She shouldn't have accepted the challenge.

The small village where she grew up was full of superstitions. They told stories about the old forest to the north, where the veil between the worlds was thinnest. Most treated these legends as warnings: "Never light a red candle at midnight" or "Do not follow the sound of whispers under a full moon." But to her, they were provocations. After all, who would believe in demons these days?

That night, alone in the center of an ancient circle of stones, she lit the candle with a defiant smile. The icy wind blew around, but not enough to put out the flame. His words were spoken in jest, an echo of the legends he had heard so many times:

— If there's anyone there, show me. Prove that I'm not a fool for believing.

For a moment, nothing happened. Just the sound of leaves rustling. She laughed at herself, already getting up to leave, when the candle flame went out abruptly.

And then, the air became heavy. A presence manifested around him, as if the darkness itself had taken shape. A voice, low and seductive, echoed so close to her ear that she almost felt the heat of a breath:

— Do you have courage... or are you just foolish?

She turned sharply, her heart racing, but she saw no one. Just a shadow thicker than the rest of the night. And eyes. Two bright eyes, the color of liquid amber, that stared at her as if they could bare her soul.

— You... —she tried to speak, but her voice broke.

The figure emerged from the darkness, tall, elegant, with a charm that was as threatening as it was fascinating. He smiled, but it wasn't a comforting smile.

— You called me, human. Now, I will decide if it was worth answering.