The Forbidden Archive fell silent as Emiliano, Daniela, and Ixchel approached the glowing pedestal.
Blue fire crackled around it, casting long shadows across their faces.
For the first time since entering the underground chambers, nothing moved.
No whispers.
No footsteps.
No shadows creeping along the walls.
Just a heavy, suffocating stillness.
Daniela's voice was barely a whisper.
"Why… why does it feel like something is holding its breath?"
Ixchel raised her amulet.
"Because it is," she said quietly. "This book is not just protected… it is alive."
Emiliano's stomach twisted.
The book on the pedestal pulsed—ever so slightly—like a beating heart under leather.
"Alive?" he asked. "Like… a spirit?"
"Worse," Ixchel murmured.
"It holds every forbidden ritual, every summoning, every counter-spell from the ancient priests. That much knowledge… it's dangerous. It tries to protect itself."
Daniela stepped closer.
"But we need it. Without it, we die."
Ixchel nodded slowly.
"Sí. But once we touch it… we must face its guardian."
Daniela froze. "Guardian? Another monster?"
"No," Ixchel said. "A test. The book will judge if we are worthy."
Emiliano frowned.
"And if it decides we're not?"
Ixchel looked at him with grim eyes.
"Then it traps our souls inside forever."
Daniela let out a shaky breath.
"Oh… perfect."
---
1. The First Flame
Emiliano reached out instinctively.
"I'll do it."
Daniela grabbed his wrist immediately.
"Are you crazy?! You don't know what it will do to you!"
"I have to," he insisted. "You already saw your tía. You've suffered enough."
"No," she whispered. "We do this together, Emi."
Ixchel lifted her amulet.
"You both have the mark. That makes you both the rightful challengers. The book won't allow just one."
Emiliano exhaled deeply.
"Fine. Together."
Daniela nodded.
"Together."
They stepped forward side by side.
Ixchel stayed behind them.
"When you touch the fire," she warned, "your minds will… separate. You'll enter the mental chamber—another world. A world where the book tests you with illusions and nightmares."
Daniela swallowed.
"What kind of illusions?"
"The kind made from your deepest fears."
The flames rose higher—blue, then purple, then almost black.
Emiliano licked his lips nervously.
"Okay… on three."
Daniela squeezed his hand.
"Uno…"
"Dos…"
"TRES—!"
They plunged their hands into the blue fire.
Instantly, the world shattered.
---
2. The Mind Chamber
There was no pain.
No sound.
No body.
Just darkness.
Then—
FLASH.
Emiliano opened his eyes.
He was standing in the school hallway.
Empty.
Abandoned.
Cold.
Daniela stood beside him, trembling.
"Emi… this isn't real, right? This is the test?"
"Yes," Emiliano said. "Stay close."
But Daniela's eyes widened.
"Emi… look."
The hallway began to melt.
The lockers dripped like wax, colors bleeding down the walls.
The floor rippled like black water.
The ceiling stretched upward endlessly.
Then the walls twisted violently, slamming inward—
SLAM!
SLAM!
The hallway became a narrow tunnel.
Daniela gasped.
"It's changing—"
Another slam.
The walls closed in even tighter.
"EMI—IT'S TRYING TO CRUSH US!"
Emiliano grabbed her hand.
"RUN!"
They sprinted down the collapsing hallway as the walls groaned and squeezed behind them.
The lights flickered above—
turning from white—
to red—
to pitch black.
"KEEP MOVING!" he shouted.
But the hallway suddenly transformed again—
FLASH.
They were no longer in the school.
They were in a forest.
Tall, dead trees surrounded them.
Fog coiled around their ankles.
Something cracked a branch nearby.
Daniela froze.
"Emi… this is my fear."
"What do you mean?"
"I—when I was little, my dad left me in the woods for hours as a punishment. I could hear things moving around me… I thought something was going to take me."
Emiliano squeezed her trembling hand.
"Dani… listen to me. This forest isn't real. You're safe."
Daniela shook her head violently.
"No… I can hear it. I can—"
A low growl echoed behind them.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Eyes glowed between the trees—a circle of monstrous figures closing in.
Daniela screamed. "EMI—RUN!"
But Emiliano didn't run this time.
He stepped in front of her.
"THIS ISN'T REAL!" he shouted at the beasts. "You're illusions!"
The beasts lunged—
—and vanished into smoke.
The forest melted away.
Daniela collapsed against him, sobbing.
"I don't want to be here… I don't want these nightmares…"
"I know," Emiliano whispered. "But we have to keep going."
Then—
another FLASH.
The world shifted again.
And this time—
they weren't in Daniela's nightmare.
They were in Emiliano's.
---
3. The Hall of Hands
The ground beneath them was tiled.
Green lockers lined the walls.
But everything was… wrong.
The floor was covered with white chalk outlines—like crime scenes.
Blood smeared the lockers.
The lights buzzed dangerously.
Daniela grabbed his arm tightly.
"Emi… where are we?"
Emiliano's voice came out hollow.
"My worst fear."
The hallway suddenly filled with soft whispers.
Then—
HANDS.
