Midnight Chapel
536 Words
Chapter 6: Midnight Chapel*
The clock tower struck midnight—three haunting chimes that echoed through the academy’s bones.
Lyra pulled her cloak tight and stepped out into the cold. The moon was full again, hanging low and heavy like it was watching her every move.
The old chapel was on the far end of the campus grounds, half-swallowed by ivy and time. No one ever mentioned it. It wasn’t on the school map. But Kael had told her, and her feet followed memory.
She pushed the heavy doors open with a creak.
Inside, moonlight spilled through broken stained glass, coloring the dusty air with shades of violet and blue. Abandoned pews stretched to a shattered altar where ancient glyphs glowed faintly.
Kael was already there, leaning against a pillar, half-shadowed.
“You came.”
“You knew I would.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “You’re starting to sound like one of us.”
Lyra stepped forward. “So what’s hidden here?”
Kael motioned to the floor behind the altar. “Help me.”
Together, they pulled back the cracked tiles, revealing a narrow staircase that spiraled downward.
“No one else knows about this?” she asked.
“No one alive.
The passage was cold and tight, lit only by a faint light coming from Kael’s hand—a flame that flickered silver instead of gold.
At the bottom, they stepped into a circular chamber, lined with mirrors. In the center stood a stone pedestal holding an old scroll sealed with both wax and blood.
Kael didn’t touch it.
“This is the original Celestial Prophecy,” he said. “The one the Council buried centuries ago. The real version.”
Lyra moved closer. The scroll shimmered slightly under the moonlight.
Kael spoke softly, quoting it:
“*When the moon’s blood awakens in mortal flesh, and the Sixth returns, the veils shall fall. The beast shall stand beside the light… and the stars will choose a side.*”
Lyra looked at him. “That sounds like war.”
“It was,” Kael said. “And it will be again. You’re the Sixth—the lost House. The Celestial line wasn’t destroyed like they claimed. It was… hidden.”
She swallowed hard. “By who?”
“By the Council. And by the wolves. Because if the prophecy is true, then your power can break the balance—or remake it.”
Lyra looked into one of the mirrors. Her reflection flickered. For a second, she didn’t look like herself. A glow beneath her skin, starlight in her eyes.
“Why are you showing me this?” she asked.
Kael met her gaze. “Because I think you’re not the destroyer they fear. I think you’re the one who ends the cycle.”
“And what about you?”
He stepped closer. “If I follow the prophecy… I stand beside you.”
The silence between them stretched, full of tension and something else neither dared name yet.
Then a loud, metallic clang echoed from above.
Kael’s eyes sharpened. “We’re not alone.”
Footsteps. Heavy. Multiple.
“The Council,” he hissed.
He grabbed Lyra’s hand. “Run."
- Writer
