The fourth toll of the bell crashed through the tunnel like an iron hammer against Ethan's ribs. His body seized, his vision blurred, and for a heartbeat he was sure his heart would stop.
The air was no longer just damp and heavy—it was choking. Ash swirled in every breath, coating his throat, burning his eyes. And still, the skulls drifted closer.
They came in hundreds, maybe thousands, filling the tunnel with their terrible glow. Each one carved with symbols that pulsed like veins beneath bone. Each one whispering in a voice just below the threshold of hearing, like the murmur of the ocean.
Selene dragged him backward, her steps sure despite the chaos. Her grip was steel around his wrist. "Don't look at them!" she hissed again. "Don't breathe too deep. They'll make you forget yourself."
But Ethan had already seen too much.
The skull nearest him turned slowly, its hollow sockets flaring brighter. Within the fire, he swore he saw movement—faces, hundreds of them, trapped and screaming silently. For a moment, one face broke through the blur.
His mother's.
Ethan's chest collapsed. He staggered forward before Selene yanked him back with surprising strength.
"Ethan!" she snapped, her voice cutting through the bell's toll. "It's not real. Nothing you see in their fire is real."
But it had been real. It was real. He couldn't deny what he'd seen—his mother's features, etched in flame, calling for him.
The fifth toll came.
The tunnel walls shook, dust and pebbles raining down from the ceiling. The skulls moved faster now, swirling like a storm. Their whispers grew louder, no longer faint—now they were words, clear and sharp.
Join us…Ashes to ashes…You belong here…
Ethan clamped his hands over his ears. It didn't help. The voices wormed through flesh and bone, bypassing every defense. His knees buckled. His flashlight clattered to the ground, rolling to a stop against Selene's boots.
She caught his face in both hands, forcing his gaze into hers. Her eyes were sharp, unflinching, pulling him back from the edge. "Listen to me. Focus on me. Do not let them in."
The world swayed. Ash pressed down like water, drowning him. But Selene's voice—steady, commanding, warm—was an anchor. Ethan blinked, and for a moment the storm of skulls blurred, their voices weakening.
"Good," she whispered. "Stay with me."
They pressed onward, Selene guiding him through the chaos. The skulls parted just enough to let them pass, as if studying their prey. Ethan felt the heat of the flames singe his skin, but the touch of Selene's hand steadied him.
And then—the sixth toll.
The ash-fire roared. From the swarm of skulls, something larger began to emerge.
At first, Ethan thought it was simply more of them clustering together. But then he saw the truth: dozens of skulls were fusing, their bones melting and twisting, their flames combining into one massive form.
It rose higher than the tunnel ceiling, bending the walls with its weight. A giant made of bone and ash, its hollow eye sockets glowing like furnaces, its jaw splitting wide enough to swallow them whole.
Selene cursed under her breath. "An Ash Warden. Of all the times—"
The creature's voice was thunder and fire. "WHO TRESPASSES THE BELL?"
Ethan staggered back. His skin blistered from the heat alone. "What the hell is that thing?"
Selene drew something from her coat—a small silver charm etched with runes. She held it high, and the skulls around them shrieked in unison, retreating slightly from its glow.
"The guardian of this place," she said. "It comes when the bell wakes. And it won't let us leave alive."
The seventh toll rang.
The Warden lunged.
Its massive hand, built from dozens of fused skulls, slammed down where Ethan had stood seconds before. The impact shattered the ground, throwing him into the wall. Pain shot through his ribs. He coughed, tasting iron.
Selene shouted his name, her voice raw. She shoved him up, forcing him to move. "Run!"
They sprinted, weaving through the storm of drifting skulls. The Warden gave chase, each step shaking the tunnel. Ash rained in thick waves, blinding, choking. Ethan's lungs screamed for air, his vision darkening, but Selene pulled him onward, relentless.
The eighth toll crashed through the world.
Ahead, Ethan saw it—a crack in the wall. A passage narrow enough the Warden couldn't follow. Selene spotted it too. She shoved him toward it. "Go!"
"What about you?"
"I'll hold it off."
"No!" Ethan grabbed her hand, refusing to let go. "We go together."
The Warden's roar shook the tunnel. Its massive arm reached for them, claws of fused bone scraping sparks against the stone. Ethan pulled Selene with him, diving into the crack just as the creature's hand slammed shut behind them.
Stone splintered. The tunnel collapsed, sealing them inside.
Silence.
For a long moment, there was only their ragged breathing, the drip of water somewhere deeper in the dark. Ethan's chest heaved, his body shaking. He turned to Selene, still gripping her hand.
Her eyes met his. For once, they weren't cold or calculating. They were wide, frightened, human.
Neither spoke. The silence between them was heavier than words.
Finally, Selene pulled her hand free, standing straighter. Her face hardened again, though her voice trembled slightly. "The Warden won't break through. Not yet. But the bell… it won't stop ringing until we reach the heart."
"The heart?" Ethan asked.
She nodded. "The center of the Hollow City. The place where it all began. That's where the bell hangs. And that's where we'll find the truth."
Ethan's pulse thundered in his ears. The truth. He wasn't sure he wanted it. But after what he'd seen—the corridor, the doppelgänger, the skulls, the Warden—he knew there was no turning back.
He met her gaze, forcing strength into his voice. "Then let's finish this."
Selene's lips curved—half-smile, half-grimace. "You don't know what you're asking for."
Before Ethan could answer, the ninth toll shook the earth.
And from the depths of the tunnel ahead, something stirred.
What do you think lies at the heart of the Hollow City? Comment your theories below!