THE LAST BELL

The Blood Oath.

Axel fell to his knees. His chest burned as the dark mark spread from his arm across his skin. He gasped for air, his body shaking like it no longer belonged to him.

“Axel! Please fight it!” Chloe cried. She ran to him and held his face in her hands. Her tears dropped onto his skin.

He looked at her, his eyes dim, his lips trembling. “Chloe… I can’t… the voices… they won’t stop…”

Inside his head, whispers circled like snakes. Give in… you are ours… the oath binds you… surrender.

“No! Don’t listen to them!” Chloe shouted. She pressed her forehead to his. “You are stronger than this. You are not theirs.”

But Axel’s body shook harder. His veins turned black.

The Keeper, standing in the shadows of the underground chamber, finally spoke. His voice was calm but cold.

“He cannot resist. Axel carries the oath of his blood. Long before his birth, his ancestors made a pact with us. His fate was sealed.”

Chloe turned to the Keeper, her eyes blazing. “What are you saying? He didn’t choose this!”

“No,” the Keeper said, stepping closer. “But choices made by blood pass down. The oath binds him. His suffering is not an accident. It is destiny.”

Axel coughed up blood, falling forward. Chloe held him tight, crying. “No! You’re lying! He doesn’t belong to you!”

The Keeper’s pale eyes glowed. “The prophecy always returns to Ravenswood. The blood moon only awakens it. He is the vessel.”

Above ground, Rowan stood with Evelyn near the shattered windows of the old library. The blood moon’s light painted everything red.

Rowan’s lips trembled as she confessed, “I knew, Evelyn. I always knew about Axel’s bloodline. That’s why I brought him here. The prophecy could not begin without him.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock. She stepped closer, anger rising in her chest. “You… you used him? You kept him here just to make this happen?”

Rowan lowered her head, guilt mixing with fear. “It was the only way. We needed the blood oath to awaken. I did what had to be done.”

Evelyn slapped her across the face. The sound echoed in the hollow halls. “You let him suffer! You made him bleed for something he never asked for!”

Rowan touched her cheek, tears forming. “If we did nothing, the cult would still come. At least this way, we control it.”

“Control?” Evelyn spat. “He’s dying because of you! You call this control?”

The two women stared at each other, the blood moon burning above them.

In the gym, Ethan stood in front of Lena. The ground cracked under their feet as Damian stepped forward. His skin split open, his bones twisting, claws stretching from his fingers. His face tore, reshaping into something monstrous.

“Stay back, Lena,” Ethan said, gripping a broken iron bar like a weapon.

Lena screamed, covering her mouth as Damian roared. His voice was no longer human.

“You can’t stop me,” Damian growled. His claws scraped against the floor, sparks flying. “The cult’s power runs through me now.”

Ethan tightened his grip. “Then I’ll fight that power with my own hands.”

Damian lunged, slashing the air. Ethan pushed Lena aside and met Damian head-on. The two clashed, the sound of metal against bone ringing through the gym.

Lena cried out, “Ethan! Don’t let him kill you!”

Ethan glanced back, forcing a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t. I promised I’d protect you.”

Her heart twisted at his words, warmth filling her even as fear clawed at her chest.

Back underground, Mason stood before the cursed stone. His face was pale, his eyes full of determination. He pulled a knife from his belt and cut his palm. Blood dripped onto the black stone.

“I will not let this end with Axel dying,” Mason muttered.

He pressed his bloody hand against the stone. The ground rumbled. Dust fell from the ceiling.

Chloe looked up in fear. “Mason, what are you doing? Stop!”

But Mason pressed harder. The cursed stone drank his blood. The chamber shook like a beating heart. Skeletons buried in the walls began to move. Bones rattled as they pulled free and stood tall, their empty eyes glowing red.

Axel looked up weakly, his voice faint. “No… no, not again…”

The skeletons marched forward. But instead of attacking, they stopped before Mason. One by one, they bowed.

Chloe gasped. “They… they obey you?”

Mason looked at his bleeding hand, stunned. “Why… why are they listening to me?”

Axel tried to stand, his body trembling. He shouted, his voice broken, “No! I command you! Obey me!”

But the skeletons didn’t move. They stayed kneeling before Mason, as if he were their true master.

Axel’s chest burned harder. His heart raced with anger and despair. “Why… why do they choose you over me?”

Mason stared at the skeletons, his face pale. “I don’t know… but maybe the blood oath… maybe it was never yours alone, Axel.”

Chloe turned to Axel, panic in her eyes. “If the oath is not his… then whose is it?”

The Keeper smiled in the darkness. “The truth begins to surface. The prophecy never lies. One commands life. The other commands death.”

Axel’s breath shook. “Then what am I?”

The Keeper’s voice was like a whisper of doom. “You are the sacrifice.”

Above, Evelyn dragged Rowan by the arm. “You’re coming with me. You’re going to undo this!”

Rowan resisted, tears streaming. “It’s too late! The blood oath is awake. Nothing can stop it now!”

Evelyn shook her, screaming, “There must be a way!”

Rowan’s eyes darted toward the ground, fear trembling in her voice. “The only way is death… but whose?”

In the gym, Ethan roared and slammed the iron bar into Damian’s chest. Damian stumbled, blood pouring from his monstrous wound, but he laughed, his claws reaching again.

“You can’t kill me,” Damian sneered. “I am already dead!”

Lena screamed and rushed to Ethan’s side. “Run! Please!”

Ethan shook his head, his eyes locked on Damian. “I won’t run. Not while you’re here.”

Their hands brushed together for a second, a spark of warmth in the chaos. Lena’s heart pounded, fear mixing with something deeper.

Underground, Axel’s body shook as he fell against Chloe. His skin burned, his eyes half closed.

“Chloe…” he whispered, his lips trembling. “If I die… Don't forget me.”

She held his face tight. “Don’t say that. You’re not going to die. I won’t let you. Do you hear me?”

Axel’s eyes filled with tears. He wanted to kiss her, but his strength was gone. She pressed her lips against his, desperate, pouring her heart into him. For a second, the whispers in his mind went silent.

He kissed her back weakly, their tears mixing. But then he coughed blood again, falling limp in her arms.

“No!” Chloe cried. “Stay with me! Please, stay!”

The Keeper stepped closer, his dark robe sweeping the floor. “It is already too late. The oath drains him. His blood is the price.”

Chloe turned on him, rage in her eyes. “Then take me instead!”

The Keeper tilted his head. “Would you truly give your life for him?”

“Yes!” Chloe shouted. “I would die for him!”

For the first time, the Keeper hesitated. His cold smile faded. “Interesting.”

The skeletons rattled louder, bowing deeper before Mason. Mason looked at Axel, then at Chloe, his heart heavy.

“Why… Why is this happening?” Mason whispered.

Chloe’s voice cracked as she held Axel tighter. “If he dies… then what happens to us?”

The chamber shook harder, dust falling like rain. The blood moon above shone brighter, painting everything in crimson.

And then the Keeper spoke the words that froze them all.

“The question is not what happens if he dies… but what wakes if he lives.”

Chloe’s heart stopped. Mason looked pale. Evelyn, above ground, felt the earth tremble under her feet.

And Axel, still clinging to life, opened his fading eyes.

“What… what will wake… if I survive?”