To defeat an enemy born of death, Kael knew he had to walk into death's kingdom.
He would enter the Hollow.
Not with an army.
Not with fire.
> Alone.
---
Crossing the Rift
The Hollow was not a place.
It was a wound.
A realm stitched between life and death—formed from broken oaths, spilled blood, and the first betrayal of magic.
The only path was through Veinspire Crag, a cliff where the winds sang in tongues no longer spoken.
Lina begged him not to go.
Sylah offered to come with him.
Kael refused both.
> "If I don't understand what I am, I'll burn this world with good intentions."
With the Fang of Varok in hand and the flame fused within him, Kael stepped through the veil—
And vanished.
---
The Hollow
There was no air in the Hollow.
Only memory and shadow.
Kael stood on a bridge made of spinebones.
Below, rivers of screaming fire.
Above, a sky of eyes that never blinked.
Each step forward pulled him deeper into his own fears.
He saw himself as a boy—chained.
As a wolf—broken.
As a god—burning.
And then he stood before the Throne.
---
The Revenant King
He was waiting.
Tall. Pale. Crowned in flame that did not warm.
His eyes burned like Kael's—but colder.
> "You've come to meet your maker," the King said.
Kael raised his blade. "I came for truth."
The King rose.
He didn't attack.
He walked down the stairs of bone and ash.
> "Do you know why you burn brighter than the others?"
"Why your flame does not consume, but remembers?"
Kael said nothing.
The King stepped closer.
> "Because I gave you my heart."
---
The Heart of the Hollow
Kael was frozen.
The King touched his chest.
> "Your mother bargained for love.
Your father for peace.
And they forged you with a sliver of my soul."
> "You are not just Ashfang."
> "You are my son."
The Hollow shook.
Kael stepped back.
"No," he whispered. "You lie."
The King grinned. "Search your flame. Ask it."
Kael closed his eyes.
Inside the fire, two voices screamed—
One his own.
One ancient, echoing.
Both the same.
He fell to his knees.
> "What am I?"
---
The Throne's Choice
The King offered a hand.
> "Join me.
End the war.
Rule the ruins.
The Moonborn will never accept what you are."
Kael looked up.
He saw not a king.
But a mirror.
And for a moment…
> He almost said yes.
But then he heard Sylah's laugh.
Lina's whisper.
Drayk's oath.
> "I am more than your blood," Kael growled.
> "I was born from a lie."
> "But I'll die as truth."
He stood.
Raised his blade.
> And struck the Hollow Throne.
---
Collapse
The throne shattered.
The Hollow cracked.
The King screamed—not in pain, but pride.
> "You are ready now, Ashfang."
> "Let the world burn for you."
The realm collapsed.
Kael was flung through fire and ice.
---
Return to the Living
He awoke in Lina's temple.
Scars glowing.
Mark burning.
Eyes changed.
He sat up.
Lina stared.
Sylah stepped back.
"Kael… what happened?"
Kael looked down at his hands.
> "I know who I am."
He looked at the sky, where the moon bled red.
> "Now let them come."
> "I'm ready to burn gods."