Ezra sat beside the hearth, his hands shaking as Chizzy poured him tea. Neither spoke at first.
Finally, she broke the silence. "That thing… it said my mother made a vow."
Ezra nodded. "A binding oath. She tried to trap The Hollow Man in the underworld. It nearly worked. But it demanded a soul in return."
"And she didn't give one?"
"She offered her own," Ezra said quietly. "But he refused. Said the bloodline owed him more. Her child."
Chizzy gripped her mug tight. "So that's why he waited."
Ezra looked at her with sorrow. "She fled to buy you time. But she knew… one day, the house would call you back."
Chizzy rose, pacing. "There has to be another way. We can end this."
"There might be," Ezra said slowly. "But you'd have to make a counter-pact. A stronger one. Riskier."
Chizzy faced him, eyes burning. "Then tell me what it takes."
Outside, the mist thickened again. And from within it, the sound of footsteps.
Not one set. Many.
The village was stirring.
And not everyone wanted Chizzy to succeed.