The staircase twisted like an endless serpent. Each step creaked under Plamen and Kamen's weight, echoing faintly into the void above. The map-stone burned in Plamen's pocket, reminding them with every heartbeat: ten trials left.
The air grew heavier as they climbed, the walls closing in, the silence pressing tighter. It wasn't just silence—it was suffocation. The kind of silence that made even breathing feel like a sin.
Finally, they reached a new landing. A vast, square chamber stretched before them, its walls lined with rusted pipes that dripped black water onto the steel floor. In the center stood something grotesque: a massive iron bell, taller than a house, its surface cracked and veined with crimson light. Around it lay shattered chains, as if whatever had been bound here had already broken free once before.
Etched into the ground, in letters that looked carved with fingernails, were the words:
"THE TRIAL OF HOLLOW BELLS: SURVIVE THE CHIME."
Kamen's face darkened. "That doesn't sound good."
Plamen stepped forward, fists tightening. "Nothing in here ever is."
The bell groaned, moving as though alive. Then—
GONG.
The sound ripped through their bones, vibrating deep into their marrow. Plamen staggered, his vision blurring. It wasn't just sound—it was an attack. His thoughts scattered like broken glass, memories flashing and tearing away. He saw fire, blood, his childhood blurred by rage.
"Plamen!" Kamen shouted, clutching his ears. Even his enhanced skeletal curse couldn't block it. "It's trying to erase us!"
Another GONG.
This time, something darker seeped from the bell's cracks: silhouettes, human-like but hollow-eyed, dragging themselves across the floor. Their bodies were made of rust and blood, stitched together by wires that pierced their skin. Each one carried a faint bell embedded in their chest, ringing with every twisted step.
"They're coming," Plamen hissed, shaking off the ringing in his head.
The first creature lunged, its jagged arms swinging like blades. Plamen ducked under the strike, his instincts kicking in. His fists moved in perfect rhythm—Boosted Martial Arts: Level 2. A spinning elbow shattered the creature's head, sparks of rust spraying out like embers.
But even as it collapsed, the bell in its chest rang.
And from the shadows, two more rose.
"They don't stop," Kamen growled, slamming his palm to the ground. "Hone no Shokuzai!"
The floor cracked, skeletal arms erupting in a frenzy. They clawed upward, dragging the nearest rust-creature down, its screams muffled as it was pulled beneath the steel. Bones broke it apart, but the ringing of its chest-bell echoed long after it vanished.
Then—
GONG.
The world tilted. Plamen's knees buckled. He saw hallucinations—the spider from before, the werewolf's claws, the face of Sasho, grinning with eyes of fire. He clenched his fists, sweat dripping down his brow. "No… no, this isn't real!"
But the creatures kept spawning, every chime of the bell birthing more horrors. Five now. Ten. A tide of metal and hate.
Kamen was breathing hard, his curse straining. "Plamen, this won't end! We have to silence the bell!"
Plamen's eyes shot to the center—the cracked iron giant. His rage burned hotter than the hallucinations. "Then I'll break it."
He ripped a coin from his pocket, fingers trembling. With a flick, he sent it spinning across the floor, reflecting the dim red light. The instant it clinked against the base of the bell—
Flying Shunpō.
Plamen vanished, reappearing in front of the massive iron structure. The bell loomed, vibrating with unholy power. The closer he was, the louder the sound, until his bones screamed with every vibration. His ears bled, his vision bled, even his thoughts bled.
"Shut… up!" he roared.
His fists ignited with raw fury. Meteor Punch wasn't his choice… but something in him burned hotter, a hybrid of his rage and new mastery. He slammed his fist forward—a boosted straight punch with the weight of all his arts behind it.
The impact echoed like thunder. The bell cracked wider, crimson light spilling like molten veins.
But the bell wasn't passive. From the crack spilled a figure—twisted and colossal. A humanoid shape, but headless, its neck ending in a hollow mouth that screamed with the sound of a thousand bells. Chains dragged from its arms like whips.
Kamen's eyes widened. "The Bell Guardian!"
The creature's chain lashed out, wrapping around Plamen's torso. Before he could react, he was yanked off his feet and slammed into the floor. The breath left his lungs in a violent gasp.
"Plamen!"
Kamen's hand slammed the ground. Skeletal arms erupted, grasping the chain and pulling, fighting against the guardian's strength. But the guardian simply screamed, the sound waves shattering bones like twigs.
Plamen coughed blood, forcing himself to his feet. "Not… enough…"
His fists trembled. His rage burned. The hallucinations of Sasho's grin flashed again. His chest felt like it would burst. But instead of fear, it was fuel.
He flicked another coin into the air, teleporting behind the guardian. His body twisted, knees bending low, stance shifting perfectly into Muay Thai. He leapt, his boosted knee strike crashing into the guardian's hollow neck.
Chains shattered. The scream cut short. The guardian collapsed, its body unraveling into rust and smoke.
The great bell cracked further—then finally, with a shriek of iron, shattered.
The silence that followed was unbearable, heavier than the sound itself. The rust-creatures vanished into dust, the chains dissolved, and all that remained was the core of the bell: a shard of black crystal, glowing faintly with red veins.
Plamen picked it up, still gasping, his knuckles bleeding.
Kamen walked to his side, his eyes unreadable. "Every trial is worse than the last."
Plamen clenched the shard in his fist, feeling it pulse against his skin. "Then we'll just get stronger. No matter what it takes."
Above them, the staircase groaned again, stretching higher into the dark. The whispers returned—distant, mocking, like the bell's death had only woken something worse.
And yet, they climbed.