## **Chapter 11 - A Watcher Among the Trees

 *

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. Not individual ones.

Not people.

As if the entire past, the entire history of the city, the entire power of the Circle… were materializing in the form of black silhouettes.

Zofia stopped.

“I know who you are,” she said quietly. “And I know what you want.”

A tall shape, resembling a man, emerged from the shadows. But something about it was unnatural. As if its body didn’t fit the space.

“You’ve finally arrived,” he whispered. His voice was a mix of whisper and echo. “Heiress.”

Zofia felt her hands tremble.

“I’m ready.”

The shadow took a step toward her.

“Ready… do you think you’re ready?” "There's no turning back," she replied calmly.

Agnieszka, standing at the edge of the forest, whispered,

"Remember, Zofia, this isn't just your fight. It's the fight of everything that lives in Skalin."

The shadow drew closer, and the runes that appeared in the air around Zofia began to pulse ever more intensely.

Every beat of Zofia's heart resonated with the runes.

"Welcome to the Circle," the shadow whispered. "And don't think that what we started ever ends."

And then suddenly... the runes exploded in light, filling the entire forest.

The shadows trembled and retreated.

Zofia looked around.

"This is only the beginning," she whispered.

In that moment, she knew one thing: not only had the Circle of the Awakened returned.

She herself had become its heart.

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### Write **“Next”** if you want chapter 12:

➡️ Chapter 12: **“First Awakening”** – Zofia comes face to face with the power of the city and discovers that not only the shadows but also the living inhabitants of Skalin react to her presence.