Rise of the Hollow

The silence in the dungeon wasn't natural.

It wasn't the quiet of emptiness, or even the stillness after death.

It was the kind that felt aware.

Kael stood alone in the corridor where the last of the Wielders fell. Cracks lined the stone beneath his feet. Blood had long dried. Mana residue shimmered faintly in the air like heat rising off pavement.

The others were gone.

Their bodies, weapons, even the Gate's anchor — all erased. The system had consumed everything, like it had never existed.

Except him.

Why am I still here?

Why didn't it take me too?

His hands trembled.

Not from fear. From something else. Energy hummed faintly under his skin — subtle, but real. The System hadn't given him a weapon or armor. Not even stats. Just… awareness.

His vision shifted again, colors bleeding into blues and violets. Cracks in the walls shone faintly. Residue flickered at the edges of his sight like ghosts.

[Veil Perception – Passive Active]

[System Notice: Dormant Fragment Detected Nearby.]

He turned.

A few meters down the hall, a small mark pulsed on the ground — a fracture in the stone glowing violet, surrounded by scorched lines.

[Veil Fragment. Absorb?]

➤ [YES] / [NO]

He hesitated. The last time he accepted, he absorbed something that wasn't his. A memory. A spark of fear. It had whispered inside his head for a moment before vanishing.

Still…

Power doesn't come freely. But I'm done running empty.

Kael reached out and chose YES.

The air stilled.

The fragment surged into his palm, threading through his arm like cold ink.

There was no pain.

Just weight.

Like something had been added to him — not physically, but in the shape of possibility.

[Veil Absorption Successful.]

➤ EXP +1

➤ Trait Fragment Gained: Keen Reflex (Temporary)

Kael blinked.

His heartbeat slowed, but his awareness sharpened. He could hear the drip of water far ahead. The scratch of stone somewhere behind him. His body reacted faster, his muscles looser.

It's small… but it's real.

He curled his fingers into a fist.

For the first time in his life, Kael felt like his choices mattered.

Like he was no longer just part of the background.

He moved through the corridor slowly, following the residual threads only he could see. Light flickered faintly with every step, each fragment a story untold.

Until he reached a wide chamber.

And everything stopped.

The room was circular, old. Broken pillars lined its edges, each one inscribed with runes worn down to cracks. At the center stood a mirror — tall, jagged at the edges, made of obsidian that reflected nothing.

No torches.

No corpses.

Only the feeling of being watched.

[WARNING: Hollow Zone Detected.]

Corruption Level: Medium. Memory Interference Possible.

You are not meant to be here.

System Decision: Trial Initiated.

Target: You.

Kael took a step back.

But the mirror pulsed.

And from it stepped something… familiar.

A figure emerged — tall, wrapped in darkness, with Kael's face. His clothes. His stance. But not his eyes.

Those were empty.

Like a reflection of him stripped of hope. A ghost formed from his failure.

[Hollow Reflection Initiated.]

Objective: Survive and Overcome.

You are not a Wielder. You are not a soldier. You are a Hollow.

Prove it.

The shadow lunged.

Kael reacted purely on instinct, ducking low and rolling aside. The reflection's blade sliced through the stone where he stood seconds before, carving a deep scar into the floor.

No roar. No breath. No hesitation.

Just killing intent.

[System Boost Active – Keen Reflex (Temporary)]

Kael moved faster than he should've — barely, but enough.

He grabbed a piece of shattered metal from the floor, dented and sharp on one end. It wasn't a sword, but it would do.

The reflection came again, its movements mirroring Kael's own: calculated, careful, desperate.

But Kael was no longer that desperate boy.

He parried the next strike with the edge of the shard and twisted — driving his shoulder into the shadow's chest. The impact knocked it back a step.

He didn't wait.

He followed through and slashed.

The blade bit into the reflection's side.

It cracked.

Light burst from the wound like shattering glass.

Kael landed beside the fractured shadow, breathing hard. The reflection stared back at him… and smiled.

Faint. Sad. Almost grateful.

Then it vanished.

Not with a scream — but with a whisper.

[Hollow Trial Complete.]

➤ You have passed the First Gate of Self.

Reward Unlocked:

Trait Gained – "Residual Will"

You retain partial control during fear-based or mental invasions.

[System Update: Awareness Level Increased.]

Kael didn't move for a long moment.

He just stood there, breathing quietly.

That thing wasn't just a monster.

It was him.

The version of him who accepted being nothing. Who obeyed without question. Who waited to die quietly while others lived loudly.

And now, that version was gone.

The mirror shattered behind him.

A faint doorway appeared where it had stood — glowing slightly, shimmering with the same violet light as the fragments he had absorbed.

[Exit Gate Unlocked.]

Kael stepped through without hesitation.

He emerged in the old warehouse where the Gate had first opened.

But it was empty now.

Dead.

The Gate pulsed once… then blinked out behind him like it had never been there.

Kael looked around. No guards. No Wielders. No Guild agents.

No one had returned for him.

Of course not.

Outside, the sky had lightened into a dull gray. Morning was close.

Kael walked toward the edge of the city. No one noticed him. No one asked him what happened.

The city had already moved on.

But he hadn't.

Inside his chest, the Hollow mark pulsed again.

A quiet reminder that something had chosen him.

Not out of kindness.

But because it saw what he really was.

To Be Continued...

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