Within a Hollow Heart

Chapter 12: Volume 1, Chapter 12: "Threads of the Past"

The group moved quickly through the forest, their breaths clouding in the cool night air. Cole couldn't shake the weight of the voice that had called out to him, a whisper threaded with fear and urgency. It had reached him through the Veil, something he hadn't known was possible, but whatever or whoever it was, they needed help. And Cole was determined to find out why.

Elara led the way, her eyes sharp and alert despite the late hour. Marcus walked behind her, his sword unsheathed, ready for anything. Selene flanked the rear, her hand resting lightly on her blade, her movements as silent as the wind that rustled through the trees.

Cole, caught in the middle of the group, reached out with his mind, searching for any sign of the frayed threads. He could feel them trembling in the distance, faint but present, like the echoes of something fragile and near breaking. The pull was faint but growing stronger with each step they took.

"Are we close?" Selene asked, her voice barely audible in the quiet night.

"Not yet," Cole replied, his brow furrowing in concentration. "But the threads are getting weaker. Something is pulling at them."

"What kind of something?" Marcus grumbled, his grip tightening on his sword.

"I don't know," Cole admitted, his heart pounding. "But it's connected to the void. I can feel it... like it's tearing at the edges of the Veil."

Elara slowed her pace, turning to face Cole. "You're sure this isn't just an echo? The Veil can carry remnants of past events, especially in places like this."

Cole hesitated for a moment, but the urgency in the voice still echoed in his mind. "No. This is different. It's happening now, and it's close."

Elara didn't question him further, her expression grim as she pressed forward. The forest around them grew denser, the trees towering overhead, their gnarled branches twisting like fingers reaching toward the night sky. The air was thick with tension, as if the very earth was bracing for something to happen.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. The faint hum of the Veil that Cole had been feeling grew louder, more strained. The threads were no longer just trembling—they were snapping.

"There!" Cole shouted, pointing toward a clearing just ahead. "It's coming from over there!"

The group rushed forward, their footsteps silent but swift. As they broke through the treeline, the sight before them made Cole's blood run cold.

In the center of the clearing stood a woman, her back to them, her hands raised as if she were weaving something invisible in the air. But it was the ground around her that caught Cole's attention—dark tendrils of shadow snaked up from the earth, coiling around her feet, creeping higher with each second.

"She's pulling at the threads," Elara whispered, her voice tight with shock. "She's unraveling the Veil."

The woman didn't seem to hear them, her focus entirely on the fraying threads that stretched out from her hands like strands of a spider's web. The tendrils of shadow writhed around her, feeding off the energy she was drawing from the Veil, twisting it into something darker, something unnatural.

"Stop her," Marcus growled, stepping forward with his sword drawn.

But before anyone could move, the woman's head snapped up, and she turned to face them. Her eyes—empty, hollow voids—locked onto Cole, and a twisted smile spread across her face.

"You shouldn't have come," she whispered, her voice eerily similar to the one that had called to him in the Veil. "It's too late."

Cole's heart pounded in his chest. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer. Instead, she stretched out her hands, and the shadows around her exploded into movement, surging toward them like a wave of darkness.

"Move!" Marcus barked, pushing Cole out of the way just as the tendrils lashed out, striking the ground where Cole had been standing only moments before.

Selene was a blur of motion, her blade flashing in the moonlight as she slashed at the shadows, her strikes quick and precise. But the darkness didn't dissipate. It twisted and reformed, relentless in its assault.

"Elara, can we stop her?" Cole shouted, his voice strained as he dodged another strike.

Elara's face was pale, her eyes wide with realization. "She's not just pulling at the threads—she's connected to the void. It's feeding her."

The shadows surged again, this time wrapping around Marcus's legs, pulling him to the ground with a force that knocked the wind from his lungs.

"Elara, now!" Marcus grunted, struggling to free himself from the writhing mass of darkness.

Elara raised her hands, her fingers weaving through the air as she reached for the threads of the Veil. Her face was tense with concentration as she tried to sever the woman's connection to the void, but the shadows fought back, twisting around her like a living thing, trying to suffocate her efforts.

Cole's mind raced as he watched Elara struggle to hold the threads. He could feel the void pressing against them, pushing through the cracks in the Veil, trying to break free. If they didn't stop it now, it would tear the Veil wide open.

"I need to help her," Cole muttered, his hands trembling as he reached out with his mind, searching for the fraying threads. He could feel them—weak, fragile—but still within reach.

With a deep breath, he grabbed hold of the nearest thread, pulling it toward him, weaving it back into the fabric of the Veil. The strain was immense, the pull of the void almost unbearable, but Cole pushed through the pain, focusing on stabilizing the threads.

The shadows around the woman wavered, their movement slowing as Cole and Elara worked in unison to sever the connection. The woman's twisted smile faltered, her eyes narrowing as she realized what they were doing.

"No!" she hissed, her voice filled with fury. "You can't stop it!"

But the shadows continued to weaken, the tendrils retreating as the threads of the Veil began to stabilize. The woman staggered back, her hands trembling as her connection to the void was severed.

Cole felt the final thread snap into place, and the shadows collapsed, dissipating into the night like mist in the wind.

The woman fell to her knees, gasping for breath, her eyes wide with panic. For a moment, Cole thought she might speak again, might offer some explanation for what had just happened.

But before he could say anything, the woman's body shuddered violently, and with a final, whispered breath, she dissolved into shadow, leaving nothing behind but the faint hum of the Veil, now quiet and still.

The clearing fell silent.

Marcus stood slowly, brushing the dirt from his armor, his eyes scanning the area for any lingering danger. Selene sheathed her blade, her expression unreadable.

"What was that?" Cole asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Elara stared at the spot where the woman had vanished, her face pale and drawn. "She was one of them—one of the outcasts who learned to manipulate the void. But she was too far gone. The void had consumed her."

Cole's stomach churned. He had felt it—the pull of the void, the way it had twisted the woman's mind, her very soul. It was a fate worse than death, and it had nearly claimed them all.

"We need to find the source," Elara said quietly, her eyes filled with determination. "Whoever is behind this, they're trying to unravel the Veil. And if we don't stop them, the void will consume everything."

Cole nodded, his heart heavy with the weight of what lay ahead. The void wasn't just a mindless force. It had allies—people willing to tear the world apart for reasons he couldn't yet understand.

But one thing was clear: they were running out of time.

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