Beyond Hollow Echoes (Book Three)

My bow was slick against my palm, a stark contrast to the frigid winter air biting at my exposed skin. My exhales sent white plumes into the encroaching darkness. My fingers reached back to draw—but I froze mid-motion. I lifted my boot, taking a hesitant step back into the snow. My eyes widened, refusing to process the towering horror before me. I'm out of arrows. The cursed ground beneath my boots rose and fell in a rhythmic mimicry of my own frantic heartbeat. Over the churning dirt, the groan of splitting timber echoed through the forest. I slung the bow over my shoulder and took another step back, waiting for the colossal nightmare to fizzle out and dissolve into the mist. It didn't. I stared up at the monstrosity, my neck craned as far back as it would go. My arrow was lodged exactly where the pulsing violet core had been only moments ago, but the creature had shifted, protecting its heart. The shaft was buried deep into the thick bark of an ancient oak the beast had absorbed into its grotesque mass. A deafening crack fractured the air above. Two glowing violet eyes ignited in the canopy, glaring down at me with ancient hatred. Rotting wood twisted and shrieked as the titan shifted its immense weight. The miasma began to bleed from its form, clouding my vision. My trembling fingers dropped to my hip, drawing my small steel dagger from its sheath. The dark smoke slithered across the snow, snaking up my legs and clinging to my armor. The overwhelming stench of rot flooded my lungs, making my stomach heave. Agonizingly slowly, a colossal arm began to coalesce from the swirling mist and jagged timber, ending in scythe-like wooden claws. Move. The creature’s arm swung in a sweeping arc. I tucked my body into a tight ball and threw myself to the side. Jagged roots and frozen earth scraped against my armor as I hit the dirt. I staggered back to my feet, panting, just as the beast let out another bone-shaking roar of grinding wood. The world tilted. I threw my upper body backward, narrowly dodging the backhand strike. The wind of its passing whipped my hair, and a stray branch whipped across my chest plate. I drove my dagger upward into the beast's limb as it retracted. The steel bit deep, catching against the petrified wood. The sheer force of the moving titan nearly ripped my arm from its socket. I tightened my grip, my boots sliding through the snow. I can’t let go. With a splintering crack, the dagger tore free. I stumbled back, my breath hitching in my burning lungs. I stared up at the mountain of jagged wood, my tiny blade trembling in my hand. How… how am I supposed to face this? The miasma was thickening into icy mud, creeping up my calves and hardening around my boots. I wrenched my right leg free with a wet, suctioning pop. I can’t stop moving. The creature shifted, its wooden arm shooting out through the dark like a battering ram. I tried to pivot, but my left leg was anchored to the corrupted earth. I won’t make it. I braced for the crushing impact. At the very last fraction of a second, my boot tore free from the mud. I launched myself into a dodge, but I was a heartbeat too late. The jagged wooden claws raked across my arm, shredding through leather and flesh. A sharp hiss of pain escaped my lips as hot blood pooled in the deep gouges. The freezing winter air was growing unnaturally humid, the suffocating stench of rot scraping at the back of my throat. I moved across the uneven ground, my exhausted body feeling heavier with every single movement. "Alanah!" a voice yelled from somewhere in the distance. Focus. Listen. The world was growing dark, the miasma congealing into an impenetrable fog. The towering beast was nothing but a shifting shadow now. Blinded, I relied entirely on sound. The deep vibration of its movements ground against the pulsing earth, shuddering right up through the soles of my boots and rattling into my very bones. Slam. A thick trunk caved into my stomach. The scream died in my throat. Searing pain ripped through every nerve in my body as the sheer force lifted me right off my feet, launching me backward through the dark air. My dagger slipped from my numb fingers a second before my spine slammed against an ancient tree trunk. Black dots swarmed my vision as my lungs locked, my mouth wide open as I choked for a single breath of oxygen. The creature was churning closer. The earth trembled with its approach. I need to get