Chapter 4

Evan and Amelia, who was floating beside him, finally reached a door at the end of the hall. From the window, they could see that the study was in the very back of the house, separate from the main building, and the door in front of them was the only way in. Evan took a deep breath and let it out. "GRAB," both his hands held the two vertical door handles.

"Okay, be ready. Don't be surprised or scared by what's inside," Evan said.

"Huh... is it that bad?" Amelia asked.

"Very. Even I'm used to this stuff, but I wouldn't normally come here," Evan replied.

"CREEEAK," Evan pushed the door open and walked inside with Amelia floating beside him. Inside, there were bookshelves lining the walls with tons of books, a desk at the end of the room, a complete sofa set with a coffee table in the middle, and a reading chair facing the desk.

But what was truly terrifying were the seven grandfathers from seven generations, sitting on the sofa, the reading chair, and behind the desk. All seven of them turned to look at the door when Evan and Amelia entered, their faces expressionless and cold.

Their heads seemed to be twisting to look at the door, making them look horrifying. On top of the bookshelves, seven crows were perched motionlessly, their heads also turned toward the door with their red eyes.

"Um... E-Evan... they... they look pissed," Amelia whispered, hiding behind Evan.

"Shhh... don't talk. Just follow me," a trembling Evan whispered back.

They walked straight toward the center of the room, to the desk, and greeted each grandfather they passed. The seven grandfathers and crows turned their heads to follow them, their faces expressionless, cold, and silent, which made the atmosphere even more terrifying.

Finally, after what felt like a long journey, even though it was just across the room, the two of them stood in front of the desk. On the desk, there was a box containing a tribal necklace with five white crystal tooth lined up. A large crystal tooth was in the middle, looking like a clear gem, flanked by two smaller crystals on its left and right.

"GULP," Evan swallowed and steeled his resolve. He raised his hand and slowly reached for the box. Suddenly, "THUMP," all the grandfathers in the room stood up. Amelia immediately hugged Evan from behind.

"E-Evan, they're mad... they're really mad," Amelia whispered.

Evan took a deep breath again, then looked at his grandfather, who was standing behind the desk, staring at him intently with an expressionless and cold face.

"Grandpa... it's me, Evan. I need this necklace so Mom, Dad, and Grandma can come with me to school. Can I borrow it for a bit?" Evan asked politely, forcing a smile.

The grandfather was silent, but his eyes were fixed on Amelia, who was hiding behind Evan. Evan then realized that the other grandfathers were also staring at Amelia with expressionless and cold faces. Evan immediately turned and whispered to Amelia,

"Amelia, please tell them what happened again, just like you told Mom, Dad, and Grandma, so my grandpas can understand... hurry," Evan said.

"Oh... o-okay, but please hold my hand... I'm scared," Amelia replied.

Evan immediately stood next to Amelia and held her hand. Then Amelia told the grandfathers in the room, who were staring at her, about herself, why she came to this house, and what would happen to Evan the day after tomorrow. After she finished, the room fell silent and became even more tense.

"I... I'm done," Amelia whispered.

"Okay... we'll... we'll wait," Evan replied.

Suddenly, the grandfather in front of Evan, who was his biological grandfather, stretched his head forward to look closely at Amelia's face. Amelia seemed to hold her breath even though she was a ghost. His eyes looked at Amelia's face as if he were scanning her.

A slight smile then appeared on the grandfather's face, and he nodded before his head returned to its original position.

"Huh... okay... I'm officially a daughter-in-law of this family, hehe," Amelia suddenly said.

"Huh... what are you talking about?" Evan replied.

"Grandpa said I'm accepted and you can take the family heirloom necklace," Amelia said.

"Oh... okay," Evan replied.

Evan raised his arm again and slowly took the necklace from the box. The grandfather in front of him just watched, but this time his expression wasn't cold. As the necklace was lifted, "CAW," the seven crows on the bookshelves immediately flapped their wings.

They flew around the room, then one by one, they flew into the large gem in the middle. Evan covered his face with his arm because of the bright, black light that flashed when the crows entered.

When Evan opened his eyes, the grandfather in front of him was gone. Evan looked at the necklace; the large gem in the middle had turned black, and the small gem on the far right had turned yellow. Evan felt a sense of relief.

He then turned and walked out, carrying the necklace and greeting the grandfathers who were still watching him and Amelia with expressionless, cold faces, their gazes following them until they were outside.

"BAM," Evan closed the door behind him. He immediately slid down the door, sitting with his back against it, holding the necklace.

"Phew... that was exhausting and my heart's pounding," Evan said, relieved.

"But you're their grandson, right? Imagine if someone else walked in and took that necklace," Amelia said, floating down and sitting next to Evan.

"What do you think the history of these crystals that look like teeth is? My grandma told me when I was a kid that these crystals were originally human teeth," Evan said.

"I-is that true? Your family is terrifying... no wonder you can see ghosts and all that," Amelia said.

"Yeah, I guess so... what's wrong? Regretting being a daughter-in-law?" Evan joked.

"Nope... I'm not the daughter-in-law; it's the living me. That's what they said, hehe," Amelia replied.

"Huh... what's that supposed to mean? No way, that can't happen. The difference between you and the living you is like night and day," Evan said, panicked.

"Hehe... relax. Like I said, the real me isn't as mean as she was in that chat," Amelia replied.

"Whatever, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's go to the living room," Evan said, standing up.

"Okay... hehe," Amelia replied, floating again.

They walked back down the hall to the living room. When they arrived, Evan stood next to the dining table where his dad, mom, and grandma were sitting calmly, looking at him with smiles.

Evan placed the necklace on the table, and suddenly, his grandfather appeared from the yellow crystal, then sat next to his grandma and smiled at Evan and Amelia, who was floating beside him. The crystal, which was yellow, turned clear again when the grandfather came out.

"No wonder they needed this family heirloom... they plan to enter the crystals and come with me to school," Evan thought to himself.

After that, Evan saw his grandfather look at his dad, mom, and grandma. They seemed to nod at each other, then stood up. They looked at Evan and Amelia. The grandfather went back into the small crystal on the far right, and his dad went into the red crystal on the far left.

His grandma walked over and hugged Evan, even though her hands went right through him, and disappeared into the crystal next to the grandfather, which turned green.

Finally, his mom hugged Evan, then hugged Amelia, and went into the crystal right next to his dad's, which turned blue. After that, the necklace on the table floated into the air and moved toward Evan.

"CLICK," the clasp opened, and the necklace fastened itself around Evan's neck. Seeing the necklace around his neck, Evan held it, and without realizing it, he shed a tear and suddenly felt sad, staring at the necklace as if he would never see his family again. Amelia, who was floating beside him, landed and wrapped her arms around Evan's waist without saying a word.

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