The bathroom was too quiet.
Too empty.
Too cold.
The Sign of Light and the small heart carved on Sofia's chest beat like two living stars, as if two overlapping hearts lived inside her body.
Sofia pressed herself against the wall, her breath catching in her throat.
— "Who… are you?"
Her voice was a broken whisper.
From the shadows of the steam, the woman took a step.
Her feet… did not touch the floor.
— "I am Bianca."
The name vibrated, like an echo returning from another world.
Sofia felt all the air tighten around her.
— "I am here for you, Sofia. Because you are the chosen one who can break the curse. I… can't anymore. I have been trapped between worlds for too long."
Sofia swallowed hard.
— "Why me? And… what the hell?"
The shadows in the bathroom contracted, the torches on the walls flickered — as if the walls themselves knew the story.
Bianca took a deep breath.
— "To understand… you have to know how it all began. But after you hear this, Sofia… you won't be able to go back."
Sofia clenched her fists.
— "Tell me."
Bianca looked down.
The shadow of the past settled on her face.
— "A long time ago… there lived two brothers. Paul and Raul. Paul was seventeen. Raul — fifteen. I… was the girl they both loved. But I chose Paul. We became close. We loved each other."
Sofia wasn't breathing.
— "Raul wasn't evil then. He was just hurt. And his jealousy… grew involuntarily. One day they argued. They fought. I tried to stop them…"
Bianca tightened the edges of her spectral robe.
— "And Raul… hurt me. By mistake. But it was enough for him to run away. He got scared. He cried. He ran into the forest… and fell."
Sofia could feel her palms sweating.
— "There, in the abyss… something found him. The Faceless Deep."
— "What… is this?" Sofia asked, trembling.
— "An entity born of pure fear. Of jealousy. Of wounds. The Deep has no face. It has no form. It exists in the voids of people. And Raul… became its food. He gave it his heart to escape guilt."
Bianca's eyes darkened.
— "And the entity gave him power. The power of the Dark Moon. But the power… corrupted him. Raul was no longer Raul."
Sofia felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
— "He came after me. He took me by force. For two years… he held me prisoner. And during those years… I became pregnant."
Sofia looked up suddenly, shocked.
— "But the child…?"
Bianca shook her head slowly.
— "The child was not at fault. And Paul… Paul came to save me. He fought with everything he had. Even with the power of the Light, which the Deep had temporarily given him, to break him."
Sofia froze.
— "Paul… had the Light?"
— "Yes. A brief light, born of the desire to protect me. But that light awakened hatred in Raul."
Bianca continued, her voice vibrating:
— "I tried to stop them. I shouted at them that they were brothers. I entered between them. But their powers… clashed over me. Paul's light… and Raul's shadow."
With a tremor, she touched the place where her heart was.
— "I… broke. I didn't die. But I didn't stay either. I broke away from their world. They couldn't see me anymore. I could see them… but I was like a lost spirit."
Sofia felt a huge lump in her throat.
— "And the baby?"
Bianca closed her eyes, and a translucent tear slid down her cheek.
— "I gave birth prematurely. Paul tried to take him. But Raul… Raul tore him from his arms and ran away with the Shadow that controls him."
Sofia was barely breathing.
— "Why?"
— "Because the Shadow knew what no one else knew: our blood—mine, Paul's, and Raul's—could reborn a child in another body, if touched by the Dark Moon."
Silence.
Bianca looked up at Sofia.
— "My child, Sofia… was reborn as Nicolae."
Sofia felt the floor disappear from under her.
— "Nico… is he your son?"
— "Yes. And that's why Raul wants him back. He thinks he can turn him into the Shadow's heir. But you… can save him."
Sofia leaned against the wall.
— "And… Dragos? What does this have to do with… me?"
Bianca took a deep breath.
—When Dragoș was little, Raul found him and touched him with the power of shadows, erasing all his memories. Because of this, his moon sign appeared later than it should have. But you... you carry the Light and can banish the darkness from him.
Sofia instinctively touched the place of her mark.
— "But… why do I feel this connection with him?"
Bianca smiled sweetly, sadly.
— "Because your heart chose him. And his heart… even if he doesn't know it… had chosen you long ago. Your Light and his Moon are two halves of the same destiny."
Sofia blushed brightly.
Bianca took a step towards her, her pale aura trembling.
— "Only the two of you together can break the curse. The Shadow's children are saving you. All of you. And especially… Nicolae."
The light in the bathroom shook violently, like a lightning bolt caught in a cage.
Bianca began to fall apart, like smoke carried by the wind.
— "Sofia… you have already started what no one has succeeded in. I am following the dawn. And with them… the first step towards the truth."
The bathroom sank into absolute darkness.
Sofia was left alone, her heart beating under the sign that pulsated.
— "Me… and Dragoș…" she whispered, as if in a dream.
Her legs carried her to the bed. She collapsed into it, trembling between fear and destiny.
The night slowly enveloped her.
Dawn would come.
And with it…
the beginning of the war between the Light and the Faceless Shadow.