The battlefield still burned, but Caius could no longer hear it.
His pulse was too loud in his ears. His breath was too sharp in his lungs.
The Watcher has marked you.
The words still echoed through his mind, twisting like a vice around his thoughts.
Calrix, the Hollow King's Executioner—the one who had butchered rebel after rebel without hesitation—had let him live.
Not because Caius had fought well. Not because he had escaped.
But because something far worse had claimed him.
Selene gripped his arm, shaking him roughly. "Caius, talk to me."
Her voice finally punched through the haze in his mind. He turned to her, blinking past the smoke and sweat clinging to his skin.
She was breathing hard, her body tense with battle readiness, but her eyes—her eyes were searching him for answers.
Elias stood a few feet away, sword still clenched in his bloodstained grip. Around them, the remaining rebels were regrouping, dragging the wounded away from the fallen second gate.
The city was still burning. The Hollow Legion had pulled back for now, but it wouldn't last.
None of it made sense.
Caius wasn't sure how much time had passed. Seconds? Minutes? Hours?
But then, the sharp sting of reality cut through the fog in his mind.
They were still in danger.
He clenched his fists, pushing down the shaking in his fingers. "We have to move."
Selene narrowed her eyes. "Move where?"
"The Hollow Legion won't retreat for long. If we stay here, we die."
Elias scoffed, wiping blood from his mouth. "Not exactly reassuring, Timeborn."
Caius exhaled sharply. "I don't have answers right now. But I know one thing—"
He looked over his shoulder, toward the ruins of the second gate.
The Executioner was gone.
The battle had ended for now.
But something had irreversibly changed.
Caius felt it in his bones.
And for the first time, he was terrified to know what came next.
Far beyond the burning city, deep within the Hollow Keep, a figure sat upon a throne of blackened stone and whispering shadows.
The Hollow King.
His form was obscured, wrapped in flowing, midnight robes, his face hidden beneath the weight of his crown.
He did not move. Did not speak.
But his presence commanded the air itself.
The chamber was silent—save for the sound of approaching footsteps.
Calrix entered, his molten greatsword still glowing with embers.
He knelt before the throne, his mask gleaming in the dim light.
For a long time, the Hollow King did not acknowledge him.
Then, finally—
A voice, ancient and unfathomable.
"You let him live."
Calrix did not flinch. "He is no longer ours to kill."
The shadows in the throne room shifted unnaturally. A deep, rumbling sound—not quite a growl, not quite laughter.
"The Watcher has claimed him," the Hollow King murmured.
Calrix bowed his head. "Yes."
A long pause.
Then, slowly, the Hollow King leaned forward, the darkness around him shuddering.
"…Then let us see what the Watcher intends to do with its chosen."
Caius, Selene, and Elias moved quickly.
They had no choice. The Hollow Legion would regroup. The city was no longer safe.
The rebels had fallen back to the Catacombs—a network of underground tunnels beneath Evernight, once used by the old kings to escape siege.
Now, it was all that remained of the rebellion.
They entered through a half-hidden passage behind the ruins of an old temple. Inside, the air was damp and thick with the scent of earth and stone. Torches flickered against the walls, casting long, flickering shadows.
Caius was barely aware of his surroundings. His thoughts were still fractured.
The visions. The Watcher. The way time had bent—not at his command, but against it.
What the hell was happening to him?
They reached the main chamber, where the surviving rebels had gathered. No more than thirty remained.
It wasn't enough.
Elias slammed his sword against a wooden table, frustration evident in the sharpness of his movements. "We lost the second gate."
A murmur of uneasy voices rippled through the room.
Selene crossed her arms, her expression cold. "We know."
Elias turned to Caius. "And you. What the hell happened out there?"
Caius hesitated. How could he even explain it?
That the war was bigger than they ever thought? That the Hollow King wasn't the real enemy? That something ancient had now claimed a stake in this fight?
That he had seen himself standing in the Hollow King's place?
His silence stretched too long.
Selene narrowed her eyes. "Caius. What aren't you telling us?"
Caius swallowed hard.
He looked up, meeting their gazes.
And then—he made a decision.
A dangerous one. A reckless one.
But a necessary one.
"I need to go back into the Veil."
The room went silent.
Elias blinked. "You're joking."
Selene's face darkened. "Caius—"
"I'm serious," he cut her off. "My power isn't working right. And it's not just because of the Veil. Something bigger is happening."
Elias scoffed. "And your solution is to step right back into the thing that's screwing with you?"
Caius set his jaw. "Yes."
Because there was no other way.
Because the Watcher had marked him.
And if he didn't find out why—they were all going to lose.