The night began like any other. Lessons ended early, the courtyard was quiet, and even the whispers seemed subdued. For a fleeting moment, the Academy almost felt normal again.
Then the bells rang.
But this time, they weren't warning of a distant attack. They tolled from inside the Academy itself.
Screams followed, shattering the calm.
Alaric, Clem, and Darvin rushed through the hallways, their footsteps pounding against the stone. The air vibrated with the hum of wards failing, one by one.
They turned the corner and froze.
The Hollow Ones were inside.
Shadows poured like smoke from a crack in the air, writhing into faceless forms that drifted across the hall. Their long arms reached for students, tearing silver wisps of soul-light from their chests. The children screamed, collapsing as their essence was stolen.
Professors shouted spells, their voices shaking. Wards flared, but the Hollow Ones slipped through them as though the defenses were made of glass.
For the first time, Alaric saw fear in the eyes of his teachers.
"Alaric—!" Clem shouted, drawing her dagger, but the Hollow Ones froze at the sound of his name. Their faceless heads turned toward him.
And bowed.
The entire hall went silent for a heartbeat, the living and the dead staring in disbelief.
"Our king…" the Hollow Ones whispered in unison.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Alaric's chest heaved. He could feel every eye on him, every accusation waiting to be born. He clenched the amber stone in his hand and shouted, "No! I am not your king!"
The Hollow Ones shrieked, shadows shuddering, but instead of retreating they surged, scattering into the halls.
Darvin gritted his teeth. "Then we stop them here!"
He leapt forward, blade flashing, striking through a Hollow's chest. Clem followed, her runes glowing as she slashed at another. Students scattered behind them, fear screaming through the halls.
Alaric felt the pull inside him — the chains rattling, the shadows straining. He lifted his hand, golden-black fire sparking in his palm. The Hollow Ones recoiled, their forms unraveling under the unstable light.
But then, something else happened.
One of the Hollow Ones didn't vanish. Instead, it tore open the air behind it — a jagged rift, black and seething. The space itself split like torn cloth, revealing a darkness beyond, vast and alive.
The Hollow stepped through.
And without thinking, Alaric followed.
"Alaric, wait!" Clem screamed, but the rift closed behind him, swallowing the hall, the students, everything.
The world on the other side was wrong.
Alaric stumbled forward, the ground beneath him shifting like ash and glass. The air was heavy, sharp with the scent of rot and ozone. Above, there was no sky — only swirling black clouds pierced with veins of crimson light.
And in the distance, creatures moved.
They were massive, lumbering, stitched from shadow and nightmare. A stag with antlers of molten stone, its body draped in bark that wept black sap. A serpent with wings of torn leaves, lightning sparking across its scales. A wolf with roots twisting from its paws, dragging broken earth wherever it walked.
Epic-tier beasts. Hybrids of element, plant, and animal — all draped in shadow, their eyes burning like dying stars.
They turned their heads toward him.
And bowed.
Alaric staggered back, his chest burning, his chains rattling louder than ever.
"No," he whispered. "Not here too…"
The Hollow that had led him here drifted forward, Ordering the beasts "Intruder"
Then the beasts roared.
The stag's antlers ignited, molten fire dripping like liquid blades. The serpent spread its leaf-tattered wings, lightning snapping through the air. The wolf howled, its voice shaking the very ground.
And they charged.
Alaric raised the amber stone instinctively, golden-black fire bursting from his palm. The stag met it head-on, its bark-flesh sizzling as fire scorched through. But instead of dying, it powered through, antlers crashing down.
Alaric dove aside, the ground splitting where he had stood. The wolf lunged, roots snapping like whips from its paws. One wrapped around his ankle, dragging him down.
He gritted his teeth, forcing the chains in his chest to rattle. The golden-black fire surged through his veins, exploding outward. The root burned away, the wolf yelping as its shadow-flesh seared.
But the serpent was already upon him. Its body coiled, wings snapping, lightning crackling down its scales.
The strike hit him square in the chest. His vision went white. The chains screamed inside him.
For a heartbeat, he thought he was dead.
Then the amber stone flared, and Rudra's faint voice whispered. "Stand."
Alaric's body surged with fire. He screamed, golden-black light bursting from every pore. The lightning shattered against him, scattering into the ash. The serpent recoiled, hissing.
He staggered upright, flames licking his arms, his eyes blazing. His voice shook but rang clear across the ashen plain.
"I am not going to let you take those soles."
The beasts roared again, circling him.
Alaric tightened his grip on the stone, his chest heaving. The chains rattled, the shadows strained, and the fire burned hotter.
The fight had only just begun.