It had been exactly one year since the night the sky bled red.
Since the screams faded, the fire ended, and the name La Hora Maldita became nothing more than a rumor whispered in the corridors of San Espiritu High.
Or at least… that's what everyone believed.
1. Return to San Espiritu
Emiliano Rojas adjusted his black jacket and stepped through the school gates for the first time in months.
The morning sun burned bright against the rebuilt buildings—new paint, clean walls, and laughter everywhere.
Yet, beneath the warmth, something in the air still felt wrong.
He could feel it in his veins—the faint pulse of shadow, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to him.
Every step he took made the ground hum faintly.
No one else noticed. But he did.
The students around him were busy with normal life: gossip, sports, music, selfies.
They smiled without fear. Without memory.
He envied them.
A gust of wind brushed his hair as he reached the center courtyard.
Where once the bell tower had stood, now stood a new clock tower, pristine and white, ticking softly.
But sometimes, late at night, the clock ticked backward.
2. The Whisper Beneath the Bell
"Emiliano!"
A cheerful voice called from behind him.
He turned to see Lucía, a bright-eyed girl with short hair and a camera slung over her neck.
Her smile was so alive it almost hurt to look at.
"You spaced out again," she teased, nudging him playfully. "You okay?"
He forced a small smile. "Yeah. Just… weird being back."
Lucía tilted her head. "Still having those dreams?"
He looked away.
The dreams—always the same. The Blood Moon. The bell. Daniela's voice whispering his name through static.
"Sometimes," he admitted quietly.
Lucía frowned but didn't push further. She'd known Emiliano since childhood, and though he never told her everything, she sensed enough to tread gently.
"Maybe it's just stress," she said. "It's Halloween week, after all. Even the air feels creepy."
He chuckled. "Yeah. Halloween…"
As they walked toward the classroom, a faint DOOOONG echoed faintly through the school halls.
Lucía blinked. "Was that—?"
"The bell tower," Emiliano said quickly. "Probably testing it."
But deep down, his stomach turned.
Because the sound wasn't just a bell.
It carried a whisper.
"Vuelve a mí…"
Come back to me…
3. The Forgotten Files
After class, Emiliano found himself wandering toward the old basement archives—an area that had been sealed since the fire.
But the door was unlocked.
The smell of ash and humidity hit him instantly.
Dust danced through the faint beam of light slipping from a broken window.
Old boxes marked "2013–2023: INCIDENT RECORDS" were piled to the ceiling.
He crouched and pried one open. Inside—charred photos, melted ID cards, burned notebooks.
And at the very bottom… a sealed folder stamped CONFIDENTIAL – Proyecto Umbral.
His heartbeat spiked.
He opened it slowly.
Inside were grainy black-and-white photos of ritual circles, blood sigils, and El Oscuro's seal carved into the school floor.
Notes scrawled in Spanish and Latin filled the margins.
> "El sacrificio falló.
El portador sobrevivió.
La hora volverá cuando la luna sangre otra vez."
(The sacrifice failed. The bearer survived. The hour will return when the moon bleeds again.)
Emiliano's breath caught.
"'The bearer'… that's me," he whispered.
He slammed the folder shut—only to hear footsteps echo behind him.
4. The Girl in the Mirror
"Looking for something, Emiliano?"
He turned sharply.
A girl stood in the doorway—tall, pale, her long hair covering half her face.
She wore the new school uniform but something about her eyes—cold and gray—felt ancient.
"I—uh—sorry, I didn't know anyone was down here," he stammered.
She tilted her head slowly. "You shouldn't be."
He frowned. "And you are?"
She smiled faintly, revealing teeth too sharp for comfort.
"Call me Isabela."
Then, as quickly as she appeared, she turned and walked deeper into the shadows of the basement—her footsteps fading without echo.
Emiliano blinked and she was gone.
But when he turned toward the cracked mirror beside the doorway, his blood froze.
Her reflection was still there, standing right behind him—smiling.
