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  ## **Chapter 13 - Echo of the Circle** After her first awakening, Zofia felt that the city was no longer just a backdrop to their lives. Skalin reacted to their every step, every word, every gesture. "I feel like it's watching us now," Marta said, looking at the flickering lights in the windows. "It's not watching," Zofia corrected her. "It's **contacting us**." The runes that had previously appeared in the forest now spread throughout the city. The streets seemed to ripple, the sidewalks pulsed gently, and some trees moved to the rhythm of invisible sounds. "It's impossible..." Łukasz muttered. "And yet," Klara replied. "This city is alive, and it reacts to Zofia." At that moment, a shadowy Harbinger suddenly appeared. “It's good that you're here,” he said. “But you must know one thing: the Circle's echo is stronger than you think. Any decision can spread its energy throughout Skalin.” Zofia look...

  The forest fell into absolute silence. The light of the runes pulsed around Zofia, filling the space with a golden glow. Each breath seemed to resonate with the earth, with the trees, with the entire city. “Zofia…” whispered Agnieszka from behind the edge of the trees. “What’s happening?” The Zamelski heiress felt a sudden warmth radiating from the earth, as if all of Skalin were speaking with one voice at that moment. The runes reacted, swirling around her and forming shapes. Faces. Faces of people she only knew from stories or old photographs. “It’s them…” she whispered. “My ancestors. All the victims. And those who hid… They were waiting for me.” Piotr and Lena approached cautiously, watching as the runes formed increasingly complex patterns. “It’s impossible,” Piotr whispered. “They… they’re alive…” “They’re part of the city,” Zofia said. Her voice was steady, calm. "And now you understand... it's not about fighting. It's about connecting." The shadow from the f...

 * Piotr kept his gaze fixed on the edge of the forest. "There's… someone there. Or something." Zofia felt a strange chill creep through her body. "Don't go there alone," she whispered. Agnieszka was tense as a string. "They're always watching. For years. For generations. Waiting for their descendants to be ready." Lena looked at everyone. "Ready for what?" "For the awakening," Zofia replied. "For what my ancestors started… and what I must finish." At that moment, the shadows in the forest shifted. There was no doubt—something, or someone, was moving between the trees, barely visible in the twilight. "Stay here!" Piotr shouted, but Zofia stepped forward at the same moment. “I have to see this,” she said calmly. She didn’t follow her out of fear. Something inside her drew her like a magnet. “Zofia…” Marta tried to stop her. But Zofia was already a few steps into the forest. The shadows were approaching. No...

It wasn't easy to find the Sarnowskis. Officially, they lived in Skalin, but when they started checking addresses, one by one they turned out to be empty, abandoned, or rented out for years. Klara combed maps online, Łukasz searched official documents, Piotr and Lena called neighbors who "remembered something." After a few hours of searching, Lena practically shouted, "I've got them." Everyone looked at her. "Eight years ago, they moved to the outskirts, to a small house near the forest. No one knows why. Rumors say 'some family tragedy.'" They drove there in silence. The road led further and further from the center until the apartment buildings, shops, and asphalt disappeared completely. Instead, only frozen fields and a dark forest. The Sarnowskis' house was small, gray, and looked as if it hadn't been renovated in a long time. But someone was living there—a light was on in one of the windows. Piotr knocked. Silence. He knocked ha...

  The next day, Zofia didn't feel like herself. There was a strange tension within her—as if she could still hear the echo of that whisper from the place where her ancestors' house had stood. Marta had been digging through documents since morning. Piotr and Łukasz were searching the registers for old reports. And Lena was searching the church parish records, which, as a local journalist, she had easier access to. After a few hours, she gathered everyone at one table. "Okay... listen. This is going to be a shock," Marta began. Zofia felt a cold knot in her stomach. "Your great-grandmother, Helena Zamelska, had siblings. Two. There's almost no trace of them, but..." she raised her eyebrows. "They had children." Zofia frowned. "Are you saying there are other descendants?" Marta nodded. "Yes. And what's more—someone tried to *erase* their trail." Piotr flipped through more documents. "Parish registers, then lost populat...

  The house that belonged to the Zamelski family before the war stood today only as remnants of its foundations and brick fragments embedded in the ground. Skalin had long ago swallowed them up, turning them into a public garden and parking lot. But the place remembered. They got out of the car and stood in an empty lot. It was late afternoon, but the air was still, too heavy and chilly for this time of year. “There’s nothing here,” Piotr muttered. Marta shook her head. “There’s too much.” Zofia took a few steps toward the concrete slab. And then… **the air around her quivered**. Everyone felt it. Not like the wind. Not like the vibrations of the earth. As if… the space recognized her. Klara froze. “I can feel it.” Lena tightened her grip on Zofia’s arm. “Slowly.” Zofia knelt down and touched the ground with her fingertips. And then they appeared. Symbols. As if carved in the air, glowing with a barely visible light. Marta pressed record on the camera. "They're reacting to her...

