Spring in Dalen was not ordinary. A mist hung over the village, and the smell of wet earth and something else, intangible. Inea, having wandered the forgotten paths around the old castle for years, had never seen a similar light before. Its pale, scarlet flashes flashed across the ruins, as if something was trying to emerge from the shadows. The girl tightened her fingers on the handle of a black umbrella - a remnant of her grandmother, who believed that an umbrella protected not only from the rain but also from unfavourable fate. Lately, Inea had been using it a lot, but not because of the weather. She felt as if someone or something was following her among the ruins - or maybe it was just her imagination working? Sixteen-year-old Dastan, the blacksmith's son, was waiting for her by the old wall. He had a torch with him and an old mapbook, stuffed to the brim with sketches of the ruins. He looked at Inea, squinting: "That light again?" - he asked in a whisper. Inea nodded. "Last night it pulsed longer. I think something is changing." They walked through the backstreets of the ruins in silence. Their footsteps echoed off the cracked stones, and a bright scarlet glow began to take hold. At last they reached a gate overgrown with thorny wild vines, which Inea had previously only seen from behind a fence. Now it was open. Beyond the gate stretched a corridor that shouldn't exist - on all the maps of the castle, that part had been collapsed for centuries. A warm, pulsating light emanated from inside, shimmering with all shades of red and gold. Dastan pulled out a sketchbook. "This place is not on any plans. Where did it come from?" Inea felt a shudder. "Maybe it never disappeared. Maybe it was waiting." From inside the tunnel came someone's voice - quiet, intermittent, as if coming from very far away, yet growing clearer by the moment. Inea took a tentative step forward. Behind her back, Dastan shone his torch. The beam of light bounced off the walls, revealing mysterious symbols carved into the stones - wings, dragons' tails, stylised eyes. Suddenly the corridor trembled, and the outlines of something large began to emerge from the light. Inea held her breath. Both their hearts were beating like crazy. In that instant, the light became almost blinding, and the shadow of the creature on the wall grew to unimaginable proportions. Would they reach further, despite their fear? Would they dare to cross the threshold of the unknown? The answer was hiding right in front of them, on the other side of the scarlet glow.