The ruins of Evernight stretched behind them, cold and empty beneath the pale dawn light.
Caius pulled his tattered cloak tighter around himself as he followed Garran through the shattered streets. Every step felt dangerous—he had spent years avoiding open roads, slipping through the cracks like a ghost. Now, he was walking openly, following a man who expected him to reclaim a kingdom.
Madness.
Garran moved with the practiced ease of a warrior, his eyes scanning every shadow. "We take the old tunnels beneath the city walls. They'll lead us to the valley."
Caius nodded but said nothing. He wasn't in the mood for conversation.
They walked in silence, the city around them eerily still. Too still.
Then—
A metallic clang echoed in the distance.
Caius stopped, his heart hammering. "Did you hear that?"
Garran's hand was already on his sword. "We're not alone."
From the ruins ahead, movement stirred. Figures emerged from the broken buildings—tall, armored, and wrong.
Hollow Knights.
Their jagged black armor gleamed under the rising sun, their crimson eyes locked onto Caius and Garran.
Caius's breath caught. There were at least five of them, and each one moved with an unnatural, predatory grace.
Garran cursed. "They found us faster than I thought."
One of the knights stepped forward, its voice an eerie, distorted echo. "The anomaly is here. The Timeborn has awakened."
Caius's blood turned to ice.
The knight knew.
He barely had time to process it before the knights charged.
Garran met them head-on, his sword flashing as he blocked the first strike. "Run, Caius!"
But Caius couldn't run. His body refused to move. The enemy's words repeated in his mind—Timeborn. The anomaly.
They had been hunting him all along.
A knight lunged at him. The blade descended—
And time twisted.
Caius didn't think. He just reacted.
The moment slowed. The sword's edge crawled through the air, inch by inch. His heartbeat pounded like a war drum, but everything else moved slower.
Then—
Snap.
Time reversed.
The knight's attack undid itself, its sword rising back into the air as if rewinding a moment. The enemy staggered, caught in the unnatural shift.
Caius gasped as the world snapped back into place, his vision swimming. His body screamed in protest, exhaustion clawing at his mind.
But Garran took the opening. With a single, precise strike, his sword severed the knight's head.
The creature collapsed.
The other knights hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then, without warning—
They all turned toward Caius.
Garran's face paled. "Damn it. They can feel the time shifts."
Caius's stomach twisted. He could barely stand, let alone fight. And the Hollow Knights were no longer focused on Garran. They were coming for him.
Garran grabbed his arm. "Move!"
Caius forced his legs to work, stumbling as they ran. The knights followed, their movements unnervingly fast.
They needed a way out—now.
Then, ahead of them, a figure emerged from the ruins.
A young woman in dark leathers, a bow already drawn.
She let loose an arrow—a bolt of light—and it struck one of the knights in the chest. The creature convulsed, its body disintegrating into ash.
Caius barely had time to process what had happened before she turned to them.
"You're late, Garran."
Garran exhaled in relief. "Good to see you too, Selene."
The woman—Selene—glanced at Caius, her sharp blue eyes unreadable.
"So," she murmured, notching another arrow.
"This is the so-called Timeborn?"