The night air felt heavier. Thicker. Like the weight of something unseen pressed against the world.
Leon stood in the dimming glow of the shrine, his heartbeat steady—but his mind racing.
The Hollow sees you now.
Those words weren't just a warning. They were a promise.
Jarek waved a hand in front of Leon's face. "You look like you just saw a ghost. You good?"
Leon flexed his hand. The mark on his palm no longer burned, but he could feel it—like an ember buried beneath his skin.
"I don't know," he admitted.
Jarek huffed. "Yeah, well, you touching ancient cursed things isn't exactly reassuring."
Leon looked back at the shrine. The symbols had dimmed, but the structure felt different now.
The air around them had changed.
Something was watching.
---
A Presence Unseen
Leon wasn't imagining it.
His beasts felt it too.
Steel Fang Wolf's ears were pinned back, hackles raised.
Phantom Stalker remained hidden, but Leon sensed its tension—a readiness to flee at a moment's notice.
Jarek glanced around. "Okay, I swear it just got colder."
Leon scanned the treeline. The shadows were… off.
Then—
A flicker.
Not movement. Something deeper.
Like the darkness itself was shifting.
Leon's instincts screamed.
"Jarek. Draw your sword."
Jarek blinked. "What? Why—"
The shadows surged forward.
---
The Hollow Reaches
It wasn't a beast.
Not like the ones they had fought before.
This was something else.
The air shook as a formless entity lunged from the darkness—its shape twisting, shifting, never fully solid.
Leon reacted instantly.
"Steel Fang Wolf—Defend!"
The wolf moved in a blur, fangs flashing as it intercepted the attack.
But when its teeth met the entity—
They passed straight through.
Jarek cursed. "That's not fair!"
Leon's mind raced. It's not physical. It's… something else.
The mark on his palm flared, and for a brief moment—
He saw it.
Not just a shadow.
A presence. A being that didn't belong here.
And it was trying to pull itself through.
---
A Fight Beyond Strength
Steel Fang Wolf snarled, circling the entity, unable to land a hit.
Jarek raised his sword. "Any bright ideas?!"
Leon's instincts took over.
"It's not fully here yet! We need to sever the connection!"
Jarek squinted. "And how do we do that?!"
Leon's eyes locked onto the shrine. The symbols.
They had reacted to his touch.
Which meant—
He turned sharply. "We need to use the shrine's energy against it!"
Jarek stared. "Oh, of course, the ancient magic rocks! Why didn't I think of that?!"
Leon ignored him. He placed his marked hand against the shrine again—
And willed it to react.
---
The Veil Holds—For Now
The moment his palm met stone—
The carvings blazed back to life.
A pulse of energy shot outward, forcing the entity back.
It shrieked, its form distorting, unraveling—
Then, in an instant, it was gone.
The clearing fell silent.
Jarek let out a breath. "Okay. What the hell was that?"
Leon lowered his hand, staring at the now dimmed shrine.
"It wasn't just a monster," he said quietly.
Jarek looked at him. "Then what was it?"
Leon exhaled.
"A piece of something trying to break through."
His mark still throbbed faintly.
This wasn't over.
The Hollow had reached for him.
And next time?
It wouldn't be a test.
It would be a hunt.
---