Yousef sat by Noah's hospital bed, the white light reflecting off his tired features. Noah lay stretched out, his face pale, eyes closed, his breathing slowing as if weighed down by some inner struggle. Yousef's fingers moved slowly, counting names in a faint whisper:
"Adam… Eva… Noah…"
Noah's eyelids twitched, then opened with effort, a faint smile crossing his face.
Noah: "Hello… my friend."
Yousef leaned closer, his voice heavy with worry: "Noah, what happened?!"
Noah, struggling to catch his breath: "Judy… she was with the guards. They were bringing a hyena… for their rituals. I heard her talking to Daniel… She saw me, I tried to stop her from hurting Eva… but she hit me, then ordered the guards to beat me."
Yousef clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing: "So… you don't know where she went?"
Noah managed a faint smile, raising his phone: "Don't worry… I planted a small tracker in her pocket. I can find them."
He unlocked the phone—his eyes widened in shock, his expression shifting to alarm.
Yousef: "What is it? Show me where!"
When he looked, his breath froze… the location was his own house.
Yousef, stunned: "Are you sure about your device?!"
Noah: "I heard Judy talking about… the tunnel, and the yellow serpent guardian."
Yousef, firmly: "I don't know where that is, but… go now. I'll look for the yellow serpent."
He leapt out the window, his body twisting midair until he became a massive eagle. He soared straight toward his house.
But when he arrived, nothing remained—only rising smoke and charred rubble, the choking smell of ash filling the air.
As he searched through the wreckage, Nora appeared with her brother, fury blazing in their faces. In a heartbeat, they transformed into tigers and attacked. Yousef stayed in human form, dodging with careful footwork, but the fight was fierce. He was knocked onto his back over a pile of broken wood, and just as a tiger lunged, all of them collapsed into the opening of a dark tunnel.
The echo of galloping hooves filled the passage, growing nearer. A figure on horseback charged toward them—it was Judy, injured, her eyes distant. The horse leapt over them, but one of the tigers veered off the moment he saw him—Daniel. The other tiger followed.
Yousef was left alone. He walked deeper into the tunnel, steady steps carrying him toward a faint light ahead.
He emerged into a dense forest, facing a massive cave entrance wrapped in the coils of a gigantic yellow serpent. Eva was there, spinning and playing, her hands dripping blood as she chanted:
"Don't open the door… until you knock three times… and ask the serpent's permission…"
The serpent swayed behind her, licking the blood that dripped to the ground. Around them lay the bodies of the guards.
Yousef shouted: "Eva! Come here!"
She stopped, looking at him with a chilling calm. Then suddenly, behind her, a hooded man appeared, sword in hand. The space between them seemed to stretch with hostility.
Yousef, his voice breaking: "Come to me, little one."
Eva, frowning: "I don't like you."
The words cut deep. The hooded man raised his sword.
Yousef, trying again: "You want to go to your mother?"
Eva: "You're a liar… My mom's not with you."
Just then, the two tigers burst from behind and tore into the guard. Yousef shouted:
"Stop! He's Eva's guardian!"
But it was too late. The serpent grinned wickedly and lunged for Eva. Yousef shifted into a giant anaconda, coiling himself between her and the beast. A brutal fight broke out. He lifted Eva with his tail, setting her high in the branches, while the tigers attacked from the other side. He crushed one until it lost consciousness, then the other, while the serpent began climbing toward Eva.
At the last moment, Yousef transformed into a massive Indian tiger, pouncing on the serpent's neck, tearing it apart until it lay still. Eva was crying, her tears glistening on her cheeks.
Yousef returned to human form, holding her gently as he carried her out of the tunnel. Sitting by the ruins, he set her down, but she screamed and beat at him:
"You killed my friend! I hate you!"
His hands were bleeding, but he whispered: "Let's go to the hospital."
The garden gate opened, a car speeding in. Sarah jumped out, rushing to Eva, clutching her in panic:
"Eva! What did you do to her?! And why are your hands like that?! You're sick!"
Yousef, stunned by the accusations: "I didn't do anything… I saved her!"
Eva, sobbing: "Mom… he killed my friend."
Sarah carried her into the hospital. Yousef transformed into an eagle and followed from a distance. Once there, he snuck inside, overhearing Sarah talking to Jacob.
Sarah: "There's something strange about Eva… Her hands were bleeding but she felt no pain, and she cried over her friend."
Jacob: "Some children… don't know how to express their pain."
Yousef shifted into a mouse, then a butterfly, fluttering into her room. When Eva saw him, she laughed and tried to play. Sarah walked in suddenly, trying to kill him with a spray bottle, but Jacob stopped her:
"Leave it… It's her child, her butterfly."
He stayed a little while. Jacob took a photo of her playing before Yousef flew out the window.
Amid all this, with adrenaline still coursing through him, Yousef didn't notice his injury until later, when he slipped into Noah's room.
Yousef: "Hello, my friend."
Noah, spotting the blood: "You're bleeding!"
Yousef glanced at the wound and smiled: "The wound is in my heart… not my side." His eyes glistened: "Two tigers attacked me."
Noah shouted: "Nurse! There's a patient in my room!"
The nurse rushed in: "What are you doing here?! Visiting hours are over!"
Another nurse entered, seeing the blood: "He's injured! Take him!"
Yousef: "Can I stay with my friend?"
Nurse: "Fine… We'll put a bed next to his."
He lay down beside him.
Noah: "What happened?"
Yousef: "I found the tunnel… two tigers attacked me… then a horse appeared carrying Judy…"
Noah interrupted urgently: "Judy! Is she okay?!"
Yousef: "Calm down… She's the one who brought you here."
Noah, coldly: "I don't care."
Yousef: "… I found a serpent drinking Eva's blood in front of her guardian. When the guardian died, it lunged at her!"
Noah, murmuring: "Now I understand."
Yousef: "Understand what?!"
Noah: "The serpent fears the guardian… Once the guardian's gone, it can attack her."
Yousef, sarcastically clapping: "Wow… genius!"
Noah: "Wait… You'll know I'm a genius when I tell you Adam also has a guardian."
Yousef: "Go on."
Noah: "I don't want to."
Yousef threw a pillow at him: "Go on."
Noah: "Fine… Without a guardian, Eva's in danger… because now she can open the treasure faster—once the serpent swallows her…"
But before he could finish, he noticed Yousef had vanished. Looking up at the ceiling, he smirked:
"Didn't let me finish, my friend… I was going to tell you that your little girl—once the serpent drank her blood—became—"
He fell silent. Judy had slipped into the room. He looked at her and smiled:
"Looks like the medicine's starting to work…"