THE LAST BELL

The Mark of Command.

The ground shook as Axel stepped into the chamber. Shadows moved around him, curling like black smoke. They bent low, bowing before his presence, as if they knew he was their master.

Chloe held tightly to his arm, her fingers digging into his sleeve. Her face was pale.

“Axel… they’re listening to you,” she whispered. “Why are they bowing like that? What’s happening to you?”

“I don’t know,” Axel said, though deep down he feared he already did.

From the darkness ahead, the Keeper appeared. Its voice was rough, filled with power that shook the walls.

“Power demands sacrifice,” the Keeper said. “The curse chose you, Axel. You cannot run from it. If you resist, it will not spare you. It will consume you instead.”

Chloe flinched at the sound of the Keeper’s voice, but she refused to let go of Axel.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said quickly. “You are stronger than this curse. You don’t need to obey it.”

Axel’s chest tightened. He wanted to believe her, but the shadows crawling at his feet told another story.

Above the chamber, in the ruined hall, Ethan was fighting. His glowing sword cut through the infected again and again. 

Each swing lit up the darkness, but sweat poured down his face. His hands shook. The sword was heavy, too heavy, as if it was feeding on his very life.

“Stay back!” Ethan shouted as three more infected rushed him. He swung, and the sword cut them down, but his knees buckled.

Lena ran toward him, her eyes wide with fear. “Ethan, you’re fading!” she cried. “The sword is killing you!”

“I can handle it,” Ethan gasped, even as blood dripped from his lip.

In the nurse’s office, Evelyn sat at a desk with old scrolls scattered before her. Her hands were blackened with ash from the burning candles. She flipped through the ancient papers, her eyes racing over the faded words.

“There has to be something,” she whispered. Her breath came fast, almost desperate. “There has to be a cure.”

Finally, her trembling fingers stopped on one note. It spoke of a student chosen long ago, marked to carry the curse. She read the words twice, her stomach turning cold.

Her lips moved in a whisper, so soft it was almost a prayer.

“Axel…”

She dropped the scroll, her hands shaking so badly she could hardly hold the candle.

Back underground, the shadows twisted and formed into something solid. Bones rose from the ground, fitting together into a throne. A throne of bones, made for Axel.

The Keeper’s grin widened.

“Sit,” it commanded. “Take your place as master of shadow. The throne is yours.”

Axel’s heart pounded. He stepped back, shaking his head.

“No,” he said. “I will not sit on that thing.”

The Keeper’s smile turned into a snarl.

“Defy me, and you will bring doom upon yourself, upon them all.”

Chloe stepped in front of Axel, her voice strong though her body trembled.

“He doesn’t need your throne. He doesn’t need you.”

The Keeper’s eyes glowed red. “And what about you, girl? How long do you think you can stand at his side before the shadows tear you apart?”

Chloe swallowed but didn’t move. “As long as it takes.”

Axel’s hand brushed hers, and she looked at him. For a moment, in the middle of the darkness, there was something soft between them. Something human.

“Chloe…” he whispered. “Why are you still here? You should have run.”

“Because you didn’t run,” she whispered back.

Above them, Ethan fell to one knee. The sword slipped in his hand. Lena grabbed his shoulder.

“You’ll die if you keep holding it,” she cried. “Please, let it go!”

“I can’t,” Ethan said. “If I drop it, they’ll kill us all.”

Lena shook her head, tears burning her eyes. “Then I’ll fight with you.” She picked up a broken piece of wood, holding it like a weapon. Ethan stared at her, his chest heavy, his heart twisting.

“You’ll die, Lena,” he said softly.

“Then I’ll die with you,” she whispered.

In the nurse’s office, Evelyn pressed her head against the table. Her voice cracked.

“If Axel is the chosen one… then maybe there is no cure. Maybe the curse cannot be broken.”

Her tears dripped onto the scrolls, staining the paper.

Down in the chamber, the Keeper moved closer.

“Do not resist me, Axel. The throne is power. With it, you will control life and death. You will command the infected. You will command the shadows. You will command the world.”

“I don’t want it,” Axel snapped.

The Keeper laughed, low and cruel. “You will. When the girl beside you screams. When the sword above finally kills its master. When every one of your friends lies dead, you will crawl to this throne and beg for it.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the chamber. A voice Axel knew too well.

“Axel…”

He froze. His blood ran cold. He knew that voice.

It was Mason.

But Mason was gone. Mason had been turned. Mason had been destroyed. Axel had seen it with his own eyes.

Yet the voice was here, close. Too close.

“Axel…” the voice called again, soft but sharp, echoing in the dark.

Chloe clutched his arm tighter.

“That’s not possible,” she whispered. “It can’t be him.”

The Keeper smiled.

“Oh, but it is. Did you really think death would hold him? Did you really think he was gone?”

Axel’s heart pounded. He stepped forward, his eyes scanning the shadows.

“Mason? Is it really you?”

There was silence. Then, from the darkness, footsteps echoed. Slow. Heavy.

Chloe’s nails dug into his arm. Her lips trembled.

“Axel… if that’s him… then what has he become?”

The footsteps grew louder, closer.

And then a shadowed figure stepped forward, half hidden in the dark.

Axel’s eyes widened, his voice breaking.

“Mason…?”

The figure raised its head. Its eyes glowed faintly red.

“Brother,” Mason’s voice said. “Did you miss me?”

Chloe gasped, stepping back.

“But… you destroyed him. Didn’t you?”

Axel’s throat tightened, his breath shaking. His mind raced. If Mason had returned, was he a friend—or something far worse?

The shadows whispered, the throne of bones shuddered, and the Keeper laughed deep in the darkness.

Axel stared at the figure, his heart caught between fear and hope.

“Mason… are you here to save us… or to end us?”