What Came Before

Centuries Ago — The Cradle of the Hollow

There was a time before kingdoms. Before gods. Before the first blood pact was ever made.

The world had no names then—only forces.

And the Hollow was not a place.

It was a consequence.

Born from the dying breath of the Firstborn, the Hollow was created when power tried to outlive purpose. When immortality refused death.

It was not evil.

It was the residue of eternity—and it wanted nothing more than to be whole.

So it waited.

It whispered.

And when it found the first soul greedy enough to listen, it poured itself in.

That soul was the Queen.

But she was never its true vessel.

She was its first failure.

The Hollowborn

The creature now facing Ashren was not what the Hollow wanted.

It was what the Hollow needed.

It had no name. No lineage. It had formed itself from the remnants of every host who came before: the mad prophets, the blood kings, the dreamless seers who offered themselves to the dark and asked for favor.

It took a thousand years.

But the Hollowborn had made itself from them all.

Perfect. Cold. Unkillable.

Until Ashren struck it.

And made it bleed.

Ashren (Now)

The cut wasn't deep.

But it shook the Hollowborn.

Ashren felt it in his soul—the break, the crack, the hesitation.

It hadn't expected pain.

And pain was human.

"You were made from the broken," Ashren said, circling. "But you never learned what it means to lose."

The Hollowborn sneered, black ichor sliding down its jaw.

"Loss is weakness. You wear it like armor."

Ashren gripped the hilt of his soul-bound blade.

"No. I forged it into armor."

Selene & Liora

Outside the circle, Selene struggled to hold the runes. "He's weakening it," she gasped.

Liora's hands were shaking. "But the circle's failing—if it collapses before he finishes the bind—"

"We lose him."

"No," Selene said. "We lose everything."

And they both knew it.

The Hollowborn (Then)

Long before Ashren, the Hollowborn had stood atop burning cities. Crushed entire bloodlines beneath its feet. It had no memory of fear.

Until now.

Until this vampire prince with a cursed soul looked into its face and didn't kneel.

The Hollowborn bared its teeth.

"You are no savior."

Ashren smiled grimly.

"I'm not here to save. I'm here to end."