The morning sun was weak.
San Espiritu High looked ordinary—repaired walls, clean hallways, sunlight spilling lazily across the courtyard. But Emiliano knew better.
His shadow moved slightly ahead of him as he walked. Just a flicker, a tremor—but it wasn't responding entirely to his will. His muscles ached. His mind felt like a storm, a hurricane that refused to end.
Lucía walked beside him, silent, worried. Her fingers brushed his arm occasionally, trying to anchor him, to remind him he was still human.
"Emi… you're quiet today," she said softly. "Are you… okay?"
He shook his head, staring at the ground. "I survived last night… but it feels like something is still inside me. I can't control it fully."
Lucía's eyes widened. "Inside you? You mean… El Oscuro?"
He swallowed. "Not fully him… but a fragment. A shadow. I can feel it, whispering sometimes. At night… in mirrors… in my own reflection. I can't shake it."
She stopped walking, gripping his hands. "Then we fix it. We figure out how to get rid of it. Together."
Emiliano looked up at her, tears threatening. "I don't know if anything can ever fully be rid of him."
Lucía hugged him tightly. "Then we fight. Always fight."
1. The First Signs
Classes had resumed, but Emiliano felt out of place. Every hallway seemed longer, darker, filled with movement just beyond his perception.
He sat in History class, trying to focus, but he saw fleeting glimpses in reflections—shadow tendrils curling across the whiteboard, inverting letters, flickering in the glass of the window.
When the teacher's back was turned, he heard faint whispers. Not voices from around him, but voices inside his head:
"Open… Let me in… You cannot stop me…"
He gritted his teeth. "Not now. Not today."
His hand unconsciously went to the red mark on his forearm. The mark glowed faintly, pulsating like a heartbeat.
It was a reminder. A warning.
During lunch, he tried to eat, but the food had no taste. Shadows seemed to curl around the cafeteria chairs, twisting with anticipation. He shivered.
Lucía sat across from him. "Emi… you're scaring me. Are you… are you losing control?"
"I don't know," he whispered. "But I feel him. He's… inside me. And he's growing."
Lucía took his hand. "We'll figure it out. We always do."
But deep inside, Emiliano wondered if this time, it was different.
2. The Unexpected Ally
The first real warning came from an unlikely place.
During Art class, Emiliano's sketchbook began to move on its own. Pages flipped violently, pencils rolled across the desk, scratching lines he hadn't drawn.
He froze.
"Emiliano?" a familiar voice called.
He turned. It was Isabela.
Her presence was immediate, intense. Silver light shimmered faintly around her hands even under the fluorescent classroom lights.
"You summoned me?" Emiliano asked cautiously.
Isabela shook her head. "No. I didn't come willingly. He did. El Oscuro's fragment is restless. He's reaching through your will more than last night."
Lucía's eyes widened. "He's… inside him?"
"Yes," Isabela said bluntly. "And if it grows unchecked, he will try again to manifest fully. Today. Here. Now."
Emiliano's heart skipped. "How do we stop it?"
Isabela's expression hardened. "We need to push the fragment back… and for that, you must face it. Alone, in the place where the Thirteenth Door almost opened. Tonight. In the old gym."
Lucía's hand tightened on Emiliano's arm. "Tonight? Why can't we—"
"Because he will test your limits where he almost succeeded," Isabela interrupted. "And if you are not ready… everything you fought for will be for nothing."
Emiliano swallowed. "Then tonight… I fight again."
3. Hallways of the Mind
The day passed in a blur. Emiliano moved through the hallways with the feeling of being watched. Shadows seemed thicker near him. Mirrors reflected not his own image, but fleeting glimpses of darkness behind him.
He tried to ignore it, tried to anchor himself in reality, but every reflection felt like a threat. Every whisper, a promise of possession.
During study hall, he stared at his reflection in the window and saw it—a tall, dark version of himself with hollow eyes, smirking.
"You can't resist me forever," the shadow hissed.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. "I am Emiliano Rojas. Not you. Never you."
The figure in the reflection mimicked his words in a mocking tone:
"Never… but eternity is patient."
Emiliano clenched his fists. The red mark on his forearm burned brighter. He could feel the fragment struggling to escape, to merge.
He felt Lucía's hand on his shoulder. "Emi… stay with me. Don't let him take your mind."
He nodded, swallowing hard. "I won't."
4. Preparations for the Night
By evening, the sky had darkened unnaturally, heavy with crimson clouds. The Blood Moon loomed above, larger and more vivid than before. The town below had gone eerily quiet, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Emiliano, Lucía, and Isabela approached the gym together. The shattered remains of mirrors and broken glass from the last battle were still visible. The Thirteenth Door's outline shimmered faintly in the shadows.
