The next morning, the air in Asterwall felt different.
Not colder. Not quieter.
Just… watched.
Karl stood near the old well, staring at the stone inscription again in daylight. The words were still there:
"Here they sealed the first bond."
And now that he'd read them… he couldn't unfeel them.
The mark on his chest hadn't pulsed again. But it waited.
Like it was holding back until something else returned.
"Are you trying to unlock ancient secrets again without me?" Mira's voice broke the quiet as she appeared with a piece of bread in her hand.
"Not on purpose," Karl said.
"Rude. I could've brought snacks."
They were still laughing when a shadow fell over them.
Elder Haren.
His robes looked heavier in the daylight — not from weight, but history.
"You saw it, didn't you?" he said without preamble.
Karl straightened.
"The beast?"
Haren's eyes narrowed. "The call."
Mira opened her mouth to speak — then wisely closed it.
"What was that inscription?" Karl asked instead. "The one on the well?"
Haren was quiet for a long moment.
Then:
"That well wasn't always dry."
"And the bond it holds… wasn't always sealed."
Karl's chest tensed.
"You knew about it?"
"Boy," the Elder said, "Asterwall is older than it pretends to be. We don't bury things here. We seal them."
The wind shifted again. And Karl could've sworn… he heard another howl.
Distant.
But closer than last time.
That night, as Karl lay in bed, something flickered at the edge of sleep.
A forest.
Ice crackling underfoot.
And eyes — brilliant, wild, and patient — staring back at him through the dark.
"Find me."