The room was awash in a soft glow, petals drifting lazily from the ceiling as if the very air was made of blossoms. A massive bed, covered in multicolored flowers that seemed alive, stretched before them, petals curling softly beneath their weight. The faint hum of Metamorphosis's wings filled the air. Jang collapsed onto the bed with a groan, pollen-covered and exasperated. "I... cannot believe this. First day... in the Dark Web... and we're laying in a giant flower bed."
Callie flopped down beside him, petals tickling her arms. "Yeah... this is trippy as hell. I feel like I just fell into a kaleidoscope that's also slightly alive and slightly trying to kill us."
Jang pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering. "Alive... kaleidoscope... yes, that's... exactly what it feels like."
Callie giggled softly, nudging him. "But you know... for all the weirdness, it's kind of nice. Being here with you. I mean... we've been through so much already today. And... it's scary as hell, but... at least it's just the three of us for a moment."
Jang leaned back against a mound of soft petals, sighing. "Yeah... first day... you're right. I keep thinking about Olive... about how we lost her for a while. And your mom... Han... how... everything spiraled so fast. I don't know how I'm supposed to process it all."
Callie reached over, resting her hand on his arm. "We don't have to process it all right now. We just... lay here, breathe, and remember... the first moments. I remember when Olive first arrived here. She was scared... so small... so brave. And we had no idea what we were walking into."
Jang's eyes softened, staring at the drifting petals above them. "I remember. The first shimmer of darkness, the first... hallucinations, the walls bending. The shadows... the horrors... it was... surreal. I wanted to protect her so badly. And for a moment... I felt powerless."
Callie's voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "I felt it too. I wanted to shield her from everything... and I couldn't. But lying here now... it's different. We're together. We survived the first day. We have each other. And maybe... that counts for something."
Jang exhaled slowly, letting himself relax slightly. "It counts for more than you think. I've been so worried about Olive... about you... and I forget that we have each other too. That we can lean on each other, even when this... nightmare... is happening."
Callie leaned her head on his shoulder, petals brushing against her hair. "Yeah... and it's kind of... beautiful, in a weird, terrifying way. Like... everything is alive and dangerous, but also... soft, comforting, and strange. Just like today. Our first day in the Dark Web."
Jang chuckled softly, a sound rare in the chaos around them. "Soft and terrifying... hm. That's one way to describe it. I never thought I'd say this, but... I kind of like lying here, staring at flowers, thinking about the first day."
Callie smiled faintly, closing her eyes. "Me too. I mean... it's trippy, yes. But it's ours. And even in the middle of all the danger... we're still... family. We survived... together." For a long moment, they lay in silence, letting the living petals sway around them, the faint hum of Metamorphosis's wings echoing like a lullaby. The horrors of the Dark Web were still out there, shadows lurking in corners, chaos waiting in the twisting corridors—but for this fleeting, fragile moment, they were just a father and daughter, holding onto each other, finding comfort in the strangeness surrounding them.
Jang reached over, brushing a stray petal from Callie's hair. "First day... crazy as it was... I think we're going to make it. Together."
Callie nodded, squeezing his arm gently. "Together. No matter how trippy, how scary... together." And for the first time since stepping into the Dark Web, they let themselves rest—not just as survivors, but as a family, small petals of light and comfort drifting in the strange, living room of flowers around them.
Olive sat cross-legged on the flowery floor, clutching her rabbit, as Metamorphosis hovered dramatically above her. "Non! No one can deny the glory of flowers!" Metamorphosis exclaimed, antennae quivering. "Their color, their scent, their life force! Observe! Even now, petals respond to my excitement!"
Leonardo threw his brush onto the table, paint splattering slightly on the petals. "Bah! Flowers? Pah! Art is supreme! Painting brings life! Color obeys the brush, emotion bursts from canvas! You cannot compare to the power of creation!"
Olive blinked. "Uh... I... I mean... they're both... kind of cool?"
Metamorphosis twirled midair, petals scattering like confetti. "Kind of cool? Kind of cool? Non! Listen, child! The beauty of nature cannot be surpassed!"
Leonardo stomped dramatically, paint dripping from his sleeves. "And I say, the brush is mightier than any blossom! I create life, movement, emotion... the very air trembles when art is born!"
Olive buried her face in her rabbit, whispering, "I just... I just can't choose..."
