Rielun;s POV:
The Haven's doorway pulsed again — a thin crack of silver light trembling in the air like a heartbeat struggling to form.
Elias's breath hitched. "It's holding… for now."
Sylas tightened his grip on Rielun's arm. "Then we move. Before it changes its mind."
But the forest answered first.
A low vibration rolled through the ground, subtle at first — like distant thunder trapped beneath the soil. Leaves shivered. Roots strained. The air thickened with pressure.
Rielun gasped, hand flying to his sternum. "Something's… pulling at me."
Aeris steadied him instantly. "Stay with me. Don't drift."
The pull intensified.
Not a yank.
Not a drag.
A tug, rhythmic and desperate, like someone knocking on a locked door from the other side.
The earth split open in a thin, trembling line. Black sap seeped upward, not boiling this time — weeping, slow and heavy, like the forest itself was bleeding.
Noctis's shadows bristled. "It's trying again."
Elias shook his head sharply. "No. It's not opening a path. It's… reaching."
The ground trembled harder.
A sound rose from the Hollow — not a scream, not a roar, but a shuddering exhale, as if the entire realm had been holding its breath for too long.
Rielun's eyes filled with tears he didn't understand. "Why does it feel… sad?"
A whisper drifted through the clearing.
Not sharp.
Not pleading.
Barely there.
A breath of sound carried on the trembling air:
"…Little one…"
Not "Little Moon."
Not the same cadence.
Not the same voice.
Softer.
Older.
Almost reverent.
Rielun froze, breath breaking. "That wasn't the same voice…"
Aeris tightened his hold. "Rielun. Look at me. Don't follow it."
The ground pulsed once more — a hollow, aching thud — then fell silent.
A sharp crack split the air — not from the ground, but from the space itself.
The clearing warped.
Light bent.
Shadows folded inward like fabric being pulled through a needle's eye.
A shape didn't form this time.
It glitched into existence.
A jagged silhouette flickered in and out, stuttering between half‑formed poses — standing, kneeling, reaching, collapsing — as if the Hollow couldn't decide which memory it was trying to rebuild.
Rielun's breath caught. "That's… not right."
Elias's voice dropped to a whisper. "It's not an echo. It's a misfire."
The figure spasmed violently, its outline tearing open in places where light leaked through like cracks in glass. Its chest pulsed erratically, not with sap, but with static, like a broken lantern trying to ignite.
No face.
No features.
Just a smear of shadow that twitched with every pulse of the Haven's light.
Aeris stepped in front of Rielun, wings flaring. "Stay behind me."
But the figure didn't move toward them.
It jerked sideways — violently — as if yanked by invisible strings.
Its limbs snapped into new positions with sickening, puppet‑like precision.
Rowan swallowed hard. "It's reacting to the Haven."
The silhouette twisted toward the doorway, its entire form vibrating with a low, distorted hum.
Not a voice.
Not a word.
A frequency.
Elias's eyes widened. "It's trying to stabilize the memory using the Haven's light."
The figure convulsed.
A burst of static tore through the clearing — sharp enough to make Rielun flinch and Sylas grit his teeth.
Then, for a single heartbeat, the silhouette aligned.
Clear.
Still.
Recognizable.
Rielun's breath broke. "That's—"
The figure snapped apart before he could finish.
Not collapsing.
Shattering.
Fragments of shadow scattered like torn paper caught in a storm, dissolving before they hit the ground.
A hollow, broken sound echoed through the clearing — not a word, not a name, but something like a memory trying to breathe.
Then silence.
A Hollow guardian‑beast.
Noctis's shadows surged forward. "Aeris—!"
Aeris didn't hesitate.
He shoved Rielun into Sylas's arms. "Keep him steady!"
Then he and Noctis charged.
Noctis's shadows lashed around the creature's limbs, binding them tight. Aeris darted in with blinding speed, striking at its joints, its throat, its eyes.
The creature roared, thrashing violently.
Sylas held Rielun upright, grounding him with steady hands. "Stay with me. Don't let either side take you."
Rowan pressed a hand to Rielun's back, channeling warmth. "You're here. You're safe. Focus on us."
Rielun's vision blurred. "I… I can't—"
Sylas tightened his grip. "Yes, you can. Look at me."
Rielun forced his eyes open.
Sylas's voice softened. "Good. Stay with us."
The Haven doorway flickered again — dangerously unstable.Aeris slammed the Hollow creature into the ground with a burst of wind. "We can't hold it forever!"
Noctis's shadows strained, cracking under the creature's strength. "Move! Now!"
Rowan hauled Rielun to his feet. "We head for the Haven. It's the only place the Hollow can't reach."
Elias nodded. "Before it collapses completely."
Sylas supported Rielun's weight. "Come on. One step at a time."
Rielun stumbled forward, pulled by the guardians, pulled by the Haven, pulled by the Hollow.
Behind them, the remnants of the shattered echo flickered once — a faint, dying spark — then vanished.
The doorway flared.
Silver light pulsed outward — slow, rhythmic, like a heartbeat.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
The Hollow screamed behind them.
The Haven hummed ahead.
And Rielun stood between them, tears streaking his face, the echo of something ancient and broken haunting the air.
The doorway pulsed again.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
It opened a fraction wider.