  The next day, no one spoke of what had happened in the apartment. Not because they wanted to ignore it, but because any word they uttered could make it seem more real. And everyone hoped – secretly – that the whispering in the night was just another "episode," not the beginning of a nightmare. Zofia returned to the archives, this time not to search for the city's history, but for the history of… herself. Marta arrived an hour later and placed an old birth registry from the 1930s in front of her. "Look at this. I found lists of families who lived in Skalin at the time of my last awakening." Zofia ran her finger over the yellowing names. Most meant nothing to her. Until finally… She stopped. Her heart skipped a beat. "The Zamelskis…" she whispered. Marta looked at her. "Do you know that name?" Zofia swallowed. "That's my great-grandmother's name." Marta wordlessly handed her more documents—to a prepared person, they might ha...

  That evening, Zofia returned to her apartment exhausted, but she knew she wouldn't sleep. She couldn't. She also knew she would eventually stop being able to tell the difference between sleep and reality. The dreams were too real. The breathing was too close. The voices were too clear. She sat up in bed, trying to calm her breathing. But then she felt it again. As if someone was standing behind her, right behind her. She turned quickly—no one was there. "It's just exhaustion," she told herself. But then she heard a whisper. Not a dream. Not an echo. A real voice. — *Zofia…* She froze. "Who is that?" she whispered. The voice was quiet but familiar, as if she'd heard it before in dreams. — *Don't be afraid... we're already here...* Zofia jumped up and ran to the lamp. She turned it on as if the light would stop something. —Who are you?! But the answer came from the window. — *Those who dream...* Frightened, she opened the door and ran out int...

  The next day, they decided to look for answers where they most often lie – in the archives. In the large, dusty reading room of the city archives, Lena and Marta pored over old newspapers, minutes, and unfinished reports that few people had ever read. Klara was looking through resident registers from decades ago, while Piotr and Łukasz were examining construction documentation, power plant designs, and geological maps of the former Skalin area. "Listen to this," Marta said after a long silence. "A group of young people disappeared in the 1930s. Without a trace." Lena looked up. "How many?" "Seven." "And what, no explanation?" Marta continued leafing through the pages. "'Strange voices heard on the site of the old power plant,' 'Panicing children in kindergarten,' 'Unnatural symbols appearing on walls'... Sound familiar?" Everyone froze. Piotr smiled bitterly. "So history is repeating itself?...

  The night was even deeper when they returned to the base. No one had the strength to speak. Everyone had images of red runes and strange whispers echoing in their heads, still pulsing in their minds, echoing in the kindergarten walls. Only when the door closed behind them did Piotr turn abruptly: "I don't like this. Not at all. This isn't an investigation anymore. It's something… different." "We know," Lena replied, sitting down heavily. Zofia stood by the window. She looked at the city like someone who hears sounds others can't. "Skalin reacts. Not just to us. To everything. Like a living organism." Klara looked at her worriedly. "You speak as if the city were conscious." "What if it is?" Zofia asked. "If the Circle of the Awakened was right?" Peter sighed. "Theories are theories, but someone has to be behind this. A person. People. A cult." Then the light in the room flickered. Once. Twice. And su...

The scene was an abandoned preschool on the outskirts of town. It was a building that had been haunting for years with its empty windows and rotting swings. Now, however, it was no longer just a ruin—it had become the scene of something far more incomprehensible. When they entered, the first thing they smelled was a damp smell mixed with a metallic stench. Like blood. The flashlight beam cut through the darkness, revealing the body of a young boy. He lay on the floor, as if carefully arranged, and someone—or something—had painted runes around him. They were fresh. They gleamed, as if emitting their own light rather than reflecting the flashlight. Clara immediately began taking photos. "These are the same ones from the power plant," she said in a trembling voice. "Identical." Lena crouched down beside the body, examining the victim's face. "How old was he?" The policewoman replied quietly, "Nineteen." Zofia leaned over the symbols, barely touc...

