The silence after the Saintess's words was heavy. No heir spoke at first. Shadows shifted uneasily, restless in ways their masters could not ignore.
For though they stood apart in fractured timelines, each heir knew the truth: the Saintess had not merely died. She had been erased, and her absence turned into a weapon against Veltharion.
Politics in the Hollow
Saphine could feel it already — the way the other heirs would see this revelation. If Veltharion's Saintess, a peak whose name alone steadied nations, could be erased so completely, then the balance of power in their world was far more fragile than anyone dared admit.
Seloria's voice cut the silence. "If this truth reaches the Council of Peaks, chaos will erupt. Half the nations will demand vengeance. The other half will see opportunity." Cyrinth stirred faintly at her side.
Lyssandra smirked. "And some among us might use it ourselves. A weapon that can erase a Peak? Entire kingdoms would bleed for such a secret." Vael hissed low in agreement.
Eris adjusted his glasses, silent. Yet Saphine could feel the weight of his attention moving from heir to heir. He was cataloguing them, reading not just their words but their intentions.
Far away, in his own timeline, Aerin tightened his grip on his spear. "If she was missing in her prime, someone close to her chose it. I will uncover who." Ignis flared brightly behind him.
In another corner of time, Korrin spat into the ash, Fenric snarling at the air. "No motives needed. Whoever erases a Peak is already our enemy. The rest is wasted breath."
The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken politics: if one heir learned the truth before the others, it could be wielded like a blade. Behind every vow of justice lurked ambition.
The Saintess's Will
Her voice stirred again. From chains, from ashes, from mirrored light — the Saintess's will took form, radiant and solemn.
Her gaze swept over them all but lingered on only one.
Saphine.
"You seek truth, but this I must tell you plain. I did not die by chance. I was betrayed. Not by my daughter… but by those who feared what she would become."
The shackled girl flinched. Tears spilled freely. "Mother—"
The Saintess reached toward her, and then to Saphine. "This Hollow is my grave because my Echo — Divinity — answered my last prayer. To hide her, until one worthy could bear her fate." Her form flickered, voice trembling. "That one is you, child of House Saphine. My daughter I entrust to you."
Saphine's lips parted. "M-me?"
"Yes. Only you."
Her own shadow quivered violently, but Eris's hand rested on her shoulder. "Take her words seriously," he said softly, though his eyes were sharp. "You've been chosen by something greater than trials."
Even Seloria and Lyssandra held their tongues.
The Interference
The Hollow shuddered. The Saintess's form cracked like glass.
"No… not now… I will it so—"
The ground split. Out of the fractures poured monsters — stitched from shadow and steel, dozens at first, then hundreds.
Cyrinth raised its blade. Vael split into flickering shapes. Ignis roared with fire. Fenric lunged with fangs bared. Shadows met monsters in a clash that shook the broken kingdom.
Saphine stumbled back, clutching the Saintess's daughter, until Eris stepped forward. His eyes gleamed faintly behind his glasses. With one strike, his fist cloaked in aether, a beast shattered into fragments of silence.
"They're trying to silence me," the Saintess cried as her body splintered into light. "Something does not want the truth spoken—!"
Shadows battled in the ruins. Cyrinth's blade cut arcs of silver, Vael's daggers danced in smoke, Ignis burned, Fenric tore, and Eris shattered every creature that dared touch Saphine.
Through the chaos, Saphine held the girl tighter. No matter what the Hollow threw at them — she could not let go.