They left before sunrise.
No one said goodbye to the cabin.
Because goodbyes made things feel permanent.
And nobody was ready for that.
The forest changed the closer they got.
Trees grew taller.
Darker.
The air felt heavier, like breathing through memory.
Even Leo had stopped talking.
Which, frankly, was how Nancy knew things were bad.
Mara stayed close to Evan.
Kai stayed close to Nancy.
The Alpha led.
Silent.
Tense.
Like every step forward cost him something.
Nancy felt it too.
The pull.
Like something deep inside her was whispering—
home.
She hated that.
Absolutely hated that.
Hours passed.
Then—
they saw it.
The Hollow.
It wasn't dramatic.
No giant gate.
No cursed castle.
Just a clearing surrounded by ancient black trees twisted like broken hands.
And in the center—
stone ruins.
Half-buried.
Forgotten.
Waiting.
Leo looked at it and whispered,
"Oh, good. It looks exactly like trauma."
Nobody argued.
Nancy stopped walking.
Because the moment she stepped near it—
the entity surged.
Not with anger.
With grief.
So sharp it stole her breath.
Kai caught her arm instantly.
"Nancy."
She could barely answer.
"It remembers."
Inside — The Memory Breaks Open
The second her foot crossed into the clearing—
the world cracked.
Not physically.
Inside.
Memory slammed into her like a wave.
She gasped—
and suddenly—
she wasn't here.
She was there.
Years ago.
Different.
Smaller.
But still her.
Rain poured from a black sky.
The ruins were whole then.
Alive with power.
People shouting.
Blood on stone.
Her knees hit the ground in the present—
but the memory kept dragging her under.
Inside the Memory
A woman stood in front of her.
Silver eyes.
Fierce.
Terrified.
Her mother.
Nancy's chest broke open.
She had never seen her this clearly before.
Never remembered.
Now she couldn't look away.
Her mother grabbed her shoulders.
"You have to listen to me."
Young Nancy was crying.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
Her mother's voice shook.
"I know, my heart."
Behind them—
something screamed.
Not human.
Not animal.
Power tore through the ruins.
The Alpha—
younger, bloodied, desperate—
was fighting shadows with his bare hands.
Leo whispered in the present,
"She's reliving it…"
But Nancy couldn't hear him.
She was drowning in the past.
Her mother pressed a hand to her chest.
"There are things older than wolves. Older than bloodlines."
Tears mixed with rain.
"And one of them chose you."
Young Nancy shook violently.
"I don't want it."
"I know."
Her mother was crying now too.
"But if we don't split it now, it will consume you before you even become yourself."
Nancy's entire body froze.
Split.
Not accident.
Choice.
Her mother looked at someone behind her.
"Do it."
Young Alpha's voice broke—
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't."
The thing inside the ruins screamed again.
Fury.
Pain.
Nancy felt it—
because it was her.
No.
Not her.
Part of her.
Her mother whispered against her forehead—
"Forgive me."
Then—
pain.
Blinding.
Unimaginable.
Like her soul being torn in half.
Nancy screamed in both timelines.
Outside — Collapse
She hit the ground hard.
Kai dropped beside her instantly.
"Nancy!"
Her body shook violently.
Tears she didn't understand were already falling.
"She did it…"
Her voice cracked.
"My mother did it."
The Alpha had gone pale.
Because he knew what came next.
Nancy looked at him—
devastated.
"You let her."
Silence.
The kind that feels like betrayal.
His answer came quietly.
"Yes."
Kai stood.
Dangerous.
"You knew all this and said nothing?"
The Alpha didn't defend himself.
"She asked me to protect what remained."
Leo snapped,
"By keeping her in the dark?!"
Mara looked furious.
Evan said nothing.
Which was worse.
Nancy stood on shaking legs.
Inside—
the entity was no longer hiding.
No more masks.
No more games.
Just pain.
You left me there.
Not accusation.
Truth.
Nancy whispered—
"They tore you out of me."
Yes.
A pause.
And left me in the dark.
She closed her eyes.
Because suddenly—
everything changed.
This wasn't possession.
It was abandonment.
This wasn't invasion.
It was a wound trying to return to itself.
And somehow—
that hurt more.
The Final Door
At the center of the ruins—
a stone altar began to glow.
Ancient symbols burned into life.
The Alpha stared at it.
"…it's opening."
Nancy looked up.
Toward the altar.
Toward the place where it all began.
The place where it could all end.
Inside—
the entity whispered one final truth.
If you step forward now…
there will be no more pretending.
She stared at the altar.
At the choice.
At the end waiting for her.
Kai's hand found hers.
Warm.
Steady.
Real.
Whatever happens—
they would face it together.
Nancy took one breath.
Then stepped forward.
And the Hollow answered.