"This is where you must face him," Isabela said. "And this time, the fragment will fight harder. It knows it is weakened… but it will not yield easily."
Lucía's voice trembled. "Emi… promise me you'll be careful. I can't… I can't lose you."
He cupped her face, forcing a small, exhausted smile. "I won't let him take me. Not tonight. And I'm not doing this alone."
Isabela's silver eyes glinted. "Together, you must bind him. Tonight will test your will, your body, and your mind. Do not falter."
Emiliano's shadow pulsed and twisted at his feet. He felt the fragment stirring. It had sensed the Blood Moon's peak.
A low, guttural growl echoed from the broken mirrors. The fragment was aware. It was hungry.
And the night of the Blood Moon battle had begun.
1. The First Strike
Without warning, the fragment surged outward, attempting to manifest through his shadow. Tendrils of pure darkness shot across the gym floor, splintering the remnants of shattered mirrors.
Emiliano staggered, clutching his chest as the red mark on his arm flared violently. The shadows inside him writhed, trying to escape the bonds he had created last night.
Isabela raised her hands, chanting rapidly. Silver light flowed from her palms, forming a protective circle around Emiliano. "Anchor yourself! You cannot let him break through the seal!"
The fragment hissed angrily. "I will not be contained! Your will is weak!"
Emiliano's knees buckled. Sweat poured down his face. The whispers intensified, echoing every fear he had ever felt, every failure, every moment of doubt.
Lucía pressed her forehead to his shoulder. "You're not weak! You're stronger than this. Remember the Thirteenth Door, remember last night! You survived once, you can survive again!"
Her voice—human, alive, tangible—cut through the fragment's influence. Emiliano clenched his fists, forcing the shadow to coil tightly around him, resisting.
2. The Fragment's Revelation
The Thirteenth Door shimmered in one remaining mirror shard. The fragment of El Oscuro spoke, voice layered and distorted:
"You are the vessel. You always were. And I am eternal. You cannot hide from me."
Emiliano staggered forward, shadow flaring. "I am not your vessel! I am Emiliano Rojas! And I will not let you take this world!"
The fragment laughed, a chilling, hollow sound. "You cannot destroy me. I am within you. And soon… I will rise fully."
Suddenly, the shard cracked violently. From it, a dark figure emerged—not fully El Oscuro, but his essence, twisted, molten red eyes burning. It reached toward Emiliano, tendrils of shadow coiling around the gym.
Lucía screamed, ducking behind a broken chair. "Emi!"
Emiliano roared, pushing outward. His shadow surged, striking the figure with raw, pulsing energy. The fragment recoiled, hissing in fury.
Isabela's voice rang above him: "Now! Bind him fully! Anchor your will and push him back into the seal!"
3. The Ritual's Strain
Emiliano dropped to his knees, sweat and blood mixing on the floor. His shadow fused with the fragment, resisting, struggling. The red mark on his arm burned like molten fire.
Lucía held his hands tightly, grounding him. "You're not alone, Emi. Fight him with me. Fight with me!"
Isabela pressed her palms to the floor. Silver light surged upward, forming intricate symbols around Emiliano. The Thirteenth Door pulsed violently, responding to the energy, but resisting.
The fragment screamed inside his mind. "Let me in! You are mine! You cannot resist eternity!"
Emiliano's vision blurred. His body trembled violently. "I… I… will not… let you… take me!"
With a final scream, he forced every ounce of willpower, every memory, every feeling into the seal. Shadows and light collided, exploding outward in a wave that shook the gym violently.
The fragment shrieked, twisting, splintering, clawing at his soul. And then—silence.
4. Victory—But at a Cost
Emiliano collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, sweat and blood mixing. The red mark on his arm faded slightly, leaving faint scars.
Lucía knelt beside him, tears streaking her face. "You did it… Emi… you're okay…"
Isabela hovered above, silver energy dimming. "For now… the fragment is suppressed. But it is not gone. He will return, stronger than before."
Emiliano swallowed hard, every muscle aching. "I… I don't know how much longer I can keep this up… but I won't let him win. Not now. Not ever."
The Thirteenth Door was gone. The mirror shards were cracked and lifeless. The gym was silent, but the Blood Moon still glowed faintly overhead, crimson and distant.
Lucía held his face in her hands. "You're not alone, Emi. I'm here. We'll fight him together."
Emiliano nodded, burying his face against her shoulder. The shadows within him were restless, but he had survived. He had won—for now.
But far beyond the shattered mirrors, in the deepest darkness of the Thirteenth Door's realm, a whisper lingered:
"You delay me… but soon… I will rise."
And Emiliano knew, with a sinking certainty, that the battle had only just begun.