The atmosphere inside the Free Masons Council had completely changed.
Nobody was arguing anymore.
Nobody was discussing Feroz.
Nobody was talking about the Learning Path.
Only one name mattered now.
Rahim.
The Archivist stood silently as the council members exchanged uneasy looks.
Finally one of them spoke.
"Are we certain?"
The Archivist nodded.
"As certain as we can be."
Another member frowned.
"After all these years?"
"Yes."
The room fell silent again.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
If Rahim had truly returned—
old problems would return with him.
Problems they thought had been buried long ago.
One council member leaned forward.
"What about the boy?"
The Archivist's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Feroz remains important."
A pause.
"But Rahim changes everything."
No one disagreed.
Meanwhile—
the sun was beginning to set over the village.
Feroz and Ayan were walking back from the river.
Neither spoke much.
Both were lost in thought.
As they entered the village square—
they noticed something unusual.
The old man was waiting for them.
That alone wasn't strange.
What was strange—
was his expression.
He looked worried.
Very worried.
The moment he saw Feroz, he walked toward him.
"Come with me."
Feroz frowned.
"What happened?"
"Now."
That answer was enough.
Ayan immediately followed.
The three quickly entered the Hall.
Once the doors closed behind them—
the old man finally spoke.
"The book opened again."
Feroz's eyes widened.
"When?"
"A few minutes ago."
The old man led them directly into the archive.
His pace was faster than usual.
When they arrived—
the book was already waiting on a stone table.
Open.
Golden words filled the page.
Fresh.
Bright.
As if they had only appeared moments ago.
Feroz stepped closer.
Then read them.
"The one who returned carries a warning."
Silence.
Ayan looked confused.
"The one who returned?"
The old man didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Rahim.
The message was talking about Rahim.
Feroz looked down at the page again.
More words slowly appeared beneath the first sentence.
Letter by letter.
The three watched silently.
The message completed itself.
"Listen before choosing."
Then the golden light faded.
The words remained.
But no new message appeared.
Ayan broke the silence.
"Choosing what?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The old man looked deeply troubled.
Feroz noticed immediately.
"You know something."
The old man remained silent.
Then finally nodded.
"A little."
"Then tell us."
The old man looked toward the ancient shelves.
As though searching through old memories.
"Long ago..."
He paused.
"...before Rahim disappeared..."
The room became completely silent.
"...he warned everyone."
Feroz listened carefully.
"What warning?"
The old man looked directly at him.
"That one day a choice would appear."
A chill ran through Feroz's body.
A choice.
Again.
The Messenger.
The broken watch.
The visions.
The future beneath the tree.
Everything always seemed to return to choices.
The old man continued.
"Nobody believed him."
"Why?"
"Because he refused to explain."
Ayan sighed.
"People in this world really hate giving complete answers."
For the first time—
the old man laughed.
A short laugh.
But a genuine one.
"You're not wrong."
Then his expression became serious again.
"He only said one thing."
Feroz waited.
The old man slowly repeated the words.
Exactly as he remembered them.
"When the choice arrives, do not choose too quickly."
Silence.
Those words felt important.
Dangerously important.
Because Feroz had already made several choices.
The cave.
The Circle.
The Learning Path.
And each choice had changed his future.
The old man looked at him carefully.
"As far as I know, Rahim never explained what he meant."
Ayan folded his arms.
"That's becoming a pattern."
Nobody argued.
Later that night—
after everyone had gone to sleep—
Feroz sat alone outside.
The mysterious book rested beside him.
The village was quiet.
The stars filled the sky.
For the first time in a while—
he wasn't thinking about power.
Or training.
Or enemies.
He was thinking about choices.
Every major moment in his life had started with one.
Then suddenly—
he heard footsteps.
Feroz turned.
A familiar figure approached through the darkness.
Sameer.
But something about him looked different.
Concerned.
Uneasy.
When he reached Feroz, he stopped.
"We need to talk."
Feroz immediately sat up.
"What happened?"
Sameer hesitated.
Then spoke quietly.
"I remembered something."
The night suddenly felt colder.
"What?"
Sameer looked directly at him.
"The man who led me here."
A pause.
Then:
"He didn't just know your name."
Feroz's heartbeat quickened.
Sameer's expression darkened.
"He knew your father's name too."
And for the first time—
Feroz realized the stranger guiding Sameer might be connected to something much bigger than he originally thought.