Meanwhile, Jang and Callie were trying to get some sleep on the massive flowery bed, petals tickling them relentlessly. "I swear... if one more petal touches me, I'm going to lose it," Jang muttered, rubbing his arms.
Callie groaned. "I know... it's like sleeping inside a neon salad. I... can't even close my eyes without feeling a flower in my hair."
Back in the middle of the squabble, Olive tugged at both of them. "Okay, okay... stop! I like... both! Can't you... just... combine them?"
Metamorphosis and Leonardo froze, staring at each other. Then, slowly, a light flickered in their eyes. "Combine? How... dare you suggest..." Metamorphosis started, but his wings twitched with curiosity.
Leonardo's brush hovered. "Hmm... combining flowers... and art... perhaps..."
Olive grinned, feeling a tiny spark of hope. "Just... try it!"
And so they did. Metamorphosis sent petals tumbling from above, each one glowing and shifting in color, while Leonardo's brush traced glowing shapes in the air. The petals responded to the strokes, twisting and swirling into intricate patterns of living art. Colors blended, petals floated, and shapes of fantastical creatures appeared, quacking like tiny ducklings and shimmering like butterflies. Olive gasped. "It's... it's... beautiful!"
Jang and Callie sat up, blinking in disbelief. "Uh... what... what is happening?!"
"The magic of collaboration!" Metamorphosis announced proudly.
"And... paint... and life... and color..." Leonardo added, arms outstretched.
The room became a kaleidoscope of living petals and painted forms, swirling in harmony. Ducklings, butterflies, flowers, glowing vines—all dancing together in a vibrant storm of creation. Even Jang had to admit, begrudgingly, "Fine... okay... I'll allow it... it's... actually kind of amazing."
Callie shook her head, laughing softly. "You're impossible, Dad. But... yeah... it is really pretty."
Olive hugged her rabbit tightly, tears of joy in her eyes. "See? Both are awesome! Flowers and art! Together... it's perfect!"
Metamorphosis hovered, wings sparkling. "Yes! Harmony! Joy! Life!"
Leonardo twirled his brush one final time. "Oui... together... we create... magic!" The cottage seemed to hum with satisfaction, the petals and painted forms settling into a gentle, glowing dance. For one perfect moment, even the Dark Web felt alive with beauty, laughter, and hope. And Olive... she felt like, maybe, she could survive this strange world after all.
The cottage hummed softly with the residual glow of petals and painted forms, the magical combination of flowers and art still lingering in the air. Olive clutched her rabbit tightly, Leonardo hovered beside her, and Metamorphosis twirled, humming a soft, fluttering tune. Jang stretched, trying to shake off pollen and fatigue. "Alright... enough beauty for one day. We need to keep moving. Shadows, collectors... whatever lurks out there, won't wait for us."
Callie nodded, tugging Olive gently. "Yeah... let's go. The sooner we find Han, the better." As they gathered their things, a faint croak echoed from outside the cottage. One single, low, drawn-out croak. Callie froze, tilting her head. "Did you hear that?"
Jang glanced around, frowning. "Hear what? Callie, don't wander off—"
"It's coming from... outside," Callie said, already stepping toward the door. Her curiosity was piqued, a mix of caution and intrigue in her eyes.
"Callie, wait—" Jang began, but she was already slipping past him, ducking out the door into the cool, eerie glow of the Dark Web night.
The croak repeated, deeper now, echoing across the surreal landscape. A pond shimmered faintly in the moonlight, or whatever passed for moonlight here, with ripples disturbing the mirrored surface. Callie's heart pounded. "Hello?" she called softly, voice trembling. "Is... is someone there?"
Olive clutched Jang's hand, whispering, "Be careful, Callie..."
Metamorphosis hovered nervously, antennae twitching. "The... pond... it speaks... perhaps not as it seems..."
Leonardo flitted beside her, paintbrush twirling. "Oui... and sometimes, the quietest noises lead to the strangest encounters."
Callie took another step, her boots sinking slightly into soft, glowing mud. The croak sounded again, more insistent, almost beckoning. She drew closer to the water's edge, eyes scanning the rippling surface. Jang called after her, panic rising in his voice. "Callie! Don't—"
But she was already there. The croak stopped. The pond lay silent, smooth like a sheet of black glass, reflecting the strange, twisted sky above. She leaned closer, breath shallow, trying to see what could have made the sound. And for a heartbeat, the world held its breath. Callie's eyes widened. Something was moving just beneath the surface. Callie peered around the pond, glowing water reflecting the fractured sky above. The croak had stopped, leaving a heavy, expectant silence. Every shadow seemed to twitch, every ripple of water a warning. She swallowed hard. "I... I guess... I have no choice," she whispered to herself. The path ahead was unclear, and she knew that if she didn't move forward, they might never find Olive, or her mother. Taking a deep breath, Callie stepped into the pond. The water was cold and oddly viscous, clinging to her boots as she waded deeper. A faint mist rose from the surface, curling around her like ghostly fingers.
