The phrase echoed in Liam's mind like a whisper trapped in a cave: The Circle of Thirteen awaits.
He stared at the black card, heart pounding. The letters shimmered faintly, like they were alive. He turned it over. Nothing. No phone number. No instructions. Just that single sentence and the ancient symbol.
"Who are they?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
Seraphina's face grew solemn. "The ones who keep balance. The ones who silence those who learn too much."
Liam blinked. "You mean—like a secret society?"
Seraphina's gaze flickered. "More like a hidden tribunal. Thirteen individuals bound by oaths, each guarding a part of a truth the world isn't ready to know."
A cold chill crawled down Liam's spine. "And they're watching me now?"
"They've felt you. The ring... the box... it wasn't meant to be opened lightly." She reached out and gently touched the symbol on the card. "Now you're one of us."
"One of you?"
She nodded. "When I opened my box five years ago, I was tested. I passed. Barely. But I never joined the Circle. I've been on the run ever since."
Liam tried to wrap his head around it. "So you're telling me some secret order is coming after me because I put on a stupid ring?"
"Not just any ring," she whispered. "That ring belonged to the First Keeper."
"The who?"
Seraphina glanced around the square, then led him quickly out of sight, down a narrow alley lined with rusting staircases and fire escapes.
"The First Keeper was the founder of the Circle," she explained in a low voice. "Centuries ago. A sorcerer, philosopher, and assassin all in one. He disappeared after sealing the Vault of Echoes—a chamber said to contain every forbidden secret the world ever knew."
Liam's pulse spiked. "And now that I've put on his ring…"
"You've been marked. Chosen. Hunted. Maybe all three."
They arrived at a small door tucked behind a crooked lamppost. Seraphina knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice more.
A sliding metal panel opened. A pair of yellow eyes peeked out.
"You brought him?" a gravelly voice asked.
"He wore the ring," Seraphina replied.
The door creaked open, revealing a dim underground stairwell.
As they descended, flickering lanterns cast strange shadows on the stone walls, and faint whispers filled the air—though no one was speaking.
At the bottom, a strange room awaited them. Books stacked in towers. Candles dripping wax over runes. And at the center, a map of the city—covered in pins, strings, and glowing symbols.
Standing by the map was a tall woman with silver hair braided down her back and a tattoo of a serpent coiled around her neck.
"This is Mira," Seraphina introduced. "The Seer of the Broken Path."
Mira turned to Liam with an intense gaze. "So... you opened the box."
Liam gave a cautious nod. "Was I not supposed to?"
Mira didn't answer right away. Instead, she picked up a crystal and held it near his ring.
The crystal cracked instantly.
Everyone froze.
Seraphina's eyes widened. Mira slowly lowered the remains of the crystal, her voice hushed.
"This changes everything," she said. "He doesn't just wear the ring. He awakens it."
Liam swallowed hard. "What does that mean?"
Mira stepped closer, her voice grim.
"It means the Vault of Echoes may open again. And if it does… the Circle won't be the only ones hunting you."