The ocean had become calm.
Gone was the monstrous presence that had haunted these shores for centuries.
Gone was the corruption.
Gone was the hatred that had chained a grieving soul to endless suffering.
Moonlight illuminated the rocky shoreline.
Silver reflections danced upon the sea.
The waves continued their eternal journey.
As though nothing had happened.
Yet everything had changed.
Near the cliff.
A woman slowly opened her eyes.
At first.
Confusion filled her gaze.
Then surprise.
Then disbelief.
Her trembling fingers touched her own face.
Soft skin.
Human skin.
No scales.
No monstrous flesh.
No claws.
Nothing.
The woman stared at her hands.
Then at her arms.
Then at herself.
Her breathing became uneven.
Tears immediately gathered within her eyes.
"Human..."
Her voice trembled.
"I..."
For centuries.
She had forgotten this feeling.
The feeling of being herself.
The feeling of possessing a human body.
The feeling of existing without endless hunger.
Without endless rage.
Without endless despair.
Then she noticed something.
A black cloak covered her body.
Large.
Warm.
Clearly not hers.
The woman froze.
Several moments passed.
Then realization appeared.
Her cheeks immediately became red.
Because she understood.
During the transformation.
Everything monstrous had disappeared.
Including everything else.
And someone had covered her.
Carefully.
Respectfully.
Without taking advantage of her vulnerability.
Slowly.
Her gaze moved forward.
There.
Not far away.
Kel sat beside the ocean.
The silver-haired youth remained quietly seated upon a rock.
Sacred waters floated around him.
Blue streams of Scarder Water flowed across his wounds.
Healing.
Restoring.
Closing injuries.
The bite marks upon his shoulder slowly disappeared.
Moonlight reflected from his silver hair.
The scene felt strangely peaceful.
Inside his mind.
Seiren observed quietly.
The Guardian noticed the woman awakening.
"She's awake."
"I know."
Kel answered calmly.
He continued healing.
Several moments passed.
Then the woman finally spoke.
"Thank you."
Her voice was soft.
Very soft.
The kind of voice someone used after surviving a nightmare.
Kel turned toward her.
Their eyes met.
For a moment.
Neither spoke.
Then the woman lowered her head.
"Thank you very much."
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
"I..."
Her voice shook.
"I lost myself."
The ocean breeze carried her words away.
"I lost my reasoning."
A pause.
"When I became a monster."
More tears followed.
Not violent tears.
Quiet tears.
The tears of someone finally able to feel again.
"I was consumed."
"By anger."
"By wrath."
"By envy."
"By revenge."
Her hands tightened around the black cloak.
The cloak that protected her dignity.
The cloak belonging to the person who had saved her.
The woman lowered her gaze.
"My envy."
A pause.
"My envy of my younger sister."
The words felt difficult to say.
As though they had remained trapped within her heart for centuries.
"I hated her beauty."
Another tear fell.
"I hated how easily people loved her."
The moonlight reflected within her eyes.
"I hated how my husband looked at her."
"I hated how others praised her."
A pause.
"I hated how I could never become her."
Silence followed.
The waves crashed softly against distant rocks.
The woman closed her eyes.
"I became this monster because of that envy."
Her voice broke.
"I became something ugly."
The words lingered in the air.
Then.
Kel stood.
The sacred waters disappeared.
His injuries had mostly healed.
The silver-haired youth slowly approached.
The woman instinctively looked away.
Ashamed.
Embarrassed.
Unable to meet his eyes.
Then.
Something unexpected happened.
Kel crouched before her.
Gently.
Without hesitation.
He placed one hand upon her face.
The touch was warm.
Careful.
Kind.
The woman froze.
Completely froze.
Her eyes widened.
For several moments.
She forgot how to breathe.
The silver-haired youth looked directly into her eyes.
His golden gaze remained calm.
Gentle.
A faint smile appeared.
Not a mocking smile.
Not a pitying smile.
A sincere smile.
Then he spoke.
"You didn't need to envy your sister."
The woman stared.
The words immediately caught her off guard.
Kel continued.
"You are beautiful too."
Silence.
The world seemed to stop.
The waves.
The wind.
The night.
Everything disappeared.
Only those words remained.
The woman's eyes widened further.
Her lips parted slightly.
As though she had forgotten how to speak.
Inside his mind.
Seiren watched.
Then smiled softly.
Because Kel was speaking honestly.
Not trying to comfort.
Not trying to flatter.
Simply stating what he believed.
The silver-haired youth continued.
"Perhaps more beautiful than you think."
The woman felt her heart tremble.
No one had ever said that.
Not sincerely.
Not like this.
Her husband never had.
Her family never had.
Even she herself never had.
Because for her entire life.
She had compared herself.
Compared herself to her younger sister.
Compared herself to someone naturally gifted with beauty.
And every comparison ended the same way.
Failure.
Inferiority.
Envy.
Kel shook his head slightly.
"The problem wasn't your appearance."
A pause.
"The problem was who was looking at you."
The woman blinked.
Kel continued.
"Your husband didn't see your beauty."
His voice remained calm.
"He only saw what he wanted."
The ocean wind drifted through the shoreline.
"And eventually."
Kel smiled faintly.
"You stopped seeing your own beauty too."
Silence followed.
The woman stared at him.
Completely speechless.
Then.
Her cheeks gradually turned red.
Very red.
The realization made her even more embarrassed.
For centuries.
No one had spoken to her this way.
No one had looked at her this way.
Without judgment.
Without fear.
Without desire.
Without hatred.
Simply seeing her.
As herself.
The woman immediately lowered her head.
Trying to hide her face.
She pulled the cloak tighter around herself.
Then pressed her legs against her chest.
Making herself smaller.
As though hiding from the warmth in her heart.
Inside his mind.
Seiren laughed softly.
"You broke her."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Kel ignored the comment.
Then spoke again.
"By the way."
The woman slowly looked up.
The silver-haired youth offered a small smile.
"My name is Aedon Flinth."
A pause.
"And yours?"
The question was simple.
Yet strangely meaningful.
Because for centuries.
No one had cared enough to ask.
The woman remained silent for several moments.
Then.
A beautiful smile appeared.
Small.
Gentle.
Yet perhaps the first genuine smile she had shown in centuries.
The moonlight illuminated her face.
And for the first time.
She truly looked human.
Not a monster.
Not a legend.
Not a tragedy.
Just a woman.
Then she answered softly.
"My name..."
A slight pause.
"...is Evelyne."
The ocean breeze carried her words into the night.
And beneath the ancient cliff.
Where a monster had once existed.
A woman named Evelyne finally introduced herself once more.