Chapter 7: When Shadows Speak
Chapter 7: When Shadows Speak
The city of Nightreach breathed again.
But it was not relief—it was warning.
The curse had receded, yes. The fog no longer choked the streets. The howling was gone. But in its place… came whispers.
Shen walked alone through the fractured district where he'd slain the Howler. His boots crushed ash and bone. No one else dared tread here. Not yet.
Above him, the Void shifted.
Unseen. Unnamed. Watching.
[System Update – Quest Progression]
Curse Clearance: 47% → 52%
New Objective Unlocked: Investigate the Hollow Moon Order.
Reward Preview: ??? | Void Evolution Chance (Low)
He paused. A familiar scent drifted toward him—glowing herbs, bitter and fragrant.
The girl had returned.
She stood under a rusted archway, pale hair glowing faintly in the dim light. Her robes were stitched from scavenged cloth, embroidered with runes that didn't belong to this world.
Her voice was quiet, yet it echoed.
"You killed it, didn't you? The Phase-Twisted one."
Shen didn't answer right away. His gaze flicked to her satchel—it pulsed with healing spores and fragments of something divine.
Not normal. Not safe.
"Who are you?" he asked.
She smiled. Not kindly. Not cruelly.
"A Witness," she said. "One of few who remember what this city was before the Hollow Moon."
[Voidbrand Alert]
Host proximity to 'Anomaly-Witnessed' detected.
Void compatibility confirmed.
Unlocking passive memory link...
Shen staggered—eyes flashing with fragments of her memory.
A tower of glass shattered by silver fire. A temple where time itself bled.
And above it all: the Hollow Moon, pulsing like a diseased heart.
When it faded, he gritted his teeth. "You saw that?"
She nodded. "And worse."
Suddenly, the air rippled. Shadows gathered unnaturally.
The girl's expression shifted. "They followed you…"
A circle of masked figures emerged from the mist. Robes of deep gray, crescent symbols etched in bleeding ink. Eyes like empty sockets.
"The Fourth Toll has sounded," one intoned. "The Cursebreaker must be tested."
They didn't attack.
Instead, they knelt.
"To you, God-Slayer, we offer one truth: the gods you knew… still watch. And they are afraid."
Then—one by one—they dissolved into smoke.
Shen's hand gripped his sword, but the girl placed her fingers lightly on his wrist.
"You'll need more than blades," she said. "You'll need memories. Mine. Yours. Even the Void's."
He looked at her—and for the first time, saw the faint flicker of a fractured halo behind her eyes.
New Companion Quest Unlocked
"Memorykeeper of the Hollow Moon"
Progress her trust to unlock sealed system traits.
Warning: Emotional instability may affect Voidbound Protocol.
The fog returned. Light waned.
And in the distance, the Hollow Moon pulsed once more.