"Some time later, they left and went to prepare for the ritual, walking side by side toward the darkness of the forest.
— So, little wolf... how are you feeling? — Ethan asked Hope, keeping his eyes fixed on her as they walked.
— Nervous? Of course not... After all, it's not every day you have every single bone in your body break and remodel itself to turn you into a wolf — she replied, her tone loaded with irony to mask the dread growing in her chest.
Ethan gave a faint laugh, shaking his head.
— Don't forget, you're not the only one transforming tonight... I can't say I'm not a little scared — he admitted, playing with his own apprehension, though the seriousness lay just beneath the surface.
Hope was quiet for a moment. She felt an overwhelming mix of emotions inside her: an intense happiness for being there, sharing that moment with Ethan, mixed with an icy dread that everything would go wrong and she would never see him again.
Noticing the shift in her silence, Ethan stopped walking and turned to face her.
— Listen, Hope... there's something I want to give you.
Hope looked back at him, her eyebrows arched in doubt.
— What?
With a calm movement, Ethan brought his hands to the collar of his shirt and pulled a black cord from his neck. Hanging from it was a small pendant with the symbol of a wolf.
— My mother gave it to me when I was younger — he explained, extending the cord toward her. — She told me her father gave it to her, and she gave it to me... It was her talisman, so I couldn't say no.
Hope looked at the object, her heart tightening painfully against her ribs. She raised her eyes to him, her voice faltering slightly:
— Why are you giving me this, Ethan?
Ethan glanced at the full moon rising imposingly in the sky, then turned his green eyes back to Hope, who stared at him with deep fear.
— Because there's a small chance everything goes wrong today... — he said softly, his voice heavy with a cutting sincerity. — And I want you to carry something to remember me by, in case things take a different turn.
Hope pressed her hands tightly against her body, feeling tears burn in her eyes. Guilt crushed her as she saw him there, willing to risk everything for her.
— I'm sorry... — she whispered, her voice broken. — I'm sorry for making you go through all this, for dragging you into the middle of my hell...
Ethan took a step forward and placed his hand close to her face, without quite touching it, looking deep into her eyes with unwavering firmness.
— Hope... it's okay. Don't worry about it — he said, smiling. — I'm confident enough for these things.
Hope let out a weak laugh. She took the cord, slipped it around her neck, and closed her fingers around the pendant, like someone guarding something they never intend to lose.
In the center of the clearing, Ethan stood beside Hope, Klaus, and Elijah. The air around the four seemed to vibrate with an unbearable tension. Ethan's heightened senses caught the distant sound of the stream, the soft crackle of dry leaves underfoot, and the rapid, rhythmic beating of Hope's heart beside him.
Klaus stepped forward and raised his eyes to the tops of the ancient oak trees. High above, cutting through the darkness of the sky, the full moon appeared in all its majesty, rapidly approaching its highest point.
— It's almost time — Klaus said, his deep voice cutting through the silence of the night.
He turned to Hope, looking at his daughter with a gaze where a father's worry overshadowed the figure of the Original Hybrid. He stepped closer, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
— You need to be strong, sweetheart... because this is going to hurt — he murmured with a rare tenderness. He looked around, observing the immensity of the woods under the moonlight. — Your mother would have wanted you to do this out here...
Hope nodded slowly, her lips trembling.
Klaus pulled a small crystal vial containing a dark, dense liquid from his inner jacket pocket. He handed the vial to his daughter.
— Drink this — he ordered softly.
Without hesitating and without asking a single question about the contents of the vial, Hope accepted the container, removed the cap, and drank all the liquid at once, feeling the bitter substance burn as it slid down her throat.
Ethan took a half step forward, maintaining a minimal distance from Hope, attentive to every reaction of her body. Klaus turned to Ethan, holding the young werewolf's gaze with solemn firmness, while Elijah watched from afar.
In another spot, in a clearing surrounded by torches flickering against the darkness of the night, Josie and Lizzie walked among them, reciting an ancestral Latin chant to pull the Hollow out of Hope.
