A year and a half had passed since Dragoş had left for the Knights School of the North.
Sofia's life seemed quiet – too quiet. Her nights were filled with strange dreams, and her days with heavy foreboding. She was now 17 years old, and she felt as if the Itezista forest was watching her with invisible eyes.
The silver medallion with the blue crystal had never been the same.Its light would light up on its own, weakly, as if it were breathing.Sometimes it would even vibrate, as if it wanted her attention.
On a cold autumn evening, the sky was covered with thick clouds, and the wind carried the smell of wet leaves. Sofia was just closing the windows when she saw a shadow in the yard. She thought it was a guard... until the shadow raised its head.Her heart stopped for a second.
Dragoş.
— "You've grown up…" he said with a tired smile.
He was no longer the boy she knew. He was taller, stronger, but what struck her most was his expression: a mixture of fear and determination. On his right arm he had a strange burn, shaped like a dark crescent.
— "What happened to you?"
— "I'll tell you… but not here."
Sofia felt the medallion pulsing warmly between her fingers.
— "Did you dream something?" Dragoș asked without looking at her.
He stopped suddenly.
— "Yes…"
Dragoș swallowed hard.
— "About Codrion?"
Sofia was speechless.Last night's dream still haunted her.In the dream, she was alone in the forest.The lights between the trees were blue and glittered like shards of glass.
Then the roots of the trees began to move, to push back, to break.And from their midst, wounded, Codrion emerged.
But not as before — not strong, not shining.He was pale, torn with dark spots, as if the shadow had bitten him.
— "The bond… is breaking…" he had told her.
— "Light and Darkness no longer breathe together."
— "Come."
Sofia shook her head, trembling.
— "Yes… that's exactly what I dreamed."
Dragoș clenched his fist.
— "Then we don't have time. Sofia, we have to go to the forest now."
Sofia took a deep breath.She knew she would say this, but the thought still scared her.
— "And… what is breaking, actually?"
Dragoş looked towards the forest, where the wind made the leaves tremble.
— "The bond between Light and Shadow. If it breaks completely… our world changes forever."
Before he took the first step, a faint voice was heard:
— "I'm coming too."
Nicolae was watching them from the top of the stairs.He was 10 years old now, but his eyes seemed to see more than they should have.On his forehead, the mark glowed faintly, as if someone were calling him.
— "Nico, you can't…" Sofia began.
But the boy raised his chin, determined.
— "The forest hears me. I hear it too. If you leave, I'll leave too."
Dragoş and Sofia looked at each other.They knew they couldn't stop him.His mark tied him to them.
— "Okay," Dragoș said finally. "But don't let us take a step."
They entered the forest.The fog wrapped around their feet like cold hands.
Everything was too quiet, as if the whole world was holding its breath.At one point, Sofia felt someone touch her shoulder.
But there was no one.The forest vibrated. A whisper could be heard through the leaves, like a faint murmur:
"The key… has come…"
Nicolae clung to her.
— "Sofia… I'm a little scared."
— "That's normal. Me too."
Then, two shadows emerged from the trees.
Nicolae screamed.But the shadows stopped a few meters away.A long, tense moment followed…
until one of them said:
— "Don't be afraid."
It was a familiar voice.
Vlad and Alexandra emerged from the fog.They didn't seem older.
They didn't seem tired.They seemed… different.Their eyes had a silver light, like moonlight.
— "Are you here…?" Sofia whispered.
Vlad nodded.
— "The forest woke us up. When the connection starts to break… we feel it first."
Alexandra took a step towards Nicolae, and the boy hid behind Sofia.She smiled slightly.
— "Don't worry, little one. We're not here to hurt you."
Nicolae slowly emerged from behind Sofia.
— "Are you… on the side of light?"
Alexandra approached and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
— "We're on the side of balance. That means we're protecting you."
Nico's eyes lit up.
— "So... are we friends?"
Vlad smiled faintly.
— "Yes. Friends."
The tension dissipated a little.
— "Do you know what's happening to Codrion?" Sofia asked.
Vlad lowered his gaze.
— "The Spirit of Light is wounded. The old darkness has begun to eat him."
— "And what can we do?" Dragoş asks.
Alexandra pointed deep into the forest.
— "You have to get to where it all began. In the Root of Light. Codrion is waiting for you."
Sofia felt her chest tighten.Her medallion pulsed harder and harder.
Vlad continued:
— "But hurry. The circle is breaking faster than you think."
Sofia, Dragoş, and Nicolae nodded.And, together with Vlad and Alexandra, they went deeper into the forest, where the light