Hundreds of pale, ghostly hands erupted from the lockers, stretching out toward them.
Small hands.
Child-sized.
Daniela screamed. "EMI WHAT IS THIS?!"
Tears filled Emiliano's eyes.
"My brother…" he whispered. "He died in this hallway. A fight… a fall… I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough."
Daniela stared.
"Emi… you never told me…"
"I couldn't." His voice cracked. "I couldn't save him."
The hands crawled along the floor, reaching for him.
Whispers echoed all around—
"Emiliano…"
"Why didn't you help me?"
"You left me…"
"You failed…"
The voices tore into him like knives.
Daniela grabbed his face.
"EMILIANO LOOK AT ME!"
He forced himself to tear his gaze away.
"Your brother wouldn't blame you," she said fiercely. "This is the book manipulating you. This isn't him."
The hands grabbed Emi's ankles.
He cried out.
Daniela slammed her foot down on the ghostly wrists—the hands cracked like glass and shattered into dust.
The hallway broke apart.
The nightmare ended.
4. The Final Illusion
The darkness returned.
But this time, only one figure stood in the void.
Ixchel.
No.
The illusion of Ixchel.
Her eyes were wrong.
Her smile too wide.
Her voice too soft.
"Niños…" she whispered. "What do you fear most?"
Emiliano stepped in front of Daniela again.
"You're not Ixchel."
The figure giggled.
A horrible, echoing sound.
"Of course I'm not. But I know what you fear…"
She vanished—
—and reappeared behind Daniela, whispering in her ear.
"Being alone. Abandoned. Everyone you love… gone."
Daniela covered her ears, sobbing.
"STOP—STOP—STOP—"
Fake Ixchel turned to Emiliano.
"And you… you fear failing again. You fear losing Daniela the way you lost your brother."
Emiliano's fists clenched.
"SHUT UP!"
The figure smirked.
"Yes… that anger… that fear… that is what the ritual feeds on."
Daniela screamed.
"EMI—DON'T LISTEN!"
Emiliano took a deep breath.
Then he stepped forward—
And walked straight through the illusion.
The false Ixchel dissolved into ashes.
The darkness broke—
And the real Ixchel's voice echoed from somewhere above them.
"EMILIANO! DANIELA! HOLD ON—YOU'RE ALMOST THROUGH!"
The void cracked open—
CRAAACK—
—and they were thrown back into the physical world.
---
5. The Book Accepts
They gasped violently, collapsing on the archive floor.
Ixchel knelt beside them, panting.
"You made it… you passed the test."
Daniela struggled to her feet.
"The illusions… the voices…"
"They were meant to break your spirit," Ixchel said. "But you resisted."
Emiliano looked toward the pedestal.
The Book of Silence glowed brighter than ever—
—and hovered in midair, slowly drifting toward them.
Ixchel stepped back.
"It has chosen you."
The book opened—
pages flipping rapidly—
stopping on a ritual marked in crimson ink.
Emiliano read aloud:
Ritual of the Twin Marks
"To break the curse, the marked must seal the gate together… or perish together."
Daniela's voice trembled.
"In other words… we both survive. Or we both die."
Ixchel nodded.
"This was always meant for two."
Emiliano exhaled.
"Then we do it. Together."
Daniela squeezed his hand.
"Sí. Together."
But the moment their fingers touched the book—
—El Oscuro roared somewhere above them.
Ixchel's face drained of color.
"He knows you succeeded."
Daniela clutched the book tightly.
"Then let him come," she whispered.
"For the first time… we're ready."
The blue flames around the pedestal roared higher, illuminating Emiliano, Daniela, and Ixchel in a harsh, flickering light.
The Book of Silence pulsed between Emiliano and Daniela's hands like a living heart—heavy, ancient, powerful.
Ixchel backed away, her amulet glowing faintly.
"Hold it tight," she said. "If you drop it before the ritual is complete, it will vanish—and we'll lose our only chance."
Daniela nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
She was still shaking from the visions.
From her aunt's ghost.
From almost losing her mind.
But she held the book firmly.
"We're ready," she whispered.
Emiliano kept one hand on the book, the other holding Daniela's trembling fingers.
"Let's get out of here."
Ixchel turned toward the entrance tunnel.
"No," she said.
Her eyes narrowed.
"He's already here."
---
1. The Archive Awakens
The lights above them flickered.
The floor trembled beneath their feet.
Books on the highest shelves began to rattle, then fly from their places, spiraling upward in a whirl of ghostly wind.
Daniela clung to Emiliano.
"What's happening?!"
Ixchel lifted her amulet.
"The Archive is reacting to the ritual! The spirits are trying to keep the book HERE!"
Suddenly—
a deafening BOOM echoed through the chamber.
Dust rained down.
The entrance tunnel cracked open—
—and a colossal shadow poured through the gap like black smoke.
Emiliano's blood froze.
"El Oscuro," he breathed.
The Dark One rose to his full monstrous height, horns scraping the stone ceiling, claws dragging across the floor as he stepped into the archive.
His eyes glowed white.
Blinding white.
Burning white.
Daniela stumbled backward.
