The streets of Ashvale never truly slept, but after the fall of the Chainbound Warden, even the silence felt like it was holding its breath. Dust from the shattered chains lingered in the air, glittering faintly as though mocking them.
Elara helped Aelric limp to a half-collapsed wall. His corrupted arm smoked faintly, and every breath he took came out ragged. She pressed her hand against his chest, trying to steady his breathing.
"You keep saying nothing can hold you," she whispered, voice tight with fear. "But your body… Aelric, how much longer can you really keep fighting like this?"
He chuckled hoarsely, leaning back against the stone. "Long enough to finish. That's all that matters."
"Don't joke." Her eyes burned, and she gripped his sleeve hard enough to whiten her knuckles. "Every time you use that corruption, it eats more of you. What if there's nothing left before the last night?"
Aelric's grin wavered for a moment, but then sharpened again, cruel and fearless. "Then I'll still spit in the System's face with whatever's left."
---
The ground rumbled.
Both froze as a deep vibration spread through the ruined street. Aelric's hand instinctively reached for his pipe. Elara glanced around, panic in her eyes.
But no Hollow appeared. No Chainbound.
Instead, from far away, a low chime echoed.
Dong.
Both flinched.
Another followed.
Dong.
Elara's heart pounded as she whispered, "That's the Clocktower bell…"
Aelric frowned, narrowing his eyes. "No. That's impossible."
"The tower only rings at dawn," she said, clutching her chest. "It's the rule. It marks when the night is over."
But the night wasn't over.
The sky above was still cracked black, no light breaking through.
And yet—
Dong.
The bell tolled a third time, shaking the city with unnatural weight.
---
The System's cold voice cut through the chimes, sharp and merciless:
> [Warning: System anomaly detected.]
The Ashvale Clocktower bell has rung outside of permitted cycle.]
Cause: Unknown.]
Proceed with caution.]
Elara's face drained of color. "Anomaly? The System doesn't even know what caused it?"
Aelric spat blood into the dust, smirking. "Good. That means whatever it is, it's not on their script. I like that."
She stared at him like he was mad. "You like this?"
"Better than playing their game. If the board breaks, maybe we can flip it."
---
The bell rang a fourth time.
And with it, the air cracked open. Not like the Hollow portals they'd seen before—this was different. Reality itself shivered, splitting lines of light through the streets. Buildings warped, angles bending wrong.
Aelric pushed himself upright, pipe in hand. His grin faltered just slightly. "Okay… maybe I don't like it that much."
From the cracks, something crawled. Not Hollows. Not Chainbound. Figures in dark robes, their faces hidden by masks shaped like clock faces. Their hands ticked like needles, moving unnaturally in jerks.
Elara's throat closed up. "Who are they…?"
The System answered:
> [System Notice: Bell Wardens detected.]
Custodians of forbidden time.]
Their existence was sealed centuries ago.]
---
The Wardens moved in silence, their masks tilting unnaturally as they stared at Aelric and Elara. The ticking of their hands grew louder, echoing through the street like a thousand clocks.
One stepped forward. Its mask was cracked down the middle, showing a faint glow beneath. When it spoke, the voice didn't come from its mouth, but directly into their minds.
"The bell rang. That means the false survivor has touched the chain of fate."
Elara clutched Aelric's arm, her heart pounding. "They mean you…"
Aelric smirked, despite the blood dripping from his lip. "False survivor, huh? I'll take that as a compliment."
The Warden's head tilted, the ticking growing louder.
"You are corruption given form. You are not meant to exist."
Aelric swung his pipe onto his shoulder. "Neither is your ugly face, but here we are."
---
The Wardens moved all at once. Their hands stretched, and the air bent with them—time itself warped, seconds skipping, moments replaying, the street flickering like a broken reel of film.
Elara stumbled, disoriented. "Aelric—I—what's happening?!"
He steadied her, his own body twitching as his corrupted veins reacted violently. His grin widened. "They're messing with time. Guess they don't know that's my playground."
With a roar, his corrupted arm lashed out, tendrils flaring against the warped air. For a moment, the distortion slowed, bending around him instead of breaking him.
The nearest Warden tilted its mask again. "Resistance… noted."
---
Aelric lunged forward, pipe crashing into the Warden's chest. The mask cracked, glowing fragments scattering. But as soon as the body fell, the chains of time rewound it. The Warden rose again, mask restored, ticking louder.
Elara screamed. "They—they can't die!"
The System chimed coldly:
> [Bell Wardens are bound to the anomaly cycle.]
They cannot be killed until the Clocktower trial is resolved.]
Her stomach dropped. "So… they'll just keep coming back until…?"
"Until we break the damn bell," Aelric finished, wiping blood from his mouth. His grin was savage. "Good. I was meaning to smash that thing anyway."
---
The Wardens surged again, their ticking becoming deafening. Elara covered her ears, tears streaming as her timer burned painfully on her wrist. [2 Days: 23 Hours: 41 Minutes]
It had shifted.
The bell's toll was stealing time directly from her.
"Elara!" Aelric shouted, grabbing her wrist. His eyes narrowed at the numbers. "They're shaving your clock."
She gasped. "I—I just lost twenty minutes!"
His face darkened. "Then that tower dies tonight."
---
They ran. Through collapsing streets, past the echoes of Hollows that didn't dare step close to the Wardens, past survivors who crouched in terror as the bell tolled again and again.
Each chime cut more time from their wrists. Each chime drew more Wardens from the cracks.
By the time the Clocktower loomed above them, its broken face shining faintly against the fractured sky, Elara's timer had burned down another full hour.
She fell to her knees, clutching her wrist in despair. "We… we'll never make it…"
Aelric crouched beside her, gripping her chin, forcing her to meet his burning eyes.
"Elara. Look at me."
Her tears blurred his face, but his grin was sharp and defiant.
"I don't care if the System says three days, two days, or three minutes. We walk until we break their rules. That's the law. My law."
---
The bell tolled again, shaking the ground. The tower's doors groaned, opening slowly, light spilling out like a wound.
The System's voice boomed across the city:
> [System Override Initiated.]
Ashvale Clocktower Trial will commence prematurely.]
Participants: Survivors detected.]
Objective: Break the false bell or be consumed.]
Elara's breath hitched. "It's starting… now?"
Aelric stood tall, pipe in one hand, corruption blazing in the other. His grin was wide, fearless, half-mad.
"Good. I was getting bored."
He stepped into the light of the tower. Elara swallowed her fear, wiped her tears, and followed.
The doors slammed shut behind them, and the bell rang one last time.