Suddenly, something latched onto her ankle. She yelped, stumbling, trying to shake it free. A deep, bubbling voice echoed from beneath the water. "Ah... at last... I have found you... my princess."
Callie froze, heart racing. "Who... who's there?!"
From the depths, a shape rose, tall, humanoid yet amphibious, skin glistening like slick moss and eyes glowing an unearthly gold. A crooked crown sat askew on his head, and webbed hands reached toward her. "I am... The Amphibian," he croaked, voice dripping with manic energy. "The Frog Prince! I have searched... long and lonely... for company... for love... for my princess!"
Callie's stomach churned. "Princess... me?!"
The Amphibian grinned, teeth glinting in the water's dim light. "Yes! You... you are the one I have waited for! So small... so alive... so... delightful!" His grip tightened slightly, but it wasn't crushing, yet. His energy was frantic, unpredictable, bubbling over like the pond itself. "Do not fear! I am... kind... in my way... but blood flows where it should... oh yes... I am hungry... yes, but for your heart, for your spirit!"
Callie stumbled back, trying to break free, but the water tugged at her, almost alive. "I... I don't know what you want from me!"
The Amphibian's laugh bubbled through the water, a mixture of charm and menace. "I want... you! My princess! My companion! My delight! You will not leave me... not yet... not ever!"
Callie's hands trembled as she held herself above the water. "I... I'm not your princess! I... I can't—"
But he tilted his head, webbed fingers brushing her arm lightly. "Shh... shh... do not worry... I like you! Yes... you are mine... for company... for joy... for... love!" Callie's heart raced, torn between fear and fascination. The Amphibian was chaotic, energetic, and terrifying—but beneath the bloodthirsty grin, there was an undeniable obsession, a twisted fondness... for her. "Stay... with me... forever..." he whispered, eyes glinting with a manic glow. Callie's mind screamed, but part of her couldn't look away. This was the Dark Web, chaos incarnate. And now, it had a face, a crown, and a dangerous obsession. The water rippled, his body looming closer. Her feet were trapped by unseen currents. Every instinct told her to run, yet she couldn't move, caught in the strange gravity of his mania... and the madness of the Frog Prince who had found his princess.
Callie's chest heaved as the pond's icy currents tugged at her. The Amphibian hovered close, grinning with manic excitement, webbed hands reaching for her. "I... I'll make a deal," she stammered, trying to steady her shaking voice. "I'll... I'll be your princess... if you help us... get out of this... hellhole!"
The Frog Prince froze, blinking in surprise, or perhaps delight. Then his grin widened, stretching almost impossibly across his amphibian face. "Your princess...? You offer yourself?" His voice bubbled with manic glee. "Oh, yes... yes! This is... delightful! Perfect!"
Callie nodded, shivering but firm. "Yes... I'll be your princess. Just... help us get home. Please. Olive, Dad... they're counting on me."
The Amphibian's golden eyes glimmered like molten gold. "Countless moons I have waited... and now... a princess! And a purpose! Very well... I accept!"
With a frantic, energetic laugh, he swept Callie into his arms—not roughly, but with the unsteady enthusiasm of a creature who had waited centuries for company. The water around them shimmered and glowed as he propelled them toward the pond's edge. Callie held on tight, feeling the pull of his energy and the chaotic currents of the Dark Web. "Hurry... please... we can't stay out here long!"
The Amphibian twirled through the mist, laughing and croaking, yet precise in his movements. "I... live for this! Forward, princess! To your companions... to joy... to chaos!"
Moments later, the pond's edge broke beneath their feet. Callie stumbled, but The Amphibian held her steady. Together, they stumbled back onto solid ground, the glowing water still rippling behind them. Jang and Olive ran toward her, eyes wide. "Callie! Are you okay?!" Olive cried.
Callie turned, panting, hair damp and wild. "I... I'm okay... thanks to... him." She nodded toward the Amphibian, who bowed dramatically, a wide, manic grin on his face.
