Chapter 53: Ashes and Silence
A cold wind, sharp as a blade, swept through the ruins of the crumbling church as the five men spread out across its remains, their footsteps crunching over broken stones and dried bloodstains. The deeper they ventured, the heavier and stranger the air became—thick with the scent of iron, charged with an ancient, dark energy that did not belong to this world.
Alexander stopped beside a shattered wooden pew, tilting his head slightly as he stared at the ground. He spoke cautiously:
"Something is buried here."
Sam was already beside him, holding his old leather notebook.
"The coordinates match this location exactly. According to the cult followers' writings, they believe this place sits atop what they called 'the Hollow Grave.'"
Dean scoffed and said:
"I hate when cults start naming things. It always ends in disaster."
Damon raised an intrigued eyebrow:
"The Hollow Grave... sounds like something evil was sealed inside... or is waiting for someone to set it free."
Alexander closed his eyes and placed his palm on the ground:
"I can feel it... the link... directly beneath us. No deeper than thirty feet."
Stefan narrowed his eyes:
"Are we digging?"
Alexander replied without opening his eyes:
"We won't need to... there's already an entrance."
He led them to a collapsed door at the back of the church. Behind it, beneath twisted branches and silent rubble, a stone staircase descended into the earth. Ancient carvings were etched into the walls, seeming to move under the light, glowing with a faint red hue.
As they descended the steps, torches along the walls lit themselves, as if they had been waiting.
Dean muttered sarcastically:
"Yeah... this isn't creepy at all."
The deeper they went, the thicker the air became—until breathing felt like swallowing ashes. Finally, the tunnel opened into a massive chamber resembling a tomb. The walls were covered with horrific drawings of Elias, depicted in a twisted form—half-human, half-shadow.
In the center of the chamber stood a stone platform, atop which floated a black crystal coffin, hovering just above the ground. Inside, a faint green light pulsed like a living thing, swirling like toxic smoke.
Alexander stepped forward slowly, his body tense, his eyes fixed on the coffin:
"This is it... the link. What's left of Elias... trapped inside."
Sam warned, his fingers on the hilt of his dagger:
"Don't make any sudden moves."
But they were not alone.
A demonic whisper slid through the air. From every corner of shadow, seven masked phantoms emerged, cloaked in black robes, their eyes glowing with a faint red light. Leading them was a woman with platinum white hair, her arms tattooed with magical runes that shimmered across her skin.
She spoke with deadly calm:
"You were never meant to come here."
Alexander replied without hesitation:
"You have no idea what you're about to unleash. Elias wasn't a prophet... he was a curse."
The woman's voice was like a blade:
"He was power... and we serve the Forgotten Flame."
Dean raised his gun with grim sarcasm:
"Well, this 'Forgotten Flame' is about to get snuffed out."
The woman lifted her hands—and the world exploded around them.
The torches blazed with blind blue fire. A terrible wind tore through the corridor, and the link glowed as black energy flowed from the cultists' bodies into the coffin. The stone cracked, and green fire leaked from its fractures, as though something inside was roaring.
Damon was the first to move. He vanished in the blink of an eye and attacked one of the masked figures—blood splattered through the air.
Stefan followed, slamming one of them into the wall with merciless force.
Dean and Sam opened fire—Dean with iron bullets, Sam with enchanted rounds that scorched the very air.
Alexander stood facing the cult leader. His eyes glowed silver, fury rising like a storm in his aura.
He said with steady anger:
"I won't let him come back."
She replied, casting her magic toward him:
"Then die."
But she had miscalculated.
Alexander's aura exploded outward—a silver flame devouring the ground, reducing the cultists to ash. Damon and Stefan shielded their eyes, even Dean staggered back, cursing under his breath.
When the light faded, only Alexander and the coffin remained in the chamber. The cult leader had vanished—evaporated into thin air.
The link still pulsed, hungry to release Elias.
Sam approached cautiously and asked:
"Are you okay?"
Alexander murmured, his voice laced with exhaustion:
"No... but I'm tired of being afraid."
He raised his hands and began pouring his pure energy into the coffin. The link screamed—not with sound, but with memories. Elias's voice echoed through the chamber, a crawling whisper:
"You are mine, Alexander... and you always will be—"
Alexander roared back:
"Not anymore."
With a final surge of power, he shattered the crystal. The scream turned to a wail, then to a deadly silence. A cloud of green smoke burst forth and faded into the walls... the earth... the void.
And thus... Elias was truly gone.
A heavy silence filled the chamber, as if the world itself had paused.
Damon stepped closer and said:
"Are you alright?"
Alexander lowered his shoulders in relief and replied:
"No curse... no link... no shadow whispering in the back of my mind." He smiled faintly:
"I think... I'm finally free."
Dean patted his back and said:
"Quite the journey, huh? How about we don't do it again?"
Sam chuckled:
"Let's get the hell out of here."
As they climbed the stairs back into the light, the tomb behind them began to collapse—stone cracking, ivy reaching to seal it shut.
They reached the car just as a sunbeam pierced through the clouds.
Sam, as they packed their gear, asked:
"You're staying in Mystic Falls, right?"
Alexander replied calmly:
"For now. There's still peace to restore... and some pranks to plan for my brothers."
Dean grinned:
"Same old Alexander."
Sam asked:
"And if we need you again?"
Alexander replied without hesitation:
"I'll come. Always."
Dean raised his hand in a mock salute:
"Then I guess this is a... temporary goodbye."
Alexander looked at them quietly.
"There's something you should know, guys.
Years ago, when I escaped Elias... there was an old vampire who helped me and all that.
That vampire told me many things—one of them... was about you two.
About your father and... a woman."
Dean and Sam listened intently, and by the time he finished, both their eyes were wide with shock.
After a moment, Sam sighed:
"And I thought we were only three—
Me, Dean, and Adam."
Dean lowered his head.
"That old bastard."
In the end, the Winchesters got into their car and drove off down the dirt road through the forest, dust trailing behind them.
Stefan, Damon, and Alexander stood in silence for a moment, watching the car disappear between the trees.
Finally, Damon turned to Alexander and said:
"I think Bonnie was right."
Alexander asked:
"About what?"
Damon smirked:
"You're way too dramatic not to be one of us."
And Alexander laughed... for the first time in many long years.
Stefan looked at him. "I wanted to ask how you even met them."
Alexander smiled. "Well, it's a long story.
After I escaped the torture...
I found myself in a strange city.
There was a vampire there killing people for fun.
In a moment of rage and a curse surge, I killed him.
I didn't sense them, but Dean and Sam were there at the time.
They helped me a lot to discover myself and control the curse. But we parted ways when the world started ending."
Damon asked sarcastically, "Which ending was that, exactly?"
Alexander smiled and didn't answer.
The three of them laughed quietly, peacefully, as they walked back home...
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