Grandma Seraphina, The Creator.

A shiver crawled up Ethan's spine. Not from fear—he didn't know the meaning of that word—but from something else. Recognition.

The being within the cave wasn't just stirring. It was acknowledging him.

The weight of its presence pressed against his senses, not in hostility, but in something far more profound. An assessment. A greeting. A silent whisper in the fabric of existence that told him—You are here. I see you.

Ethan took another step forward, the soles of his boots crunching softly against the cave's crystalline floor. The light from the being's eyes refracted in the darkness, casting a shimmering glow across the cavern walls, illuminating veins of silver and gold that pulsed like ancient arteries.