"I am your obedient servant!" he declared. "I am happy... delighted... joyous! My princess has accepted me!"
Olive's eyes widened. "Wait... you're his princess?"
Callie exhaled, brushing damp hair from her face. "Yes... but he's helping us. That's the point! We need to get home... and he's actually... keeping his word."
The Amphibian leapt and croaked joyfully. "Yes! To your house! To safety! To friends!"
Jang blinked, incredulous. "I... I can't believe this. I... I don't even want to believe this... but... okay... fine. Let's just go."
Metamorphosis flitted around them, wings buzzing. "Ah... alliances in the Dark Web! Strange, chaotic, but effective!"
Leonardo clapped his hands, twirling his brush. "Oui... the chaos works... sometimes." Together, the group, led by the manic but helpful Amphibian, made their way back through the surreal landscape, petals still floating, mist swirling, and the pond fading behind them. For the first time in a long while, there was hope that they could regroup, plan their next steps, and continue their fight against the horrors of the Dark Web. Callie's heart pounded, but beneath the fear and chaos was a strange, budding comfort. She had bargained with madness... and it had worked.
The group finally made it back to the cottage, or, more accurately, the little safe space they'd claimed as temporary home. The glow of flowers and painted creatures still lingered in the corners, softening the shadows outside. Olive sank onto a cushion, hugging her rabbit tightly, exhausted from the day's events. Jang flopped into a chair, still coughing slightly from pollen and lingering stress. Callie stayed standing for a moment, looking at the ground before finally joining them. Leonardo hovered beside Olive, brush tucked under his arm, while Metamorphosis fluttered above, antennae twitching in thought. The Amphibian perched nearby, still grinning, humming an odd, bubbly tune. For a long moment, no one spoke. The weight of everything, the Dark Web, the chase, the madness, settled in the room like a fog. Finally, Callie broke the silence, her voice quiet but firm. "I... I need to say something. About... about Mom."
Olive turned to her sister, wide-eyed. "Mom... what?"
Callie exhaled, curling her hands into her sleeves. "She... she wasn't... she wasn't a good mom. She... she made Olive's life... hard. She said things... terrible things. She... told Olive she was a mistake."
Olive flinched, clutching her rabbit tighter. "I... I thought... I thought it was my fault... for everything."
Callie shook her head, voice breaking slightly. "No... no, Olive. You're not the reason any of this happened. Mom... she's... she was selfish. She never cared about us the way we deserved. She... she just wanted control, attention... whatever. And now... after everything... she's scared. I think... I think even she's scared of us."
Jang's hand tightened over Olive's shoulder. "Callie's right... it wasn't your fault, Olive. Han... she made choices that hurt all of us, but you... you survived. You're brave. And we're going to make sure nothing else happens to you, or anyone else—because of her."
Callie nodded, taking a seat beside her sister. "Yeah... we're not after her, Olive. We're... scared of her now. And we should be. But that doesn't mean we can't protect ourselves. That doesn't mean we can't... live."
Olive exhaled, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I... I just... I just want things to be safe again. I want... us to be okay."
Metamorphosis hovered closer, soft light washing over the three of them. "Then... you protect each other. That is strength... and love... more powerful than fear."
Leonardo nodded, brush tapping thoughtfully on a table. "Oui... even in chaos, the heart guides. The family, the friends, the bonds... they are more powerful than any shadow."
The Amphibian croaked softly from his perch, unusually subdued. "Yes... the princesses, the family... protect each other... wise." For a long moment, they just sat together, catching their breath and letting the emotions settle. The Dark Web still waited outside, full of chaos and threats, but inside the glowing room, for a fleeting moment, there was safety, understanding, and a fragile sense of family. Olive leaned against Callie, who wrapped an arm around her sister. Jang sat close, letting the silence speak for itself. Together, they faced their fears, their grief, and the uncertain road ahead—aware that while the darkness of their past still lingered, they had each other to navigate it. The glow of the cottage faded behind them as the group made their way back to the pond. Mist clung to the surface like gossamer, and the faint hum of strange creatures echoed through the air. Olive clutched her rabbit, Leonardo hovered nearby, and Metamorphosis flitted nervously around, antennae twitching. The Amphibian trailed close to Callie, water dripping from his scaled skin, golden eyes glinting in the dim light. "Princess... my princess... the pond calls us... and my heart calls louder," he croaked, voice soft but charged with energy.
