Chapter 9: Threads of the Hollow Moon
The fog in Nightreach stirred — not with wind, but with whispers.
Faint murmurs slithered between broken lanterns and crooked alleyways. Lanterns flickered. Shadows trembled. And above it all, the pale moon hung too still, as if watching.
Shen walked beside the girl in silence, his boots brushing against frost-kissed cobblestones. Her presence was quiet, but not timid. Observant. Like someone who knew more than she ever said.
"…You didn't ask for my name," she said at last.
Shen didn't look at her. "Didn't need to."
She smiled faintly. "Then I won't ask for yours."
Their conversation felt like two ghosts speaking beneath forgotten stars.
But the System intruded.
[Void Path – Branch Identified: "Hollow Moon Thread"]❖ New Hidden Quest Unlocked: The First Thread⟶ Description: A sliver of the deeper curse coils beneath Nightreach. Someone has touched it.❖ Objective: Trace the Thread's source.❖ Reward: Unknown (Variable)❖ Risk Tier: Cursed / ???
A new path. One the system hadn't revealed until now.
Shen glanced at the girl. "You're tied to this."
She didn't deny it.
"I've seen this curse take shape before," she murmured. "But never like this. Never with… you at the center."
Shen halted.
His shadow wavered for a moment — not cast by the moon, but by something deeper. From within.
The girl touched a rune pendant around her neck. It shimmered faintly, then faded.
"I shouldn't be helping you," she whispered. "But something's changed. You're not like the others who fall to the Void."
"Maybe I fell through it."
She studied him, then turned away. "Come. If you want to find the source of the Hollow Moon… there's a place. Beneath the bell tower."
Chapter 9 (Part 2): Threads of the Hollow Moon
The bell tower groaned as if remembering something ancient.
Shen followed her — the pale-haired girl — down a winding staircase hidden beneath rotted floorboards. The stone walls were damp with age, flickering with shadows from the dim blue glow of her herbs. Each step echoed like a countdown.
"How long has this place been hidden?" Shen asked, hand resting on his blade.
The girl didn't turn. "Since the Hollow Moon first bled into this world."
Cryptic. Of course.
They reached the chamber — a forgotten sanctum buried deep beneath Nightreach. Stone pillars held up a cracked ceiling etched with crescent symbols and void-marks. Strange paper seals fluttered gently despite the still air.
A mural on the far wall caught Shen's eye. A figure — masked and cloaked — stood before a pale, broken moon. Around him, twisted shadows knelt like worshippers.
The First God Slayer.
"The Hollow Moon Order believed in balance," the girl said softly. "Until they broke it. They tried to seal the Void… but ended up becoming part of it."
Shen stepped closer. Runes etched into the altar pulsed faintly — not with mana, but with something deeper. Familiar.
The System whispered.
[Void Trace Detected – Memory Fragment Locked Within Ancestral Stone.][Requirement Met: Direct Lineage of the Forsaken Starborn.][Begin Memory Transfer? Y/N]
Shen hesitated.
"...Yes."
Light spilled from the altar.
Suddenly — a vision.
A battlefield under a shattered sky. Voices screaming. Gods falling. And at the center… a lone warrior with white fire in his eyes, wielding a blade of unformed time.
He turned — and Shen felt like he was looking into a mirror.
Then it ended.
[Memory Fragment Acquired – Title Unlocked: Echo of the Starborn]➤ Slight resistance to divine suppression.➤ Can perceive threads of corrupted fate.
Shen staggered back, breath sharp.
"What did you see?" the girl asked.
"…My beginning."
She looked at him, finally giving her name."My name is Liora. My ancestors tried to silence the Hollow Moon. I'm here to finish what they couldn't."
Shen met her gaze.
"I'm not here to finish anyone's war," he said. "But if they stand in my way…"
He drew his blade. Shadows curled around it.
"…I'll end them."
Above, the bell tower chimed once.
[Quest Updated: Secrets of the Hollow Moon]→ Investigate the three remaining Sanctums across Nightreach.→ Survive the coming Lunar Shift.