MONSTER HOUSE: MY MONSTROUSITY FAMILY

The house did not settle after the nightmare's vanishing- It vibrated. Not audibly, not visibly, but deep in the walls, the floors, the air. A resonance, a heartbeat that wasn't the house's. And wasn't human.

Aunt Tyrraline arrived two minutes later.

Her wings were already half-unfurled, glittering with rage, her hands covered in sealing glyphs.

"Where?" she demanded, eyes flashing. "What did it say?"

Arken pointed to the scorch mark in the floor. "It didn't just say- It knew. It knew him."

Tyrraline looked at Elian. "You summoned it?"

"I didn't mean to-

"Did you or didn't you?"

"No!" Elian snapped, then caught himself. "I didn't summon it. I dreamed, and it came. Lunir gave it a body."

Tyrraline exhaled sharply through her nose. "That's not better."

Behind them, a low hum filled the air.

They all turned toward the cellar door.

It was glowing.

Specifically> The door was glowing. Not what was behind it. As though the house itself was warning them.

"Cocoon," Lira whispered. "It's responding."

They descended together.

The cellar wasn't really a cellar anymore. It had evolved, like everything in the house. The stone steps twisted down in impossible spirals. The walls breathed. And at the center, surrounded by circling glyphs and a silence so thick it felt like velvet> The cocoon.

Crystal. Towering. Iridescent.

And pulsing. Once, twice.

A third time- faster.

Tyrraline placed her hand on the edge of the containment ring. It sparked against her skin.

"She's waking," she said.

"She's not ready," Arken muttered.

"She knows," Vecca added, stepping back. "She felt it. The dream. The message."

Tyrraline turned slowly toward Elian.

"You didn't just see her in your dream," she said quietly. "She saw you. And she's starting to recognize you."

Elian felt it then. Like a hand brushing his chest- Gentle, not physical, but soul-deep.

A connection.

"She's calling me," he whispered. "She knows something's wrong."

Tyrraline's gaze sharpened. "What did it say to you? The creature?"

Elian swallowed. "It said… 'The cocoon stirs. The Seventh is near.'"

That silenced them all.

Then Tyrraline stepped forward and placed a glowing rune over Elian's chest. It burned cold and bright.

"You're not dreaming alone anymore," she said.