Three days had passed since that dream.Nadia tried to function normally. She attended classes, laughed, talked with friends. She studied for tests, complained about the weather, and drank coffee from the machine as if nothing had happened. As if she remembered nothing.Yet… something had changed.
There was a watchfulness in her gaze. A subtle tension in the muscles of her face. Every second, she was ready to attack or flee. She kept up appearances, but she didn't lower her guard.
Leon…He smiled. Still wore the same hoodies, told stupid jokes, teased Natan, and high-fived Sebastian. At first glance, everything seemed fine. But Nadia knew better.Leon wasn't himself.
There were moments when his eyes grew too empty. Or, on the contrary, too piercing, as if he were assessing whether he could destroy her already. He had control—but it wasn't his control.
"Hey, Nadia, you're lost in thought," Leon waved his hand in front of her face.
She blinked sharply and forced a small smile."Yeah… I just didn't sleep well. Nothing new.""Maybe some coffee will help?" he suggested, already standing up."I'll go myself. I need to walk a bit." She grabbed her backpack and headed toward the classroom door.
She felt his gaze on her back.Don't show him you know. Don't give him satisfaction.
She couldn't show weakness. In her mind, she returned to the words of the woman from the dream. She felt that it wasn't just a product of a tired mind. That voice had been too real, too heavy with pain and truth.
In the hallway, she saw Alicja. The girl was standing by the vending machine, pressing buttons with a strange nervousness.
"Hey," Nadia said cautiously.
Alicja looked at her, raising an eyebrow."You don't look your best," she said coldly."Thanks, always nice to hear," Nadia replied with a forced smile.
"Do you feel it too?" Alicja asked after a moment, lowering her voice. "That he's changed? That this isn't Leon?"
Nadia felt her heart race."Why are you asking that again?"Alicja looked up and met her eyes."Because this morning, he joked about something… that Leon would never say. About how some weak individuals should be 'eliminated before they weaken the whole.'" She grimaced. "He used those exact words. Like the General."
Nadia froze."General?"
The bell rang loudly, slicing through the silence like a knife.
"Time for chemistry," Leon said, appearing right next to the girls.
Nadia and Alicja followed him in silence. They walked down the hallway as a trio, yet each of them was alone in their thoughts.
Pretend. Play. Observe.
In the chemistry lab, the teacher divided them into groups. Chance—or the irony of fate—put Nadia paired with Leon. Alicja was assigned to another table.
"You look beautiful today," Leon said quietly as they arranged test tubes. "Almost like someone from the past."
Nadia raised an eyebrow."What do you mean?""Nothing, just… déjà vu."
A shiver ran down her spine. He knew. At least partially.
Leon picked up a glass pipette and began carefully measuring sulfuric acid, as if his life depended on precision. Maybe it did.
Nadia leaned over her notebook but kept one eye on his every movement.
At one point, she caught him staring at her without blinking. He smiled, but the smile felt alien. Like a mask hiding something inhuman.
"Leon…" she started, unsure what she wanted to say."Yes?""You… you look like you haven't slept in a week. Everything okay?""Better than ever," he replied, looking away. "I just… feel that something is coming."
Nadia's heart began to race again.What is coming?
*
It was the middle of the night when Leon felt something icy creeping inside him, sinking into every corner of his consciousness. It was no longer his will— the General was taking full control, like a cold mist slowly shattering the remnants of his resistance. A glint appeared in his eyes that no one had ever seen before—a glint of indifference, but also dangerous determination.
The General's voice echoed in his mind, crushing every thought like a hard hammer."Your time for vengeance has come. And now you, my most loyal pawn, will carry out my will."
Leon slowly raised his hand, a barely perceptible shadow of dark energy forming between his fingers. He knew he had to act quickly before Alicia and Nadia realized what was happening.
But beneath this outer shell, somewhere deep inside, a trace of his true self still flickered—aware that the real battle was only beginning.
A quiet yet relentless struggle ignited within Leon's mind. The General, cold and merciless, sought to extinguish every spark of hope, every ember of rebellion. His voice was like a frigid shadow, wrapping around Leon's heart and attempting to suffocate the last remnants of humanity."There is no room for weakness. You are my tool. Destroy them."
