The prison void trembled violently as the Hollow King's throne pulsed with rising fury. The awakened spirits hovering around Nyra flickered between silver and shadow, their fragile freedom hanging by threads of moonlight.
Nyra steadied herself, though exhaustion clawed at her muscles. The first trial had shaken her soul… but the real battle was clearly just beginning.
From the throne, darkness began dripping like molten shadow, spreading across the void floor.
You claim strength beyond your ancestors… the Hollow King's voice rumbled.
The shadow pooled before Nyra, twisting, stretching… forming shapes.
Three massive wolves emerged from the darkness.
Each carried distorted versions of Shadowfang markings — their eyes hollow, their bodies carved with glowing black runes that pulsed like infected veins.
Nyra's breath hitched.
"They were protectors once," she whispered.
They were heroes, the Hollow King replied. And they failed to protect their pack… just as you will.
The corrupted wolves lunged.
Nyra barely dodged as razor-sharp claws tore through the space where she had stood. She spun, summoning silver flames along her arms. The prison ground shattered beneath her leap as she struck the first wolf across its jaw.
Moonlight exploded on impact, forcing the creature backward — but it rose again instantly, its wounds sealing with crawling shadow.
"They can't be killed," Nyra realized aloud.
The wolves circled her, moving in perfect predatory coordination.
They are bound to my prison, the Hollow King said. To free them… you must sever the shadow that anchors them… while they try to destroy you.
The wolves attacked together.
Nyra blocked one strike with a shield of silver energy, but another wolf slammed into her side, sending her crashing across the void floor. Pain burst through her ribs as she rolled, barely avoiding snapping jaws.
She forced herself upright, blood dripping from her lip.
"I will not destroy them," she whispered fiercely. "I will free them."
Silver runes ignited along her arms as she focused her power inward, channeling the Blood Moon relic. Instead of forming weapons, the moonlight stretched into glowing chains of severance energy.
The first corrupted wolf lunged again.
Nyra stood her ground.
At the last second, she leapt forward — wrapping the glowing chains around the wolf's neck. The creature howled, thrashing violently as shadow poured from its body like smoke ripped from bone.
Nyra gritted her teeth as the darkness burned her skin.
"Remember who you were!" she shouted.
The wolf's hollow eyes flickered… then softened.
With a final surge of silver light, the shadow shattered. The massive wolf collapsed — its body dissolving into a glowing spirit that bowed its head toward Nyra before drifting upward, finally free.
The Hollow King roared in rage.
The remaining wolves attacked with savage fury.
Nyra fought desperately, dodging, striking, and binding shadows while her strength drained rapidly. Each severance burned through her energy like wildfire consuming dry forest.
One wolf tackled her from behind, claws sinking into her shoulder. Nyra screamed, silver light erupting wildly as she slammed her elbow backward, forcing it away.
Her vision blurred.
"I… can't stop…" she gasped, forcing herself to stand again.
Far above, at the sealed prison entrance…
Kael paced violently before the shimmering barrier, his claws scraping deep grooves into the stone floor. Every instinct inside him screamed that Nyra was in danger.
The barrier pulsed faintly with her weakening energy.
Kael slammed into it again, golden aura flaring around him like wildfire.
"Let me through!" he snarled.
The barrier crackled but held firm.
Behind him, Eryndor approached cautiously. "If you force your way through, you could disrupt the ritual… and doom her."
Kael's chest heaved, fury and terror tearing through him.
"I will not stand here while she dies alone."
He pressed his forehead against the barrier, voice dropping into a rough whisper.
"Fight, Nyra… come back to me."
Below, Nyra staggered as she faced the final corrupted wolf. Her body trembled from exhaustion, silver light flickering unevenly across her skin.
The wolf circled her slowly, its eyes darker than the others — stronger… more corrupted.
This one was your bloodline guardian, the Hollow King whispered cruelly. The first Alpha who bound their soul to my creation.
Nyra's heart pounded.
The wolf lunged.
She barely raised her severance chains in time as their powers collided in a blinding explosion of shadow and moonlight. The force slammed Nyra to her knees.
Her strength faltered.
The chains flickered… weakening.
The wolf loomed above her, jaws opening wide.
Nyra's mind screamed for strength… for hope… for anything to keep standing.
Then she felt it.
A faint warmth brushing against her soul.
Kael.
His presence echoed through the bond between them — steady, fierce, unwavering.
Nyra inhaled sharply as silver flames reignited across her body, brighter than before.
"I am not alone," she whispered.
With a cry of raw determination, she surged forward, wrapping the severance chains around the corrupted guardian wolf. Shadow erupted violently, resisting with ancient fury.
Nyra screamed as the darkness clawed into her memories, her strength, her very identity.
"I carry Shadowfang's future!" she roared.
The chains exploded into brilliant lunar light.
The shadow shattered.
The guardian wolf dissolved into a majestic ancestral spirit, its glowing eyes filled with pride as it bowed deeply before her.
Nyra collapsed to one knee, barely conscious.
The void trembled violently as cracks spread across the Hollow King's throne.
You weaken me… Blood Moon heir… the creature growled, its voice now layered with true anger.
Nyra forced herself to stand, swaying but unbroken.
"I am not here to weaken you," she said hoarsely. "I am here to end you."
The throne pulsed, releasing a deafening roar that shook the prison to its core.
Then prepare… for the final trial…
The shadows surged wildly, forming massive storm clouds above the void as the Hollow King's presence began manifesting into a partially formed physical shape.
Nyra stared upward, chest heaving, knowing her strength was nearly gone…
And the true battle had not even begun.