— Magia Tellas Teteras... — the twins' voices echoed in unison, growing louder as the air around them began to vibrate with pure magical energy.
Suddenly, a dry and terrifying crack echoed through the forest.
— Arrghhh! — Hope screamed, dropping to her knees in the cold dirt as she grabbed her own ankle. The bone in her foot had just snapped; the spell and the liquid she had taken were forcing her transformation to begin.
Klaus let out a heavy sigh, his expression tense:
— It's starting...
With her hands pressed against the damp ground and her breathing disordered by the initial shock, Hope raised her tear-filled eyes toward the boy:
— Ethan... Thank you for doing this for me.
Ethan stepped forward, adjusting his posture. He took a deep breath, absorbing the icy air and looking straight into her eyes:
— It's okay, Hope. What you need right now is to focus on your transformation. Leave the rest to us.
Klaus bent down, lowering himself to his daughter's eye level, his voice sounding firm and motherly-protective:
— Hope, listen closely. This is going to hurt... a lot. So you need to concentrate on the air entering your lungs and the earth beneath you.
— Arrrggg! — Hope let out another roar of pain as the bones in her ribs began to crack and reconfigure beneath her skin.
— The first time can take hours — Klaus warned.
— WHAT?! — Hope replied instantly, her voice breaking between gasps of pain. — Hours?!
— If you fight it — Klaus completed.
While father and daughter spoke, on the other side of the circle, something extraordinary began to happen to Ethan. His pupils dilated, and the blue irises of his eyes shifted dramatically, glowing in a vibrant, mystical shade of green—the unmistakable mark of his own awakened werewolf heritage.
Hope glanced at him and froze for a second, forgetting her own pain:
— Ethan... your eyes...
Klaus turned to the boy. He showed no surprise; he knew the proximity of the peak full moon was affecting him as well.
— Don't worry about me, Hope — Ethan said calmly, though the veins in his neck began to bulge. — Focus on yourself first.
Klaus gently took his daughter's chin, pulling her attention back:
— You cannot fight it, Hope. The pain will make you want to stall because you think it's the limit of what you can take... But if you allow yourself to be entirely consumed, it won't happen.
Hope swallowed hard, forcing her mind to master the dread:
— Yes... I can do this.
— When it's over, run freely — Klaus said. He placed his hand on his daughter's face, stroking her cheek with a tenderness he rarely showed. — I am so proud of you.
Hope managed a weak smile amidst the torment. Another violent crack echoed, and she groaned in pain as her irises instantly shifted to the wild, golden glow of a werewolf. She looked directly at Ethan, gathering all her remaining strength to pronounce the words:
— I love you...
— I love you too, Hope — Ethan replied without hesitation, his green gaze locked onto hers.
The very next second, Hope's back arched at an inhuman angle with a deafening snap. An icy, bright blue-white light began to burst from inside her chest, and she began to float in the air as the magic poured out of her body.
Josie and Lizzie raised the volume of the spell, channeling the power of the siphon. The blue mist of the Hollow was completely ripped from Hope's body, swirling in the air like a sphere of chaotic energy before being pulled straight into the center of the ritual circle.
As the dark magic left her body, Hope's bones broke and rebuilt themselves in the blink of an eye. Within seconds, the human figure gave way to a magnificent, graceful wolf with entirely white fur and glowing yellow eyes like two embers.
Ethan, even feeling his throat burn, smiled at her canine form and whispered softly:
— Even in this form... you're still beautiful.
— Arrrrrgggg! — Ethan roared immediately after.
The skin on his arm began to crack and tear, his flesh contorting as his own transformation as a new werewolf finally erupted violently.
The white wolf looked at her father, then at Uncle Elijah further back, and finally at Ethan, registering the image of the boy enduring the pain for her. With a soft whine, she turned halfway and leaped into the darkness of the woods, running freely through the forest.