Yet, in the darkest corner of his consciousness, where the shadow had not yet reached, Leon felt the presence of another force—delicate, but powerful. It was Nadia, the one he cared for.
Leon tried to gather the remnants of his will. Memories he had wanted to forget surged back with the force of lightning: Nadia's laughter, Alicia's gaze, the warmth of their friendship. These images were an anchor, holding him to sanity.
The pain of the struggle tore him apart from within—each second felt like his soul being ripped into pieces. Yet still, Leon managed to break free from the General's control, if only for a fleeting moment.
"No…" he whispered, trying to reach for his own name, for who he had been before the darkness consumed him.
He knew this was just the beginning. If he couldn't find the strength to resist the General, he would either die—or do something he could never forgive himself for.
The darkness in Leon's mind churned like a stormy sea. The General tightened his sinister grip, attempting to snuff out the last flickers of human light. Every attempt to reclaim himself was like trying to breathe under the surface of cold, thick water.
"Submit, Leon. You are my tool. Your will means nothing." The General's words grew louder, resonating with each passing second.
Yet even in this chaos, a note of defiance emerged."I won't let you…" he whispered, his voice trembling like a thin thread that one stronger wave could snap.
Nadia's image appeared in his mind—her determined, warm gaze that he had tried so long to forget. That memory was like a light in a tunnel, capable of saving him from the endless night.
But the General would not relent. He pressed harder, tearing apart the fragile bonds that still held him.
The fight went on endlessly—over his soul, over what remained of Leon.
Then, in the midst of the darkness, a light suddenly blazed in Leon's mind—bright, warm, pulsating like a heart that refused to stop beating. It was the voice of Alan—his previous incarnation—full of determination, piercing the gloom like lightning.
"You are not alone, Leon," it whispered within his soul, wrapping him in a comforting cloak. "Remember who you are. Remember what you truly love."
Under this light, he felt the General's icy mist recede, thinning and giving way to fragments of his own will.
His heart pounded stronger than ever, and a new energy spread through his veins—not the cold, soulless force the General imposed, but the living, pulsing power of his true self.
"No… I will not let you destroy me," he whispered, his words gaining a strength he had never expected.
The inner chains began to break, and Leon felt himself regaining control over his body and mind. He knew the battle was far from over, but the first step toward freedom had been taken.
The restored glint in his eyes was not only a sign of rebellion but also of hope—a hope that love and memory could overcome even the deepest darkness.
*
The morning sun lazily crept through the classroom windows, illuminating the rows of desks and the faces of the gathered students. Leon sat next to Natan, who was just lightly smiling as he corrected his notebook.
"So, Natan," Leon began, a playful glint in his eye, "are you going to try to beat me at chess again tonight, or have you already given up?"
Natan rolled his eyes but couldn't hide a smile.
"Don't say it so loudly, or people will actually think I beat you," he replied teasingly.
Leon laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder. His behavior was the kind Nadia and Alicia hadn't seen in a long time—relaxed, full of ease and energy.
Nadia watched him from the back of the desk, as did Alicia, both silently observing. Astonishment and confusion flickered in their eyes.
"What happened to him?" Alicia whispered, tilting her head.
Leon continued laughing, completely unaware that their gazes were filled with questions he couldn't yet answer.
He had just finished another joke about the "chess conqueror Natan" when someone gently nudged his chair from behind. He turned over his shoulder—Nadia was sitting right behind them, resting her elbows on the desk, one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Since when are you this cheerful first thing in the morning?" she asked in a calm tone, cautious yet curious. "Last night you looked like you were ready to hit someone."
Leon chuckled softly, nonchalant.
"What can I say? Maybe I finally got enough sleep," he shrugged. "Or maybe I just changed my mindset. This morning I looked in the mirror and thought: today I'm handsome again. Time to get back in shape."
Natan burst out laughing, but Nadia didn't smile. Her gaze remained steady, fixed deeply on Leon—as if she were trying to see something beneath that carefree mask.
"Isn't that… strange?" she murmured, more to herself than to him. "Just… a complete one-eighty change?"
Leon met her eyes for a fraction of a second—maybe a little too long.
"Life is strange, Nadia," he replied softly. "You just have to accept it."
