The night was thick and silent. Even the wind among the trees had stopped rustling, as if unwilling to disturb the stillness that hovered over the building. Alicja and Nadia descended the stairs leading to the underground part of the school — the part officially closed off, which students avoided by a wide margin.
The cold struck them immediately, as if they had crossed the threshold into something no longer belonging to the world of the living. The walls were stone, damp, covered with dark mold. Their footsteps echoed off the narrow corridors, stretching deep into the darkness.
Alicja stopped at one of the corners, holding her flashlight close to her face."Do you hear that?" she whispered.Nadia nodded silently. Something… was whispering. Hundreds of whispers, barely audible, as if flowing from beneath the ground, from behind the walls.
They reached a bricked-up niche. The stones looked old, but between them was a narrow crack. Alicja pressed her hand against it.
And then they heard the first clear voice."He took us.""Maria promised power… but she gave death.""They left us here. Bricked in. Forgotten."
Alicja recoiled violently, almost dropping her flashlight.
Figures emerged from the darkness — semi-transparent, with faces frozen at the moment of death. Some had empty eyes, as if burned out; others had mouths open in silent screams.
Nadia shivered, though she could see nothing. One of the spirits approached her and raised its hand, pointing down the corridor."The altar. The heart of the ritual. He returns there. He draws from us, because he offered us as a sacrifice.""He cannot leave… because we are still here. Imprisoned by his will."
Alicja stared, frozen. Suddenly, everything began to make sense."They… they were sacrificed," she whispered. "These weren't protective rituals. They were offerings. Bodies meant to feed his soul."
One of the spirits nodded slowly."We fear him… because he trapped us. And now, through the boy, he grows stronger again."
Alicja whispered almost inaudibly:"Leon…"
The spirits fell silent. At the end of the corridor, a pale, unnatural light flared.
The altar.
Alicja squeezed Nadia's hand."We have to go back. Before he realizes we were here."
But the shadows began to move. The spirits did not want to let them go. Not because they were hostile — but because they begged for help.
"Destroy this place. Cut him off from us. Burn everything that remains. Only then will he cease to exist."
***
They emerged from the underground only when the first light of morning began to pierce through the clouds. Tired, subdued, with their gazes fixed on the ground. Neither of them dared to look back.
When they returned to the room, they didn't speak for a long moment. Nadia collapsed onto her bed, hiding her face in her hands. Alicja pulled up a chair and sat across from her. Finally, she broke the silence:"This isn't an ordinary spirit. It won't cease to exist just because we named it. It… is woven into this place. Into these people. Into us."
Nadia raised her eyes."And if we try to destroy it without proper preparation…?"
Alicja finished her thought:"It could drag us to the other side. Or destroy Leon."
Another moment of silence fell. Alicja pulled an old, worn book from her drawer — belonging to her previous incarnation."We have to find a ritual to release the souls. Only then can we break its bond with the victims. Otherwise, even burning the altar won't help — it will simply recreate itself."
Nadia nodded, feeling the growing weight of responsibility. There was a shadow of fear in her eyes, but also determination."And if we manage to free those spirits…?""Then," Alicja said slowly, "it will be alone. Weak. Exposed.""And we'll be able to take Leon from it," Nadia added quietly. "Before it hurts him, like it did my great-grandmother and other innocent people."
They exchanged a look of quiet understanding. Time was against them, but they still had a chance.
It wasn't too late yet.
***
Leon sat on a bench by the playground, where he usually rested between classes. The morning sun filtered through the leaves of the trees, but he didn't really see them. His gaze was empty, as if he were looking through the world, not at it. His hands rested loosely clasped, as if they didn't belong to him.
Inside him… something was awakening."They were there."
The voice wasn't his. It never had been. But now it carried more power than ever before."They went too far. They felt. They heard. They saw them."
Leon shifted slightly, frowning. For a brief moment, he was himself — confused, unsettled by something he couldn't grasp. A feeling… of cold. Fear. Anger that wasn't his own.
But a second later, his gaze sharpened. The uncertainty vanished."That medium… interfering again.""And the other one…" The voice hissed. "…the blood of my victim. The same soul as before."
Leon tilted his head back. The air around him seemed to tremble. A metallic taste filled his mouth. Something was changing — deeper. His body was no longer just a tool; it was becoming part of the plan. A permanent vessel.
"Alicja… Nadia…" he spoke their names almost tenderly, yet a sinister undertone simmered in his voice. "Restless girls. Sniffing around my traces, as if they know what to look for."
He closed his eyes and saw… the shadow of the basement. The altar. And two figures in the flashlight's glow."You are not ready. You do not know what you have truly awakened."
He rose slowly, running his fingers along the back of his neck as if waking from a long sleep. As he passed by blooming roses, one of the flowers withered in an instant.
"Before they can do anything… I must hasten the awakening."
***
Alicja was closing the locker in the hallway when she felt something watching her. She spun around sharply — and saw Leon. He was too close. Too close. His shadow blocked the light, and his smile looked like a painting someone had tried to copy without understanding human emotions.
