The silence after Raul's disappearance was no ordinary silence.
It was a silence with edges, sharp, like a wound in the air.
It seemed that the entire forest was breathing in short, frightened gasps —
like a wounded animal that still doesn't know whether to run or bite.
Sofia felt the medallion on her chest, cold as death.
Cold as if the light had been ripped from it.
Dragoș, next to her, was breathing heavily. The Moon sign on his arm trembled faintly, like silver rain fading on stone.
And Miral…
Miral was between two worlds.
Half of his face held a tired light.
The other half vibrated in a gray shadow, soft and heavy — as if Raul had left a thorn there, a painful imprint.
Nicolae approached, trembling like a wet leaf.
— "Sofi… is he breathing?"
Her voice was breaking.
Sofia knelt next to Miral. She didn't touch him. The shadow pulsed slowly, rhythmically, like an echo of evil. Her medallion remained silent, completely asleep.
Alexandra approached first, with silent steps, and the smoke around her seemed to stop in the air.
— "He's alive. But what Raul left in him… he's still breathing."
Vlad placed his palm on the ground. He felt the cold vibration and clenched his jaw.
— "Raul's shadow hasn't disappeared. It's just retreated. It's following us. We have to leave."
Dragoș nodded. The air smelled of metal and fear.
— "The Tree of Lights is the only place where light can still fight. We must take it."
Sofia looked up.
— "The forest... is scared."
Alexandra touched an old tree. The wood trembled under her fingers.
— "The Itezista no longer knows what Raul is. For her... it is something against nature. She feels it. And she retreats in fear."
Vlad took a step forward.
— "All the more so we must leave now."
When they arrived, the Tree was changed.
It did not shine.
It did not sing.
It did not spread light.
It breathed.
Slowly.
Heavy.
Painful.
Its leaves rustled briefly, as if they were startled by every breeze.
As they approached, the roots moved on their own—restless, like arms searching for someone familiar in the darkness.
When they placed Miral at the base of the trunk, the roots sensed him immediately.
A faint golden light spilled over the cracked wood.
The roots embraced him slowly, carefully—not like a trap, but like a mother pulling her wounded child to her chest.
Miral took a deep breath, like a man emerging from icy water.
Nicolae burst into tears.
— "Miral… please… open your eyes…"
The forest answered with a long sigh, an echo of old wood.
Then… the Tree's light came on.
Not gently.
But like a heart beating after it had been stopped.
Miral blinked.
Once.
Then once more.
— "Sofia…" he murmured.
She grabbed his hand desperately.
— "Are you okay? Please, talk to me!"
Dragoș stepped closer, the Moon sign shining a little brighter.
— "How? What did Raul do to you?"
Miral sighed. Her roots twitched with him.
— "I… wasn't the target."
Sofia held her breath.
— "Then who?"
Miral looked her straight in the eye.
— "You… Dragoș… and Nicolae."
Three souls stopped suddenly.
— "I was just the bait," he continued. "Raul knew you would come. He knew the light would fight for me. And he wanted… to wear you out."
Sofia felt a cold hollow in her stomach.
— "Then… will he try again?"
Miral closed her eyes for a moment, and the dark side of her face trembled.
— "Yes. And next time… he won't miss."
A loud crack was heard in the forest.
The shadows were listening.
Miral tried to get up – the roots wouldn't let him.
— "You can't stay here. The forest can't protect you anymore. It's hurt. Weakened. And Raul's shadow… has awakened something else."
Sofia felt a shiver run down her spine.
— "Then you're coming with us. And you, Vlad, and Alexandra."
Alexandra put a hand on Vlad's shoulder.
— "If Raul's shadow is looking for Miral… we have to go together."
Vlad agreed.
Miral was breathing heavily.
— "Yes… I'm going with you. We have to."
The forest was hurrying them.
Not with words.
Not with signs.
But with the way the trunks pulled back, like wide-open eyelids.
With short, jerky rustles that resembled the beating of a frightened soul.
By the fact that the shadows didn't come closer — as if they were afraid of something behind them, not of them.
The air became denser with each step.
Harder to breathe.
Miral walked leaning on Dragoș, the shadow on his face pulsing slowly.
Nicolae approached Sofia, to make sure she was real, alive, next to him.
— "Something woke up in the forest..." Alexandra murmured.
— "Not Raul," Vlad said. "Something older. Something we haven't seen either."
Sofia felt a wave of cold on her medallion.
Still cold.
Still mute.
— "Why doesn't my sign wake up...?" Sofia wondered
"Why does only Dragoş respond? Why not me?"
At that moment, Dragoş grabbed her hand.
Hot.
Almost burning.
— "It doesn't matter. I'm with you," he whispered.
And a spark ignited in her chest —
not the medallion, not the sign, but something deeper
Sofia's castle—not a cold castle, but a living sanctuary—recognized them immediately.
The walls vibrated faintly.
The golden symbols sparkled like a greeting.
The air murmured, as if the house itself were whispering:
"Come in. I've been waiting for you."
Miral looked up, tired but lucid.
— "Yes… this is the place. Shadows can't easily penetrate here."
Sofia felt for the first time that she could breathe fully.
But not for long.
Because, in the forest behind them…
Beyond the trunks…
A black shiver rolled slowly.
Not Raul.
Something awakened by his pain.
Something older than the shadows.
Older than the Tree.
Older than the light.
A deep presence… barely opening its eyes.