Amber_Glint

Lila Harper never believed in magic until a glowing, winged creature lured her into the hidden world of Arcanwyn Academy, a school concealed deep within an ancient, living forest. At Arcanwyn, magic isn’t just taught, it breathes, grows, and sometimes breaks the rules.

When forbidden creatures begin vanishing and dark magic awakens beneath the academy’s roots, Lila discovers a prophecy tied to her bloodline. As secrets unravel and powerful forces collide, she must decide whether to protect the ancient bond that keeps the magical world safe or risk everything to unleash what has long been caged.

Magic chose her. But the truth might destroy her.

Whispers of the Forbidden Creatures

Chapter 38: The Hollow Within

Lila stood in a place that felt like nothing and everything all at once. A void. A memory-space. Echoes drifted around her..laughter, pain, whispers of names she couldn't place. Was this her mind unraveling? Or was she still inside the choice?

Noctareon stood before her—not a monster now, but a mirror. It wore her face, her voice, her scars. But its eyes were bottomless wells of stars and shadows.

"You thought the price would be simple," it said, circling her. "But memory is more than recollection. It is foundation. Strip it away, and what remains?"

"Hope," Lila replied. "Even if I forget, the world remembers."

The creature blinked, the stars in its eyes dimming.

A soft tremble passed through the void, and suddenly images swirled around her—her mother's face, Rowan's laughter, Niall's touch on her shoulder, her father's stories, the first day at Arcanwyn… every heartbeat that had built her.

They slipped through her fingers like water.

"You can still walk away," the creature said. "Keep your memories. Keep your love. Let the Veil consume what it will. Be selfish. Be human."

Lila's heart thundered. Did she deserve a world that demanded this much?

From the center of the void, a voice called her name—Niall's voice. Not a memory. Real. Reaching.

"Lila, if you're in there… fight."

The light surged. The creature smiled, but it wasn't cruel it was proud. It nodded, then shattered into a million silver threads that wrapped around Lila's body.

And then silence.

She awoke in a field beneath a golden sky. The ruins of Arcanwyn crumbled in the distance, but nature bloomed wildly around her. Birds sang. The air was warm.

He smiled, tears in his gaze. "Hi."

She tilted her head, confused. "Do I… know you?"

His voice cracked. "Not yet. But you will."

WHISPERS OF THE FORBIDDEN CREATURES: The Hollow Within