Hollowed

(Aloisa)

My lady has ordered me to go to Ilmor, the home tribe of Hati. She told me to proclaim myself as one of the rouges who defected from the Skoll tribe and honor the bearer of wind and Illusion as my own Alpha.

I was about to leave when "Aloisa!"

"Yes, my lady..." I kneeled down

"We need to convince them that you're a rouge and have not more ties to the Skoll. Remove your clothing... I need to do something." She said. I followed her order without any hesitation, and then she burned the patch of skin on my side that has the mark of the sun.

I wanted to scream in pain. It feels like she is melting every fiber of my flesh. Meilla has been howling loudly. I know she can also feel my pain. The pain is too much for me to bear, and I lost consciousness.

I opened my eyes with Meilla by my side along with lady Via.

"So you are awake..." She said in a neutral and emotionless manner. "Good... now remember the mission. Keep an eye on the Alpha; he will be our key if we are going to survive this impending war."

I reached for my side. I can still feel the burning sensation, but the pain has somewhat subsided.

"Your wound has already healed..." Another voice said.

"Lord Ansel..." I said. I did not expect him to be here with us.

"I have already healed your wound and made it look like a scar that has been there for a long time." He said Though I am afraid that you will still feel some pain because of the hellfire claw." He continued to tell me.

"It's ok... this pain is nothing... I can handle it." I answered him while my hand is still on my side, trying to ease the pain.

"Are you all set?" Lady Via said, breaking the conversation between Lord Ansel and me.

"Yes, My lady..."

"Ok, go... you can still talk to me through Astra. I have faith in you, my friend..." She said. The last two words rang inside my ear. She may have lost her empathy, but I know deep inside she still cares for everyone.

"As you wish, my lady..." I said again, then immediately left for Ilmor.

After a few hours, I have reached the holy lands. Beyond this area is Ilmor. Feral creatures that guard the gates that lead to the city of the gods. This will be tricky; they will attack if I were to put my guard down to cross this place as quickly as possible.

"Meilla!" I called her out. With her, we can cross this vast land that would typically take days in just a few hours.

She immediately howled, and our bodies started to become one. I still can't fully control this form, but this would just be enough to cross the holy lands unscathed.

Those creatures started to sense me when I stepped foot inside the holy land territory.

'Let's do this, Meilla!' I said, and we immediately ran across every creature, avoiding battle and dodging every attack they made.

'My lady! We have already entered the holy land and are now traveling at lightning speed towards Ilmor. I will report again once we enter Ilmor's border,' I said through Astra's link.

'Aloisa... We can only hold this form for a few more minutes; we have to use that now if we want to reach Ilmor.' Meilla informed me.

'But... we are not sure if we can reach Ilmor with that; we still haven't tried it, plus we haven't marked any place near Ilmor.' I said to her.

'We can... remember the massacre scene? I have marked that area, and it is near the border of Ilmor, remember?' She explained to me. 'Trust me; I will take the lead...' We switched places and let her control our body.

"Here we go..." She said and activated the light portal.

We have landed separately. I feel so exhausted Meilla immediately went inside the minute we set foot on the massacre site at the edge of Zion.

'We still have a few more hours before we reach the main city of Ilmor, and I can still sense their presence. It looks like they had just left this area. Let us take a few minutes and recover our stamina before we resume our travel.' She explained to me.

I refused what she said and carefully crossed the cliff that separates Zion and Ilmor.

'I will now proceed to the city of Ilmor; you recover and rest inside.' I said to Meilla

'As you wish. Be careful. Expect retaliation, and don't let your guard down; give me a few minutes to recover my strength.'

I followed the faint aura that I can still sense along with the masked scent of a Skollian Blood. The blood was diluted and mixed with someone from their tribe to hide it. Whoever masked this scent is good; if it weren't for the scent enhancement that was done to me, I would have never picked it up.

I stopped behind the tree a few meters away from the main gate of Ilmor to compose and calm myself before walking straight towards the entrance.

"Who are you!" The guards shouted, and suddenly someone rushed forward and made the first strike.

"Who are you? and What do you want?" He said. His presence alone is enough to make any low-rank members of Skoll kneel down and beg for mercy.