"No… no… he's inside…"
Ixchel positioned herself between the demon and the marked teenagers.
"Stay behind me!"
El Oscuro's voice echoed in every corner of the chamber, vibrating the shelves and lanterns:
"El libro…
es mío."
The book… is mine.
With a single sweep of his arm, he blew half the floating books into ash.
The entire archive shook.
---
2. The Dark One Approaches
Emiliano pulled Daniela behind a stone pillar as El Oscuro advanced.
Every step he took made the blue flames around the Book shudder.
"He wants to destroy it," Ixchel shouted. "If he destroys the Book of Silence—there's NO way to stop La Hora Maldita!"
"Then we can't let him touch it," Emiliano said.
Daniela nodded, swallowing her fear.
"El Libro stays with us."
The Dark One reached toward them—
sharp claws dripping with inky shadow.
Ixchel raised her amulet high.
A burst of blue light erupted forward—
slamming into El Oscuro's chest.
The demon barely flinched.
He tilted his head, amused.
Then the amulet's light sputtered.
"No—no, no, no—NOT NOW—!" Ixchel cried.
El Oscuro raised his arm.
He brought it down like a hammer.
BOOOOOM!
The shockwave sent all three of them flying.
Daniela crashed into a shelf, books raining over her.
Emiliano hit the stone floor hard, pain exploding through his ribs.
Ixchel rolled and slammed into a pillar, her amulet flickering dangerously dim.
Emiliano coughed, pushing himself up.
"Dani—DANI!"
He found her half-buried under a pile of ancient manuscripts.
She wasn't moving.
"NO—please no—DANI!"
He tossed the papers aside and lifted her gently.
She groaned weakly.
"I'm okay… just dizzy…"
Emiliano let out a shaking breath.
"Don't scare me like that."
She managed a small smile.
But their moment shattered instantly.
A cold whisper slithered behind them:
"Daniela…"
Valeria Reyes stepped out of the shadows.
Her ghostly form flickered like a glitching image—half human, half nightmare.
Her eyes glowed with a tortured white light.
Daniela gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
"Tía…"
Valeria reached out with trembling ghost-hands—
Then her mouth twisted.
Her voice deepened—
"Entrégame el libro."
Give me the book.
Daniela shook violently.
"No… Tía, please—listen to me. I know you're still in there—"
Valeria shrieked—
a horrible, distorted cry—
and lunged at them.
Emiliano grabbed Daniela and dove aside just before Valeria's claws tore through the stone floor.
Ixchel shouted across the ruins:
"DON'T LET HER TOUCH YOU! She's bound to El Oscuro—she's the Herald!"
Valeria turned toward them with unnatural speed, head snapping sideways.
Then she whispered:
"Sacrificios…"
Before she could strike again—
A massive shadow fell over them.
El Oscuro loomed above Valeria.
The ghost froze instantly.
El Oscuro reached down…
grabbed her by the head…
and lifted her effortlessly.
Daniela screamed.
"TÍA—NO!"
El Oscuro crushed Valeria's ghostly form in his fist like shattered glass.
Her spirit dissolved into glowing dust.
Gone.
Daniela collapsed, screaming into her hands.
"TIÁAAA—NO—NO!"
Emiliano held her tightly as she sobbed.
Even Ixchel looked horrified.
"El Oscuro destroys even his own servants," she whispered. "He has no loyalty. He only cares about the ritual."
Daniela sobbed harder, gripping the Book of Silence to her chest as if it were her aunt's last memory.
"El Oscuro…" Emiliano snarled, standing shakily.
"YOU'RE DEAD."
The demon slowly turned.
His eyes burned with cold amusement.
"Aún no."
Not yet.
He raised his claws.
---
3. The Book Reacts
The Book of Silence trembled violently in Daniela's arms.
Pages flipped open on their own.
Symbols glowed red.
Wind spiraled around them.
"Emi—!" she cried. "I can't hold it—IT'S DOING SOMETHING!"
The book floated up, spinning like a vortex.
A beam of red light shot out—
right into Emiliano's chest.
He cried out.
A matching beam hit Daniela.
She screamed.
Their eyes glowed red.
Ixchel gasped.
"It's bonding with you…
The book has chosen its bearers!"
A giant symbol formed beneath them—
the circle of thorns—
the same mark on their skin.
Their markings burned bright red.
El Oscuro roared and charged forward.
"MOVE!" Ixchel screamed.
But Emiliano and Daniela were frozen mid-air as the book completed its spell.
Symbols wrapped around them—
binding them together—
binding them to the ritual.
The Book of Silence spoke in a thousand whispering voices:
**"DOS MARCAS…
UN SELLO…
UNA ELECCIÓN…"**
Two marks…
One seal…
One choice…
Daniela cried out:
"EMI—WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
"I DON'T KNOW—!"
El Oscuro raised both arms and unleashed a blast of pure darkness—
Black fire—
Pure evil—
A force that could rip them apart.
Ixchel screamed:
"EMILIANO! DANIELA! FINISH THE SPELL—NOW!"
The portal in the book burst open—
The ritual began—
And El Oscuro roared as he struck.