✦ "Some roads aren't walked out of courage—but out of the need to become who you were before you broke."
The next message arrived:
- ../. /...-/./. - ../-/. -
It took me only a second to decode it:
"Back."
After the third stop, I sold the bike. It was out of gas, and though it hurt to let go of something so reliable, I had no other choice. I walked. Each step pulled me further from any certainty I had left.
At a forgotten roadside station, the phone flickered again with another coded message:
3-15-14-13-9-7-15/1
And then another:
-. /.../-./.-. - home
I understood instantly: "Come find me. Back with me—home."
It came with precise instructions:
"If you managed to decode this, take the money and the tickets to Romania. Beneath the first city, you'll find a backpack with cash and a key. One of my men will hand it to you as you cross the river by boat."
Guide or trap?
My chest tightened with each new direction. The words were clear, but the voice behind them was ambiguous—like a warning wearing the mask of a promise.
I thought while walking:
"Am I moving by my own will… or just following someone else's script?"
With no credit left to call Falco or Steven, and the phone's battery almost dead, I was entirely alone.
I left the motorcycle at the station. Removed my jacket, wrapped it with my old clothes, and abandoned it in the bathroom— A symbol. I was no longer the same.
Then came the boat.
The silence of the river was suffocating. At 9:49 a.m., I glanced at my watch. The landscape slid by, still… deceptively still.
Hours later, I arrived in the city. Following the instructions, I boarded the plane with the tickets that had been prepared for me.
Four days passed.
I landed.
During the flight, the weight of my decisions pressed against my chest.
"Is returning the right thing to do?"
As I stepped off the plane, a flight attendant handed me a sealed letter marked with a blue rose.
I recognized it instantly.
I opened it:
I'll remain only as a shadow, watching you from afar. Do not fall. Do not surrender. Find your path—find who you were.
"Always yours, Ibrahim."
His name struck like thunder.
Ibrahim. The man with the crooked smile and silver hair—a figure entangled with my mother, my past… and my shadow.
The note ended with something darker:
"Find me before I find you."
It wasn't an invitation. It was a threat.
I followed the last instruction before my phone died. I took the first taxi that stopped. The driver dropped me in a city unknown to me—but eerily welcoming, as if everything had been staged.
The buildings whispered secrets in crumbling echoes. I walked on.
Eventually, I reached the edge of a peculiar manor. My legs trembled. I was close to collapse when a voice, familiar and sharp, broke the silence— Amid dry leaves swirling in the wind:
—It's been a while, Aisha.
I turned.
Lionel.
Standing beneath the golden light of sunset. Slim, powerful. His blond hair caught the light—and his eyes had no soul left. Only a hollow echo.
—It's good to see you recovered —I said, unfazed.
—Have you changed your mind about monsters like Rasen… and me? —he asked. His smile was ironic, but his tone carried something deeper. A wound still bleeding.
I slipped the phone into my pocket. I stared at him.
It should've died, he must've thought.
—Unlike the rest, Rasen and I were friends long before any of this.
Lionel laughed—dry, brittle.
—Everyone knows that now. They also know how you destroyed him. Surprised?
His words pierced through me. Before I could answer, he stepped forward and lowered his hood. The sunlight didn't harm him.
"You drank his blood…"
—You should listen. Inside.
He led me into an ancient castle. Shadows stretched across every stone. The towers loomed like accusing fingers. The chandeliers swayed with old memories no one dared speak.
We climbed the highest tower. The door groaned. Inside: a wide, cold chamber reeking of centuries past.
And there she was.
Cristal.
Her red hair flowed like a cascade, hands resting gently over her belly. Her smile… more than welcome, yet laced with something unreadable.
—You arrived sooner than expected, Aisha —she said, her voice soft but her gaze sharp.
Lionel left without a word. She stepped forward.
—Do you know who my father is?
—The White Wolf? —I asked. I already knew.
—Perfect —she replied—. Then you know what's at stake.
She came closer. Her eyes locked onto mine like an anchor.
—You share a bond with Rasen that could change everything. You are the key to bringing him back. Help me… and maybe I can free you from the curse binding you to Sanathiel.
Aisha's fingers curled slightly. Her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she wanted to believe her.
I wanted her words to be a lie. But something in her voice sparked a fire I couldn't put out.
Before I could answer, she turned away, vanishing into shadow.
I stood alone, facing the window. The last rays of sunset barely touched the cold stone floor.
And her promise echoed still:
"Maybe I can set you free…"
I knew freedom was never free.But this time… I wasn't sure the price wouldn't be my soul.
Outside, the wind howled softly—like a warning… or a welcome.And somewhere in the distance, a wolf stirred.