Chapter 33: Shadows of the Past

The air was still thick with the scent of burning corruption. Even as the Hollowing's presence faded from the land, the aftershocks of the battle still lingered. The trees stood lifeless, their bark blackened by the taint. The ground where the core had been was now a crater, scorched and barren.

Leo surveyed the battlefield, exhaustion pressing down on him like a weight. He wanted to believe they had won—that they had severed the Hollowing's grasp for good. But something gnawed at his gut. This victory felt... incomplete.

"Leo," Eris called, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you feel that?"

He turned to her. She was pale, her usually sharp eyes clouded with unease. She pressed a hand to her chest, as if trying to steady herself.

"What is it?" he asked.

Eris hesitated before answering. "The Hollowing... it's not gone."

A chill ran down Leo's spine. "What do you mean? We destroyed the core. You saw it yourself."

Eris shook her head. "The core here, yes. But I can still feel something. A remnant. A presence lingering in the air. It's weak, but it's there."

Marcus let out a tired groan, dragging his sword over his shoulder. "You're telling me that after all that, we didn't actually kill the damn thing?"

Kaelara frowned, her grip tightening on her blades. "More like we cut off a limb, but the body's still out there."

Leo exhaled sharply. His worst fear had just been confirmed. The Hollowing wasn't truly dead—it had only retreated.

"What do we do now?" Kaelara asked, wiping the sweat and grime from her face.

Eris closed her eyes for a moment, searching, feeling the energy around them. When she opened them, they were filled with grim determination. "There's another source."

Leo tensed. "Where?"

Eris lifted her gaze toward the distance. The darkened horizon stretched endlessly, a broken world left in the Hollowing's wake.

"The capital."

A heavy silence fell over the group.

The capital was the last bastion of civilization left standing. If the Hollowing had another root buried there, then everything—the people, the city, the future—was in danger.

Marcus groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me. We just barely survived this fight, and now you're telling me the real battle is still ahead?"

Kaelara sighed. "That's how it always is."

Leo clenched his fists. They didn't have a choice. They had come too far to turn back now.

"We rest for the night," he said. "Then we move at dawn."

That night, Leo found himself unable to sleep. The others had managed to find whatever scraps of comfort they could in their ruined surroundings, but he remained awake, staring into the dying embers of their fire.

The Hollowing wasn't done.

A rustling noise caught his attention. Instinct took over. He reached for his sword, eyes scanning the darkness.

Then, a voice—soft, familiar.

"Still awake?"

Leo turned. Eris stood just beyond the fire's glow, her expression unreadable.

"Couldn't sleep," he admitted.

Eris nodded, stepping closer. She sat beside him, her eyes fixed on the flames. "You're worried."

Leo exhaled. "Aren't you?"

Eris was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't think we were meant to win this fight."

Leo frowned. "What do you mean?"

Eris hesitated before answering. "The Hollowing is ancient. It's not just some mindless force—it learns. It adapts. What if… what if this was all part of its plan?"

A cold dread settled in Leo's stomach.

"You think it wanted us to destroy the core?" he asked.

Eris nodded. "What if by cutting off the Hollowing here, we've actually made it stronger somewhere else?"

Leo clenched his jaw. It made too much sense. The Hollowing had survived for centuries, maybe even longer. It wasn't something that could be defeated so easily.

"This isn't just a fight," he murmured. "It's a game."

And they had just played right into the Hollowing's hands.

Dawn came too soon.

The group set out at first light, moving toward the capital with renewed urgency. The road was treacherous—abandoned villages, crumbling ruins, the lingering echoes of a world slowly being consumed.

But they pressed on.

As they neared the outskirts of the capital, a new horror awaited them.

Bodies.

Hundreds of them, scattered along the roads leading to the city gates. Some were fresh. Others had long since rotted. But all of them bore the same marks—dark veins, twisted limbs, hollow eyes.

The Hollowing had already reached the capital.

Leo's grip on his sword tightened. "We're too late."

Eris shivered. "No. We're right on time."

The capital's towering walls loomed ahead, its gates wide open.

And standing at the entrance, waiting for them, was someone they never expected to see again.

A figure clad in black, their face obscured by a hood.

Leo's breath caught in his throat.

"No way…"

The figure stepped forward, lowering their hood.

It was someone they had lost long ago. Someone who should have been dead.

But they weren't.

And their eyes burned with the Hollowing's glow.