The sky had turned wrong.
That was the only way Kael could describe it as he and his companions descended the black ridge overlooking the ruins of Vaelstrom. The stars above no longer shimmered with soft silver, but pulsed like eyes—watching. Waiting.
"I don't like this," Vaerin muttered, tightening his grip on his bow. "The land feels… cursed."
"It is," Iris whispered. "And what's worse—it's remembering."
The capital of Old Vaelstrom had been a jewel once. Spires of white stone, streets paved with magic-infused crystal, temples that rose above the clouds. Now, all of it lay cracked, half-buried under ash and silence.
But something moved in the ash.
Something waiting.
The Bones of Kings
They passed beneath the shattered arch of the city's once-great gate. Glyphs flickered faintly across its broken span. Kael paused, brushing his hand across the stone.
"What is it?" Iris asked.
"A warning," Kael said. "It says 'He who walks without memory shall awaken the Hollow.'"
"Sounds promising," Vaerin grumbled.
They entered what was once the Hall of Kings—a crumbled arena-like structure where ancient rulers once debated fate with fire and sword. Now, their thrones were cracked. Empty.
But the center of the hall held something stranger: a mirror.
Six feet tall. Framed in obsidian and bone.
It wasn't dusty. It hadn't aged.
Kael stepped closer. "This wasn't built by men."
"Or elves," Iris whispered. "This… this is older than both."
Kael looked into the glass.
But he didn't see himself.
He saw her.
A woman with skin like night, eyes like dying stars, and a crown of thorns that bled shadow. She smiled at him from the other side.
"You've come far, little flame," she said. Her voice was a thousand whispers at once.
"Who are you?"
"The first to be forgotten. The last to be forgiven. I am the Hollow Queen."
The Hollow Queen's Game
Before Kael could react, black tendrils shot from the mirror and gripped his arms. He was pulled inward—not in body, but in soul.
He found himself in a floating realm made of broken reflections. Echoes of himself surrounded him—Kael the slave, Kael the bastard, Kael the killer, Kael the child begging for a name.
And the Hollow Queen stood at the center.
"Why show me this?" Kael growled.
"Because you must choose," she said. "The man you are, or the monster you were born to become."
She waved her hand.
Each reflection of Kael fell to its knees, groaning in pain. One burned. One shattered. One simply wept.
"What are you doing to them?!"
"They are you," she said. "Your futures. Kill them… and I will give you power no god can undo."
Kael hesitated.
One of the reflections stood.
It was him—but older. Wiser. Scarred. And smiling, sadly.
"She lies," it said. "Power that comes from death only leads to more of it. You've walked this path before. You died on it."
"What should I do then?" Kael asked.
"Remember who you are."
Kael turned from the Hollow Queen.
"I'll find my own power."
The Star That Screams
The Queen hissed in rage and flung him from the mirror-world. He slammed back into his body in the ruined hall, coughing ash.
Behind him, the mirror cracked—and from within, something emerged.
A tall, skeletal creature with antlers of glass and a crown of screaming stars. Its chest glowed with a black sun. Its voice was the howl of galaxies dying.
"YOU REFUSED HER."
"I did," Kael said, rising. "And now I'll destroy you for it."
The creature lunged.
Kael raised his blade, the Oathfire igniting in a burst of soul-flame. Iris fired arrow after arrow, while Vaerin weaved traps with runes carved in desperation.
The battle shook the hall.
The creature struck Kael down twice—but each time, he rose. Stronger.
Not because of power.
But because of memory.
Because of what he chose to remember—and what he refused to become.
Finally, with a cry that split the stones, Kael drove his blade through the creature's chest.
"Tell your Queen," Kael whispered, "I'm not done yet."
The creature collapsed into dust—and with it, the mirror shattered.
The ash in the city stirred once more.
And somewhere, far away, the Hollow Queen screamed.
Aftermath
As dawn broke, pale and red, the three companions sat among the ruins.
"That was... new," Vaerin said. "We've fought monsters before, but not walking paradoxes."
"She's not just any foe," Iris said softly. "She's the end of memory. The Hollow Queen was once the guardian of time, but when forgotten by the world, she went mad."
Kael didn't answer.
He was still staring at the place where the mirror had stood.
"What did she mean about choosing the monster?" Iris asked.
Kael looked at his hands—hands that had killed, hands that had saved.
"I think... she was hoping I'd become what they all feared I'd be."
"And you didn't," Iris said.
"Not yet."
He stood.
"But this isn't over. Not by far. The Hollow Queen is calling her children. And if we don't stop her…"
"Then the stars themselves will turn against us," Iris finished.