Daniela's sobs echoed off the stone walls.
The name carved into the ancient altar glowed faintly—
VALERIA REYES—
like it had been waiting for her.
Her hands shook violently as she touched the engraved letters.
A cold shock crawled up her fingers, spreading through her chest like ice.
"Dani—stop!" Emiliano grabbed her hand. "Don't touch it!"
But she was frozen in place.
Her eyes glazed over.
Her lips parted.
Her body went rigid.
"Daniela!" Emi cried, shaking her.
Ixchel's amulet flared blue.
"Get away from the altar!" she ordered.
Emiliano pulled Daniela backward hard—and she collapsed into his arms with a gasp, trembling.
"What happened?!" she whispered, voice thin and terrified.
Ixchel kept staring at the glowing name.
"You made contact," she said.
"Your spirit touched hers."
Daniela shook her head violently. "I didn't mean to—"
"You didn't have to," Ixchel cut in. "Your bloodline did it for you."
Emiliano held Daniela close.
She was crying softly now—quiet, shaky sobs that made his chest ache.
"Mi tía…" she whispered. "Why would she help something so evil?"
Ixchel knelt beside her, voice gentler now.
"Dani… listen to me. Spirits bound by El Oscuro don't make choices. They obey. They carry out whatever role the ritual assigns to them."
"But she was kind," Daniela choked out. "She used to braid my mamá's hair. She loved stories. She—she would never hurt anyone."
Ixchel looked at the stone floor.
"She wasn't given a choice."
---
1. A Presence in the Dark
Emiliano suddenly felt cold breath on the back of his neck.
Not wind.
Not imagination.
Something… someone… was behind him.
He turned slowly.
The room was empty.
But the shadows near the far wall began to gather—
pulling inward, twisting into a faint silhouette.
A girl's silhouette.
Slim.
Long hair.
School uniform from two decades ago.
Ixchel stood up immediately, lifting her amulet.
"No," she whispered. "Not now—stay back."
But the figure continued to form.
Daniela's breath caught in her throat.
She knew that shape.
"Mi tía…" she whispered.
The ghost's head snapped toward them instantly.
White, glowing eyes.
Mouth slightly open.
Hair floating as if underwater.
The same face from the old newspaper photos.
But dead.
Empty.
Trapped.
Valeria Reyes.
Daniela stepped forward before Emiliano could stop her.
"Tía… Valeria… soy yo. Daniela."
Her voice cracked with hope and fear.
For a moment—
a fleeting moment—
the ghost's expression softened.
A flicker of recognition.
A spark of something human.
Then the spark vanished.
Her head twisted unnaturally, cracking sharply like broken bone.
"Daniela…"
The voice was layered—
multiple whispers speaking at once—
Valeria and something else inside her.
Something older.
Something darker.
Daniela clutched her chest. "Tía… please, don't do this…"
Valeria's ghost extended a trembling hand toward her.
Emiliano stepped in front of her instinctively.
"No! Stay behind me!"
Valeria hissed, her ghostly mouth stretching too wide.
Ixchel raised the amulet.
"BACK!" she shouted.
The amulet flared bright blue—
brighter than before—
filling the chamber with blinding light.
Valeria shrieked, her form shattering like cracked glass.
The scream shook the floor.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
Daniela fell to her knees again, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Tía Valeria… what did they do to you…"
Ixchel lowered her amulet, breathing hard.
"She's not gone," Ixchel warned. "She's just been pushed back."
"Does she want to hurt us?" Emiliano asked.
Ixchel hesitated, then nodded.
"She has no choice. She is the Herald. Her role is to guide the Watchers to the marked sacrifices."
Daniela looked up, eyes red and swollen.
"So she's hunting me."
"And Emiliano," Ixchel added. "Always both. The ritual demands two."
Daniela curled into herself, hugging her knees.
"Why didn't anyone tell us? Why didn't anyone warn us?"
Ixchel's expression darkened.
"They did."
Both Emiliano and Daniela looked up sharply.
Ixchel pointed at the stone wall behind them.
Carved deeply into the rock were five names—
the lost students from twenty years ago.
And under their names:
"THE NEXT WILL BE MARKED BY FIRE."
Emiliano frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Ixchel pointed at their glowing skin markings.
"That fire."
Daniela wiped her tears.
"So the mark appears on us because we're chosen next?"
"Yes," Ixchel said softly. "The mark prepares your spirit for sacrifice."
Emiliano flinched.
"Don't talk like we're already dead."
Ixchel met his eyes.
"I'm not letting either of you die."
Then the amulet in her hand pulsed again—
brighter, hotter, faster.
"Damn it—"
She grabbed her wrist, stepping backward.