"Hey, Alicja," he said calmly. "Sleep well?"
The tone was too smooth. His gaze too alert. Alicja instinctively took a step back.
"Yes…" she replied cautiously. "And you?"
Leon tilted his head."I had very… vivid dreams. Almost like memories." His smile widened slightly. "Of your hands holding a candle. Of your voice speaking words no one should know."
Alicja froze."Stop," she said sharply.
Leon stepped closer to her."I saw you in the basement. Among my children." He leaned in, whispering. "They trusted you, didn't they? But you know what happens to souls that linger too long between worlds? Their trust ends. And I still have power over their rotting fear."
Alicja would have slapped him — if it were Leon. But it wasn't him. Something was only using his body."Leon wouldn't say things like that," she growled.
And then, for a moment, something cracked in his eyes. For a fraction of a second… it was as if he were himself again. As if he wanted to warn her. But then the shadow returned.
"He wouldn't," he agreed softly. "But I speak. Because unlike him… I remember every tear you've shed in the past. Every whisper of your soul. And I know exactly how to break you."
She didn't wait for more. She turned and moved toward the door, not looking back.
Leon didn't move."She's starting to fear. Good."
***
An hour later. The courtyard behind the school.
Nadia sat alone by the pond, her head buried in her arms. She didn't notice the footsteps. Only when someone sat beside her did she lift her gaze.
Leon. But he looked… calm. Truly calm. Like he used to.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
Nadia looked at him suspiciously, yet a flicker of hope burned in her eyes.
"I'm not sure what's real and what isn't," she admitted.
Leon was silent for a moment, staring at the tips of his shoes. Then he said:"These dreams… I feel like they're not my memories. But I feel things I can't explain. I see places I don't know… yet they feel familiar."
Nadia froze."What places?"
"The stone altar. Blood. Candles. Your face." He looked at her gently. "And the face of a woman who looked like you. Sad. Obedient."
Nadia shivered.
Leon took a step back."I'm scared, Nadia. But I don't know if it's me… or something else inside me that's afraid. Or maybe something that only pretends to be afraid."
Nadia felt a tightness in her stomach. For a moment, she felt him there. Leon. But was it really him?
"I want to help you," she whispered.
Then he smiled — and that smile was not his again."I know. And that's exactly why I'll find you, even if you hide from me."
He stood and walked away.
And Nadia knew for certain: Leon was trapped inside. And begging for rescue. But the General knew everything.
***
The girls' room was darkened, the curtains drawn tightly. In the center of the floor lay a makeshift protective circle: chalk, herbs, a talisman crafted by Alicja from leftover beads and a shard of glass. Everything trembled with tension, though the air remained still.
Leon sat on a chair opposite them. He had come at their "invitation," as Alicja had sent him a message asking to talk. He didn't yet suspect it was a trap. Or perhaps… he suspected, but allowed them to play the game.
Alicja sat across from him, Nadia beside her, keeping her eyes on him at all times. She held a mirror — old, silver, covered with ritual symbols. It reflected only what was true. Or perhaps — only what was hidden.
"We just want to talk," Alicja said calmly. "We won't hurt you."
Leon smiled slightly."I know. We trust each other, right?"
But something trembled in his voice. Nadia noticed his hand tightening around the arm of the chair, as if he were struggling with something inside. Alicja placed a candle and lit it in one smooth motion. The flame flickered.
"Leon… if you're in there, if you can hear me…" Alicja began, whispering. "Focus. Don't fight it. Just listen to my voice."
Silence fell. Leon leaned back. His eyes darkened. But his lips… parted slightly.
"Alicja…?"
Nadia held her breath."Yes. It's me. It's us," Alicja spoke calmly, keeping her hand on the floor just inside the circle. "You're in there, Leon. You're not alone. He… is using you. But it's not you."
Leon trembled. A quiet, broken breath escaped his lips."He… doesn't sleep. He sees. Everything… remembers…"
In the mirror, Nadia saw something that nearly made her drop the glass — a shadow behind Leon. An elongated figure with empty eyes, hovering above his shoulders like smoke. She realized: the General was watching them all. He was here.
Leon coughed violently. Bent forward, clutching his head."No! Don't say more! He—!"
And then his voice changed. Coarse. Swollen with rage."Enough."
Alicja and Nadia jumped back; the candle went out with a snap. The protective circle began to crumble as if blown by wind, though the windows were closed.
"You think your whispers will stop me?" Leon's voice was deep, distorted, as if dozens of shadows spoke through him. "I have seen everything. From the beginning. And now… I no longer ask Leon for permission."
Alicja threw a handful of salt toward the circle."Leon, if you're in there — HOLD ON!"
For a fraction of a second — maybe two — his body shuddered, quivered, and then… Leon sank to his knees. Breathing heavily. Trembling. He looked at Alicja. At Nadia.
And his eyes were his again."Alicja… Nadia… help me," he whispered.
He fainted.