He spun around—nothing.
The whisper came again, faint and distant:
"La hora no terminó…"
The hour did not end…
5. The Shadow Awakens
That night, Emiliano couldn't sleep.
The moon hung low and pale over San Espiritu, wrapped in faint red mist.
He sat up in bed, drenched in sweat.
His shadow moved—without him.
It rose along the wall, twisting, forming a shape—taller, darker, almost human.
"Not again…" he whispered, backing up.
The shape turned toward him.
"Tú abriste la puerta…"
You opened the door.
Emiliano's voice broke. "No. I ended it!"
The shadow laughed softly.
"The Blood Moon never dies. It only waits."
Then his lights flickered. His mirror cracked.
And his phone buzzed with a new message from an unknown number.
> [Dani💫]: Emi, he's coming back. Don't let them ring the bell again.
He dropped the phone. His heart stopped.
It couldn't be her.
Daniela was gone.
She had vanished a year ago.
But the message was real.
And outside, through his window, the new clock tower stood perfectly still—
except the hands were moving backward.
6. The Gathering Storm
The next day, San Espiritu High buzzed with Halloween excitement.
Students decorated the hallways with pumpkins, candles, fake blood, and red string lights.
Teachers wore witch hats and laughed.
But Emiliano couldn't shake the feeling of eyes watching him.
Every mirror he passed flickered for a second—showing not his reflection, but a burning crimson moon behind him.
During lunch, Lucía found him staring at the tower again.
"Emi," she said softly, "you're scaring me. You've been like this all week."
He forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just… bad dreams again."
"Promise me you won't skip the Halloween dance tonight?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"They're doing it in the gym, right under the new clock tower. It's gonna be fun."
Emiliano hesitated.
Under the tower.
The very place the ritual seal once existed.
"Yeah," he said finally, "I'll be there."
But inside, a voice whispered:
"At midnight, the thirteenth bell will ring again."
1. The Halloween Dance
The gym glittered with fake cobwebs and orange lights. Students laughed, danced, and posed for photos, oblivious to the darkness coiling just above them.
Emiliano lingered at the edge, leaning against a pillar, his eyes flicking to the clock tower visible through the tall gym windows. Its hands moved backward, slow and deliberate.
Lucía appeared beside him, dressed in a witch costume with her camera ready.
"You're tense again," she whispered. "Relax, Emi. It's just a party."
He forced a laugh. "Yeah… just a party."
But the faint tick-tock that normally meant nothing in a clock now made his teeth grind. Every beat seemed wrong, like it was counting down… or up… to something he didn't want to face.
Across the gym, a tall girl with long dark hair—Isabela—stood perfectly still near the bleachers. Her eyes scanned the crowd, her lips curved into that same faint, chilling smile.
Emiliano swallowed hard. She shouldn't be here. Not like this. Not in the living world.
2. Thirteen Bells
The first chime rang at midnight—a soft dong that seemed far away, almost distorted. Everyone froze, glancing at the clock tower.
And then… the second bell.
Emiliano's stomach dropped. He could feel the pulse of the shadow, growing stronger, licking at the edges of his mind.
> "La hora… vuelve."
He reached for Lucía's hand, but she didn't notice. Her smile was frozen, her pupils dilated in shock. Something was wrong.
The bells continued—one by one—each toll resonating in his chest like an iron hammer. By the time the thirteenth rang, the gym had gone completely silent.
Then the lights flickered—and the shadows came alive.
From the corners of the gym, darkness seeped along the walls, forming shapes taller than men. Eyes glowed red in the dim light, teeth glinting where mouths should not be.
Students screamed, running, but Emiliano stayed rooted. He could feel it calling to him, whispering his name.
> "El portador… despierta."
3. Isabela's Revelation
Isabela stepped forward from the darkness. The shadow seemed to cling to her like a cloak. Her eyes glinted unnaturally, and when she spoke, her voice echoed—not in the gym, but directly inside Emiliano's head.
