Kael stood at the edge of the Blood Grove, where twisted trees bled sap like open wounds and the air smelled of rust and old sorrow.
Lady Nyxara stood beside him, her pale eyes reflecting the moonless sky.
"This is as far as I can take you," she said softly.
Kael nodded, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.
"I'm ready."
Nyxara studied him carefully. "You may not return."
He met her gaze without hesitation.
"Then I'll die trying."
She stepped aside.
Before him lay the entrance to the Hollow Ground—a sacred space hidden beneath the roots of the oldest tree in Necrosia. Few who entered ever came back unchanged. Some never returned at all.
Kael took a deep breath.
Then he stepped forward.
And the earth swallowed him whole.
***
Darkness.
Cold.
Silence.
Kael landed with a dull thud, his boots sinking into damp soil. The air was thick with the scent of decay and memory.
A voice echoed through the void.
"You failed them."
Kael turned sharply.
There, standing before him, were two figures cloaked in mist.
One tall. One small.
His wife. His daughter.
They looked just as he remembered them.
His heart clenched.
"You're not real," he whispered.
The girl tilted her head. "Aren't we?"
Kael tightened his jaw. "I won't play your games."
The woman stepped closer, her expression unreadable. "Then tell me, Kael… why did you leave us?"
Kael flinched.
"I didn't—"
"You ran," the girl said softly. "You left us to die."
Kael staggered back, his pulse pounding in his ears.
"No," he growled. "I tried to save you."
The woman's eyes glimmered with something sharp and cruel. "But you didn't."
Kael dropped to one knee, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"I know," he admitted, voice raw. "I failed you."
The air shifted.
The illusions flickered.
And then—
They vanished.
In their place stood a creature made of shadow and flame, its form shifting between man and beast. It carried no weapon, only claws black as obsidian.
It lunged.
Kael barely had time to raise his blade.
Steel met claw.
The fight began.
***
Blow after blow, Kael fought like a man possessed.
The creature moved unnaturally fast, striking with inhuman strength. Each hit felt like fire slicing through his flesh. But Kael did not fall.
He could not.
Not again.
As they clashed, memories flooded his mind—his home burning, the screams of his family, the helpless rage that had driven him to kill every raider he could find.
He had thought vengeance would heal him.
But it hadn't.
Only emptiness remained.
Now, he understood.
This was not just a test of strength.
It was a test of soul.
The creature spoke between snarls, its voice layered with many voices.
"You are hollow."
"You are nothing."
"You will fail again."
Kael roared, driving his sword forward with all his might.
The creature howled as the blade pierced its chest.
Its body shattered like glass, scattering into smoke and ash.
Silence returned.
Then, from the darkness, a single candle flickered to life.
A voice—not mocking, not cruel—spoke from beyond the veil.
"You have faced yourself."
Kael exhaled slowly.
He rose to his feet.
And the ground beneath him opened once more.
***
He woke in the palace gardens, sunlight warming his skin.
Nyxara sat beside him, watching carefully.
"You returned," she murmured.
Kael sat up slowly, rubbing his face.
"I passed the trial."
Nyxara gave a small nod. "More than that. You let go."
He looked down at his hands.
For the first time in years, they did not tremble.
He had faced his failure.
His guilt.
His grief.
And he had survived.
That meant something.
It meant everything.
***
Later that evening, Kael stood before Queen Seraphine.
She studied him closely, noting the change in his posture, the clarity in his eyes.
"You look different," she observed.
Kael gave a small, bitter smile. "I feel different."
Seraphine tilted her head. "What happened to you?"
He hesitated.
Then, quietly: "I stopped running."
Seraphine's lips parted slightly.
She placed a hand on her belly.
Inside, Aeloria stirred—but did not speak.
Instead, there was silence.
Respectful. Thoughtful.
As if she too had sensed the shift in him.
Kael stepped forward.
"I am yours to command," he said simply. "Now and always."
Seraphine met his gaze.
"I need someone who won't break," she said. "Someone who understands what it means to carry a monster inside."
Kael nodded.
"I understand."
Seraphine reached out, placing a hand over his heart.
"You are no longer hollow, Kael."
He closed his eyes.
"No," he agreed. "I'm not."
***
That night, as Kael stood watch outside Seraphine's chambers, he felt something new.
Strength.
Not just physical, but spiritual.
He had been forged in pain.
Now, he was tempered by purpose.
And when the wind whispered his name from within the queen's womb…
He did not flinch.
Instead, he whispered back:
"Try me."
And somewhere in the darkness, a child laughed.
Softly.
Approvingly.