In that single moment, something in his expression shifted again. An invisible shadow, too fleeting to name, yet real enough to send a shiver of unease down her spine.
Nadia furrowed her brow, still watching him. She knew something wasn't right—and she had a bad feeling that this was only the beginning.
*
Late in the afternoon, as the school corridors began to empty, Nadia sat in the reading room, surrounded by stacks of books whose spines were thick with dust. Her fingers traced the old pages, searching for anything—any mention of spirits, hauntings, soul connections, or reincarnation.
She couldn't get Leon's gaze out of her head. For a fraction of a second, she had felt… something alien. As if someone else had been looking at her. As if his body were only a shell.
She opened another book—a leather-bound volume on protective practices among old spiritualist mediums, handwritten and signed with her great-grandmother's name…
She froze."Why is this book here…" she whispered.
Beneath her fingers was the description of a ritual her great-grandmother had once performed, on the orders of the General.
Nadia's heart pounded harder.
This was no coincidence. Everything was starting to fall into a terrifying pattern.
She snapped the book shut, gripping it tightly. She knew she had to act. That Alicia had to find out. That they no longer had time.
Leon was not himself.
And if they didn't act quickly, soon it might already be too late for them.
*
Alicia sat on her bed in her room, headphones on, sketchbook on her lap. Her pencil moved calmly across the paper, tracing the outline of someone's figure—familiar, male, with a distinctive profile.
The door burst open."Alicia." Nadia's voice was tense, leaving no room for refusal.
Alicia looked up and removed her headphones. Seeing her roommate's face, she immediately sensed that something was wrong."What happened?"
Nadia stepped further into the room, holding a heavy book. She threw it onto the bed between them and sat down right beside her, still keeping her eyes fixed on Alicia."This isn't just a feeling. It's not my imagination. I found references to spiritualist rituals performed on the orders of the General. The medium involved bore my great-grandmother's name. You… you are that great-grandmother. And I…" — she hesitated — "I am Hanna."
Alicia froze, her pencil hovering mid-sketch."Wait. Are you saying my previous reincarnation did such awful things for the General? Why? What did he gain from it?"
Nadia nodded."One thing is certain. The General has returned. And I'm almost sure he's taken over Leon. He let him go for a moment—this morning. But it was too light. Too light. He doesn't just come back like that. It was… an act. A lure."
Alicia swallowed, keeping her gaze on her roommate. Her thoughts tangled and untangled at once, forming something that resembled fear."So… if this is true… we're next, right? I wasn't wrong from the start?"
Nadia was silent for a moment."Yes. He hates us. Our souls. He has returned for revenge."
A heavy silence settled in the room. Alicia closed her sketchbook with a soft snap. She still couldn't look away from the book Nadia had thrown onto the bed. The old pages whispered of things that should have been forgotten.
"He didn't return just to destroy us," Nadia said softly, breaking the silence. "He returned because we are the key to his survival."
Alicia stared at her in disbelief. Nadia sighed and began speaking slowly, but steadily:"Your great-grandmother… in her previous life, she was a medium. But not the kind I thought. She didn't fight him. She worked for him. She was forced. Or he blackmailed her. She conducted rituals meant to strengthen his power—not just in life, but after death. To bind his soul to this place. So strongly that he would never leave. Never."
Alicia went pale. Her voice was quiet, almost trembling:"You're saying your great-grandmother helped him… become something more than a spirit?"
"Yes," Nadia confirmed. "Something demonic. Conscious. Hungry. And now… now he needs us to regain his full strength. To anchor himself. He's using Leon as a vessel. But that's just the beginning."
Alicia swallowed hard. Her hands trembled as she looked at the old text."And what does that mean for us?"
Nadia looked her in the eyes."That if we do nothing… he will stay here forever. And he will do to Leon what he did to my great-grandmother. He will break him. Make him his tool. And then he will come for us."
A silence fell, heavy with the weight of long-buried secrets.
Finally, Alicia nodded."So… what do we do?"
"We look for a breaking ritual. Whatever my great-grandmother wrote… maybe in the same place, she hid a way to stop him. Maybe she even secretly left a clue for us. For you."
Alicia straightened up and reached for a flashlight from the cabinet."You mean… a night expedition?"
Nadia whispered, her courage trembling with her words:"To the underground. Where it all began."