knees, leaned her head back, and stared at the ceiling.

"What happened, Grandma?" Her voice cracked. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "What did you go through? Did these people... treat you this way too?"

She took another gulp from the bottle. Wine and tears mingled.

"What happened to Mom and Dad?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why... why didn't you tell me any of this?"

And the most painful question:

"Why... did you leave? Why did you abandon me?"

These thoughts were the screams of the grief growing inside her.

Eva looked at the fireplace through her tears. The chest was still there. The medallion still glowed.

Slowly, she reached out. She picked up the medallion. This time she felt nothing. There was only that warm light, pulsing in her palm like a heartbeat.

"Did you hide this to protect me?" Eva whispered. "Or... were you trying to protect something else?"

But it didn't matter anymore. Grandma was gone. And Eva was alone.

With longing, almost desperately, she clung to the last thing remaining of her and placed the medallion around her neck.

The chain was cold, but the medallion was warm. It fell against her chest, settling just above her collarbone. It vibrated in rhythm with her heartbeat.

Eva gripped it tightly in her hand. Her tears had stopped now. Only exhaustion remained. A deep, bone-penetrating exhaustion.

She set the wine bottle aside. She curled up in the velvet chair in front of the fireplace. Her eyes closed.

"I miss you so much, Grandma," she murmured.

And she fell asleep.

About an hour later, the darkness of night had fully descended.

Eva was in a deep sleep, lying with the medallion on her chest. And then... it began.

The amber light began to pulse like a heartbeat. Like the beating of a heart.

Then faster, in a rhythm as if it were about to explode.

Suddenly, a small light spread. First it illuminated Eva's chest. Then her face. Then her entire body.

The room began to shimmer. The walls, ceiling, floor everything was covered in amber light.

The liquid inside the medallion began to spin wildly. Like a hurricane. Like a storm.

And then...

A tiny sound. A small crack appeared in the crystal. Suddenly, it spread like a spider's web.

Eva was still sleeping. She wasn't even aware.

The light grew brighter. It spilled out through the windows. The entire mountain house glowed like a lantern in the darkness.

And finally...

Silent but powerful. A shockwave radiated out from the room. Trees swayed. Snow rose from the ground. Animals fled.

The medallion blazed... And then stopped.

The light went out. The crystal had clouded over. The amber liquid inside had vanished. It was empty now.

Eva was still sleeping. Unaware of anything.

But outside...

Outside, something had changed.

That night, snow fell silently. The night was pitch black.

And then... the sound of bare feet on the veranda.

Male feet. Walking across the snow.

The feet were covered in dirt and mud. The nails were long, almost like claws. But they were human feet. Now.

The feet stepped onto the veranda. They moved forward with the creaking of wood. Slowly approaching the window.

Through the glass, Eva could be seen. She was sleeping in the chair, calm, peaceful. On her chest, the medallion now glowed faintly with a white light.

A hand reached out. Large, powerful, covered in scars. It touched the glass.

The glass fogged. Stained with warm breath.

Fingers slowly traced across the glass. As if wanting to touch. As if wanting to enter.

And then, a deep, hoarse voice whispered:

"Bound by blood, sealed by magic... Welcome, my mate. Welcome, Rose's daughter."