Chapter Twenty: The Fifth Shard and the Fractured Trust
The Hollow Dream sailed through the thinning clouds like a weary bird limping home after a storm. The crew was quiet. The airship creaked. Below them, endless miles of jagged mountains stretched like a spine across the land, leading toward a place that few dared to name out loud: The Hollow King's Domain.
Elliott stood at the bow, gripping the railing as the morning mist curled around him. The relic beneath his shirt pulsed steadily now—a rhythmic heartbeat of power, anxious and heavy. Four shards nested within the artifact, their combined energy humming like a caged storm ready to break free.
One shard remained.
And it was down there. Somewhere among those shadow-drenched peaks.
Behind him, footsteps approached cautiously. It was Marlow.
The tension between them lingered like a sour fog. Her betrayal, her half-explanations—it had cracked the group's foundation, and they all knew it. Even now, Marlow's eyes were rimmed with exhaustion, her usual confident posture replaced with something brittle.
"We need to talk," she began softly.
Elliott's jaw tightened, but he didn't turn. "We've talked."
"No. You shouted. I begged. That's not the same thing."
He exhaled sharply, his breath curling in the cold. "Why? Why didn't you tell us from the start?"
Marlow hesitated, voice cracking. "Because I knew what you'd say. You'd never trust me if you knew my brother was leverage. That I made a deal with… him."
Elliott finally turned, eyes hard. "You let him watch us. You fed him everything."
"I didn't—" She stopped herself. "Not everything. I gave him breadcrumbs. Just enough to keep him from hurting my brother. But I never told him about the relic's true powers. Never told him how strong you're getting."
Elliott studied her, searching for deception. But beneath the exhaustion and fear, he saw something else: guilt. And love. Twisted, desperate love for a sibling lost to a monster's grasp.
"After we find the last shard," he said quietly, "we settle this. All of it."
Marlow nodded, eyes glistening. "Agreed."
The Peaks of Ruin
Hours later, the Hollow Dream descended toward the jagged mountain range known as the Peaks of Ruin. Ancient legends whispered of wars fought here long before mortals walked the world—gods clashing, cities shattered, the earth itself cursed.
The mountains bore the scars. Craters large enough to swallow cities. Blackened stone. And at the highest summit: the ruined temple of Ilyrion, where the final shard was hidden.
The relic pulsed harder with each passing mile, its glow faintly visible beneath Elliott's cloak. The group—Dorian, Seraphine, Elric, Marlow, and Elliott—stood together as the ship landed in a narrow clearing.
"Temple's at the top," Dorian said, tightening his sword belt.
"Which means obstacles, traps, probably a soul-devouring monster," Elric added helpfully.
"Sounds like a Tuesday," Seraphine muttered.
Elliott adjusted the relic's strap. "Let's finish this."
The Climb and the Shadows
The climb was brutal. Loose stones, frigid winds, crumbling ledges. The Peaks of Ruin didn't welcome visitors—they consumed them.
Halfway up, they encountered the first obstacle: a chasm splitting the path, deeper than sight could measure. Ancient glyphs marked the edges, glowing faintly.
"Puzzle bridge," Marlow muttered. "Old magic. Step wrong, you fall for eternity."
Elliott examined the symbols. Each one depicted a memory—laughter, sorrow, anger, hope.
"It reacts to… emotions?" he guessed.
"Your strongest one," Marlow confirmed. "Step on the right symbols, the bridge forms."
Elliott took a breath. His strongest emotion surged to the surface—not fear, not anger… but determination. The unrelenting need to protect, to fix what was broken.
He stepped forward, selecting symbols of courage and stubborn hope.
The stones glowed. A bridge appeared.
One by one, the others followed.
The Hollow King's Welcome
At the summit, the ruined temple loomed—cracked pillars, shattered statues, and in the center: a stone dais, the final shard hovering above it, pulsing with power.
But they weren't alone.
Shadows twisted at the edges of the temple, coalescing into figures clad in blackened armor. And at the center stood the Hollow King himself.
Tall. Cloaked in darkness. Face hidden beneath a porcelain mask cracked like old glass. His presence chilled the air, the ground itself recoiling.
"Four shards," he observed, voice like hollow wind through a graveyard. "So close. And yet… so far."
Elliott gripped the relic. "We're not letting you take them."
The Hollow King chuckled. "Take? No, child. You've brought them to me. Just as planned."
Marlow stiffened beside him, horror dawning.
"No," she whispered. "You said—"
"I lied," the Hollow King replied simply.
With a gesture, his soldiers advanced.
The Battle for the Final Shard
Chaos erupted.
Dorian charged, blade flashing.
Seraphine vanished into the shadows, striking from behind.
Elric flung unstable magic, explosions rattling the temple.
Marlow, fists clenched with crackling energy, fought at Elliott's side—desperate to prove where she stood now.
The Hollow King raised a hand, summoning tendrils of pure void. Elliott countered, the relic glowing brighter than ever.
The final shard hovered, inches away.
Elliott lunged.
The Hollow King's magic lashed out, striking him midair.
But the relic's energy surged, shielding him.
With a final, desperate reach, Elliott's fingers closed around the shard.
The relic fused. Power flooded through him—raw, ancient, untamed.
The Hollow King staggered, mask fracturing.
But the battle wasn't over.
The Fracture
The ground split beneath them. The temple crumbled. Magic howled like a living storm.
Elliott fell to his knees, the relic burning against his chest.
Visions flooded his mind—of the world's forgotten past, of gods shattered, of the Hollow King's true identity.
And of what the relic truly was:
Not salvation.
Not protection.
But a weapon. Designed to end creation itself.
His blood ran cold.
The Hollow King's voice echoed through the collapsing temple.
"You understand now, don't you? You're not its bearer. You're its trigger."
The temple fell into ruin around them.
And Elliott realized:
This quest wasn't about saving the world.
It was about deciding whether or not to destroy it.
End of Chapter Twenty