Episode 14 - The Memory Seal
1010 Words
The Relic Chamber trembled violently.
Silver lightning and dark energy clashed across the ceiling while the Hollow King and the Gatewalker stood facing one another like ancient gods preparing for war.
Elias could barely breathe.
Brothers.
They were brothers.
Everything he thought he understood about the Veil suddenly felt incomplete.
The Hollow King slowly extended one hand toward Elias.
“Come with me.”
Kael immediately stepped in front of him.
“Not happening.”
The Hollow King barely acknowledged him.
“You carry my brother’s soul,” he continued calmly. “Which means you also carry his memories.”
Elias frowned.
“I don’t want them.”
The Hollow King’s smile faded slightly.
“You will.”
The Crown of Night suddenly glowed.
Dark energy spread across the chamber floor like liquid shadow.
The relic pedestals reacted violently.
Silver symbols ignited everywhere.
The Gatewalker moved instantly.
“Don’t let him touch the seal!”
Too late.
The Hollow King slammed his hand against the floor.
BOOM.
The entire chamber erupted with darkness.
The silver symbols cracked apart while the throne behind them shattered completely.
A hidden layer beneath the chamber floor slowly revealed itself.
Ancient runes.
A giant circular seal.
And at the center—
A floating crystal coffin.
Everyone froze.
Inside the crystal rested a young woman surrounded by silver light.
Long white hair drifted weightlessly around her like water.
Her eyes remained closed peacefully.
But even asleep—
Her presence filled the chamber.
Elias stared in confusion.
“…Who is that?”
The Gatewalker’s face changed instantly.
Pain.
Real pain.
“The Memory Keeper…”
The Hollow King’s voice became quieter.
“The one who created the Seven Relics.”
The chamber fell silent again.
Lyra slowly stepped closer.
“She’s still alive?”
“Barely,” Alaric answered softly.
Elias looked toward the floating crystal.
Something about her felt familiar.
Not personally.
But emotionally.
Like seeing a forgotten dream.
The Hollow King walked slowly toward the crystal coffin.
“The Veil survives because her power continues sealing the Final Gate.”
The Crown of Night pulsed darker.
“But the seal weakens.”
The Gatewalker stepped forward sharply.
“You will not use her again.”
The Hollow King turned toward him calmly.
“I never wished to.”
For the first time—
His voice sounded almost tired.
Not evil.
Not cruel.
Just exhausted.
Elias noticed immediately.
The Gatewalker did too.
Silence filled the chamber.
Then the Hollow King looked directly at Elias again.
“You deserve to know why the worlds are dying.”
The dark ruler slowly pointed toward the sleeping woman.
“She sacrificed herself to create the Veil.”
Silver energy flickered faintly around the crystal.
“But no seal can last forever.”
The Gatewalker’s expression hardened.
“We still have time.”
“No,” the Hollow King replied quietly. “We ran out of time centuries ago.”
The room became colder.
Elias looked between them.
“If the Veil breaks… what happens?”
The Hollow King answered honestly.
“Reality returns to its original state.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It means all worlds merge into one.”
Kael frowned slightly.
“And billions die in the process.”
The Hollow King did not deny it.
Lyra looked disturbed.
“Then why are you trying to open the Final Gate?”
The Hollow King’s glowing eyes softened slightly.
“Because the darkness beyond the Gate is already coming.”
Silence.
Elias felt his heartbeat slow.
“…What?”
The Hollow King slowly raised one hand.
Darkness spread across the chamber ceiling.
Images appeared within it.
Not visions this time.
Memories.
Ancient worlds being consumed by something far worse than Hunters.
Massive shadow storms devouring entire realities.
Creatures larger than cities tearing through worlds effortlessly.
Even the Skybreaker fleeing from them.
Elias stared upward in horror.
“What are those things?”
The Hollow King answered softly:
“The Void.”
Even the Gatewalker looked uneasy now.
The Hollow King continued:
“The Veil was never built to imprison me.”
Everyone froze.
“It was built to hold those creatures back.”
Cold silence filled the chamber.
Elias’s mind struggled to process the revelation.
Everything changed again.
The Hollow King slowly looked toward his brother.
“You sealed the Gate.”
The Gatewalker answered quietly.
“Because we had no choice.”
“And now the seal dies.”
The floating woman inside the crystal suddenly twitched slightly.
Silver light flickered across the chamber.
The relics reacted immediately.
The Silver Key floated higher.
The Blade of Aether vibrated violently.
Then—
The sleeping woman opened her eyes.
Bright silver.
Ancient.
The entire chamber froze.
Even the Hollow King stepped backward slightly.
The woman inside the crystal looked directly at Elias.
Not the Gatewalker.
Not the Hollow King.
Elias.
Then she whispered softly:
“The cycle is broken.”
The crystal coffin cracked.
Everyone moved at once.
The Gatewalker rushed forward.
The Hollow King’s darkness exploded outward.
Silver chains burst across the chamber.
The seal beneath the floor activated violently.
Elias suddenly felt unbearable pain inside his head.
Memories flooded into him again.
Not fragments anymore.
Entire scenes.
The Gatewalker laughing beside the Hollow King long ago.
The Memory Keeper forging the Seven Relics.
The first opening of the Final Gate.
And then—
Betrayal.
Elias saw the Hollow King standing before the Gate alone while endless darkness poured outward.
The Gatewalker tried to close it—
But someone interfered.
Not the Hollow King.
The Memory Keeper.
Elias’s eyes widened in shock.
“She opened the Gate…”
The vision shattered instantly.
The chamber fell silent.
Everyone stared at Elias.
The Hollow King’s expression darkened.
The Gatewalker looked horrified.
Elias stepped backward slowly.
“…She caused this.”
The sleeping woman inside the crystal watched him silently.
Then she smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
Before anyone could react—
The crystal coffin shattered completely.
Silver light exploded across the Relic Chamber.
And the Memory Keeper awakened.
- Writer
