Chapter 9: Between Devourer and Destroyer
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Light and darkness clashed above the ruined city.
The Hollowing twisted and spread, its formless hunger pushing deeper into the world.
But now, something fought back.
A radiant force tore through the void, carving a rift between dimensions.
And in that moment—I felt it.
Not just the Hollowing's hunger.
But another will.
One that didn't want to consume.
One that wanted to erase.
And both sides wanted me.
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The Hollowed Things shrieked in unison, their bodies pulsing with unnatural growth. They did not fear the light.
They hated it.
And so did the thing beyond the sky.
"Ren."
The man's voice cut through the chaos, sharp with urgency.
"We have to move—now!"
But I couldn't move.
I wasn't sure if I even wanted to.
The light above descended in jagged, radiant veins—a cleansing force meant to burn away the Hollowing.
And when it touched the ground—it worked.
The crawling streets disintegrated into nothingness.
The Hollowed Ones screamed as their bodies unraveled, torn from existence itself.
This was no ordinary purification.
It wasn't just rejecting the Hollowing.
It was rejecting everything touched by it.
Including me.
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A burning heat seared across my chest.
The light wasn't touching me—not directly.
But I could feel it anyway.
Like my very being was being torn apart by something opposite to what I was becoming.
A war inside me.
The Hollowing whispered—"Let it take you. Let it erase you. Then see if you can die."
The light thundered—"Do not let it claim you. Fight. Reject it. You are not one of them."
Two forces, both denying me.
Neither saving me.
Neither offering mercy.
And I was trapped between them.
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The ground collapsed beneath me as another wave of blinding radiance struck the Hollowed Ones.
They weren't just dying—they were being unmade.
And I could feel it happening to me.
Not all at once.
Not completely.
But in pieces.
Little fractures in my existence, pulling me apart bit by bit.
And still, the Hollowing tried to pull me deeper.
The man grabbed my arm, his grip desperate.
"You have to choose, Ren!"
His eyes—full of something I barely recognized anymore.
Fear.
But not for himself.
For me.
Like I was still something worth saving.
I wanted to laugh.
Or scream.
Or maybe just give in.
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Something massive moved in the sky.
Not the Hollowing.
Not the light.
Something else.
A new force.
A third presence.
Watching.
Waiting.
It knew what was coming.
And it was waiting for me to realize it too.
That there was no escape.
That I had already lost.
That this wasn't a war I could win.
It was just the prelude to something far worse.
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My fingers twitched.
The man still held on.
Still trying.
"Ren, damn it—FIGHT!"
I met his gaze, my voice cracking into something that was barely mine anymore.
"Fight what?"
I saw the moment the hope died in his eyes.
Because he had no answer.
And neither did I.
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Above us, the world split further.
The Hollowing was still hungry.
The light was still burning.
And I stood between them, feeling myself dissolve piece by piece.
No future. No path.
Only the end.
The only question left was which end I would choose.
And in the depths of my being, something whispered.
"Or will you carve a third path?"
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TO BE CONTINUED…