The air outside the ritual clearing felt lighter, though still damp with ancient breath. Ren walked forward, guided by the faint bioluminescence of the Hollow's mosses and root veins. Moss bobbed quietly near his shoulder, its eyes wide with watchfulness rather than wonder. The system's pact with the Hollow was sealed, but that didn't mean the forest would stop testing him.
System Update:
Verdant Pact Established.
Memory Altar Questline Unlocked.
Warning: Verdant Core not yet aligned.
Kael kept a careful pace at Ren's side, one eye scanning the thick shadows that lingered along the crooked trees. "You feel that?" he asked softly. "The forest has gone quiet. Too quiet."
Ren nodded. "It's not angry. But… listening. Watching."
Their steps crunched across bark and root bridges as they descended deeper into the Hollow's inner sanctum. Ahead, strange flora began to bloom—translucent blue petals that opened in their presence and snapped shut as they passed. Trees with bark that shimmered like scales. The deeper they went, the more the forest seemed less like a place and more like a living memory.
Suddenly, Ren's system flickered open on its own.
Notification: Passive Memory Field Detected.
Initiating Echo Recording…
Target: Verdant Memory Altar – Fragment Signature Matching 1/3.
A stone pedestal emerged from the side of the path. Atop it hovered a glowing crystal, veined with deep green and amber light.
"First memory altar," Ren said aloud. He approached slowly, the crystal pulsing brighter as he drew near.
Kael held back. "These things… they'll make you see things. Sometimes not even your own."
Ren reached out.
As soon as his fingers brushed the crystal, the forest fell away.
He stood in a meadow—not the Hollow, but somewhere sunlit and wide. There were no monsters, no system panels. Only a younger version of himself, running through tall grass, a wooden stick in his hand. His father stood nearby, laughing.
But then—another figure. A woman with long hair and white robes, holding a staff that hummed with rootlight. She knelt before young Ren and handed him a seed. "Everything must be broken before it can begin again," she said gently.
Memory Fragment Recovered: Origin Seedling.
Root Affinity +1.
Pact Insight: +3%
1/3 Memory Altars Activated
The vision collapsed.
Ren staggered back, gasping.
Kael caught his arm. "You alright?"
"I saw something," Ren whispered. "My childhood… but someone else, too. A woman I don't remember."
"The forest plays with time. Shows you echoes. Maybe future, maybe past."
System Notice:
Unlocked Passive Trait – Echo-Touched
Your thoughts may influence fragments. Use caution.
They continued down the winding path. As they walked, more details of the Hollow emerged. Faint structures half-buried under vines. Old obelisks carved in a language Ren still couldn't read, though fragments triggered flashes in his system.
Pact Recognition: Echo Glyph Partial Deciphered.
Translation – 'Verdancy is Memory Made Flesh.'
Then they heard it—music.
Not human. Not echo. It was the rustle of roots, the low thrum of leaves vibrating. Almost melodic.
They followed it and reached a clearing where trees had twisted into an amphitheater shape. In the center stood three spirits—tall, humanoid, wrapped in green light.
Ren stepped forward cautiously.
One of the figures turned. Its voice resonated with the same layered echo as the pact judges before. "The Hollow sings for those who listen. The Verdant Core must be awakened, but its song has faltered."
Kael muttered, "They're not hostile… yet."
The spirit continued. "To reach the Verdant Core, the seed must be watered by silence and growth. You must pass the next gate."
Ren's system pulsed again.
Quest Updated – Path to Verdant Core (Stage 2):
Objective: Meditate within the Hollow's Silence Grove.
Warning: Trial of Stillness – Movement will break the ritual.
Without hesitation, Ren followed the spirit's guidance toward the grove, leaving Kael behind. It was a wide basin of moss, with stone roots wrapped into a throne-like seat. As soon as he sat, a quiet fell so absolute it became pressure.
His system screen displayed a single countdown:
Meditation Challenge: 00:05:00
He had to stay perfectly still for five minutes.
The moment he settled in, everything around him tried to unseat his focus.
First came the itching sensation along his arms, as if crawling things moved across his skin. Then, the cold breath of phantom wind on his neck. A whisper—not in sound, but in his thoughts—"Why are you here?"
Stillness.
The ground trembled as something slithered past—large, unseen, growling just beyond the veil.
Ren's mind tried to recall the weight of his spear, the tension of battle. He pushed it aside.
More whispers. More voices.
Then—
Silence. Real, complete. No thoughts. No system noise.
Then light.
Challenge Complete.
Meditation Successful.
Trait Acquired: Root of Stillness – Minor resistance to mind-based attacks and illusions.
System Synchronization Deepened: Pact Stability +5%
He opened his eyes. Time had passed—he didn't know how much.
Kael returned. "You did it?"
Ren nodded.
The spirits reappeared and parted the trees behind them, revealing a path of glowing roots leading downward—toward a pulsing green light far below the Hollow's floor.
The Verdant Core was near.
But so was something else. Something watching.
Moss chirped and sank lower behind Ren's collar.
System Alert:
Unidentified Observer Detected.
Class: Unknown.
Status: Dormant. Risk: High.
Kael's hand gripped his weapon tighter. "We're not alone."
Ren stepped onto the path. "We never were."
The Hollow opened wider, welcoming or warning—it was impossible to tell.
But the next step was his to take.