⸻
Nightveil – Hollowfire Core
The Hollowfire had quieted.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Nyra stood, her back to Kael, her eyes trained on the horizon where the fractured sky met the ash-choked ground. Her power pulsed in time with the rhythm of the earth, like a heartbeat beneath the weight of centuries-old secrets.
Kael struggled to his feet, watching her, but she did not turn. His chest still burned where the oath had once tied him—a mark left by the Council's cruel hand.
"You should've let me die," he muttered, voice ragged.
Nyra's shoulders stiffened. She spoke without turning. "I didn't save you for your sake."
Kael clenched his jaw, his pride searing through the pain. "Then why?"
"Because you owe them nothing anymore," she said, her words cutting through the air like ice. "And I'm tired of your damn promises."
His gaze flickered with something like regret, but it was fleeting.
The boy at Nyra's side tugged at her sleeve. "It's not over."
"I know," she whispered, her fingers brushing the cold silver thread that ran through her veins, connecting her to something much larger than herself.
"We need to move," Kael urged, his voice low but desperate. "They're coming for us."
Nyra closed her eyes, the force of the Hollowfire pulling at her. She could feel it—the other side of the world stirring, the darkness under the Citadel. It was waking, and with it, the gods' eyes were on them.
But they were not the only ones hunting now.
⸻
Far beyond Nightveil – The Shattered Kingdom
The girl stood in the ruins of a forgotten palace.
Once, this place had been home to the ancient queens—those who walked between worlds and commanded the spirits of both life and death. The golden glow of their crown had long since faded, replaced with shadows. But the power that had been left behind… that still hummed beneath the stones, waiting.
The girl's eyes were not hers anymore.
The crown above her head was not hers either.
"I remember," she whispered, her voice no longer her own.
The echoes of the old kingdom trembled in response. The crumbled walls of the citadel began to stir, like something alive, as the forgotten queen awoke in full force.
"Let the past reclaim its power," she said, stepping forward. "And let them feel the weight of what was lost."
She raised her hand, and the stones groaned beneath her. The realm was hers to command again.
But that was not her final goal.
Her lips parted with a secret name—the name of the one who would undo the Crowned Nothing.
⸻
Nightveil – The Heart of the Hollowfire
Veila stood at the edge of the Hollowfire, wings spread wide, her eyes sharp as knives. She could feel it too—the power from beyond, the pulse of ancient forces reawakening.
"It's coming," she muttered, her voice thick with a foreboding she couldn't shake.
Varek's silhouette flickered in the shadows. He was a figure of dark grace, half-hidden, and his expression unreadable. "We need to get to the Citadel before they do."
"But we can't fight what's coming," Veila replied. "Not without more power. And we don't have enough."
Varek met her eyes. "We will."
A crack in the air opened beside them, the ground rippling like water disturbed by a stone.
The serpent-crowned god had come.
Veila's breath hitched. "You're too late."
"No," it hissed, stepping into their world with its ancient, terrible grace. "I've come just in time."
⸻
Nightveil – The Citadel Gates
The sky above the Citadel darkened, clouds swirling in chaotic formation as the gods made their move.
The Hollowfire split the heavens in two, cracks of light and darkness spilling across the land. Kael, his chest still seared from the blood oath, stared at the fractured sky.
"I can feel them," he said, his voice taut. "They're here."
Nyra stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the gates. "Then we fight."
But the boy at her side shook his head, his face pale. "Not yet. The queen is coming."
Nyra's brow furrowed. "Queen?"
"Not the one you know." His eyes darkened. "She is the one who forgot."
Before she could respond, the ground beneath them trembled again, and a dark shadow spread across the Citadel's walls. The air crackled with power.
The gate opened.
And in its wake… the Forgotten Queen stepped through.
⸻
In the heart of the Citadel, deep within the throne room, an ancient mirror shattered. The girl—now fully the queen—looked into its fractured surface. Her reflection was no longer human.
"It's time," she said, her voice rippling through the walls. "Let them come. And let them fall."
And in the distance, the Hollowfire screamed.
To be continued…