Wokji_Dimfwina

Superheroes were supposed to be immortalized. Legends. Symbols of hope.

But one by one, they vanished. Erased from history, from memory—like they never existed at all.

Riven Steele, once the world’s strongest protector, awakens from a decades-long stasis to find reality itself rejecting heroes. No statues, no stories—only fragmented echoes of a world that refuses to remember them. A new generation of unstable, dying heroes rises in their place, their powers unraveling, their existence hanging by a thread.

At the heart of it all is a whispered name: The Hollow Monarch. A being that doesn’t kill. Doesn’t destroy. It simply erases.

As Riven fights to uncover the truth, he begins to unravel, his own reflection warping, his memories twisting. The Monarch’s influence isn’t just erasing heroes—it’s rewriting them. And when it finally speaks to him, it says the one thing that chills him to his core:

"You were never real."

Now, Riven must lead the last surviving heroes in a battle not just for survival—but to prove they should exist at all. Because if they fail, history itself will erase them forever.

And this time, there will be no one left to remember.

THE LAST SENTINEL

Not because the Echo's grip held him—but because something inside him wouldn't let go.

It wasn't pain. It wasn't even fear.

The Echo staring back at him wasn't just some lost fragment.

Or at least, the version of him that never made it out.

And for a fraction of a second—Riven couldn't tell which of them was real.

Vera's voice snapped through the suffocating haze.

He barely registered her. His vision was warping, splitting—seeing two realities at once.

One where he was here, alive, struggling—and another where he had already been lost.

The Monarch's touch had never left him.

And now, as the Echo reached deeper, it was finally pulling him back.

Something cracked inside his mind.

Riven hit the ground hard, gasping. His body burned, like something inside had been ripped free.

Vera was already hauling him up, her face twisted in something between fury and fear.

"What the hell was that?" she snapped.

Riven's breaths came sharp, uneven. He turned toward the Echo—but it was gone.

No lingering shadow. No half-formed memory.

Like something had tried to take his place—and almost succeeded.

"You knew that would happen." His voice was hoarse. "Didn't you?"

Vex didn't answer immediately. He just turned, motioning them deeper into the tunnels.

Vera stepped forward, grabbing his arm. "Not until you start talking."

Vex's expression was unreadable. "You really want to have this conversation now?"

Vex exhaled slowly. Then—he reached up and pulled back his sleeve.

The scar tissue ran deep. Twisting. Flickering.

"I didn't survive," he said quietly. "Not completely."

Vera sucked in a breath. "What the hell are you saying?"

Vex's gaze flickered toward Riven. "You felt it, didn't you? The way it tries to pull you under?"

Vex nodded. "I felt it too. Only I didn't get out in time."

Riven's stomach twisted. "Then how are you still—"

Vex smiled, but there was nothing warm about it.

The weight of his words settled like lead.

Because Vex wasn't just saying he had been touched by the Monarch.

He was saying he wasn't entirely Vex anymore.

A shape too solid, too real to be just another flickering remnant.

"Something that doesn't want us to leave."

Chapter 15: The Hollow Reflection