The Hollow did not sound like a battlefield.
It sounded like the end of time itself.
Every swing of the god's hand shattered streets into dust. Every breath it exhaled devoured minutes, hours, entire lifespans. The sky no longer existed—only cracks of molten light and rivers of broken stone drifting upward.
Elara clung to Aelric's chest as though he were the last wall left standing. Maybe he was.
Her wrist screamed.
[00 Hours : 25 Minutes Remaining]
She sobbed, pressing it against him like she could hide it. "It's going too fast—too fast—I can't—"
Aelric coughed blood, laughing hoarsely. "Then I'll just have to be faster."
He forced his corrupted arm into the ground. Black tendrils writhed outward, holding back the collapsing floor. Each pulse of corruption weakened him—veins tearing, skin blistering—but he grinned anyway.
"See? Still standing."
Elara shook her head violently. "You're not—! You're breaking apart!"
His one good eye caught hers. For a heartbeat, it softened. "Then hold me together."
---
The god moved again.
Its massive hand brushed a distant tower. The entire structure withered, crumbling into glowing sand that vanished into the void. Thousands of unseen timers winked out all at once.
Elara's stomach turned. She heard the silence of death—not screams, not cries—just nothing.
Her digits plummeted:
[00 Hours : 22 Minutes Remaining]
She let out a strangled cry, digging her nails into Aelric's arm. "It's killing everyone—it's draining everything—I can't—"
His grin twisted, bloody teeth gleaming. "Then we make it choke."
---
He ripped his tendrils free of the stone and hurled them upward. Black fire whipped around the god's wrist, clawing into its flesh. Sparks exploded as corruption collided with molten divinity.
The god paused.
Its many-eyes swiveled down toward Aelric. The air bent.
YOU ARE MY ROT. RETURN.
Aelric screamed, body convulsing. Corruption surged wildly, tearing through his chest like knives.
Elara shrieked, grabbing him. "Stop—STOP—it's pulling you in—!"
He spat blood, grinning even wider. "Then it's scared."
---
His tendrils wrapped tighter, biting into the god's wrist. For a single moment, the giant limb trembled. Light sputtered.
Elara gasped. "You… you hurt it—"
"Damn right I did," he snarled.
But the victory lasted only a heartbeat.
The god flexed.
The tendrils shattered like twigs. Aelric's body slammed into the ground, blood spraying across broken clockwork. His corrupted arm cracked, steaming violently.
Elara screamed, crawling to him. "No—no no no—"
His laughter gurgled through blood. "Relax. I've had worse."
"WORSE?!" she screamed, shaking him. "You're—"
"Alive." His grin was thin, but unbroken. "That's all that matters."
---
The ground rumbled. The god leaned further out of the cocoon, its chest tearing through reality. A sound like countless ticking clocks thundered across the Hollow, each tick synced with Elara's timer.
[00 Hours : 20 Minutes Remaining]
Her breath hitched. "Aelric—twenty minutes—I'm—I'm running out—"
He coughed harder, his own body twitching violently. The corruption crawled higher, black veins spiderwebbing across his face. His eye blazed crimson.
He grabbed her wrist with trembling strength. "Then take mine."
Elara froze, trembling. "No—no, you'll—"
"Shut up." His grin was jagged, desperate. "If you die, I go hollow anyway. So steal it. Steal it all."
Her tears fell harder. "Why—why are you always—"
"Because," he whispered, pressing his corrupted forehead to hers, "fear's a leash. And you're the only thing keeping me unchained."
Her breath caught.
Seconds flickered. Her timer steadied—[00 Hours : 21 Minutes Remaining]—as his body convulsed harder, corruption burning brighter.
He gave without hesitation.
She broke down, clutching him. "Then don't let go—don't you dare let go—"
His laughter cracked, softer this time. "Not unless you make me."
---
The god's voice roared again.
YOU ARE TIME'S WASTE. I DRINK YOU.
The Hollow shook. The ground beneath them began to disintegrate.
Elara clutched him tighter. "Aelric—what do we do—"
He coughed, spat blood, then smiled, jagged and terrible. "We laugh louder."
And he did.
Through blood, through pain, through corruption splitting his veins open, he laughed at the god tearing reality apart.
Elara's heart cracked wide open. Even facing a god, even dying, he mocked it.
And somehow—that laugh kept her alive.
---
The cocoon split further.
The god's torso emerged. Its form was half-divine, half-writhing chaos, too vast to look at. Its every movement devoured seconds, devoured lives.
Elara's timer plunged.
[00 Hours : 18 Minutes Remaining]
Her tears blurred her vision. But she didn't collapse. Not yet.
Not while Aelric still laughed.
Not while he still fought.
Not while his seconds still burned inside her.