"Emi, Dani—move behind me. NOW."
They obeyed instantly.
The air in the chamber grew heavy again.
Dark.
Suffocating.
Ixchel gritted her teeth.
"He's coming back. El Oscuro."
Daniela's voice cracked.
"But we ran! We escaped—"
"You can't escape a being tied to your blood," Ixchel snapped. "Not unless you break the ritual."
The walls trembled.
A deep rumble shook the floor.
The shadows around the room bent toward a center point.
Emiliano whispered:
"He's… here."
Ixchel held the amulet high.
"NO EYES," she commanded. "Don't look at his full form or he'll enter your mind."
Daniela squeezed her eyes shut.
Emiliano forced his gaze downward, shaking.
The shadows thickened…
gathering…
taking shape…
rising tall.
El Oscuro materialized before them again—
bigger than before—
horns sweeping the ceiling—
eyes blazing white fire.
He lowered his massive head, sniffing the air.
"Ustedes…"
You…
"no pueden escapar…"
cannot escape…
His claws stretched toward Daniela specifically.
Daniela screamed.
Emiliano grabbed her hand.
"IXCHEL—DO SOMETHING!"
Ixchel's eyes filled with fear—but also determination.
She raised the amulet high and shouted a word in the ancient tongue—
"K'AAYACH!"
The amulet exploded in blue flame.
A shockwave ripped through the chamber—
like thunder underwater—
throwing all three teenagers backward.
El Oscuro roared—
a deafening, terrible sound—
but the blast of magic forced him to step back.
Not far.
But enough.
The amulet dimmed again—
nearly losing all its light.
Ixchel collapsed to her knees, panting.
"I can't hold him off again," she gasped. "Not without the book."
Emiliano pulled Daniela close.
"Then we go get it."
Daniela wiped her tears.
"Yes…"
Ixchel nodded, struggling to stand.
"The Forbidden Archive," she whispered. "It's the only place left."
El Oscuro's silhouette thickened again.
Time was running out.
Ixchel pointed to a narrow tunnel in the wall.
"That passage leads to the archive. But once we enter… there's no turning back."
Emiliano lifted Daniela to her feet.
"We don't need to turn back," he said. "We just need to survive."
Daniela took a deep breath, eyes still full of fear…
but now full of something else too.
Courage.
"Let's go," she whispered.
Emiliano squeezed her hand.
Ixchel grabbed her amulet.
And together, they stepped into the narrow tunnel—
—just as El Oscuro's claws slammed into the chamber behind them.
The tunnel was narrow—so narrow that Emiliano and Daniela had to turn sideways to fit. Dust coated their clothes. The air tasted stale, like it hadn't been breathed in decades.
Behind them, El Oscuro's roar echoed through the collapsing chamber.
BOOOOM!
A blast of black energy slammed against the stone wall, shaking the passage.
Daniela flinched. "He's right behind us—¡rápido, rápido!"
"MOVE," Ixchel ordered. She pushed forward, her amulet barely glowing—just enough to keep the shadows from slithering into the tunnel with them.
But the light was fading.
Too fast.
Emiliano noticed. "Ixchel… your amulet…"
"I know," she muttered. "Its energy comes from the old rituals—if the enemy is close, it drains faster."
"Then if El Oscuro keeps chasing us—"
"It'll die," Ixchel finished. "And so will we."
Daniela squeezed Emiliano's arm. "We'll make it. We have to."
Still, her voice trembled.
---
1. The Forbidden Door
The tunnel descended deeper beneath the school until the floor changed.
Stone gave way to marble.
Dust gave way to frost.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Emiliano exhaled—and saw white mist.
"Where are we?" he whispered.
"The oldest layer beneath San Rafael," Ixchel said. "Older than the school. Older than the colonial foundations. This was a temple once."
Daniela looked around with wide, terrified eyes.
"A temple for what?"
Ixchel didn't answer.
Finally, they reached a circular stone door covered in carvings—spirals, jagged lines, and symbols of eyes watching from every angle.
At the center was a handprint.
A glowing handprint.
Daniela froze. "That's the same symbol on my mark…"
Emiliano felt his stomach twist.
"What does it mean?"
Ixchel stepped up to the door, inspecting the carvings.
"It means only the marked can open it."
Daniela's face drained of color.
"No…"
Ixchel turned to her gently.
"Dani… you don't have to do this alone."
Daniela looked at Emiliano. Fear shone in her dark eyes—but also determination.
"You open it with me," she whispered.
Emiliano nodded without hesitation.
They both placed their hands on the glowing imprint.
The stone beneath their palms turned burning hot—
then freezing cold—
then pulsed like a beating heart.