Klaus smiled proudly as he watched his daughter vanish among the trees, free and purified. Then he turned his face toward Ethan, his expression serious and focused.
— Now you, Ethan — Klaus said firmly. — Come with me.
The Original Hybrid wanted to lead him immediately back to where Josie and Lizzie kept the Hollow contained in the circle, to finally transfer the entity into the boy's body.
Ethan nodded, trying to take a step forward, but a brutal stab of pain made his body double over. Elijah frowned, adjusting his jacket and stepping closer with concern upon noticing the young man's shocking state.
— What is happening to him, Niklaus? — Elijah asked. — Why is the skin on his arm falling apart like that?
— I don't know! — Klaus replied, narrowing his eyes as he watched the flesh on Ethan's arm crack and fall away. — His transformation must be different... it must be just like his father's!
Ethan let out low grunts, his face contorted in deep, excruciating pain as he walked with stumbling steps. With every breath, the air burned in his lungs, and dark fur began to burst through the pores of his face, spreading rapidly across his cheeks and jaw.
"Shit..." Ethan thought desperately inside, digging his nails into his own palms. "I need to hold on... just a few more minutes... just a little longer..."
— Shit! — Klaus cursed, realizing there wouldn't be time if they kept walking.
Without wasting a second, Klaus lunged in a blur, lifted the boy effortlessly, hoisted him over his shoulders, and sped off at vampire speed back to the ritual site. Elijah followed his brother instantly, cutting through the shadows of the forest.
The scene was terrifying: the skin on Ethan's back, arms, and legs was literally tearing apart and falling to the ground like dead scales. Beneath the exposed flesh, dense fur emerged, as dark as night, dotted with patches of a darkened, wild brown shade.
Klaus appeared in the clearing and dropped Ethan to his knees right in the center of the magic circle.
— Put the magic inside him! Now! — Klaus ordered the twins.
Lizzie, who kept her hands extended sustaining the spell, almost lost concentration for a second upon gazing at Ethan's misshapen and terrifying figure. Alaric and Caroline watched from a few yards away, their faces overcome with anguish and dread.
— My God... What is happening to him?! — Caroline exclaimed, her voice wavering as she saw the boy's skin falling off. — Why is his skin coming apart like that?!
— Ethan's transformation isn't like the others' — Elijah replied, never taking his eyes off the young man. — It is entirely different from the ordinary.
On his knees in the cold dirt, torn apart by pain and now shirtless, Ethan raised his gaze. Before him, floating in the air, was the sphere of bright blue-white energy—the exact same dark, ancestral magic that had tormented and made Hope suffer for so long. Right there, in that exact second, that entire curse would finally be brought to an end.
— ARRRRRRRRGGH! — Ethan roared.
Josie and Lizzie cast the final spell. The blue sphere flew straight at his chest, colliding with brutal force.
— ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGH! — Ethan's scream echoed all through the forest of Mystic Falls.
Caroline, sensing the wave of instability and imminent danger, ran to her daughters, pulling Josie and Lizzie by the hands:
— Let's get out of here! Now! It's too dangerous for you!
Caroline dragged the two girls away from the clearing, while Alaric, Klaus, and Elijah remained on the front lines, witnessing the boy's collapse and rebirth.
The dark magic of the Hollow sank into Ethan's chest, instantly devoured and nullified by the brutal strength of his wolf blood. But the chain reaction in his body was overwhelming. The bones in his ribcage projected outward with deafening snaps, lengthening and reconfiguring into monstrous proportions.
A thunderous, primal scream tore from Ethan's throat. The very next second, an explosion of pure magic and thermal shock emanated from his body, throwing Klaus, Elijah, and Alaric meters backward, crashing them against tree trunks.
The dark magic of the Hollow sank into Ethan's chest, instantly devoured and nullified by the brutal strength of his wolf blood. But the chain reaction in his body was overwhelming.
Ethan's back arched at a grotesque angle. The metamorphosis was not a mere shape-shifting, but a violent purge: his human skin tore from top to bottom, collapsing and falling apart on the dirt like a dead husk, revealing the true beast breaking free from within.
