Happy Birthday, Parker. Not.

That's all they were. Different voices, same poison. Two sides of the same damn coin—powerful, cruel, and cold as the winter storm outside.

BLACKWOODS.

The boy blinked slowly, breath shaky and weak.

And somewhere deep inside, something colder than the attic air began to stir.

A strange warmth surged through him.

The cold vanished—snap, just like that. Parker's tiny, shivering body collapsed onto the floor, but not from pain. No, it was… warmth. Comfort. Like sinking into the softest blanket after a nightmare.

Unconsciousness wrapped him up like velvet. But he didn't hit the ground for long. Some unseen force—gentle yet firm—lifted him effortlessly, carrying him to the bed like a mother would with a sleeping child. The chill faded, replaced by a soft, cocooning embrace that swallowed every fear and worry whole.

And then he was carried in a new world he never knew possible... A dream!