Chapter 15: The Hollow’s Path

The gate is gone. The Hollow should have disappeared with it. So why is it still whispering?

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A Quiet That Wasn't Peace

Kael pressed a hand to his temple, trying to steady his breathing. The Hollowborn were gone. Their eerie forms had dissolved into mist when the gate shattered, and the oppressive weight pressing against his mind had lessened.

But it hadn't disappeared.

The whispers still lingered. Soft. Lingering in the air like the last echoes of a song no one remembered singing.

Vaeloria surveyed the ruins, her sword still in her grip. She wasn't fooled by the silence either.

"We need to move," she said. "Now."

Lysara was shaking, exhausted from the spell that had destroyed the gate. Kieran moved to steady her, his usual stoicism flickering into something almost human—concern, maybe.

Kael swallowed. "Where to?"

Vaeloria's golden eyes flicked toward him. "Away from here."

"But—"

Then he felt it.

A pulse.

A tremor beneath his feet.

And in the distance—

A new glow.

Faint.

Sickly.

A second gate.

The first had fallen, but another had risen in its place.

Lysara's eyes widened. "No," she whispered. "That's not possible."

Kieran's expression was grim. "Apparently, it is."

Kael forced himself to breathe. This was wrong. The Hollow shouldn't have been able to replace itself. If Lysara's magic had worked, the corruption should have been weakening, not growing stronger.

So why did it feel like they had just made things worse?

A flicker of something cold slid through him, like an unseen breath against the back of his neck.

He flinched.

He wasn't the only one.

Vaeloria's grip on her sword had tightened. Kieran had gone completely still.

Because the whispers had returned.

"You think you won."

Kael's pulse pounded.

"You only opened the door wider."

Lysara staggered, one hand clutching her head. "This—this wasn't supposed to happen."

Vaeloria's gaze darkened. "Then we're running out of time."

Kael's Wound

They moved fast. Through the ruins. Away from the fallen gate and the rising glow of the next one. But Kael felt like he was moving through a haze.

Something was wrong.

His grip tightened around his sword.

Back when they were fighting, he had struck one of the Hollowborn. And it bled.

None of them had questioned it in the moment. But now—

His fingers brushed his own wrist. The place where his blade had passed through that thing.

The skin felt different.

Kael swallowed hard and pushed forward.

---

The Hollow's Influence

They made camp in the ruins of what had once been a temple. The stone walls were cracked, overtaken by vines, but the carvings were still there—old symbols of the Starforged Empire, back when it had still been whole.

Back when it still believed in something.

Lysara traced the symbols with tired fingers. "This place... it's ancient. I don't even think the Astral Council had records of it."

Kieran didn't look impressed. "If it doesn't help us stop the Hollow, I don't care."

Vaeloria sat near the fire, sharpening her blade. "We need a plan."

Kael sat opposite her, silent.

Because the whispers hadn't left him.

Not entirely.

And worse—

His wrist still ached.

Not like a wound.

Like something was settling under his skin.

Lysara turned toward him suddenly. "Kael."

He tensed. "What?"

"You..." She hesitated. "You've been quiet."

"I'm tired," he lied.

Lysara's eyes lingered on him for a moment too long, but she didn't push.

Kieran didn't look convinced.

Vaeloria said nothing.

The fire crackled between them, the only sound in the quiet. But Kael knew silence didn't mean safety. Not anymore.

Because even here—

Even after everything—

The Hollow still watched.

And it was waiting.