"Emiliano… do you remember the promise?"
He shook his head, fear twisting his gut. "What are you? What do you want?"
Her smile widened. "I am the hour… the shadow that never dies. I was trapped between worlds, waiting for the blood to call me home. And now… you've opened the door."
The gym lights went out completely. In the pitch black, he could feel the shadows wrapping around everyone like a tide. Students were screaming, their voices distant and hollow.
Emiliano felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun, expecting Lucía, but found nothing.
> "You cannot run. You were chosen."
"Chosen?" he shouted, panic rising. "I survived! I ended it last year!"
"Ended nothing," Isabela's voice purred. "The blood, the moon, the bell—they are eternal. You are merely the bearer. And now… the hour awakens."
4. The Clock Tower's Secret
Emiliano ran toward the exit, but the gym doors slammed shut with a deafening crash. The shadows coiled around the walls, moving impossibly fast, flickering like smoke.
Through a window, he saw the clock tower again. The hands had stopped at midnight—but a faint red glow pulsed from inside.
> "The seal…" he muttered.
The basement archives. The ritual circle. The blood sigil. It had been rebuilt under the gym, beneath the very floor they were standing on.
He shouted to Lucía, trying to get her attention. "The circle! We have to stop it—under the floor! Now!"
She blinked, fear and confusion in her eyes. "What? Emi, I don't—"
> "Don't hesitate!"
Something slammed into the gym wall, throwing students into the air. Emiliano grabbed Lucía's hand, pulling her toward the emergency stairs that led down to the basement.
The shadows shrieked behind them, writhing and clawing at the walls.
5. Into the Depths
The basement smelled of damp earth and old ash. Emiliano's flashlight revealed cracks along the walls where the shadows seeped through, reaching for him.
The circle was there. Red runes etched into the concrete, faintly glowing. Candles burned even though no flame should have existed.
Emiliano's hand hovered over the sigil, recalling every note in the Proyecto Umbral folder.
> "El sacrificio… debe ser completado para cerrar la hora… la sangre del portador…"
He looked at his hand, shaking. "They want me… to bleed again?"
Lucía gasped. "Emi… what do we do?"
Before he could answer, Isabela appeared in the doorway. Shadow flames flickered around her like a crown of black fire.
"You cannot resist," she said. "The hour flows through you, and through them… and through the moon. The thirteenth bell… the Blood Moon rises again."
Emiliano clenched his fists. "Then I'll fight it. Whatever you are… I won't let you hurt anyone!"
6. The First Strike
Isabela raised a hand. The shadows surged forward like living water. Emiliano ducked just in time, feeling the cold tendrils graze his jacket.
Lucía grabbed a fallen metal rod, swinging at the darkness, but it passed through like mist.
> "You have power… yes," Isabela hissed, "but it is not enough."
Emiliano's vision blurred as the shadows coalesced around him, forming monstrous shapes that seemed to crawl from nightmare itself.
> "Use it… the blood inside you… the power you survived with…"
He remembered the last night, the fire, the blood sigil that had once saved him. The strength that had coursed through him then, terrifying yet controlled.
And now… he felt it again, awakening. The pulse in his veins, the heat in his chest, the shadow twisting inside him rather than around him.
He could fight it. He had to fight it.
7. The Hour Has Returned
Outside, the first faint glow of the Blood Moon pierced the sky, red light spilling into the basement. The circle beneath the gym pulsed in response.
Isabela's form shimmered between human and shadow.
"You will not win," she whispered, but there was curiosity in her eyes now—almost respect.
Emiliano stepped into the center of the circle, letting the ancient symbols etch themselves into his memory. The shadows shrieked, recoiling as he raised his hands.
> "Not today," he muttered.
The basement shook. The air screamed. The thirteenth bell tolled again… outside, but its resonance was inside him now.
The battle for San Espiritu High—and the fate of the Blood Moon—had begun.
And Emiliano was no longer just a survivor. He was the bearer.