A low hum filled the air.
The carvings lit up one by one—
CHOOM.
CHOOM.
CHOOM.
The entire door glowed red—
Then it split open.
A deafening sound like ancient gears grinding filled the passage.
Dust exploded outward.
And beyond the opening lay a massive underground chamber.
Daniela clutched Emiliano's hand.
"Emi… is this really the Forbidden Archive?"
Ixchel stepped inside.
"Yes," she said.
"And if the legends are right… it's also a tomb."
---
2. Into the Archive
The archive was enormous—bigger than the school library above.
But darker.
Colder.
And so ancient it felt alive.
Bookshelves spiraled upward into the darkness.
Dangling lanterns made of bone flickered with ghostly blue flames.
Old manuscripts floated in the air like lost spirits.
Whispers echoed in every direction—even though no one else was inside.
Daniela's voice quivered. "It feels like they're watching us…"
Ixchel nodded solemnly.
"They are."
Emiliano frowned. "Who?"
"The ones who died performing the rituals," Ixchel whispered. "Their souls were bound here. Warning the living. Guarding the knowledge."
Daniela hugged herself.
"I don't want to be here…"
Emi held her shoulder gently.
"I know. But we need the book."
Ixchel walked forward, scanning the towering shelves.
"El Libro del Silencio is hidden in the heart of the archive," she said. "Protected by runes. And maybe spirits."
"What kind of spirits?" Emiliano asked.
Ixchel's face darkened.
"The trapped ones."
A cold wind swept through the chamber.
Books fluttered.
Lanterns dimmed.
Shadows stretched.
Daniela grabbed Ixchel's sleeve.
"Ixchel… something's coming."
"No," Ixchel said. "Something is waking."
---
3. The Whisperers
A faint whisper echoed through the chamber.
Then another.
And another.
They layered over each other—like a thousand voices speaking at once, merging into a single terrifying chant.
Emiliano shivered. "What are they saying?"
Ixchel tilted her head, listening.
"'No miren atrás…'"
Don't look back…
Daniela turned pale. "Why? What happens if we look?"
Ixchel didn't get to answer.
The lanterns flashed violently—
one by one they extinguished—
and darkness swallowed half the chamber.
Then—
Footsteps.
Soft.
Slow.
Dragging.
Behind them.
Daniela froze.
Emiliano's heart pounded.
Ixchel clenched her amulet.
The whispers grew louder—
"No miren atrás… No miren atrás… NO MIRAAAAN…"
Emiliano whispered, "Ixchel… there's something behind us."
"I know."
"What do we do?"
"Don't turn around," Ixchel said firmly. "That's how the Whisperers trap you. They take your soul through your eyes."
Daniela whimpered.
"But it's getting closer…"
SHHHHHH—
Something brushed Daniela's hair.
A cold, dead fingertip.
She screamed.
"Dani NO—DON'T TURN AROUND!" Emiliano shouted.
She covered her face with shaking hands.
"I CAN HEAR IT BREATHING BEHIND ME—EMI IT'S RIGHT THERE!"
Ixchel grabbed both of them and pulled them forward.
"We have to keep moving! If you look, even for a second, you're gone!"
They ran deeper into the archive, the sound of dragging footsteps growing louder, faster, closer.
But the whispers turned from warnings—
—into laughter.
Mocking.
Cruel.
Echoing.
Valeria's voice twisted within the chorus:
"Déjenme entrar…"
Let me in…
Daniela screamed again.
"TIÁ—STOP—PLEASE STOP—!"
Ixchel spun around.
Not facing the Whisperers—but facing a rune on the floor.
"EMI—DANI—STAND INSIDE THE CIRCLE!"
They rushed into the glowing rune as the whispers reached a climax.
The shadows surged—
A dozen ghostly arms stretched toward them—
And then—
WHOOMPF.
Light exploded from the rune.
The Whisperers shrieked—
a horrible, metallic scream—
and dissolved into smoke.
Silence.
The rune faded.
Daniela collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
Emiliano dropped beside her.
"We're okay… Dani, we're okay."
But Ixchel shook her head.
"No," she whispered.
"We're not. Not yet."
She pointed deeper into the archive.
"To the center."
Where a single pedestal rose from the ground—
bathed in pale blue fire—
holding a thick, ancient book bound in black leather.
Emiliano whispered:
"El Libro del Silencio…"
Ixchel nodded.
"Our one chance to survive."
Daniela stood shakily.
"Then let's get it."
They walked toward the pedestal—
hearts pounding—
shadows twisting—
with someone watching them through the darkness.
Not the Whisperers.
Not Valeria.
Someone bigger.
Someone waiting.