WHISPERS OF THE HOLLOW

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Shattered Veil

Lena’s POV — The Voice Beneath the Skin

The vacuum enveloped her like silk wrapped in thunder. Lena swirled through layers of time and thought, her body simultaneously weightless and burning. Voices danced across her flesh, not in words but in fact. Entire lives flashed before her eyes: battles waged in forgotten cities, songs sung at the birth of stars, and the faces of innumerable women who had once stood where she did now.

Guardians.

Witnesses.

Dreamers. And she seemed to embody all of them. When the spinning stopped, she floated silently. Before her, the bound deity remained dangling, golden shackles throbbing across his skin. But now he appeared tiny. Or maybe she had grown.

The girl, no longer a toddler but a figure of dazzling flame, hovered nearby. "You carry their weight," she replied.

"And now, their choice." Lena strained to speak.

Her voice came out like wind. "What choice?"

"Creation or collapse," the girl muttered. Damien, Lyra, and a faded Arius clung on floating platform shards underneath them. The god's roar reverberated across the heavens, yet no shockwaves followed.

It was the sound of memory—the agony of something once revered and then forgotten. "Why me?" Lena enquired. "Because you saw the Hollow for what it was," the girl explained. "This is not a prison. Not a curse. But a wound. "And you bled with it."

The air around them shimmered and folded like book pages. Scenes showed Lena's mother kneeling before the Marrow Sisters, a younger Damien snatching flame from a dying guardian, and Lyra casting her first magic out of dread.

Then came others: unknown faces, gods trapped in mortal bodies, kingdoms bound together by pain.

"This god," the girl explained, "is not just a creature. He represents recollection. All that was lost was imprisoned behind the Hollow. But if he fully awakens, he will uncover what remains." The god directed his eyes upon Lena. Eyes like galaxies. A voice wrapped around her thoughts.

"I REMEMBER YOU. I WAS YOU. I WILL BE AGAIN."

The revelation hit her like a punch. It was not the first time. She'd stood here before. In a thousand lifetimes, she had made this decision. And in each, the world that followed was unique.

"There's no winning," she said quietly.

"No," the girl replied. "Only becoming." The deity grabbed for her, not maliciously, but with longing. Lena felt her spirit stretch towards him. With one more step, she might combine. Become immortal.

Rewrite every error.

Undo each death.

"You could fix everything," the god said. Damien's voice came through. "Lena! "Don't listen!" She looked down. He was falling again, flame fading, eyes wide. She reached out. Something inside her cracked. She saw it—a bright and delicate thread that connected them. Not fate.

Not a prophecy.

Choice.

And she chose.

Lena dove.

The wind ripped through her as she dropped towards Damien. The deity shouted behind her, causing the realm to shudder. Lyra shouted out, her fire glowing brightly. Arius, withering utterly, utilised the last of his strength to keep the realm together long enough for Lena to land. She crashed towards Damien, her arms wrapping around his. The flame was reignited. The platform surged beneath them.

For one pulse, time stood still. The heavens parted again. But this time, it was not a new world that opened. It was the core. Lena had only seen this location in her dreams—a room full of mirrors, each showing a different image of herself.

In one, she ruled alongside Sahran. In another, she lay in a tomb. In other cases, she either destroyed or saved worlds.

There is also a pedestal in the centre. It bears a blade. No flameblade. No relic. Just a knife. Simple. Human.

A girl appeared alongside her. "You have to cut away what you are not. "Or the god will consume what you are." Lena gazed at Damien, who nodded once. She approached the knife. The deity roared, and chains broke. Memories flooded her.

Every fear.

Every regret.

Her hands shook. She grabbed up the knife. She jabbed it into her shadow. The scream that followed wasn't her own. It belonged to the echo—the part of her that desired power and wanted to change everything. The shadow bled silver and disappeared. Light floods the realm.

The god collapsed. Lena turned to see him, no longer a behemoth, but a youngster curled up in sadness.

"You chose... again," he murmured.

"I chose me," Lena stated. The girl grinned. And the world started to vanish. One by one, the mirrors vanished. The pedestal crumbled. The sky eased towards morning. But Lena wasn't finished.

One mirror remained as the others faded away. It shimmered, darker than the others. Within it, a version of herself peered back, uncorrupted but frigid.

A Lena who accepted the god's invitation. "Why do you hesitate?" the mirror self enquired. "You've thrown away the opportunity to reverse death. You allowed Arius to fade. You let your mother to suffer. All in the name of what? Honesty?"

Lena gulped. "You're not real."

"I am the you that would have lived. Thrived.

"Rewritten the world."

"But you wouldn't have loved Damien," Lena said.

"You would've reshaped him too." The mirror cracked. The darkness reappeared, stronger and angrier than before. The girl stepped forward.

"You must complete the severing."

"Or it will follow you." Lena raised her knife again. The shadow lunged. Damien arrived beside her, sword ready, and blocked the hit. Lyra's fire closed the wound behind them. They forced the shadow back into the mirror. This time, Lena did not hesitate. She shattered the glass. A wave of energy erupted from the core and wrapped around them. A scream rang across the air, not from agony but from freedom.

Lena took a swallow. "You're not real."

"I am the you that would have survived. Thrived;

"rewritten the world."

"But you wouldn't have loved Damien," Lena replied.

"You would've reshaped him too." The mirror broke. The darkness reappeared, stronger and more enraged than before. The girl took a step forward.

"You must complete the severing." "Or it will follow you." Lena brought her knife up again. The shadow made a lunge. Damien arrived beside her, sword readied, and deflected the blow. Lyra's flames sealed the wound behind them. They pushed the shadow back into the mirror. This time, Lena did not pause. She broke the glass. A wave of energy erupted from the core and engulfed them. A scream ripped across the air, not of agony, but of freedom.