Chapter.30 Final Season 2 (Vol.2)

When the Hound Barks

Part 1: The Fire Beneath Silence

The Hollow War IV

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🌫️ Beneath the Garden of Silence – Moments After Aethen's Awakening

Lireen: "He... he just raised the fire from the roots. Did you see that, Kael?"

Kael (breathing heavily): "Not fire. Not magic I know. It felt like… memories burning."

The obsidian walls trembled again. Dust fell from the statues as if they wept gravel instead of tears. Aethen stood before them, cloakless, barefoot, lips no longer sealed by silver thread. His voice was young, soft and yet old enough to crumble resolve.

Aethen: "The Hound is not a beast. It's a silence twisted into teeth."

Kael: "What is it hunting?"

Aethen (looking at him): "Me. You. Anyone who remembers the Architect's vow."

Another tremor.

Lireen: "Then we move. Now."

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🌌 Exiting the Garden – The Whispering Path Cracks

They ran through the garden. Silver fire still flickered on the petals of unmoving flowers. Statues whispered as they passed.

> "It hears you. It smells breath. It wants the voice you carry."

Kael: "Damn it, the garden is speaking now?"

Aethen: "No. The silence is echoing. The Hound listens to echoes."

They reached the gate. The iron groaned as if resisting.

Suddenly a howl. No animal made that sound.

A scream fractured the air, not loud but deep. It pressed against their spines like wet stone.

Lireen (grabbing Kael's arm): "It's here."

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🌫️ Field Beyond the Garden – The Hound Appears

The sky above had turned obsidian. No moon. No stars. Just one flickering eye far in the distance.

Then movement.

A figure galloped across the scorched hills. Its body flickered between shadow and flame, too large to be called a wolf, too silent to be alive.

Its limbs were bent wrong.

Its ribs showed from the outside.

And its maw was filled with glass fangs.

Kael: "What... is that thing made of?"

Aethen: "Broken truths. Hollow promises. All sharpened."

Lireen: "We can't outrun it."

Kael: "Then we make a stand."

He pulled out the dagger marked by the Fang & Feather. It pulsed. Aethen raised his hand.

Aethen: "Don't draw it with anger. Let it come for silence."

Kael: "Silence? I have nothing but questions."

Aethen: "Then speak them to the dark. Let it choke on truth."

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🔥 The First Clash – Whispersteel

The Hound lunged.

Kael rolled, the glass fangs missing him by inches. Lireen cast a burst of flame but the fire turned to ash midair.

Lireen: "My magic Kael, it's eating it!"

The beast absorbed sound and spell alike. Aether bent toward it. Kael screamed as the dagger glowed, and he slashed

Clink.

It hit, but the blade cracked.

Kael: "No good. It's not flesh!"

Aethen (chanting): "Speak not to fight. Speak to break. Truth unspoken becomes the key."

He stepped forward.

Aethen: "I am Aethen, son of the Architect. And I unseal you."

The Hound reeled, shrieking as if the name itself wounded it.

Kael: "That… worked?"

Lireen: "Say more, Kael! Say what it fears!"

Kael (roaring): "I carry the Feather not to fight but to expose! I will not let you devour what's left of truth!"

The Hound hesitated.

Then, it howled again but this time, it backed away.

Only for a second.

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🌩️ Cliffside Ruins – Temporary Retreat

The trio dashed toward the ruins overlooking the Vale of Whisper.

Aethen collapsed.

Kael (panting): "You okay?"

Aethen: "It's not beaten. Just confused. It never chased someone who remembered its name."

Lireen: "So what now? We wait?"

Kael (stepping up): "No. We bait it further."

He looked toward the valley.

Kael: "Let the Court send more shadows. We'll silence them all."

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📌 Highlight Teaser :

> The Hound makes its first move. Kael, Lireen, and Aethen barely escape its bite but learn that truth is their only weapon. When silence becomes the battlefield, words can wound sharper than blades. The war is no longer hiding... it's howling.

🛑 Next: Chapter 30 – Part 2: "The Name That Breaks" 🐺🔥

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