THE LAST BELL

Mason Reborn.

“Axel,” Chloe whispered, her voice shaking. “Do you hear that?”

The library doors suddenly slammed open with a loud crash. Everyone turned at once. Mason staggered inside. His skin was pale like death, stitched with black lines that glowed faintly like veins filled with fire.

“Impossible…” Chloe gasped, pressing her hand to her mouth.

“Mason?” Ethan muttered, stepping back, his glowing sword trembling in his grip.

Mason laughed, a low cruel sound that echoed in the silent room. It was not the laugh of the Mason they once knew. It was cold. It was mocking.

“Well, well,” Mason sneered. “Still hiding behind your fear, Axel? Still afraid to use the power given to you?”

Axel froze. His arm burned again, the strange glowing markings crawling across his skin. He clenched his fists, fighting the pull of the shadows inside him.

“Stay back!” Chloe cried, moving closer to Axel. Her eyes caught Mason’s side. “Axel—look! His bite wound—it’s sealed… sealed with the same markings as yours!”

Axel’s eyes widened. Black symbols glowed faintly on Mason’s skin, identical to his own cursed arm.

The Keeper’s voice rose from the shadows of the library, calm but chilling. “He is no longer Mason. He is reborn. A vessel of destruction. He has been chosen to challenge you, Axel. Only one of you will remain.”

Above them, Damian’s screams ripped through the halls. His voice twisted, distorted, as if another thing spoke through him. The sound made the ground tremble.

“What’s happening to him?” Chloe whispered, gripping Axel’s arm tightly.

“Something else has him,” Ethan said, his voice weak. He pointed to the floor. “And it’s rising from below us.”

A rumble shook the ground beneath their feet. Dust fell from the ceiling. The old gym floor somewhere down the corridor cracked open.

But Mason didn’t care. His eyes glowed red as he stepped forward.

“Axel,” he said softly, almost kindly. “Kneel before me, and maybe I’ll let them live.”

Axel’s jaw tightened. “I’ll never kneel to you.”

Mason smirked, lowering himself to one knee as if in mock submission. “Like this? Is this what you wanted to see, brother?”

Chloe frowned. “Don’t believe him, Axel—”

But before she could finish, Mason moved. His body blurred with inhuman speed, and in an instant, he was in front of her.

“Chloe!” Axel shouted.

Mason’s hand reached for her throat.

Axel raised his arm without thinking. The black shadows around him exploded outward. They struck Mason hard, flinging him across the library and into the wall. The shelves shook. Books rained down.

Chloe gasped, holding her chest. “You… you saved me.”

Axel stared at his own arm in shock. For the first time, he felt in control.

Ethan’s eyes widened. “You did it. You—”

But Mason stood up, laughing. His chest was torn open from the shadow strike, but the wound closed instantly, black light stitching it shut.

“You think you hurt me?” Mason asked, smiling widely. “You think you can stop what I’ve become?”

Axel stepped back, sweat dripping down his forehead. “What… what are you?”

“Stronger than you,” Mason hissed. His glowing veins pulsed brighter. “The Keeper chose me. Not you. You are nothing but a weak copy.”

Chloe grabbed Axel’s hand. “Don’t listen to him. You are stronger. I know you are.”

Mason tilted his head, his red eyes falling on Chloe. “Ah… the girl. Always clinging to him. Do you know, Chloe, what he really is? Do you know the price of his power?”

“Stop it!” Chloe shouted.

“Or what?” Mason sneered, taking a slow step forward. “Will you hide behind him again? Or will you choose me instead?”

Chloe’s lips trembled, but she tightened her hold on Axel’s arm. “I will never choose you. I will stand with him.”

For a moment, Axel felt warmth in his chest. He looked at her, their eyes meeting. “Chloe…”

But Mason’s grin only grew. “Pathetic. Do you really think love can save him? Love cannot fight the hunger that grows inside him. He will destroy you himself.”

Axel’s heart pounded. The words cut deep because part of him feared they were true. The shadows inside him whispered, calling for blood.

Ethan raised his sword, glowing bright. “If Axel can’t stop you, then I will.”

Mason’s eyes flicked toward him. “Try.”

Ethan charged forward, sword blazing. He swung at Mason with all his strength. The blade cut across Mason’s chest, burning through his skin.

For a brief second, Mason roared in pain.

But then… the wound closed again. The black veins stitched themselves faster than before.

“No,” Ethan whispered, his sword trembling. “That’s not possible.”

Mason laughed. “Your light is nothing against me now.” He grabbed Ethan by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“Ethan!” Chloe screamed.

Axel’s markings burned brighter. The shadows around him stirred like a storm. “Let him go!”

Mason threw Ethan across the room. He crashed into a table, coughing hard. His sword rolled out of reach.

“Now,” Mason said, stepping closer, his gaze fixed on Chloe. “Let us see who breaks first. Him… or you.”

Chloe stood frozen, her eyes locked on Mason. Axel moved in front of her, shielding her with his body.

“You’ll have to kill me first,” Axel growled.

Mason smiled darkly. “That is the plan.”

The ground shook again. Damian’s scream echoed louder, twisted, unnatural. Something ancient pushed through his voice.

Chloe looked at Axel in fear. “Axel… something is happening to Damian. It’s like… something else is inside him.”

Ethan struggled to his feet. “It’s not just Damian. It’s the whole school. The darkness is waking.”

The Keeper’s voice whispered through the library again. “The vessel has risen. The challenger has been chosen. Only one may rule the shadow.”

Axel’s heart raced. His eyes locked with Mason’s. Both of them were glowing with the same cursed light. Both of them were tied by fate.

Chloe squeezed Axel’s hand tighter. “Please, Axel. Don’t lose yourself. Don’t let him win.”

Axel looked at her, his throat tight. “I… I don’t know if I can control it.”

“You can,” she whispered. “Because I believe in you.”

Mason tilted his head and laughed cruelly. “Sweet words. But when his hunger takes over, will your love still save you? Or will he be the one to tear you apart?”

Axel’s shadows swirled wildly, filling the library with darkness. The walls cracked. The floor shook.

For a moment, Mason’s grin faded as he felt the power rise. But then, just as quickly, he laughed louder.

“Yes! Show me your rage, Axel! Let’s see who the shadows truly belong to.”

Chloe clung to Axel, her eyes wide with terror and hope at the same time.

Ethan coughed, trying to crawl to his sword. “Axel… you must end this now… before it’s too late.”

Axel’s chest heaved. His power surged like a beast ready to break free. His eyes glowed darker, brighter, stronger.

Mason opened his arms wide, daring him. “Come, brother. Let us see who survives the rebirth.”

The shadows screamed inside Axel, and for the first time, he didn’t know if he could control them… or if they would control him.

Chloe’s voice broke through the noise. “Axel, please… don’t leave me. Don’t let him take you.”

Axel turned his eyes toward her. For a heartbeat, her face steadied him. But the hunger clawed at his soul.

Mason’s laughter filled the library. “Well, Axel… are you ready to kill me? Or are you ready to become me?”

Axel raised his arm, shadows spinning like a storm ready to break loose.

But deep inside… a voice whispered.

Choose…

Axel froze, shaking.

The darkness roared inside him.

He looked at Mason. He looked at Chloe.

And then he whispered, “What if… the shadows don’t belong to either of us?”

The air turned cold. The Keeper’s whisper spread through the room.

“Then who… do they belong to?”