Samuel returned home.
He no longer heard the tik… tik… in the distance. The nightmares stopped. The scratches healed. And though the mark on his chest never faded, it no longer burned.
Elena and Mang Isko never asked what happened. They didn't need to.
Samuel now walks with quiet strength, knowing he ended a curse meant to consume him before he was even born.
But in every village, every forest, there are still shadows. Still whispers. And for those marked by darkness, the fight is never truly over.