Chapter Six

The fire-breathing beast loomed over Solene's broken body, its molten chest rising and falling with each heated breath. The crowd chanted for her death, but the monster did not strike immediately.

Instead, it grabbed her.

Solene let out a weak gasp as the creature's burning claws wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Her body dangled helplessly, her limbs too battered to resist. The heat from its skin scorched her flesh, but as her trembling hand brushed against its molten chest

A vision erupted in her mind.

She saw a man.

A young man, no older than her. He was trembling, his body hunched over in pain. He clutched his head, his breathing ragged. His clothes were torn, stained with dirt and blood. His arms shook violently as though something inside him was breaking apart.

Tears streamed down his face.

His dull soulmark...a faded Sigil on his chest...began to glow.

It flickered erratically, pulsing as though it was being forced awake. His gasps turned to screams, his back arching in agony.

Then, fire erupted from his body.

It consumed him, licking at his skin as he clawed at himself, struggling against the unbearable pain. He was changing, his flesh cracking, his fingers stretching into jagged claws. The light in his eyes dulled, his screams turning guttural, inhuman.

Then..... another flash of memory appeared.

A blast of magic struck him from the side.

He staggered, his burning form flickering in distress.

More attacks followed. The air crackled as guards and officers descended upon him, their weapons humming with enchanted energy.

Lightning tore through his body. Chains of pure magic wrapped around his limbs, yanking him to his knees. He struggled, fire still raging from his form.

And again...

His eyes darkened.

His body twisted.

His screams faded into monstrous growls.

And then he was no longer a man.

He was this. The beast before her.

The vision shattered.

Solene gasped as reality crashed back. The molten beast still held her, its fiery eyes locked onto hers.

Her entire body trembled.

This thing this monster was once… a person.

The moment the fire-beast flung her aside, Solene hit the ground with a force that sent sharp pain shooting through her body. She gasped, trying to push herself up, but something felt… wrong.

Her body was hot.

Too hot.

She sucked in a breath, expecting to feel the sting of flames devouring her, but there was none. Instead, an unbearable heat coursed through her veins, as if her very blood had turned to fire. Her skin tingled, her muscles trembled, and then....

A scream tore from her throat.

It was raw, piercing, unnatural.

The arena fell silent.

The announcer's voice faltered. The spectators, who had moments ago been cheering for her demise, now looked on in confusion. The monsters, once circling her like starving predators, took a hesitant step back. Their growls deepened, their eyes narrowing. They sensed something.

A threat.

Then...

She burst into flames.

Searing fire erupted from her body, engulfing her entirely. The flames swirled violently, scorching the ground beneath her, twisting and curling in unnatural shapes. The heat spread outward, causing the closest monsters to recoil, their snarls turning into wary growls.

Solene's screams echoed through the arena, piercing and inhuman.

The crowd roared with excitement, convinced that she was finally being consumed, that this was the end of her.

But it was far from over.

Her back began to glow.

A light....blinding and pure...radiated from beneath her burning skin, shining so brightly that even the farthest nobles in the stands shielded their eyes. It pulsated, brighter and brighter, until....

The flames receded.

Her body still burned, but it was different now. The fire no longer devoured her—it belonged to her.

And on her back.....

A beautifully designed sigil glowed, shimmering like finely cut diamonds embedded into her very skin. Intricate patterns wove together, shifting with a faint hum of power.

The arena was silent.

Gasps echoed from the highest elites who watched from their private booths, their faces pale with shock. Whispers ran through the nobles, their voices laced with disbelief.

This wasn't possible.

Hollows did not awaken.

Hollows did not possess power.

And yet...

Before anyone could react, the monsters lunged.

Snapping out of their hesitation, they roared and charged at her from all sides, their bloodlust renewed.

Solene's body moved on its own.

Her mouth opened....

And fire erupted from within her.

A massive inferno burst forth, an all-consuming blaze that engulfed everything in its path. The heat was unbearable, waves of flame swallowing the lunging beasts mid-air.

They never even had the chance to touch her.

The monsters let out agonized shrieks as their bodies were incinerated instantly, their forms turning to ash before they could hit the ground.

The arena, once filled with deafening cheers, was now frozen in stunned silence.

And at the center of it all, surrounded by fading embers

Solene stood, her body burning like a living flame.

The roaring flames died down, flickering into nothingness, leaving behind only the blackened remains of the beasts. The once-mighty monsters, who had torn through countless Hollows before her, were now nothing more than charred husks scattered across the bloodstained ground.

Silence gripped the arena.

The air was thick with the scent of burnt flesh. No one spoke. No one cheered. The nobles, the guards, the announcer—every single person was frozen in shock.

Solene stood in the center of the destruction, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her body ached, her skin was slick with sweat, and her vision swayed. The sigil on her back, which still glowed so brilliantly. 

Her knees buckled.

The strength that had carried her through the impossible drained from her body in an instant.

The guards went to her in an instant and bounded her again. one of the guards placed her hands on him as he tries to raise her up

As the guard's body pressed against Solene's hand, a wave of sheer agony crashed over her.

Her body stiffened. Her vision blurred.

And then she wasn't in the arena anymore.

She was in his memories.

The guard possessed a basic but terrifying ability: Pain Transference. This allows him to make anyone experience physical and emotional torment . The moment he places Solene's hand on body, his memories flood into her mind like an unstoppable force.

Chains cut into his wrists, deep and raw, as unseen figures loomed over him. The little boy . Whips lashed at his back. Flames licked at his skin, searing his flesh, but he couldn't scream. His voice was gone. Days, maybe weeks, passed in an endless loop of pain starvation, cold, and the unrelenting, mind-breaking suffering of a body too weak to fight back. She felt his despair, his hopelessness, the moment he had given up on being human and become powerful.

The moment he had broken.

Solene's body jerked violently, her hands clawing at her face as if she could tear the pain away. But she couldn't. It was inside her, around her, crushing her. The torment twisted and burned through her veins, threatening to steal her mind just as it had stolen his.

Then something snapped.

Her sigil, the radiant mark on her back, blazed with blinding light. The power she didn't understand yet reacted on its own, like an instinct buried deep within her soul. Instead of crumbling under the pain, she absorbed it. Owned it. Used it.

Her eyes shot open, glowing like molten gold.

The pain became strength.

With a guttural cry from the guard, she released a shockwave of pain and emotional torment on the guard. 

Gasps rippled through the stunned crowd.

Solene didn't wait to understand what was happening. She ran.

Flames burst from her feet as she pushed forward, dodging guards who scrambled to recapture her. The arena gates slammed shut ahead of her by guards, but she raised a hand, the guards screamed, their bones twisting towards the gates and opening it.

The heat of the flames from her feet reflected in the wide, astonished eyes of the spectators.

Solene wasn't herself anymore. She felt angry, sad. Anger washed over her. 

For the first time in history, a Hollow had survived the trials.

And she was escaping.