CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The First Guardian
1071 Words
Lena’s POV — Where Light Cannot Reach
The person emerged from the shadows, and the Hollow flinched. He was taller than Arius or Damien, and sculpted from shadow rather than flesh. His complexion shimmered like oil-soaked obsidian, and his long hair looked like streaming ink. Red eyes flared beneath a silver circlet, and the Hollow bowed quietly around him, as if acknowledging a master's return.
"I remember you," Lena murmured, her voice shaking despite her newfound strength. "You are the one I saw in the mirror chamber."
"The tyrant".
"I prefer the term Visionary," the figure explained, smiling calmly. "But tyrant has a nice sting."
Arius moved between them. "How are you here, Sahran?"
"That's First Guardian Sahran," he said with false politeness.
“The Hollow remembers all its children. "Even those it regrets."
"You were banished," Damien remarked. "By the Wardens themselves." "Locked beyond time."
"Ah, but the girl sang," Sahran replied, turning to Lena with delight. "And songs can open more than just our hearts. They open the doors. You summoned the Hollow to you, Guardian. And it exposed its deepest scars."
Lena clutched her fists. "Then I'll seal them again."
Sahran chuckled in a dreadful, low, melodious tone. "Would you, child? Even now, your spirit is trembling. You've only just begun to feel the burden of balance." He took a step forward, ignoring Damien and Arius like they were nothing more than the wind.
"Let me ease it," he said quietly. "Sharing the power. Together, we could rebuild the Hollow. "Make it something divine."
"No," Lena replied. "You do not desire equilibrium. You seek dominion."
"You think dominion is evil?" he asked.
"No, Guardian." True evil is weakness. Leaving misery to fester in the sake of humility. I provided the Hollow form. "I gave it purpose."
"You made it a prison," Arius replied. "And now you'll make it a grave."
Sahran turned, and his voice fell. "Be careful, Arius. You are already half-ghost. "You wouldn't want to fade completely, would you?" The chamber pulsated. Statues broke. The air thickened. Lena's lungs fought to take in air.
Damien approached her, flames blazing along his arms. "We defeated the Hollow. "We can beat you."
"Did you?" Sahran said. "Then why does it still tremble?" He spread his arms, and the chamber twisted, collapsing in on itself. The guardians' statues are damaged and disintegrating. Lena's mother's statue cracked in the middle.
"No!" she yelled, rushing forward, but the apparition vanished. They were now in a dark wasteland, with the Hollow twisted into a battlefield of bone and ashes.
Above them, a red moon hung low, throbbing with an unusual cadence. Lyra stumbled forward while panting. "This isn't real."
"Oh, it's very real," Sahran explained. "This is what will happen if the Hollow adopts my vision. And you, lovely Lena, must decide."
”Sahran extended his hand. "Join me. Not in chains, but as queen. As flame.
"I will not consume you; rather, I will elevate you." For a heartbeat, the world stopped. Lena's mind flashed with images of power, cities kneeling before her, and Damien and Lyra standing at her side as eternal defenders.
A Hollow reborn, a country created from shadow and light. And then she saw her mother, trapped behind glass and wailing.
Lena snapped back at herself. "No," she replied. "I choose freedom."
Sahran's face clouded. "Then I will tear the Guardian out of you." He raised his hand. The sky cracked. A wave of Hollow-born sprang from the earth, formed by dread, fury, and forgotten pain. Twisted reflections of Lena's thoughts. Damien took a step forward and yelled. "Stay behind me!"
But Lena was done hiding. "I'm the Guardian now," she explained. "And this is my Hollow." She slapped her palm on the ground. Golden tendrils of light appeared, producing shields, spears, and illuminating runes.
Lyra raced into the fray as flames swept across the battlefield. Arius held the line with odd, silvery magic—hollow-light and memory-weaving. The youngster who had been mute during it all suddenly stood in the middle of the storm, eyes wide and hands raised, humming the same lullaby Lena had sang.
A protective shield developed around her.
Sahran hissed. "The child is the key."
Lena turned. "What did you say?"
"The Hollow's next core," he growled. "You didn't simply awaken the Hunger. You gave it form. "In her."
Lena's blood became chilly. "She's just a child!" "She is an echo of your melody.
"You made her."
"No."
"Yes." Sahran grinned. "And once I consume her, the Hollow will be mine." He lunged faster than anyone imagined.
Damien stopped him, the collision of flame and darkness blinding.
Lyra's fire hit Sahran's side, buying time. Arius raised both hands to cast an arcane seal, but it broke under Sahran's rage.
Lena dashed to the girl. "Who are you?" she murmured.
The girl looked up. "I'm what you left behind." The Hollow shook.
Sahran howled, tossing Damien aside like a rag doll. Arius attempted to grasp him, but the shadows turned on him, consuming his limbs in smoke. Lyra shrieked as the battlefield divided beneath them.
Sahran stepped back and shielded his face. "No! "You have no idea what you are doing!" He cried.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The girl opened her mouth one final time, and the light swallowed her. She fractured gently, like a breaking dawn. Particles of starlight raced upward, sealing the Hollow's wounds and stitching together the shattered void. The black wasteland disappeared.
The battleground was transformed into a flower-filled field. The Hollow grew quieter. And they were alone.
Damien grumbled, pulling himself up. "Where's the girl?"
Lena gazed at her hands. "Gone. "Or... reborn."
Lyra limped forth. "What happened?"
Arius, ghostlike, said, "She chose to become the seal."
A tear fell from Lena's eye. "She was a part of me."
Damien placed his hand on her shoulder. "She still is."
But a c***k rang across the chamber.
Sahran was still standing.
There is minor bleeding. Laughing. "Did you think that would end me?" He spat. He raised one hand, and the ceiling above them split.
And from beyond that... Another world looking down. Blue skies. Towering spires. Cities composed of crystal and fire. A location beyond the Hollow. Beyond their comprehension. Sahran grinned. "You sealed the Hollow—but you opened the gate."
Then, from the rift, something gigantic stirred. Eyes. One hundred of them.
Blinking.
Watching.
Waiting.
- Writer
