Kael's boots echoed on the obsidian floor as he and Silas moved deeper into the Hollow Court. The air around them was thick, unnatural—heavy with the scent of forgotten time, the faint whisper of lost souls. Each step felt as though it carried them further from the world they knew, into something far darker and more dangerous.
Kael's hand clenched around the sigil burned into his palm, the one the girl had marked him with before they entered this realm. It was supposed to be a guide, a beacon to find Aurenya, but now, in this place between life and death, it felt like nothing more than a fading ember. The red marks, the remnants of Kael's curse, seemed to burn with a quiet, unyielding heat beneath his skin. The sensation was always there, lingering like a whisper in the back of his mind. His hands, now tinged with the cursed redness, felt like they belonged to someone else—someone lost to the dark forces that had a hold on him.
The world around them was constantly shifting, bending and twisting in ways that made the ground beneath them seem like quicksand, pulling them deeper into an abyss of confusion. Every step Kael took felt heavier, as though something unseen was dragging at him, dragging him into the heart of this cursed place.
He glanced at Silas, who was walking beside him, his face tight with the same unease that Kael felt. The Hollow Court was a place of broken time, a realm where the past, present, and future collided, and the rules of reality no longer seemed to apply.
"How much further?" Kael asked, his voice strained. The journey was starting to take its toll on him. His body ached, his mind restless, as if the Court itself were gnawing at his very soul.
"I don't know," Silas replied, his voice low and uncertain. "Time doesn't move here like it does outside. We could be walking for hours, or days, and not even know it."
"Great," Kael muttered, his frustration mounting. "Just what we need. More uncertainty."
Ahead of them, the girl—whose name, like everything else, still remained a mystery—was guiding them. She moved with an eerie calm, her eyes glowing faintly in the darkened landscape. Her small form was a sharp contrast to the sprawling chaos around them, but she seemed unfazed by the strange shifting nature of the Hollow Court. She had said little since they entered, but her presence was somehow reassuring.
Kael watched as she turned a corner, disappearing from view. "Where's she going?" he muttered.
"She's leading us," Silas said, his voice distant. "If she says she can find Aurenya, then she can. We have to trust her."
Kael nodded, though the thought of blindly following a girl who knew more about this place than they did did not sit well with him. But for Aurenya, he'd follow anyone, anywhere.
They pressed on, winding through endless corridors of obsidian and starlight. The walls seemed to pulse, as though the very foundation of the Court was alive, watching them, judging them. As they walked, the whispers began. Soft at first, like the faintest rustling of leaves, but growing louder with each step.
Kael's breath caught in his throat when a vision flickered in front of him—a fleeting image, so brief it could've been a trick of the mind. But he knew what it was. Aurenya.
She stood in the distance, her back to him, her long hair swirling around her like an ethereal veil. She was looking down at something in her hands, her face shadowed. Kael's heart raced, and he took a step forward, calling out to her.
"Aurenya!" he shouted, his voice strained with desperation. "Aurenya, it's me! Kael!"
The image of her didn't respond. Instead, she turned slightly, just enough for him to see her face—twisted with a sadness that tore at his soul. But before he could move closer, the vision vanished, like smoke in the wind.
"What the hell?" Kael breathed, his pulse racing.
Silas stepped up beside him, frowning. "Did you see that?"
"I saw her," Kael said, his voice low, filled with a mix of hope and confusion. "I—"
But before he could say more, the girl stopped abruptly, her tiny form frozen in place. Her head tilted slightly, as if she was listening to something they could not hear. Kael and Silas exchanged wary glances before approaching her.
"What's wrong?" Silas asked, his tone sharp.
The girl didn't answer immediately. She was staring into the distance, her expression unreadable. Then, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "It remembers her."
Kael's brow furrowed. "What remembers her?"
"The Court," she said, her eyes flashing gold for a brief moment. "It knows her. It's reaching for her."
"Reaching for her?" Kael repeated, his heart pounding in his chest. "What do you mean?"
The girl turned to face him, her eyes deep and knowing. "This place... it is more than just a prison for the gods. It's a reflection of all that was lost, all that has passed. Aurenya is connected to it—more than you realize."
Kael's mind raced, the words hanging heavy in the air. "But we're close. We're so close to finding her."
The girl said nothing, only turned back to the path ahead and began walking once more. Kael hesitated for a moment, his heart heavy with the weight of the girl's cryptic warning. He had to keep moving. They had to find Aurenya.
As they pressed on, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them—something ancient, something that knew them far too well.
Later, they found themselves in a vast hall, its size impossible to fathom. The ceiling stretched so high it seemed to disappear into an endless void. The walls were lined with twisted, hollow statues, their faces contorted in eternal agony. The air was thick with a presence Kael could almost taste on his tongue—something dark, something old.
And then, they saw it.
A shadowed figure, standing at the far end of the hall. It was tall, too tall, its form shifting and flickering like a flame caught in the wind. The shape of the Hollow King began to materialize before them, his hollow armor glistening in the dim light.
Kael's hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword, but Silas stayed his arm.
"Don't," Silas warned. "This is his domain. It's not our fight. Not yet."
The Hollow King stepped forward, his presence overwhelming. "You've come far, Kaelion," he said, his voice like a melody that both soothed and chilled the soul. "But you've lost something. Something important."
Kael's heart stuttered at the use of his real name. "What do you want, Hollow King?" he demanded, his voice a growl.
"I want what is mine," the Hollow King replied, his gaze fixated on Kael, the emptiness within his eyes like a black abyss. "And I want her to remember. To return to her true self."
Kael's blood ran cold. "Aurenya," he whispered.
The Hollow King's laughter echoed throughout the hall, haunting and hollow, like the sound of a thousand souls lost in the dark.
"Yes," he said, his voice now dark with longing. "Aurenya. My queen. She will remember, and when she does, we will return to our rightful place."
Kael's mind raced, his thoughts a blur. He had to find Aurenya. They had to get out of here, but the Hollow King's presence was suffocating. He could feel the weight of centuries pressing in on him, threatening to drown him in its crushing embrace. And yet, through it all, his hands burned—every inch of his skin felt the deep, unrelenting heat of his curse.
But he could feel something else as well. Aurenya's presence. Faint, but there.
"Not if I stop you," Kael said, his voice steady, his resolve firm.
The Hollow King tilted his head, as if amused. "You can't stop what was never meant to be stopped. You are too late."
And with those words, the world around them began to warp and twist, reality itself bending in the Hollow King's presence. Time was no longer their ally. They were lost—trapped in a place that existed beyond time and memory.
And Aurenya, lost in this place as well, seemed further away than ever.