Beneath the exposed flesh, fur as dense and dark as night, intersected by patches of darkened, wild brown, covered muscles that expanded and doubled in size every second. The boy's bone structure snapped in a deafening sequence.
Far from becoming an ordinary quadruped wolf, Ethan dug his claws into the earth and rose onto two deep, misshapen legs. His lower extremities had reconfigured into a frightening, hybrid anatomy: digitigrade legs with elevated heels, absurdly muscular thighs, and inverted knees like those of a predatory canine, combined with the height and presence of an immense, proportionally human bipedal torso.
Standing over two meters and seventy centimeters tall, with disproportionately long arms ending in sharp claws and a grotesque canine maw full of ivory fangs, he raised his monstrous silhouette against the moon. It was the exact same shape, structure, and terrifying presence of a werewolf in its purest, most demonic and lethal version.
The colossal wolf opened its jaws at the edge of the clearing and let out a guttural, overwhelming howl that made the earth shake and resonate through every corner of the Mystic Falls forest.
— What the fuck is that?! — Alaric yelled, brushing dirt off his clothes as he stood up with difficulty beside Klaus and Elijah.
Klaus, still on the ground, let out a weak laugh and broke into a wide smile from ear to ear. His eyes shone with pure fascination as they stared at the colossal beast of over two and a half meters before them.
— I'm shaking... — Klaus admitted, his voice loaded with an almost insane admiration. — This... this is what a true werewolf is supposed to be!! He is exactly like his father, the exact same feeling I felt 16 years ago — Klaus said.
Elijah, in turn, remained in absolute silence for a few seconds. The Original vampire adjusted his rumpled jacket with slightly trembling hands. He was, in a word, completely amazed by the transformation unfolding before him. In over a thousand years of existence, walking the Earth and knowing every bloodline and supernatural creature, he had never seen anything that compared to that ancestral and terrifying strength, at least not right in front of him.
In the center of the clearing, the giant wolf—with its dark fur, brown patches, and monstrous structure—growled low, a guttural sound that made the three men's chests vibrate. Ethan raised his massive head, turning his green, flaming eyes toward Alaric, Klaus, and Elijah. He made a pure expression of rage and savagery, exposing rows of sharp fangs.
Yet, seeming to still retain some consciousness and without emitting another sound, the beast turned halfway and dashed off at overwhelming speed, tearing through the vegetation and disappearing among the dense trees of the forest.
Alaric took two quick steps forward, staring into the darkness where the creature had just vanished, overcome by panic.
— We can't let Ethan run around like this in the forest! — Alaric warned, his voice altered by adrenaline. — He's completely out of his mind! He could end up leaving the woods, invading the town, and killing someone... or even running into Hope, out there in wolf form!
Upon hearing his daughter's name, Klaus widened his eyes for a fraction of second, the impact of the possibility hitting his chest. However, the Hybrid then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and relaxed his shoulders, recovering his composure.
— He won't touch her — Klaus stated, his voice sounding surprisingly calm and convicted. — I saw what that boy did for her. I saw how far he went and what he agreed to become just to keep her alive. He wouldn't be capable of hurting my daughter, no matter what form he takes.
Elijah stepped forward, placing a hand on Alaric's shoulder and nodding slowly:
— Niklaus is right, Alaric. His human control may have been clouded by the beast's primitive instinct, but his soul remains intact. He won't hurt Hope... besides, you saw how he turned back, I think there is still some control left, even if a small one.
The silence that followed Ethan's howl was short, yet suffocating. In the immensity of the dark forest, the colossal black wolf cut through the woods with brutal leaps that snapped branches and sank into the earth.
Inside that monstrous and imposing shell, Ethan's mind was clouded. He did not think. He did not reason. Thelancinating pain of the transformation and the violence of the metamorphosis had plunged his human consciousness into a deep sleep. Ruling that colossal body of misshapen legs and lethal claws was the pure, untamable instinct of his inner werewolf. The boy slept in his own depths while the wolf ran free under the light of the full moon.
