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

The figure standing in the dark looked like him—same stance, same voice, same presence. But the way the shadows clung to its edges, the way its features flickered—like a memory being overwritten—it wasn't just a reflection. It was something else.

Something that believed it was him.

The dim, flickering city lights barely reached the figure, but what little Riven could see made his stomach knot. Its face was familiar but fractured, glitching in and out of focus like corrupted data. And yet, its eyes were steady. Watching him. Waiting.

The silence stretched too long. Then it spoke again.

Vera drew her weapon before Riven could react, her stance tight. "What the hell is that?" Her voice was sharp, edged with something dangerously close to fear.

Vex, however, didn't move. Didn't even flinch.

Riven's fists clenched. Not now. Not after what had happened with the Echo. Not after the Monarch's touch had started pulling at something inside him.

The other Riven took a slow step forward, and that's when he realized—its footsteps didn't make a sound.

A sharp, twisting sensation bloomed inside Riven's skull. A pull. A whisper.

His pulse thundered in his ears, but he felt it this time—an unnatural weight shifting inside him, something clawing at the edges of his mind, like his very presence in this moment was… wrong.

Like this thing was the real Riven.

"Step back," Vera ordered, eyes flicking between him and the doppelgänger. "Riven, we need to move."

But Riven barely heard her. His gaze had snapped to Vex.

"You knew this would happen," Riven accused, voice razor-sharp. "You knew there was something left behind."

Vex exhaled slowly, shaking his head.

And then he said the one thing Riven hadn't been ready to hear.

Vera looked between them, confused, but Riven understood.

Because the Monarch didn't just erase people.

And if a part of him had been left behind—then what had made it out?

The doppelgänger took another step forward, and this time, its face flickered—just long enough for Riven to see something horribly wrong beneath the surface.

One that had stayed in the Hollow City too long.

The moment shattered as the thing lunged.

Riven barely had time to react before its hand clamped around his throat.

And the second its fingers touched his skin—

Chapter 16: Fractured Reflections