Emma was the first to wake that morning.
Faint light filtered through the window, but the inn's hallways were still cloaked in shadow.
Jessica and Nóra still slept.
Emma rose quietly, got dressed, and made her way to the inn's kitchen.
The spiral pendant weighed heavily in her pocket with every step.
The kitchen was empty.
But something lay on the table.
Another letter.
Same yellowed paper as before.
Emma's fingers trembled as she opened it.
A single sentence was written:
"The copy can be recognized in the light."
Emma read it again.
And she understood.
She couldn't fight shadows in the dark.
Only light reveals the truth.
And whatever wasn't real… couldn't hide from it.
—
That afternoon, Emma asked Jessica and Nóra to join her for a walk to a small clearing on the edge of the village.
The sun was high by then, pouring blinding white light over everything.
Emma knew: this was her chance.
They stopped in the middle of the clearing.
Jessica squinted and laughed in the brightness.
Nóra stepped into the shade, turning her face away.
Emma's heart pounded.
The copy fears the light.
She slowly pulled the spiral pendant from her pocket.
The sunlight struck it, casting a sharp, dazzling ray toward Nóra.
And Nóra… flinched.
Just for a moment, her face changed.
As if something beneath her skin had twitched.
Something not human.
Jessica didn't notice.
But Emma did.
And she knew.
Nóra wasn't who they thought she was.
Not completely.
Something—or someone—had come out of the spiral with them.
And now it was living among them.
Emma summoned all her courage.
Her eyes met Nóra's.
The pendant no longer felt cold.
Now it was hot.
Pulsing.
Like a second heartbeat in her palm.
But Emma said nothing.
Not yet.
Not here.
She didn't know how to separate Nóra…
from whatever was inside her.
And if she made a mistake—
They'd all be lost.