In the beast's chest, the dark magic of the Hollow had been completely annihilated. Its primitive strength had devoured the bluish entity until not a single fragment of its corruption remained.
Yet nothing in this world was free or easily achieved; everything had a price. The darkness of the Hollow did not vanish without leaving a mark behind.
Before disintegrating forever in Ethan's burning blood, the ancestral magic burned an invisible, deep mark onto the boy's skin—ancient, rotten magic that resonated like a beacon through the layers of the earth, reaching the darkest abyss of creation.
The signal had been sent. And the abyss answered.
In the middle of an isolated clearing crossed by the giant wolf, the earth beneath its paws began to tremble sickeningly. The cracked ground gave way not to rocks or roots, but to a giant, viscous puddle as black as liquid pitch. A pool of living, ravenous mud that emerged from the bowels of the earth.
The black fissure opened like an insatiable maw. The colossal wolf tried to sink its claws into the earth to propel its immense body out of danger, but the black mud rose in thick tentacles, wrapping around the beast's misshapen ankles and pulling it with irresistible force.
The beast let out a guttural roar of anger, fighting against the shadowy substance. But deep within his mind, Ethan continued to sleep, unable to wake up to claim his own magic or react to the horror dragging him down.
The mud quickly climbed his muscular legs, covered his broad chest, wrapped around his neck, and choked out the wolf's last howl. Within seconds, the black mass swallowed the creature of over two and a half meters entirely, dragging it into the forgotten depths of the endless pit.
The crack in the ground closed. The viscous mud receded, absorbed by the earth as if it had never existed. The grass returned to normal, the cold wind blew softly through the leaves, and the Mystic Falls forest recovered its illusory calm.
But the exact instant Ethan's body was swallowed by the darkness, an invisible wave cut through the very fabric of reality.
Back at the ritual clearing, Klaus and Elijah stared at the horizon, frowning in sudden confusion. Alaric blinked, wiping sweat from his forehead, looking at the broken trees ahead, not understanding what had happened.
Through the woods, the white wolf stopped running. Hope turned her head toward nothingness, feeling a tearing, inexplicable emptiness in the center of her chest—a chest pain that made her let out a sad whine under the moonlight, not knowing who her heart was crying for.
Ethan, the boy who had sacrificed his humanity, triggered his curse, and surrendered his own soul to save the girl he loved, simply ceased to exist in the memory of the world. No one would remember his name. No one would remember his face. No one would remember his sacrifice.
He was forgotten by everything. And by everyone.
The next few minutes dragged on in the clearing as if they were hours.
Klaus couldn't stay still. He paced back and forth among the broken logs, with the uncomfortable sensation of having forgotten something important, something right in front of him that slipped away every time he tried to reach it. Elijah watched his brother in silence, and Alaric stared at the destroyed circle of salt like someone trying to read a language they once knew.
It was then that a weak, human groan of pain reached them from the middle of the woods.
— Hope — Klaus said, vanishing among the trees in a blur.
The transformation had lasted about half an hour. He found her behind a massive oak, curled up on the cold dirt, her whole body trembling and her breathing shallow. Dark hair stuck to her sweaty face, and her arms tried, unsuccessfully, to cover everything the hair couldn't reach.
— Father! — Hope curled up tighter, her eyes wide. — Don't look! For God's sake, don't look!
Klaus turned his face away instantly and turned his back to her so fast it almost would have been comical on any other night.
— Relax, sweetheart. I'm not looking. — He pulled a small leather bag from his shoulder and held it out backward without turning. — Caroline packed some of your clothes. I figured you'd need them.
Hope grabbed the bag with trembling hands and dressed as fast as she could, her fingers clumsy and her skin still covered in goosebumps. Pants, T-shirt, jacket: everything felt too big and heavy for a body that had just been dismantled and reassembled.