Callie's cheeks flushed, partly from the strange atmosphere and partly from the intense gaze of the Frog Prince. "I... I don't know... I mean... you helped us, but—this is... I don't know..."
He stepped closer, webbed hands lightly brushing the mist between them. "I have waited... so long... for a companion... for love... for you. Let me show you... show you the depths of my heart!"
Callie swallowed, unsure how to respond, as the Amphibian knelt at the pond's edge, eyes gleaming. "One... little... kiss," he whispered, voice trembling with frantic longing. "Just a token... a bond... and I will guard you, cherish you, always... I swear!"
The group watched tensely, all of them on edge. Jang's jaw tightened, Olive's small hands gripped her rabbit, and even Leonardo's brush paused midair. Metamorphosis hovered uncertainly, wings flicking in agitation. Callie stepped closer, heart racing, unsure if this was madness, affection, or both. "I... I don't know if I should—"
The Amphibian lifted her hand gently, his grip careful despite his manic energy. "I do not mean harm, my princess. Only... only devotion, admiration... companionship in this strange, chaotic world. Let me protect you... even if the Dark Web itself tries to take you."
Her heart pounded as she gazed at his strange, intense eyes. Despite his wild, unsettling presence, there was an undeniable warmth in his tone. He had fought for her, helped the group, and now... he was laying himself bare, vulnerable in his chaotic way. Callie exhaled slowly, almost whispering, "Okay... but... just a kiss... just to seal the bond... nothing more right now."
The Amphibian's face lit up with elation, eyes sparkling like molten gold. "Oui! My princess..." He leaned forward, carefully pressing his lips, slightly cool, slightly strange against hers. It was a surreal, fleeting connection, chaotic yet gentle, a strange harmony in the midst of the Dark Web's terror.
Callie pulled back slightly, cheeks flushed but smiling faintly. "There... we're bonded... happy now?"
The Amphibian laughed softly, a bubbling, joyous sound. "Happy... yes! Ecstatic! I shall protect you... always!"
Jang's jaw dropped. "I... I can't... I, Olive, did you see that?!"
Olive's small arms hugged her rabbit tightly, muttering, "I... I don't even know what to say..."
Leonardo twirled his brush, muttering, "Ah... art and chaos... and now... romance... oui, the world is strange indeed."
Metamorphosis hovered, antennae twitching nervously. "Yes... very strange... but if she is happy, perhaps... balance?"
Callie laughed softly, looking at the pond and then at the Amphibian. "Okay... you're insane... but... I guess I can trust you. For now."
The Amphibian puffed up proudly, chest swelling, eyes gleaming. "Trust... my princess... and together... we shall face this hellish world!" As the mist swirled around them, the pond glowed faintly, reflecting their silhouettes, a girl and her wildly devoted, chaotic Frog Prince, standing together in a strange, dark world, a fragile, bizarre bond forged in the surreal twilight of the Dark Web.
Han watched as if the world had been rerouted into a single, perfect screen, a grainy window that showed the pond, the cottage, the ridiculous bloom of color that had somehow become her daughter's refuge. She sat in a room of humming monitors and tangled wires, the glow painting her face in sickly reds and greens. The machines talked to her in clicks and whispers; the dark web wrapped around her like a shawl that smelled faintly of bleach and iron. Her lips parted into a smile that had none of warmth. "So that's them," she said to no one. The sound echoed against metal racks and dead laughter tapes. On the largest screen the red eye pulsed once, twice, like a breathing thing. Within the eye, the image sharpened: Callie at the water's edge, damp hair plastered to her cheek, Jang rigid with worry, Olive small and trembling. The frog-thing lurked beside Callie, proud and ridiculous. Han's chest tightened with a feeling that had nothing to do with love. It was hunger, swollen with resentment and something colder: ownership. For years she'd built corridors of code and appetite, stitched promises into sockets, sold companionship and cruelty to the clicking mouths of strangers. They'd called her Collector when she pushed the bargains; they'd called her worse when the bargains devoured. But this, this was personal. "They found flowers," she said, amused. "They took refuge with petals and painted ducklings." She laughed, low, like a thing that had learned to sound human for convenience. "How quaint." She stood, the room closing in with the whine of fans and a thin, sickly scent that might have once been perfume. Her hand hovered over the console. The shadows responded faster than any program. Names were unnecessary; they remembered the voice that had birthed them. Han spoke, and wires unfurled, and code became something darker: tendrils beneath the skin of the web. "Bring me every dark thing you have," she said, voice small and precise. "Bring me teeth. Bring me hunger. Bring me the ones who will not stop until nothing is left." Her eyes narrowed on Callie. "Especially