  The night in Skalin was heavy, steeped in cold, as if the fog were carrying memories. Lena couldn't sleep. Instead, she sat on the old terrace by Marta's apartment, drinking cold tea and staring out at the dark city streets. The mysterious man's words still lingered in her mind. "Harbinger"… It sounded as if someone was foretelling the arrival of something bigger. Something they no longer had control over. -- In the morning, they gathered in Łukasz's small office. On the table were documents from previous cases, photos of runes, notes on rituals, all mixed chaotically with empty coffee cups. "Let's start from the beginning," Łukasz said. "This guy didn't show up by accident. He knew where to find the runes. He knew where we were. And he knew what we were planning." Peter threw his pencil. "But where?" Marta opened an old notebook, once found while researching rituals from the pre-war era. "Because this isn't a s...

  ## **Chapter 1 – Return to Skalin** Skalin greeted them with a silence that Lena didn't find comforting. There was a strange note to it—as if the city were holding its breath after a storm no one saw, yet everyone felt its consequences. The runes on the walls of the old power plant pulsed with a faint light, though no one had touched them for weeks. The same signs that had pulsated with menace only moments ago now seemed to whisper with a low, barely audible sound. Lena stopped in front of the main entrance, looking out at the familiar streets. "Things have changed," she murmured softly. Marta stood beside her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Every place that has experienced evil changes. People too." Piotr glanced at the neon sign "Skalin – Welcome," which flickered erratically, as if someone were playing with the power supply. "It looks like the city itself is trying to let us know it hasn't finished speaking yet." Klara, new to the...

  ## **Epilogue: Dawn over Skalin** The fog over Skalin slowly cleared, revealing a town that had survived a night filled with shadows, rituals, and dangers. The morning sun's rays reflected off the wet streets, giving them a golden glow. Lena Sobczak stood on a hill, gazing at the panorama of a town that seemed peaceful, yet held its secrets deep within. "We did it..." whispered Marta, standing next to Lena. "We truly survived." Lena nodded, sensing that their journey, though incredibly dangerous, had done more than just survive. They had given each other strength, discovered their own potential, and learned that unity was a greater weapon than any antagonistic power. “This isn’t the end,” Lena said quietly, looking at the survivors. “But now we have time to understand what the past was trying to tell us. And to prepare for what may come.” Piotr turned to the others, looking at the runes that still glowed faintly on the city walls. “We finally understood that S...

  ## **Chapter 11: Shadows of the Past – The Final Test** The town of Skalin was still shrouded in fog, but Lena Sobczak felt that this time the silence was an illusion. All events were leading to the final test – a confrontation with the secrets of the past that still shaped the antagonists' game. "Shadows of the past," Marta whispered, looking at a ruined section of the old wall, where runes pulsed with a faint light. "They are still here… and they await our decision." Lena knew this was no ordinary battle. This was a test that encompassed everything: mind, heart, morality, and foresight. Every decision, every memory, every fearful thought could change the course of events. "You have to face the truth," Lena said to the survivors. "The past will not disappear." We must accept it if we are to survive and protect the city. The labyrinth of the past opened before them – both in dreams and in reality. Lena saw images of ancient rituals, people ...

  ## **Chapter 10: Confrontation with the Antagonists** The abandoned theater in the center of Skalin looked as if time had stopped within its walls. The curtain hung lowered, and the worn-out seats were covered in a layer of dust. Lena Sobczak felt a familiar tension – she knew she faced the biggest challenge of her career today. "This is where," Marta whispered, looking at the symbolic runes carved on the stage. "Everything led us here." The opponents were already waiting in the semi-darkness. The Alchemist, his hand resting on a vial of amber liquid, watched them with a calm, calculating gaze. The Dark Puppet moved like a shadow, subtly manipulating the group's emotions, and the Shadow from the Past lurked in the corner, watching their every move. "Greetings," the Alchemist said. "I knew you'd arrive. Now we can see if your abilities match my vision." "The game isn't over yet," the Marionette added, her words filling the ...

  ## **Chapter 9: The Game of Reality and Dreams** Skalin was asleep, but Lena Sobczak hadn't slept in hours. Fog filled the streets, and the shadows of trees and buildings seemed to move to the rhythm of her own rapid breathing. Every step through the city was simultaneously a test – in the real world and in the world of dreams, which had now become just as dangerous. "This is no ordinary night," Marta said, looking at the runes carved on the walls. "I feel them… as if our thoughts and dreams were becoming part of this game." Lena nodded. The Alchemist was still leaving physical traps, and the Puppet was manipulating their emotions. But now the Labyrinth of Dreams had entered the game – a space where any decision could alter reality. “We have to operate in two worlds simultaneously,” Lena said, concentrating. “If we lose control in our dreams, our bodies will be easy targets for the antagonists.” The first challenge was an old library, where runic symbols pulsa...

