Chapter Ten: The Hollow King
926 Words
The scream of the Dragon King echoed even beneath the buried kingdom.
Ancient stone trembled overhead while dust drifted from the cavern ceilings in silver clouds. Somewhere far above them, chaos had erupted across Lumenaris.
And Nyxar— an ancient creature feared by kingdoms— had sounded afraid.
Solara’s pulse hammered painfully. “The Hollow King?” she repeated.
The ancient ruler standing before them turned his glowing gaze upward toward the distant world above. “A king who should have remained dead.”
Another tremor shook the chamber. This one violent enough to crack sections of the stone floor beneath their feet.
Azrael stepped forward. “If he’s inside the city, then we need to leave. Now.”
Aetherion’s attention shifted slowly toward him. “You cannot defeat what walks above.”
“I wasn’t asking permission.”
The king almost smiled. Not warmly. Like someone recognizing something old. “You carry his fury,” Aetherion murmured. “The fire guardian bloodline survived stronger than expected.”
Azrael’s patience snapped. “Enough riddles.” Shadowfire erupted brighter across his sword, illuminating the massive chamber in crimson flame. “You know what’s happening. Tell us.”
The ruins reacted immediately.
Ancient glyphs ignited along the walls surrounding them while distant whispers echoed somewhere deep within the buried city.
The king’s expression darkened. “The dead gods are weakening the Veil.”
Solara stepped closer carefully. “And the Hollow King?”
“He was the first ruler to fall during the First War.”
The air itself seemed colder suddenly.
Aetherion’s stone wings shifted behind him. “He sought immortality when the gods turned against us. He believed the Veil could make mortals eternal.”
“It corrupted him,” Solara whispered.
“No.” The ancient king’s eyes burned brighter. “It consumed him.”
Silence.
Then Aetherion looked directly at Azrael. “And now he seeks the Umbra Heart.”
Azrael’s stomach tightened. The Umbra Heart. The artifact whispered about even inside the Ember Court. Most believed it legend.
The king continued. “If the Hollow King reaches it before the Veil is restored, Solvaris will fall.”
Another roar shook the ruins overhead. Closer this time. Nyxar. The dragon sounded enraged now.
Azrael glanced upward sharply. “We’re wasting time.”
But Solara’s attention had locked onto something else. A mural stretched across the chamber wall behind Aetherion’s throne, partially hidden beneath centuries of dust and cracks.
Two figures stood painted beneath a blackened eclipse. One cloaked in solar fire. The other wrapped in shadow and crimson flame.
Twin crowns. Twin wings. Twin souls.
Her breath caught. “They knew.”
Azrael followed her gaze. The moment he saw the mural, his expression hardened. The figures looked unmistakably familiar.
Not identical. But close enough. The same hair. The same eyes. The same celestial markings glowing beneath their skin. Them.
Impossible.
Aetherion watched silently. “The prophecy began here.”
Solara slowly approached the mural. Below the painted figures, ancient words were carved into silver stone. She could somehow understand them instinctively. Not learned. Remembered.
“The world survives only while the Twin Souls stand united.” Her voice echoed softly through the chamber.
Azrael stared at the writing. “And if they don’t?”
The ancient king answered immediately. “Then the Veil falls.”
Silence followed. Heavy and terrible.
Solara stepped backward slowly. “No.” The word escaped instinctively. “This cannot be real.”
Aetherion’s gaze softened slightly. “The First Kings once believed the same.” The chamber trembled again.
Then suddenly—the buried city screamed. Not one voice. Thousands.
Ghostly cries erupted through the ruins surrounding them like echoes of a civilization dying all over again. Solara clutched her ears instantly while Azrael turned sharply toward the darkness beyond the throne chamber.
Figures moved there now. Dozens of them. Shadowed shapes emerging slowly through the ruined streets beyond the chamber walls. Silver eyes. Dead eyes. Ancient armor.
Solara’s blood turned cold. “The dead…”
Aetherion looked toward the approaching figures grimly. “The buried kingdom awakens.”
One of the figures stepped into the crystal light. An ancient soldier. Or what remained of one.
Its armor hung shattered across a skeletal body threaded with Veil corruption. Celestial fire glowed through cracks in blackened bone while hollow silver eyes fixed directly on Solara.
Then more emerged behind it. Hundreds. The lost dead of the First Kingdom.
Azrael immediately moved in front of Solara. Shadowfire surged violently along his blade. The dead soldiers stopped. Not afraid. Waiting.
Aetherion rose fully from the throne. “Go.” The command thundered through the chamber. A massive doorway behind the throne suddenly opened, revealing an ancient stairway spiraling upward into darkness. “You must reach the Veil Gate before he does.”
Solara stared at the army gathering beyond the ruins. “The Hollow King is coming here.”
“Yes.” Aetherion’s glowing gaze settled heavily upon her. “Because he knows who you are now.”
Fear crawled down her spine.
Azrael grabbed her wrist suddenly. “We move. Now.”
For one brief second, Solara froze at the contact. The bond reacted instantly. Warmth surged between them like living magic. Azrael felt it too. His expression flickered.
Then another deafening roar shook the city above. The moment shattered.
The dead soldiers began moving. Fast.
Azrael pulled Solara toward the stairway just as the corrupted army charged through the ruins.
And far above them—Lumenaris began to burn.
- Writer
