The boy didn't move.
Not even after Elara disappeared into the shadows of the park.
Her words still echoed inside him.
Two journals. Two secrets. A hidden twin.
The night pressed in around him. He turned his head—
The men in black were gone.
No sound. No footsteps. No trace.
But their presence clung to him like smoke. Watching. Measuring. Waiting.
His fingers clenched tighter around his journal. The leather was warm, almost pulsing with life.
He forced himself to stand, each step home dragging under the weight of questions.
Later that night, his room was silent, save for the ticking of the clock.
The journal lay open under the lamp, pages glowing faintly in the pale moonlight.
At first, the symbols looked familiar.
Then they began to shift.
His eyes widened as ink bled slowly across the paper, curling into new shapes. Letters formed— deliberate, precise.
Another thread begins.
Another watcher awakens.
The boy staggered back, heart racing. His chair toppled, hitting the floor with a sharp crack.
"What… what is this…?" he whispered.
But the journal gave no answer. The words lay still, mocking him in silence.
He pressed a trembling hand against the cover, forcing it shut.
Sleep never came that night.
Because now he knew—he wasn't just holding a mystery.
He was holding something alive.
And it was watching him too.
⚡ End of volume 1