up. My vision fizzled out. The entire world plunged into nothingness. The miasma curdled thick in my nostrils, sliding like sludge down my throat. My hands scrambled against the rough bark at my back for purchase. My own heart hammered in my ears, drowning out the monster. Run, my panicked mind screamed at me. But how? I blindly hoisted myself to my feet, my fingernails digging into the rotting bark. I took a single, disoriented step. The ground bucked beneath me, sending me pitching forward. My hands shot out, colliding with a thick wooden trunk. I clung to it like a lifeline, pressing my face against the rough bark. I tried to pull my leg up to run, but the miasma was holding me in place. I am going to die. The horrific sound of churning timber grew dangerously close. The distinct, agonizing creak of a massive arm pulling back. It’s going to attack again. Unable to see, unable to run, I simply tucked my head, curled into myself, and readied my broken body for the final, fatal impact. It was all I could do. Crack. The unmistakable sound of steel splintering wood reverberated deep into my bones. My head darted around. "Move, Alanah!" Emeric's desperate voice roared, cutting through the thunderous din of the monster. The thud of his boots scraping against the rough dirt drifted closer. Another violent clang of steel rang out in the darkness, a spark of resistance in the void. My head snapped to the side, my ears straining to map the chaos. The creature was shifting its weight, turning its fury toward the new threat. "Move!" Emeric heaved, his voice ragged, tearing at his throat. I tried. I screamed at my muscles to do something, anything. But my body was paralyzed, as if the rotting tree I clung to was a tomb I was bound to. "I… I can’t!" my voice cracked. My hands clamped around my trapped leg, prying and pulling at the hardened miasma. It didn’t budge. A pained wince erupted from Emeric somewhere in the dark. The ground shuddered as heavy timber crashed into the dirt, followed by the sickening, high-pitched screech of jagged wood scraping against stone. The churning was growing louder. It was coming for me. Something hard pressed into my hip. My mother's dagger. My eyes widened in the dark, and my fingers twitched toward the hilt—but I froze. What was the point? I would be swinging blindly at a falling mountain. "Please!" Emeric's voice broke through the dark, booming with a terrified pleading I had never heard from him before. I don’t want him to die. I can die here alone. "Emeric… run!" I screamed over the roaring wood, my voice tearing. The distinct sound of his greatsword clattering to the ground echoed through the trees. Rapid footfalls charged my way. I let my head fall back against the rough bark. I am sorry. Hot tears brimmed in my eyes. I hope he will be safe. I let my eyelids flutter shut, accepting the crushing blow that was coming. The rhythmic heaving of the ground grew faster, frantic. The deafening cracks of splitting timber were practically on top of me. A broad arm wrapped like a vise around my waist, tearing me free from the gripping miasma. My face smashed into a solid chest, the shocking heat of his body seeping into my skin. He yanked my entire frame flush against his, his fingers digging into my back. Every single muscle in his powerful frame was trembling against mine. His breathing was erratic. "Em—" A violent convulsion ruptured the dirt beneath our boots. The world tilted, and with a lurch, the earth vanished. My stomach dropped into freefall. The world suspended for a breathless second. I was consumed by the crushing pressure of his grip and the furious rush of icy air. Jagged branches and unseen rocks whipped and scraped at my armor as we sailed helplessly through the dark. Emeric just squeezed me tighter, burying my face into the crook of his neck, turning his body to take the brunt of the storm. He tucked his head over mine, his mouth pressing against my ear over the roar of the monster. "I have you," he promised, his deep voice vibrating through my skull. My own hands flew up, gripping his armor as tightly as my numb fingers would allow. A bone-rattling impact stole all the remaining air from my lungs. We hit the earth tumbling and rolling across the frozen dirt and roots. I skidded to a halt, gasping for oxygen, my entire body burning with fresh, stinging cuts. "E… Emeric?" the word scraped past my bleeding lips. He didn’t answer. Panic shot through my veins. I