Chapter 9: The Path to the Hollow Throne

Some roads only lead to ruin. Some kings never fall alone.

Kael had never been this deep into Hollowborn territory before.

It wasn't just the land that had changed. It was the air. The sky. The silence.

Everything felt wrong.

The stars above were dim and distant, as if something in the atmosphere was swallowing their light. The wind carried whispers—half-heard voices that slipped through the cracks of his mind when he wasn't paying attention.

And the ground itself…

Kael's boot crunched against ashen soil, and the sound felt like a whisper of something alive.

The Hollow King's influence was growing.

And they were walking straight into its grasp.

Lysara kept her hands close to her weapons, her eyes darting over the ruined landscape. "This place wasn't always like this."

Kael glanced at her. "You've been here before?"

Lysara exhaled. "A long time ago. Before the fall."

Before Dain had become something else.

Before the Hollowborn had claimed this land as their own.

Kieran, as always, walked ahead of them—his hood drawn up, his steps soundless despite the broken terrain. He hadn't spoken much since they'd left the ruins of the Fallen Spire.

Kael wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

Vaeloria walked beside Kieran, her expression unreadable. She had given them no time to argue. No time to turn back.

Because there was no turning back now.

Dain was waiting.

And if they didn't stop him soon, the Hollow King would consume everything.

The Hollowborn Watch

Kael felt them before he saw them.

It was subtle—a weight in the air, a shift in the silence.

Then, in the distance, through the twisted trees and jagged stone, he saw them.

Figures standing motionless in the mist.

Watching.

The Hollowborn.

Kael tightened his grip on his dagger. "They're not attacking."

Lysara's voice was tense. "Not yet."

The Hollowborn didn't move. Didn't breathe.

They simply watched.

Vaeloria didn't so much as look at them. "They know who I am."

Kael swallowed hard. "And that's a good thing?"

Vaeloria's lips curled slightly. "It means they're waiting."

Kieran's voice was quiet. "For what?"

Vaeloria didn't answer.

Because she didn't need to.

Kael already knew.

The Hollowborn weren't here to stop them.

They were here to escort them.

The Hollow Road

The deeper they walked, the thicker the air became.

Every breath felt like inhaling something ancient, something not meant for mortal lungs.

The land itself was warping.

The trees grew twisted and unnatural. Their bark was black as coal, their branches stretched too high, too thin—like grasping fingers. The sky above them flickered with veins of light, as if the heavens themselves were coming undone.

Kael muttered under his breath. "This place is cursed."

Lysara's voice was grim. "It's worse than that."

The Hollowborn still didn't move.

They followed at a distance, their empty eyes reflecting no light.

Kieran finally spoke. "Why aren't they stopping us?"

Vaeloria exhaled.

"Because Dain already knows we're here."

Kael's stomach tightened.

Of course he did.

This was his kingdom.

And they had walked right into it.

The Shadow of the Hollow King

The ground sloped downward, leading them into what had once been the heart of a city.

Now, it was nothing but ruins and echoes.

Once-grand towers stood as hollow shells, their walls cracked, their windows shattered. The streets were buried in ash, as if the land itself had burned away its past.

But the worst part was the statue.

Kael stopped when he saw it.

Lysara inhaled sharply. "That's—"

Kieran didn't react.

Vaeloria stared at it for a long moment before she spoke.

"They built this for him."

The statue towered over them, standing at the heart of the ruins.

It was carved from obsidian and bone, its surface etched with runes Kael didn't recognize. The figure was tall and draped in a flowing cloak, its face hidden behind a crown of jagged metal.

But Kael recognized the shape.

The stance.

The presence.

It was Dain.

Not as he had been.

But as the Hollowborn saw him.

As their king.

Kael exhaled. "They worship him."

Lysara's fingers twitched. "They don't just worship him."

Kael turned to her.

She was staring at the base of the statue.

At the altar.

It was fresh. The stone was darkened with something red and glistening.

Blood.

Kieran's voice was flat. "They've been making sacrifices."

Kael forced himself to look away.

The Hollowborn weren't just following orders.

They had become something worse.

Something devoted.

Vaeloria's voice was calm. "We need to keep moving."

Kael exhaled sharply. "Toward what, exactly?"

Vaeloria finally looked at him.

"To the Hollow Throne."

The words sent a chill down his spine.

Lysara's voice was quiet. "You mean… the palace."

The ruins of what had once been the imperial palace.

Dain had taken it for himself.

And if he was still there…

Then this wasn't just his kingdom.

It was his cage.

Kael glanced at the others.

No one said it, but he knew they were all thinking the same thing.

Dain had to know they were coming.

Which meant that when they arrived—

He would be waiting.

And Kael had the sinking feeling that whatever happened next—

They wouldn't be the same when it was over.