Still on the shore of the lake, with the fire reflecting off the dark waters and smoke rising into the cold night air, Klaus's figure collapsed unconscious onto the grass after the violent impact of a spell.
Hope stood just a few steps away from her unconscious father. She didn't move closer to touch him, knowing the lethal danger that continuous physical contact posed under the weight of the Hollow, but her blue eyes never left Klaus. The sound of rapid footsteps on dry leaves broke the silence as Freya and Ethan emerged from between the trees.
"What happened here?!" Freya asked, her voice laced with panic as she saw her fallen brother and the flames still burning on the lake.
Ethan took two steps forward, stepping slightly in front of Hope in a defensive reflex. "Hope? Are you okay? What happened to him?"
Hope didn't even blink. Her breathing was calm, but her eyes held a cold, dark resolve.
"I know what I need to do to fix all of this. Once and for all," Hope began, her low voice echoing in the gloom of the forest. "I saw the state my father is in. I saw what this curse is doing to him, to all of you. We are divided, in hiding, and at risk every single second. My mother didn't die just for us to keep living like this."
"Hope, we are working on a solution..." Freya tried to interject, but the girl cut her off.
"There is no other solution, Aunt Freya. I'm going to gather all four pieces of the Hollow back together. I'm going to pull the magic out of my father, Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah... and put it all back inside myself."
"That magic is pure evil, Hope!" Freya shot back immediately, her voice wavering. "The Hollow is an ancient entity created over a thousand years ago. This is madness! Your body won't be able to handle the weight of all four pieces combined!"
"I know the risk, Aunt Freya, but I have to do this!" Hope declared, her eyes clouded with tears of determination. "If I want to save my family, I don't have another choice. Please... I need your help."
Freya looked down at Klaus's unconscious body, then at the lake ablaze with fire, and finally met her niece's gaze. Her mind raced in a devastating conflict, knowing that tonight had been the last time Klaus managed to be near Hope. After desperately weighing her options, Freya nodded slowly. She was going to help.
Beside them, Ethan clenched his jaw, squeezing his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The thought of watching the girl he had tried to protect at all costs suffer from an ancient poison made his chest tighten.
"Hope... don't do this," Ethan intervened, stepping in front of her. "This is too dangerous! You can't just shove that bomb inside yourself!"
Hope looked deep into the eyes of the boy who had walked into her life and stood as her shield in the French Quarter.
"Ethan... I need to do this. It's not just for me, it's for my family. They're everything I have. This curse has to end once and for all... and if it has to end with me instead of them, then so be it."
Ethan cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his damp hair, surrendering to the reality of the situation. "Dammit... I don't agree with this, Hope. Not one bit. But if this is your decision... if it's the only way, I'll help you as best as I can."
Night in New Orleans seemed to have frozen the air around St. Anne's Church. With its heavy wooden doors locked and stained-glass windows casting distorted shadows, the old church in the French Quarter was the ideal isolated location to conduct the ritual.
In the front pew, Hope held her phone to her ear, her face illuminated only by the screen's glow.
"I need both of you in the French Quarter. Now," Hope said into the phone, her voice firm as she spoke to the hybrids created by her blood. "Rebekah and Kol are on their way. Bring them both to St. Anne's Church, knocked out. Don't fail me."
While the hybrids carried out her orders in the physical world, Freya's mind was already projected on the other side, inside the Chambre de Chasse—the magical mental prison replicating the Mikaelson compound. Inside, Freya gathered Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol in the main hall, using her presence to keep them calm and distracted while the trap closed around them.
At the church altar, Ethan kept a vigilant watch while watching Hope arrange the binding symbols on the stone floor.
"Hope, the hybrids are here," Ethan warned, peering through the cracks in the doors.
Minutes later, the unconscious bodies of Rebekah and Kol were laid beside Klaus on the church floor. However, before the spell could fully begin, the violent crash of doors bursting open shook the air of the temple. Marcel Gerard appeared in the entrance, his eyes flashing.
"What do you think you're doing, Hope?!" Marcel roared, striding rapidly down the center aisle.
"I'm sorry, Marcel... but I don't have a choice," Hope replied, cold and unyielding.