  ## **Chapter 8: The Cost of Decisions** The night in Skalin was silent and tense, but Lena Sobczak knew the silence was only apparent. Every step through the city, every glance into the darkness, carried consequences. The dual threat of the antagonists forced her to make decisions that could cost her life or the lives of her companions. "Lena…" Marta said as they walked through narrow, fog-filled streets. "Do we really have to go alone? Should we involve them in these rituals?" Lena felt the weight of responsibility. The survivors of Part 2 were no longer mere witnesses—they were becoming participants in a game whose rules were unknown. Each of them possessed abilities that could save or destroy the entire group, but every mistake was a risk that could not be reversed. “If they don’t work with me, we won’t be able to predict the antagonists’ moves,” Lena replied, trying to remain calm. “But if I drag them too deep, we risk their lives.” The first moral test came s...

  ## **Chapter 7: Double Jeopardy** Skalin seemed to be asleep, but Lena Sobczak knew the silence was an illusion. Fog enveloped the city, and within its thicket lurked threats from two sides – the Alchemist, who experimented with matter, chemicals, and the psyche, and the Dark Puppet, manipulating the emotions and thoughts of its inhabitants. "This is no longer a single game," Lena said to the survivors. "Now we have two adversaries, operating independently, but their actions overlap. Every step, every decision could bring disaster." The group moved through the city, encountering symbols and traps left by their opponents. Each antagonist used different methods: the Alchemist created physical threats, vials, and chemical traps, while the Puppet manipulated their emotions, creating chaos and disorientation. "It's as if the city itself became an arena," Marta observed. "And we are the pawns in this game." Lena nodded, looking at the pulsating r...

  ## **Chapter 6: Dark Puppet** Night fell over Skalin like a heavy, velvety veil. The fog, barely noticeable during the day, now thickly enveloped the city, creating the impression that every shadow had a life of its own. Lena Sobczak led a group of survivors through the old, abandoned streets toward the next ritual site. "I feel something strange," Marta said, glancing nervously at the tenement walls. "As if someone were watching us, even if no one was in sight." Lena nodded, the tension growing within her. She knew a new enemy was now emerging – not physical, like the Alchemist, but much more subtle and dangerous. A woman emerged from the shadows. Her movements were fluid, almost dancing, and her eyes gleamed with a cool light. Her voice was soft, hypnotic: “Hello, Lena. Hello, little gamers. Time for a new game.” Lena immediately felt something unsettling. This wasn’t an ordinary threat – the Dark Puppet manipulated the emotions and thoughts of the survivors. He...

  ## **Chapter 5: City Secrets** After the dramatic events at the factory, Lena and the group of survivors felt the weight of responsibility. Not only did they have to face the Alchemist, but they also realized that the city of Skalin held secrets that ran far deeper than any rituals they had encountered before. "Skalin is no ordinary city," Lena said, leading the group through the deserted streets. "Every place, every old ruin could hold another clue or a trap." They wandered through forgotten alleyways, the courtyards of old tenement houses, and abandoned warehouses. Lena found old maps hidden in the city archives, which indicated previously unknown tunnels and cellars. Symbolic markings on the walls suggested that the antagonists' rituals and experiments were part of a larger plan. “It's… a labyrinth,” Marta whispered, looking at the underground map. “And someone wants us to get lost in it.” Lena nodded. A glint of determination lit up her eyes: “We need ...

  ## **Chapter 4: The Alchemist and the New Rituals** The factory Lena and the survivors reached was silent, as if time had stopped within its walls. Dust hung in the air, and the rusty machinery stood still, as if testifying to the city's former industrial might. But Lena sensed something more lurking in the air – the presence of a new antagonist they had never encountered before. "This place…" Marta whispered, looking at the vials of amber liquid placed on the old tables, "smells like an alchemist's laboratory." Lena nodded, her gaze fixed on the shadows. Her experience told her that the rituals that would be performed here connected chemistry, symbols, and the human psyche. A man in a long, stained cloak emerged from the shadows. His eyes gleamed with intelligence, and his hands were covered in tiny wounds—evidence that he had experimented not only on materials but also on himself. “Greetings,” he said calmly, his voice almost melodic, echoing through the...