forced myself up onto my bruised knees. The world was still pitch black, save for the faint, pulsating violet light bleeding softly through the miasma. But right near me, a shadow lay still. I dropped down, my hands sweeping frantically, desperately across the dirt until my fingers brushed against cold steel. He was slumped on his side. "Emeric… please," I squeaked, my voice fragile and broken. I grabbed his heavy pauldron and rolled his lifeless weight onto his back. My trembling hands glided over his chest plate, until I found the leather gap beneath his arm. I pressed my ear flush against his chest. Please, I begged the darkness. Please. Silence. I pressed my face down firmer, choking on a sob as the hot tears flowed freely. Thump. Thump. His broad chest rose with a sudden jerk. A choked, rattling gasp tore from his throat, and a wave of intoxicating relief washed over me that I nearly collapsed. His breaths were shallow, but he was breathing. He was alive. I let out a wet sob and started to pull back to check his face, but his large hand came up. His fingers, weak but firm, tangled into my hair. "Don’t," he rasped. His voice was nothing but an exhausted whisper. His hand trembled against my scalp, keeping me where I was, my ear resting over his heart. Its steady, constant rhythm against my cheek was the only proof I had in this nightmare that we had survived. My aching muscles melted into him, the tears soaking his undershirt. Get up, my instincts screamed, but for a second, I couldn't move…I didn’t want to. The sound of churning wood severed the fragile moment. The ground beneath us began to pulse again, like a steady beating heart waking up. Giant timber cracked and splintered from every direction in the pitch black. I yanked my head back up, my blood running cold. A faint violet pulse bled across our surroundings, a momentary bruise against the void before fading and plunging us back into darkness. The ground beneath us rose and fell like slow breaths of a slumbering giant. The deafening cracks of splitting timber had eased into an eerie lull, replaced by a soft churning that echoed from every direction. Beside me in the dark, Emeric shifted. A sharp wince hissed through his gritted teeth. "You didn’t run," he rasped, his voice a raw scrape against the quiet. "Why?" My trembling fingers dug into the damp dirt below us. "I… I can’t see," I admitted, my voice shaking. "Everything is completely black." The rustle of leather echoed as he turned his head toward me. "Black? Alanah, what happened to your eyes?" "The miasma… the black smoke. That’s what I call it," I stammered, my chest tightening as I tried to peer through the impenetrable, oily fog. "It’s too dense now. The miasma is changing." A beat of silence passed between us. When Emeric spoke again, his tone was laced with profound confusion. "Alanah, I don’t see any smoke." I squeezed my unseeing eyes shut, a wave of isolating dread washing over my spine. I was right. I was the only one who saw the creeping darkness, the only one infected by the true, twisted face of the curse. I swallowed hard, forcing the rising panic down my throat. "Then where are we?" I asked, needing something tangible to anchor myself to. He let out a low, pained grunt, dragging his weight closer to me across the shifting earth. The fierce heat of his body radiated between us in the damp, freezing air, his dented armor creaking in protest with every strained movement. The ambient warmth of his large hand hovered just inches from my cheek. My breathing stilled, but the biting cold rushed back into the empty space. The fearful words spilled from my lips before I could bite them back. "Is this a hallucination too?" His large hands found my shoulders, gripping me firmly and pulling me back from the edge of my own fracturing mind. "No," he said, his voice grim. "This is very real." He released me, his breathing catching as his eyes swept over whatever nightmare surrounded us. "The walls…" He paused, a primal horror dawning in his tone. "They have thick, glowing violet veins pulsing through them. The walls are made of packed dirt, crushed pebbles, and dead, woven twigs… and they are constantly moving." As if responding to his words, a sudden rush of foul, humid air swept over us. It washed across my face, carrying the stench of ancient decay. "We are inside that creature. It swallowed us whole." ───────◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯───────