Kailanihawthorne

The world is unraveling. The Veil—the boundary between reality and the echoes of the past—is collapsing, twisting the land and birthing monsters known as the Hollow. No one knows why it’s happening. As entire cities fall, two exiles find themselves caught in the storm.

Ruby Velkyn was born into a royal bloodline of fire and power, destined to inherit the throne. Instead, she was cast out. Branded a failure, she now wanders the lands, searching for a purpose beyond the flames that haunt her.

Kaia Locke was never meant to survive. Taken at birth by a fanatical cult, she was raised as a vessel for a power meant to oppose Ruby’s bloodline—a darkness that thrives on sorrow and consumes the mind. She escaped, but the void within her never did.

When their paths collide in the midst of a Hollow attack, Ruby and Kaia realize the truth: the Veil’s collapse isn’t random. It’s tied to their very existence. The fire and the void—two forces bound by fate, caught in a cycle of destruction neither of them fully understands.

As war looms and the danger spreads, Ruby and Kaia must decide: Will they break the cycle, or will they become the calamity they were born to be?

The Veil is breaking, the Hollow are rising, and the only ones who can stop it are the ones the world abandoned.

PYROSOUL

I stand at the summit, the wind tugging at my hair, the heat from the volcano spreading up through my boots, crawling over my skin. The Ashlands stretch before me, a barren, fiery wasteland, and on the other side, the faint outline of Solvurn. The world feels alive here—burning, breathing.

The heat clings to my skin, It should be unbearable— but for me, it's different. It's comforting. The volcano beneath me pulses like a heartbeat, an unsettling reminder that something inside me always burns, always threatens to consume. But at least here, in the heat, I don't have to pretend it's anything else.

I look down at Solvurn, where everything I was supposed to be lies just beyond the horizon. They rejected me, but I wasn't always this– thing they couldn't control, the thing they feared. I grew up believing that I was my kingdoms greatest strength, our greatest hope. Now, I'm nothing. A shadow of their ideal, set apart by my own fire.

But across from Solvurn, the Ashlands stretch farther than I can see—harsh, unfamiliar, hostile. Even here, the world doesn't want me. Neither place does.

I try to imagine it—my parents, my family, my name. If they ever think about me, if they miss me. But the thought always comes with a sharp sting, a wave of anger, like I'm being suffocated by my own past. The way they turned their backs on me… I'm not sure if I can forgive them for that. Not sure I want to.

I quickly push the thought away. It doesn't matter to them now. I don't matter.

I wish I knew how to let things go. I wish I knew how to feel in moderation. I only know how to let things consume my entire soul.

My body tenses as a strange sensation fills me— as if the air around me is tightening, pulling at my chest, twisting something deep in my bones. The pressure builds, a slow, heavy force, like something inside me is stretching too thin. It's a sensation I've learned to recognize—an omen, a warning, the unraveling of everything around me.

I grip my arms tightly, nails digging into my skin. The world is changing again, and I feel it. It's happening more often now—this shift in the very fabric of existence. I try to breathe evenly, but the sensation is suffocating. It never lets up.

The air warps for just a moment. It's so subtle, so brief, that I almost convince myself I imagined it. But I know better. The world around me isn't just shifting. It's breaking.

The ground beneath me feels unstable, and I stagger for a moment, trying to steady myself. The wind pushes at my back, making my hair whip around my face, and I feel the burn of the heat pressing in even harder.

The Veil gets weaker everyday– everything is out of sync, out of control. And no matter how much I wish I could escape it, I can't.

The sensation lingers for a few seconds, stretching into what feels like hours. And then, like a passing storm, it begins to fade, leaving only the unease in its wake. But I know better than to ignore it.

If this keeps worsening, there won't be a world left to exile me from.

I exhale sharply, stepping away from the crater's edge. Andre's probably looking for me. I need to get back before he starts worrying.

But as I turn, something catches my eye—just a flicker at the edge of the Ashlands. It's distant, erratic, like a shadow moving where there should be none.

I narrow my eyes, studying the distant shape. Something's happening down there.

I can't shake the feeling that it's important. A pull rises in my chest, the same instinct that's always led me to act, even when I'd rather walk away. I might not know how to let things go, but I sure as hell can't turn my back when something's breaking in front of me.

Without another thought, I begin moving toward the flicker, leaving the edge of the volcano behind me. If something's out there, I'll find it.

And if it's another consequence of my birth, maybe—just maybe—I'll make it right.