## **CHAPTER 7 – It All Begins at Night**

 

Nights in Skalin were never ordinary, but this one began with something that disturbed even those who never believed in superstition. Dogs in several districts howled simultaneously, as if sensing something human senses hadn't yet detected.

Zofia lay in bed, though she knew she wouldn't sleep. The runes beneath her skin pulsed too loudly; she felt as if someone were calling her from the darkness. For a moment, she had the impression that someone was standing at her door.

"Open..."

It wasn't a voice from outside. It was a voice inside her head.

Zofia squeezed her eyes shut, but when she opened them, quivering symbols appeared on the ceiling – identical to the ones she'd seen on the dead boy's hand.

And then it got cold. Unnaturally cold.

---

## **CHAPTER 8 – Who's Watching Them?**

Janek was returning from the library, an old leather-bound book tucked under his arm. The book was titled "Artefacta Sclaviensis." The pages were handwritten, in a script that changed every few pages—as if the book had been written by many people, in different eras, but with a single purpose.

He felt someone following him.

When he turned around on the empty street, he saw… the streetlights flickering out one by one, as if something were walking toward him.

He quickened his pace.

Once he got home, only after he slammed the door did he notice something on the doorframe that hadn't been there before: a rune burned into the wood.

A rune that meant one thing: **surveillance**.

Someone—or something—was following his every step.

---

## **CHAPTER 9 – The Shadow Society**

In an old notebook found in the archives, Zofia came across a note from over a hundred years ago.

"The Shadow Society was established not to prevent tragedy, but to control it."

This sentence was underlined repeatedly.

Beneath it were blurred names: the Poborowskis, the Stachurskis, the Sarnowskis.

And the letter "Z."

Did this mean the Zamelskis?

Was her family part of something she was now supposed to defend?

Or perhaps… continue?

--

## **CHAPTER 10 – A Voice from the Past**

That night, Zofia didn't sleep again. Runes appeared this time not only on the ceiling, but also on the walls. Suddenly, she heard distinct footsteps in the hallway.

When she opened the door, she saw a silhouette – a man in a long coat, his face hidden in shadow.

“You’re not ready,” said a voice that sounded like many people whispering at once. “Not yet.”

And then it vanished, leaving a chill and the smell of old parchment.

Zofia collapsed to the floor, trying to catch her breath. The runes on her body glowed, as if reacting to something that had just passed through the house.

--

## **CHAPTER 11 – Three Missing Persons**

The next day, the police reported three more young people missing.

They all disappeared during the night.

All around the forest.

Zofia felt a sudden realization: for generations, the disappearances had usually begun after the runes were activated. These weren’t coincidences.

Someone was **taking those who carried a fragment of the Circle**.

These young people… they weren’t random victims.

--

## **CHAPTER 12 – The Forest Speaks**

Deep in the forest, Janek heard whispers. First, single sounds, then louder and louder, until the sounds began to form words.

– The Harbinger is getting closer…

– The Awakening continues…

– Don't run…

As he peered into the trees, he saw a dozen or so shadows standing still, as if waiting.

He wasn't sure if they were looking at him—or through him.

--

## **CHAPTER 13 – The Cursed Foundation of the City**

In the city archives, Janek found a map.

Skalin wasn't built by chance.

The city was founded on a runic plan.

Every important structure stood precisely where the energy was strongest:

– the market square

– the church

– the school

– the monument

And in the center… the submerged ruins of something no one spoke of.

The document at the end stated clearly:

**“The city is the key, not the refuge.”**

---

## **CHAPTER 14 – The True Purpose of the Circle**

In the old notes, one page was torn out.

Only a few sentences remained:

“The Circle was formed not against the darkness, but to direct the darkness…”

Direct it?

Meaning… use it?

“The members of the Circle had a part of the energy within them. The energy awakens the runes. The runes awaken the city. The city awakens…”

The page ended mid-sentence.

But Janek knew one thing – someone wanted that part never to be found.

---

## **CHAPTER 15 – When the Body Speaks After Death**

In the mortuary, new marks were found on the boy’s body – not burned, but as if growing from beneath the skin.

The doctor said in an interview that “they were just discolorations.”

But Zofia knew it was the runes trying to escape.

The dead body wanted to say something.

--