"I wish to speak with the ALPHA..." I said.

"Why?" He asked again

"I wish to speak with the ALPHA..." I repeated my answer. Lady Via's instructions are to keep an eye on the ALPHA, and I will only talk with none other than him.

The stand-off between me and this unknown paragon lasted a few more minutes until a powerful aura arrived along with the ALPHA.

Meilla then came out to ward off the unwanted paragons who wish to intercept.

"Alpha..." I said as soon as I saw him.

A few chatters have filled the surrounding area. As expected, this will make a scene, but I wish them no harm.

"Alpha... Let me introduce myself... My name is Aloisa Ivor... I am a rouge Paragon from Signus Raor." I introduced myself, ignoring the surrounding chatter.

"How do you know about Aerglo?" Another one asked. I know this man as he was the one who light traveled and chased me all the way to Bronsime.

"You are the one who chased me back to Bronsime in Signus Raor." I looked at him dead in the eye.

"You did not answer my question! I asked you how did you know Prince Aerglo?!" He asked once again

I looked around and started to announce, "There are a few Rouge Paragons in Bronsime, and we have all heard about the chosen Paragon. For a long time, we have waited for the return of ALPHA PRIME, and we believe that Aerglo is the next ALPHA PRIME!"

All the chattering voices have suddenly vanished, and all eyes are now focused on the Alpha. He must have panicked and started to take a few steps back when he bumped into the bulky young man who stopped Meilla's twister with his bare hands.

He just looked at him, and I can sense fear has already started to overrun his emotions. Then suddenly, he just fainted.

"Alpha!!!" I shouted.

I tried to run closer, but I was stopped by two paragons who quickly overpowered me and took me far away from the gates. They took and left me at a place with frigid temperature.

"Stay here, or we will kill you the moment you come near the Prince again." One told me before he cast a barrier around me.

"You can't keep me here!" I told them

"Try us!" He said once again with a smug on his face.

"Stay here!" He said again before leaving me behind.

I tried to leave, but this light around me prevents me from summoning Meilla.

'Looks like we are gonna be stuck here until we regain our full strength.' Meilla said, and she is right. We have no choice but to wait and recover. That form we did earlier, along with the light travel, has almost completely drained us of our strength. I can't even get a hold of Lady Via; this is one powerful barrier.

(King Atlas)

"Aerglo!" I rushed towards my son. He is now as pale as the cloud and as cold as a dead body.

Chattering voices full of panic quickly filled the surrounding area.

"Hilal! Call Callisto immediately!" I shouted. "What happened, Aerglo?" I asked him even though I know that he will not answer me.

"Aerglo!" My wife Amaris shouted upon seeing our son.

"What happened, Atlas?" She asked me. Amaris has been overprotective of Aerglo ever since he was born. I tried to answer her, but she has already ignored me and proceeded to carry our son.

I have a theory about what happened to Aerglo, so I did not stop Amaris and immediately went to seek Helga's help.

His faint and fading aura plus his slow heartbeat means only one thing. He is in transition, and after that, he will become hollow.

(Queen Amaris)

My heart is pounding, so many thoughts are running through my head. I can feel my son's faint heartbeat. "Callisto!" I shouted as I burst through her chamber doors.

"HOWL!" Arya tried her healing howl, but there is little to no effect. His face is pale, his skin is cold, and his heartbeat is faint with long intervals.

"What is wrong with him?" I asked Callisto, "Answer me!" I shouted at her.

"Your highness, please calm down!" She told me, but I can't control my emotions right now. Seeing my son in that state sends panic signals through my brain.

"No! Tell me what is wrong with my son!" I asked her again.

"Your highness, I can't say what exactly happened, but he seems like he is in a state of limbo where he is trapped between realms, and also, I can't feel one of his lupus." She explained.

"No... not my son... NO!!!" I screamed with rage. It is still unclear but deducing her words means that Aerglo is now transitioning to become hollow.

(Arche)

Everyone rushed towards Aerglo. I managed to catch him before he completely lost his consciousness. King Atlas also ran towards us.

"Alpha!!!" The girl from the gate tried to come near us, but she was stopped by Hilal and Erik. She tried to fight her way, but they quickly overpowered and took her away.