It was when she was adjusting the collar of her T-shirt that she felt something cold slide against the skin of her neck.
Hope froze.
She brought her fingers up and pulled a black cord. Hanging from it was a small pendant with the symbol of a wolf.
— Father... — her voice came out weak. — You can turn around.
Klaus turned slowly and found her sitting, holding the pendant in the palm of her hand, looking at it as if it were an object from another world.
— This was on my neck — she said. — When I turned back into myself, I was... — she blushed, looking away — ...without anything. Not a piece of clothing. But this was here. Who gave this to me?
Klaus frowned and stepped closer. He observed the pendant carefully, the drawing of the wolf engraved in the metal, the worn leather cord of someone who had passed through many hands.
— I don't know — he finally replied, and the sincerity in his voice frightened her more than any lie would have. — I thought it was yours.
— It's not. I've never seen this in my life. — Hope squeezed the pendant in her hand, her breathing speeding up. — I don't understand, Dad. I didn't get this from anyone. I didn't buy it. I didn't even know it existed. But... — she swallowed hard. — But I can't take it off. It's like I'm not allowed to.
Klaus knelt down and looked into her eyes. There was something wrong with that scene, a missing piece to a puzzle he didn't even know he was assembling, but try as he might, he couldn't name what it was.
— Keep it then — he said, his voice softer than intended. — If it found its way to you, there must be a reason.
Hope nodded slowly. She should have felt relief. The Hollow had been ripped from her body, the curse was over, and she was alive, whole, in her father's arms. But instead of joy, she found only a strange, deep, and silent hole right in the middle of her chest.
When they returned to the mansion, Josie and Lizzie were sitting on the porch steps, wrapped in a blanket. Caroline had prepared tea for both of them, but neither cup had been touched.
Lizzie was the first to see Hope. She jumped up and hugged her tightly, only then realizing she was crying.
— Sorry, I don't know... — she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand, annoyed by her own tears. — Everything went well, right? The Hollow is gone. We won. So why do I feel like this?
Josie, beside her sister, said nothing. Her gaze was lost, fixed on her own hands.
— I remember every word of the spell — she murmured finally. — Every syllable. But... we pulled the Hollow out of Hope, and then? Where did it go? Somebody had to be in the center of the circle.
— It dissolved when it came out of her — Klaus replied, far too quickly. — That must be what happened.
He didn't even seem to believe his own answer.
Alaric appeared at the doorway, with the sunken eyes of someone who hadn't slept. In his hands, he carried a black shirt, torn at the back and sleeves.
— I found this at the edge of the circle — he said. — Do you know whose this is, Klaus?
Klaus took the piece and examined it. The fabric was broad in the shoulders, way too big for anyone present. He ran his thumb over the seam, trying to remember, and found nothing. Just white noise, like a word on the tip of the tongue.
— It's not mine — he replied. — Nor Elijah's.
— It's not mine either — said Alaric. — And yet I can't... — He rubbed his face. — Forget it. Must be exhaustion.
Elijah, standing by the balustrade, had watched everything in silence. It was he who took the shirt from his brother's hands and folded it carefully, like someone keeping something they don't understand, but know they cannot throw away.
— Let's keep it — he simply said. — At least until we find out where it came from.
Hope went up to her room alone. She stopped in front of the mirror and stared at herself for a long time: clean skin, eyes back to their usual blue, and around her neck, the black cord with the wolf pendant.
She shouldn't feel like anything was missing. She had won. The Hollow was dead, her father was there, the family was safe. And yet, the pain in her chest would not go away—a longing with no face, no name, no memory to hold onto.
She sat on the edge of the bed and opened her hand. The pendant gleamed faintly in the bedside lamp's light.
— Who are you? — she whispered to the empty room, not knowing who she was asking. — Why do I feel like I should remember you?
The silence gave no answer.
But far away, in the forgotten depths folding in on itself, a huge silhouette of dark fur and brown patches lay motionless in the dark, and a pair of green eyes, for a brief instant, opened.
— Where am I?