her." Her summons was a whip-crack across circuits. The monitors bloomed, a constellation of black shapes tearing themselves loose from static. They unwound like ink dropped into water: purple coils, orange smears, green slickness, the three that had failed her earlier tightened and hissed like offended predators, but they were not alone. From other corners of the network, older, hungrier things answered. Thin ghosts with mouths sewn shut; faceless children that carried glass jars of names; a humming swarm that made the air taste like pennies. The Collector's army assembled not in flesh but in suggestion: the idea of being torn, the simulation of teeth. "You brought them back," she told the shadows, disappointment like acid. "You let them run. You let them BREATHE. Good. Now take everything they love." She smiled properly then, a blade-light smile. "I don't want them maimed. I want them finished. I want them to remember the hand that fed them poison." The shadows shifted, pleased; they understood absolute instructions. Crushy, Smushy, Squelchy, the trio that had tasted and failed, coalesced first, their colors crawling like oil. Crushy's purple coils tightened into something like fists. Smushy's orange body oozed a viscous grin. Squelchy's green tendrils twitched in readiness. Around them, new shapes pressed forward, avatars of emptiness and appetite: a taxi made of teeth, a puppet with no strings that hummed lullabies, a man with a television for a face whose screen went static whenever he sang. Han watched Callie's chest rise and fall on the screen. She remembered the way Callie had once sketched her in charcoal, a harsh arch of lines meant to hold a face she could not love. That memory hardened like a seed. "Bring me a sound that will break them," she whispered. "Bring me a night without shelter. Bring me the quiet where hope goes to die." The shadows closed their forms into a network, fingers meeting fingers, ink meeting water. They moved through the cables, through the backdoors, slithering into the signal like smoke into a house. Han tapped a few keys and smiled at the simplicity of the cruelty: a loop of audio, a red-eye signal, a pattern that would scratch at the edges of the safe rooms and make them porous. The living rooms where they rested would be thin as tissue. The safe rooms would leak. "You think you can hide behind lavender cushions and painted ducklings?" she murmured, almost kindly. "You think paint and petals can keep you... mine? I made the web that made you bleed. You are mine." Her voice oil-slicked with ownership. "Fetch them, children." On the screen, the trio of shadows shuddered, then unfurled like living brushstrokes. They were careful at first, slither, test, probe. They found the scent of Jang's panic, the taste of Callie's stubbornness, the flicker of Olive's guilt. Where the shadows touched, light dulled. Where they walked, sound fell into a dull, trembling silence. A petal darkened and curled at the edges. Han leaned closer, watching as the green tendrils ghosted toward the cottage. "Kill everything that remembers warmth," she ordered. "Taste their names. Take the one they think of when they sleep." Her hands moved like a conductor's over the monitors, and the shadows obeyed like well-trained instruments. For a long moment she simply watched, watched the ripple when one of the ducklings pecked Olive's palm, watched Callie freeze as the Amphibian brushed her shoulder, watched Jang's jaw clench. The shadows found the thin seams where people pretended to be safe and forced them open like locks. A petal slid off a cushion. A painted wall bled a color into the wood. The web curled around the house like ivy, patient and solvent. Then Han smiled, the expression of someone who had just watched a match flame to life. "Bring me their fear," she said softly. "Let them eat it." She closed her hands, which might once have been gentle enough to cradle a child. The screens blinked; the red eye on the largest monitor swelled, a pulse like a heartbeat. The sound came, a low, almost inaudible susurration threaded into the web's background, a hush that carried a thousand tiny, hungry promises. Outside, across the manic geometry of the Dark Web, the shadows moved with exquisite slowness, a tide no one could swim against. Inside the cottage, where petals still drifted and Leonardo's painted life swayed in the periphery, the air grew colder and the light thinner. In the small, warm center where the family clung together, something began to press at the edge of the safe room like a wet paw. Han watched them one last time, savoring the moment when safety would crumble. She turned from the monitors and the hum of the machines, and for a second, a sliver of time, there was no mother in her expression at all. There was only the Collector, the woman who had learned to trade souls for company, who had learned to harvest love like currency. "Bring me their bones," she said into the dark. "Bring me the memory of their faces." The shadows slid back into the wire like smoke, poised and patient. Then, with the inevitability of night, they set out to keep her command.