## **Chapter 3 – The Circle of the Awakened**

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 touching them with her fingers, but not touching the surface itself.

"They... react. They feel a presence."

"How can you tell?" Łukasz asked, though he knew she always had that intuition of hers.

"Because I feel them," she hissed. "As if... they were watching."

Marta took a step back.

"These symbols... aren't made by human hands alone. It looks like the work of something... that knows the exact structure of runic sequences."

Peter looked at her sharply.

"You mean the runes are creating themselves?"

Marta hesitated.

"Not on their own. But someone is using the energy of a place... or... something that's already here."

Zofia began to tremble.

"These aren't runes of someone. They're runes of something."

Lena looked up.

"The Circle of the Awakened."

Marta nodded. "Yes. They claimed that rituals weren't meant to summon forces. They believed that these forces already existed—dormant—and that they could be awakened."

Klara looked away from the camera.

"What if they'd already done it?"

Suddenly, silence fell.

A silence so profound that for a moment everyone felt as if the air in the room had hardened.

Only after a moment did Lena notice movement on the wall.

The runes pulsed gently, changing color from light gold to a deep, almost blood-red shade.

"This isn't normal," whispered Klara.

Zofia closed her eyes, as if listening for something.

"Be careful… this…"

And then the lights went out.

Throughout the entire building.

As if someone had shut off all the energy of the place with a single gesture.

Only the runes remained bright.

And in that red glow, something began to move in the corner of the room.

Piotr instinctively rushed towards it with his flashlight, but before he could turn on the light, they heard strange, low whispers, as if many voices were speaking at once. The words were incomprehensible, yet rhythmic.

"You are not welcome here..."

The voice was male, but unnatural. As if distorted.

When the light returned, the corners were empty.

And the runes... slowly fading.

Zofia opened her eyes. She was pale as a sheet.

"This is no longer a warning. It's a foreshadowing."

Lena looked at the boy's body.

And knew this was only the beginning.

--

### If you want more:

text **"Next"** and we'll move on to Chapter 4: *"The Harbinger Returns"*.