Chapter 956 — Echoes of Renewal
The weeks that followed were… still.
For the first time in months, the Hollow breathed without fear. The church's agents had gone silent—no movements, no whispers, no assassins in the night. The world beyond their mountain walls seemed to fade, leaving only the rhythm of rebuilding, of progress, of peace.
Kael stood at the overlook near the rebuilt science hall, the scent of fresh-cut stone and burning forge oil rising in the morning air. The new structure was larger, reinforced with blackened steel and rune-etched walls that pulsed with protective magic. He'd insisted on those himself—just in case.
The scars of the old destruction were gone now, replaced with energy and ambition. Inside, scholars moved between tables cluttered with glowing crystals and half-assembled machinery. Runes flickered across chalkboards. Tools hummed with latent power.
And at the center of it all—Kael stood beside Selina.
The daemon scholar was almost radiant in the soft lamplight, her crimson eyes gleaming as she adjusted the containment field around the shard. The faint heartbeat-like pulse of the crystal cast shifting shadows on her face.
"Stabilization levels are holding," she said, her voice a careful balance of precision and awe. "The chaos core embedded within is self-regulating now that we've separated the upper energy bands. Whatever the church did to cage it, it's adapting to our patterning instead."
Kael watched the shard's inner light pulse, mesmerizing and alive. "And it's not fighting the control matrix anymore?"
"No," Selina said with a hint of pride. "It's… almost cooperative. I think the energy remembers you."
Kael's brow furrowed slightly. "Remembers me?"
"You freed what was inside it," she replied, shrugging lightly. "Perhaps the residue of that act remains. Chaos tends to cling to intent."
Eris's voice murmured softly in his mind.
"She's not wrong. The shard feels familiar. It's a strange comfort—chaos drawn to chaos."
Kael didn't reply, though his lips curved faintly.
Selina gestured to the diagrams spread across the table. "With the shard's energy core integrated into our prototype, the progress curve has shifted drastically. Theoretically, we could attempt the next phase within a month. The vessel design is nearly stable."
Kael nodded, tracing a finger along the sketches of a humanoid form—a body of metal, crystal, and living essence. A vessel meant to house something intangible.
For the first time in months, hope stirred within him.
"Restart the project," he said finally, his tone decisive yet measured. "We've waited long enough. No more fear of the church. No more hesitation. If they're hiding, let them hide—we'll move forward."
Selina smiled, fangs glinting faintly in the light. "Yes, my lord."
Later that night, the halls of the Hollow were quiet. Kael sat alone in his quarters, papers and sketches scattered across his desk. A single candle burned low, its flame dancing lazily as he turned another page—notes on the spirit vessel.
Eris's presence flickered gently in his mind, warm and thoughtful.
"You're working late again," she teased.
"Progress waits for no one," Kael replied softly. "Besides, this is the one project I can't stop thinking about."
There was a pause—a faint, almost human hesitation.
"You truly mean to build it? For me?"
Kael leaned back, letting the quill rest on the table. "I do. The shard's energy—Selina's research—it's all aligning. For the first time, I think it's actually possible. You've guided me through every storm, every decision. You've helped the Hollow thrive."
He exhaled, his gaze turning distant. "You deserve more than to be a voice in my head, Eris. You deserve to exist."
For a long moment, there was silence. Then, a whisper—soft, uncertain, and tinged with something unfamiliar.
"I don't understand why that matters to you so much."
Kael smiled faintly. "Because it's what we all want, isn't it? To be real. To be seen."
Eris didn't answer right away. When she did, her voice was quieter, almost shy.
"If… if you give me a body, Kael, I will serve as I always have. But I want you to know—I have never wished for more than what I already am. You made me… enough."
Kael closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a strange ache in his chest at her words. "Then you'll just have to get used to wanting more," he said gently. "Because I'm going to make sure you have it."
The candlelight flickered. The sound of her laughter—soft and almost human—echoed in his mind.
Outside, the Hollow thrummed with quiet energy. The forges burned through the night. The spirit project moved forward faster than anyone could have dreamed.
And somewhere deep within the heart of that work, chaos and creation began to merge—one heartbeat at a time.