THE LAST BELL

The Cursed Bond

Axel dropped to his knees beside Chloe. Her body shook as the black fire spread across her chest. 

The flames licked her skin, but instead of screaming, her eyes glowed with the same cursed light Axel carried inside him.

“No… no, Chloe,” Axel whispered, his voice breaking. He reached for her trembling hand.

Chloe looked at him, her lips pale. “It burns… but I feel you inside it. Axel… what’s happening to me?”

Before Axel could answer, the Keeper’s deep voice echoed through the broken chamber.

“It is done,” the Keeper declared. His shadowy form loomed tall. “The bond is sealed. Your fates are tied. If one of you falls, the other will follow. Death will not come to one without the other.”

Axel froze. His heart dropped. He stared at Chloe, then back at the Keeper. “What did you do?!”

The Keeper’s cold eyes did not blink. “Love has chained you, warrior. She burns with your curse. Now she is bound to you forever.”

Across the chamber, Sophia stood with her cruel smile. Her lips curled as she watched them. “How sweet,” she mocked. “The great Axel brought down by love.”

She raised her hand toward Mason, who stood beside her. “Kill them both.”

Mason hesitated. His body was still scarred from Axel’s earlier flames, his skin burned and raw. His hands shook as he lifted his weapon.

Sophia’s voice snapped like a whip. “Do it, Mason!”

But Mason’s eyes flickered with fear. He looked at Axel, then at Chloe writhing in the cursed fire.

Before he could act, a rumble echoed from above. A piercing white light shone down the tunnel.

“Axel!”

It was Lena. She rushed into the chamber with Ethan close behind her. In her hands, Lena held the glowing sword, its light shining so bright that the infected zombies shrieked and backed away into the shadows.

Rowan, weak and bloody, gasped when she saw the weapon. “That sword… no… it belongs to the chosen slayer. Not… not a common student like her.”

Lena raised the sword high, its glow filling the chamber. “I don’t care what I’m supposed to be. I’ll fight.”

Axel felt hope stir in his chest, but it was quickly drowned out by Chloe’s sudden scream.

Her body rose from the ground, black fire bursting from her skin. The flames flared, wild and unstable, making the walls shake.

Axel reached toward her. “Chloe, no! You can’t control it yet!”

But Chloe stepped in front of him, her eyes burning. “I won’t let them touch you.”

Her flames blasted outward, cracking the stone and shaking the ceiling. Dust fell in heavy clouds.

“Chloe, please!” Axel shouted. He grabbed her wrist, trying to calm her, but the fire only grew.

The ceiling cracked with a thunderous roar.

Sophia threw her head back and laughed, her voice echoing. “Look at her! The curse eats her alive! She’ll destroy you all before I lift a finger!”

Ethan pulled Lena back as the chamber shook harder. Mason dropped his weapon and stumbled toward the wall, fear written across his face.

Rowan crawled closer to Lena, her voice weak. “If she loses control… we all die here.”

Axel wrapped his arms around Chloe, ignoring the pain as the flames burned his skin. “Listen to me! You’re not alone in this. I’m here. I’ll always be here!”

Chloe’s eyes flickered, soft for a moment. “Axel…”

The fire dimmed slightly, but then the Keeper’s voice cut through the chamber.

“Her bond is new. The power is wild. It will not obey. If you cannot control her, both of you will burn this world.”

Chloe cried out, clutching her chest as the fire flared again. “I can’t stop it! Axel, I can’t—”

“You can,” Axel whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. “Because I believe in you. Because I love you.”

Her lips trembled. Tears ran down her burning cheeks. For a moment, the fire shrank, wrapping around them like a shield.

But then a massive crack split the ceiling. Stones rained down. One hit Ethan’s shoulder, and he groaned in pain.

“We need to get out of here!” Lena yelled.

Axel tried to move Chloe, but she was rooted, her flames digging into the ground like claws.

Sophia’s laughter grew louder. She raised her hand, summoning her own dark energy. “Yes, let it collapse! Let the cursed bond destroy them all. Then I will rise!”

Mason staggered back. “Sophia… stop this… you’ll kill us too!”

She turned on him, her eyes glowing with madness. “Then die with them!”

A beam of dark energy shot from her hand toward Chloe.

Axel stepped in front of Chloe, but before the blast hit, Chloe’s black fire surged forward, swallowing Sophia’s attack. The flames grew wilder, swallowing the chamber in heat and smoke.

The stone above them gave way. Huge slabs fell, crashing around them.

“Axel!” Chloe screamed.

“I’ve got you!” He pulled her close, wrapping his body around hers as the roof caved in.

But the black fire exploded upward, meeting the falling stones. The energy was so strong that it shattered part of the ceiling, leaving a gaping hole above. Light from the moon spilled into the chamber.

Everyone froze. Even Sophia stopped laughing.

The fire around Chloe pulsed, steady and alive, but her face looked pale. She collapsed into Axel’s arms.

“Chloe!” he cried, shaking her gently.

Her eyes opened halfway. “I’m… I’m still here. But it hurts… so much.”

Axel kissed her forehead. “Stay with me. Please. I need you.”

Her lips moved faintly. “You won’t… lose me.”

But Axel could feel her heartbeat slowing.

Lena rushed forward, holding the glowing sword high. “Axel, maybe the sword can help her. Its light—”

The Keeper’s voice interrupted again, colder than ever. “The sword cannot heal her. The curse is bound to your soul. If she lives, it is because of you. If she dies… you both fall.”

Axel looked down at Chloe, panic in his eyes. “Then tell me what to do! Tell me how to save her!”

The Keeper’s form flickered in the shadows. “There is only one way. But the price… is more than love.”

Sophia smirked again. “Listen to him, Axel. Every choice you make will doom you.”

Axel’s jaw clenched. He held Chloe tighter. “I don’t care what it costs. I’ll save her.”

The chamber rumbled again, louder this time. Cracks spread across the ground. Black fire shot upward, colliding with the moonlight. The two forces clashed, shaking the entire underground.

Dust filled the air. Stones crashed down. Ethan dragged Rowan toward the edge of the chamber. Mason stumbled behind, coughing.

Lena shouted over the noise. “Axel! If you don’t stop it now, we’ll all die!”

Axel pressed his lips against Chloe’s ear. “Hold on. Just a little longer. I’ll find a way.”

Her faint voice reached him. “I trust you… Axel.”

The flames suddenly surged higher than ever, swallowing the chamber in darkness and light.

Sophia’s laughter echoed again. “She’s tearing the world apart! This cursed bond will be your grave!”

Axel’s eyes burned with determination. He kissed Chloe’s lips, ignoring the fire that seared his skin. “Not if I can save her.”

The chamber shook so violently that the floor split open beneath them, revealing a pit of writhing infected zombies below.

Chloe’s fire flared wildly. Axel barely held onto her as the ground crumbled.

Sophia screamed with joy. “Fall, all of you! Fall into death!”

The black fire lashed out, striking both the zombies and the ceiling at once. Stones rained harder. The moonlight dimmed.

Chloe’s body went limp in Axel’s arms. Her eyes fluttered closed.

“No!” Axel cried. He shook her gently, his voice breaking. “Stay with me! Don’t leave me now!”

Her lips parted, whispering faint words. “If… I die… you die too.”

Axel’s tears burned down his cheeks. “Then I’ll follow you anywhere. But I won’t let this be the end.”

The flames wrapped around them both, cocooning them. The chamber began to collapse fully.

Above the roar of falling stone, the Keeper’s voice echoed one last time:

“Will the bond save them… or destroy them all?”