Before Marcel could reach Ethan or stop them, Hope raised both hands. A burst of channeled magic unleashed from the Tribrid's fingertips, slamming into Marcel's chest and throwing him straight into the connection circle on the floor. With a swift gesture, Hope bound his mind to the spell, casting Marcel's consciousness into the Chambre de Chasse alongside her father and uncles. Marcel's physical body collapsed unconscious onto the church floor.
With all their minds properly locked away and confined within the illusion under Freya's watch, the senior witch's projection trance ended. At the altar, Freya's physical body awoke with a deep gasp.
"They're trapped inside... for now," Freya said, adjusting her coat and stepping toward the altar table. "Marcel has already joined them in the illusion. We don't have much time before they figure out how to break out."
"Then let's finish this now," Hope said, stepping into the center of the pentagram.
Freya and Hope joined hands. The ancient Latin chant began to resound through the vaults of St. Anne's Church, causing the candles along the aisle to flicker wildly. The air suddenly turned freezing, and heavy tendrils of dark mist began to pull away from the bodies of Klaus, Rebekah, Kol, and the relics linked to Elijah.
Ethan stepped forward at the altar, his chest tightening as he watched the shapeless mass of the Hollow's black smoke writhe in the air above the Mikaelsons' bodies and surge toward Hope's chest.
The thick, dense smoke slammed into the girl. The impact was immediate: Hope let out a painful gasp as black veins spread across her neck and face, fading as the ancient entity sealed itself within her body. The force of the magic brought the gusting wind to a sudden halt; the candle flames died out, and Hope collapsed unconscious onto the stone floor.
"HOPE!" Ethan shouted, his loud voice echoing throughout the entire church.
Without hesitation, he rushed to the altar and knelt down, lifting Hope's body into his arms. Freya approached quickly, checking her niece's magical signature before letting out a sigh of relief.
"She's alive... she just passed out from extreme exhaustion," Freya said. "The spell worked. We need to take her home."
Ethan adjusted Hope against his chest, scooping her up into his arms effortlessly and carrying her all the way back to the Mikaelson compound. When they arrived at the mansion, he laid her down gently on the bed, pulling up a chair to sit beside her and keep guard.
Freya entered shortly after, conducting another thorough check on Hope's body.
"No magical outbursts, no fever," Freya confirmed. "She's just sleeping."
Ethan nodded silently. Some time passed until the temperature in the room dropped drastically, and an overpowering presence made itself felt in the hallway. Ethan rose from his chair in an immediate reflex as he noticed Klaus Mikaelson standing in the doorway.
"Ethan, isn't it?" Klaus's deep voice echoed. "Get out. I need to see how my daughter is doing."
Ethan stared at the Original Hybrid for a heavy moment, keeping his body positioned between Klaus and the bed.
"She's sleeping," Ethan said, his voice calm.
When Ethan stood up completely, Klaus got a clear sense of the boy's height. To the Original's surprise, Ethan was taller than him, broad-shouldered, and had facial features that looked older than those of a typical teenager.
"How old are you, boy?" Klaus asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Almost fifteen," Ethan answered directly.
"Hmm..." Klaus muttered, taking in the young man's physical presence. He took a step toward the bed and made a brief gesture. "I see. Now get out."
Ethan offered one last watchful look at Hope before passing Klaus and leaving the room.
After verifying that Hope was resting stably, Klaus stepped back to look for Freya. As he crossed the threshold, he ran right into Ethan returning down the hallway to resume his guard.
Klaus stopped in his tracks, blocking the path. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, overcome by suspicion and an uncomfortable, protective jealousy regarding his daughter.
"Hey, boy," Klaus called out, his deep voice cutting through the space. "Why do you stay so close to my daughter like that?"
Ethan paused and faced the Original head-on, keeping a firm gaze.
"She asked me to stay close, and I promised I'd look out for her," Ethan replied without hesitating. "I'm just keeping my word."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, holding the stare for a few heavy seconds. Without another word, he let out a low huff and brushed past Ethan in the hallway, heading downstairs to find Freya, while Ethan returned to the chair beside Hope's bed.