A few moments later, Queen Amaris also rushed towards us. Her presence is overwhelming. She is known to be overprotective of Prince Aerglo.

"What happened, Atlas?" She shouted. I can sense fear in her voice; even King Atlas could not calm her down. She did not wait for King Atlas's answer, and she immediately grabbed Prince Aerglo's body. I want to follow her and keep track of the Prince, but I have to do something else in order to help.

I secretly snuck out when everyone else is not looking. I wanted to find that girl who introduced herself as Via. She is the leading cause of all of this. Because of her bad decisions, Prince Aerglo is now in big trouble, and who knows if he is still going to wake up.

I started to travel North planning to go Thorn in the Argent Region. If I want answers, that is an excellent place to start. The entire region is known for its Neutrality. No King or Leader leads the area, only a small group of highly skilled rouges from other tribes and regions.

The path I am about to tread is no walk in the park. This is a sacred area where the mightly gods have first made their appearance and have been a no man's land. Feral creatures that serve as guards to the gate towards the city of the gods can be spotted roaming around. I need to be careful and not let my guard down if I want to survive this journey.

(Aerglo)

"Hello!" I shouted no response aside from the echo of my own voice.

"Arche! Io! Cinthya! Aesha!... AIBEK!!! Please, anyone, answer me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs but still no response.

"Where am I?" I asked my self. All I remember is that the feeling of a soul leaving my body. Phobos has left me; he doesn't want me anymore. There is this unknown pain that bears down on my chest. I feel so weak and incomplete. His words keep on repeating in my head.

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"I regret bonding with someone like you!"

"AHHHH!!!!" I screamed again. So this is hollow—the dark and empty endless void. No wonder they say that this is a fate worst than death.

I tried to walk, but it all feels like I am going nowhere. I can't see what lies beyond. I sat down and grabbed my knees, bringing them to my chest. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm pathetic and weak and worthless. This is what an inadequate and worthless Paragon like me deserves."

I can't tell how long I have been here. I can't sense time passing this place of pure darkness, this where a worthless paragon like me belongs.

"Aerglo!"

I heard a voice for the first time. A familiar voice, but I can't remember who it belongs to.

"Aerglo!"

The voice called me again. I looked around but just like before; I can only see darkness around me. That voice somehow made me feel alive once more. There is something in me that says follow the sound and find the source.

"Aerglo!"

Fear has already filled my heart. I don't want to move a muscle and find the source. I don't want to be a burden anymore. The tribe does not need a weak Paragon like me. I covered my ears, trying to block the voice that has called me several times. Tears are streaming down my face. Doubt and Fear are the primary emotions that I feel right now.

"Stop!" I shouted. "I don't want it anymore! Their expectation of me is too much!" I said in a sobbing voice. "They are better off without me. The tribe will be better without me! My Mother and Father will have another heir, a better heir, and he will lead the tribe, not me, so leave me alone!" I continued to cry my frustrations out.

I started to hear paws walking towards me. I looked up, and there I saw glowing blue and red eyes staring down at me.

It started to open its jaws, and I began to back away, fearing that it will swallow me whole. In a blink of an eye, it is now near me. Expecting the end, I stood there and let go of all fear and emotions that have filled my heart accepted my fate, but instead of death, the once dark shadow that has clouded it started to glow in bright blinding light. I remember this; I saw the same light during the bonding ceremony when I touched Aibek.

"Well done, young one!" A voice resonated in my head.

I looked at it, and there I saw it. Its size is incomparable to any other Lupus. Its fur is pitch black with chains all over its body. On this back sat a man, and he was the one that has been calling me earlier.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"It is not yet the time for you to know me, young one, but as I said, you have done an excellent job of letting go of detaching yourself, and to that, I will help you only if you let us bond with you." He said, which made me think.

"But..." I wanted to refuse, but he intercepted me.

"Listen, Aerglo... a war is coming, and you will be the key for the survival of the original bloodline along with your sister. Bond with us, and we will help you. Take your time and think about it. But know this time flows differently in this realm, young one, so you have to decide fast." He explained before disappearing into the abyss.