---
The train slowed, its wheels grinding against the rails like teeth on stone. The night air outside was unnaturally still, as though the wind itself refused to wander here. A thin fog coiled along the ground, curling against the train's metallic sides before melting into the darkness.
Aren opened his eyes slowly, his mind still raw from the blood-red sky they had seen hours ago. He could still feel that suffocating pressure pressing on his chest — the same one everyone had felt. His hand rested unconsciously on his satchel, where the shard of black crystal he'd picked up in Tyser's outer fields seemed to thrum. It was faint, like a heartbeat.
Across the carriage, Elira sat by the window, knees drawn up, her eyes reflecting the passing shadows. She hadn't spoken much since the last battle. Every so often, her hand twitched toward her pendant — a small silver disc etched with a spiral pattern. She didn't know that Aren had noticed the way it glowed when monsters drew near. He hadn't asked. She hadn't offered.
"Next stop," the conductor's voice crackled over the rusted speaker, "The Hollow Junction."
Aren felt the words sink like a stone in his stomach. He'd heard that name whispered by passengers before. Some said it was cursed. Others claimed it was the place where the train's original route had been broken centuries ago, when Tyser's kingdom had sealed something beneath the ground.
The moment the train stopped, the air shifted. A deep, low vibration hummed beneath their feet, almost imperceptible, like the faint murmur of voices beneath the earth.
"Do you hear that?" Elira whispered.
He nodded. "It's not just the tracks."
They stepped onto the platform. The Hollow Junction was unlike any station they had seen — no lights, only a dim bluish glow leaking from cracks in the cobblestone. There were no ticket booths, no signs, only a massive iron gate at the far end, etched with the crest of Tyser: a crowned serpent swallowing its own tail.
And the whispers… closer now. Not quite words, but something trying to be words.
---
Foreshadow Clue #1: Aren's crystal shard vibrates faintly in sync with the whispers. He doesn't realize that it's resonating with a sealed entity beneath the station, something that will become critical much later.
---
"Stay close," Aren muttered, glancing at the scattered passengers who also disembarked. Their eyes were darting around, their movements stiff. One old man clutched a cane carved with runes — runes that pulsed faintly whenever the whispers grew louder.
Elira lagged behind, her eyes fixed on the iron gate. "Aren… those markings. I've seen them before."
"Where?"
"In one of the old Tyser codices. My father had it hidden. It said the gate leads to the Core Nexus — the place where the kingdom's first power sources were buried."
---
Foreshadow Clue #2: Mention of the Core Nexus, the hidden origin of Tyser's power, will tie into the solution for defeating certain monsters in later chapters.
---
Before Aren could respond, the ground trembled. A crack splintered across the platform, and bluish mist hissed upward. From the fissure, shapes began to crawl — half-solid, half-smoke, their bodies shivering as though reality itself was rejecting them.
"Void-born…" Elira's voice shook. "But they're not supposed to come this far inside the rail lines."
The passengers panicked. One man ran toward the train, only for a tendril of shadow to whip around his ankle, dragging him into the mist. His scream was short. Wet.
Aren pulled Elira behind a pillar. "The cores — where are they?"
She shut her eyes, focusing. "Inside the mist… but they're shifting. They're hiding them."
---
Foreshadow Clue #3: This is the first time Aren learns that some monsters can move their cores inside their bodies. This will be a major challenge in upcoming fights.
---
The old man with the rune-carved cane limped forward. Without speaking, he drove the cane into the platform. The runes flared, and for a moment the mist recoiled, revealing flickers of pale-blue spheres within the void-born's chests.
"There!" Elira shouted.
Aren moved. His blade, still nicked from the last battle, sang as it cut through the air. He struck the core of the nearest void-born, shattering it into shards of light. The thing dissolved instantly, leaving behind a single black feather that hissed before vanishing.
They fought side-by-side — Aren's precision strikes guided by Elira's pendant, which pulsed faster whenever a core was near. By the time the last void-born fell, the platform was littered with faintly glowing dust. The whispers quieted, though the hum beneath the ground never stopped.
The old man gave them both a long, unreadable look. "You're not ready for what sleeps here. But the train won't protect you forever. When the gates open…" He trailed off, glancing toward the iron barrier before limping away into the mist.
---
Foreshadow Clue #4: The "gates opening" will be the trigger for a massive mid-series arc where the sealed threat beneath Tyser begins to awaken.
---
Aren looked at Elira. She was breathing hard, her hands trembling. Not from fear, but something else.
"You didn't have to protect me that much," she said softly.
He didn't answer. He had noticed — in every fight so far, he had placed himself between her and danger without thinking. It was instinct.
As they boarded the train again, Aren's gaze drifted back to the platform. For the briefest moment, he thought he saw something — a shape in the mist, standing perfectly still, watching him. It looked almost human.
Almost.
And then the train pulled away.
---
To be continued...