  ## **Chapter 3: Survivors of the Past** In the morning, a fog hung over Skalin, which had shrouded the town in ominous shadow only yesterday. Lena Sobczak slowly got out of bed, her thoughts still wandering around the Labyrinth of Dreams. What she saw that night wasn't an ordinary nightmare – it was a test she had to endure to understand her new antagonists. The survivors from Part 2 arrived at her apartment: Marta, Piotr, and several other young people. Each of them bore a trace of the rituals – not only physically, but also mentally. However, since that night, something had changed. Each of them began to discover extraordinary abilities. * Marta could predict upcoming events in a short time, as if her mind had sharpened to the point of intuition. * Piotr began to see symbols and runes whose meanings could not be deciphered in books, as if their meaning were "penetrating" his consciousness. * Other young people reported unexpected visions, heard the whisper of runic sy...

  ## **Chapter 2: The Labyrinth of Dreams – A New Level** Night fell earlier than usual in Skalin. Fog enveloped the city in a thick, almost physical cocoon. Lena Sobczak returned to her apartment after a dangerous journey underground. Her heart was still beating fast, and images of the amber vial and the hooded shadow filled her mind. When she finally fell asleep, she found no peace. Her dreams were strange, pulsing like life. She was in a labyrinth – not in the physical city, but in its reflection in her dreams. The corridors twisted endlessly, the walls pulsating with runes that changed shape and color with the rhythm of her breathing. “This isn’t just a dream,” Lena thought, trying to maintain her balance in the spinning world. “It’s a trap or a clue… or both.” The figures of young people she recognized from previous rituals appeared in the maze. Their eyes were wide, their faces filled with terror. They couldn’t speak, and their every movement seemed synchronized with the puls...

  Here's **Chapter 1—"The Return of the Fog"** in its entirety: --- ## **Chapter 1: The Return of the Fog** The town of Skalin was coming to life after the dramatic events that had shaken it months ago. The streets were quiet, the cafes were filled with conversation, and children ran around the playgrounds. But Lena Sobczak knew the silence was an illusion. The shadows that once roamed the basements and ruins never completely vanished. The phone buzzed for the first time in days. Lena answered it anxiously. An anonymous message appeared on the screen: > "The shadow never disappears. Search in places forgotten by the world." Lena felt a familiar chill that had accompanied her through her most challenging investigations for years. She knew someone new had entered the scene – someone who had been watching her for a long time, planning her every move. "The fog…" Lena whispered, looking out the window of her apartment. "It always returns when someth...

  ## **Chapter 12: The New Game** A few weeks after the events at the factory and the theater, the town of Skalin was slowly returning to the rhythm of everyday life. People were taking to the streets, cafes were filled with conversation, and schools were bustling with activity. But Lena knew that peace was an illusion. Shadows of the past still roamed the streets, hidden in alleys and abandoned buildings, waiting for another moment to return. Lena sat in her apartment, analyzing notes from the recent rituals. Every detail, every symbol, and every clue formed a new, larger pattern – something that suggested her opponents weren't acting alone. Someone was watching, planning, and waiting for their turn. The phone vibrated. This time, the message was short, almost cryptic: > "The game never ends. The shadow returns when you least expect it." Lena felt a cold shiver run through her. Her intuition told her that someone new had entered the scene – someone who knew all her mo...

  ## **Chapter 11: Dawn over Skalin** The first rays of sunlight pierced the fog over the town of Skalin, giving the streets and rooftops a warm, golden glow. The town looked peaceful – as if it had forgotten the past weeks of secrets, riddles, and terrifying rituals. Lena stood on a hill overlooking the entire city. In her hand lay notes, maps, and fragments of the alchemist's journals. Each of these documents was a testament to the past and a warning for the future. "Dawn..." she murmured, feeling both relief and anxiety. "But silence never lasts forever." Marta and the other survivors were slowly returning to normality. Life, which had seemed suspended for a while, was returning to the schools and streets. The parents breathed a sigh of relief, and the young people began to regain their composure, though each of them bore the scars of the nightmare they had endured. Lena knew that although the antagonists had been stopped, the ancient rituals, the city's ...

  ## **Chapter 10: Redemption and Understanding** Lena sat in the silence of her apartment, gazing out at the town of Skalin, stretching out in the glow of the rising sun. After the dramatic events at the theater and the factory, she felt at least part of the burden lifted from her shoulders. Yet she knew that every choice, every decision, carried consequences that could not be undone. Marta and the other young people were safe, but images of their terror still haunted Lena. She felt that redemption lay not only in saving lives, but also in understanding the mechanism of evil that drove the antagonists. "This is no ordinary crime..." Lena murmured to Marek, who had visited her late that morning. "It's science, psychology, ancient knowledge… all combined to create a deadly mixture." Reviewing the journals and notes, Lena also realized that the antagonist was part of a larger network of individuals interested in rituals – their goal wasn't just power, but an o...