A low mist clung to the forest floor as Chizzy and Kiran pushed through the undergrowth, each step crunching on damp leaves. The search for Talia had led them deep into the Ashwood—far beyond where most villagers dared to wander. The trees here stood taller, older, as if they remembered things the village had long forgotten.
"She couldn't have come this far on foot," Kiran muttered, slashing a branch out of the way.
"She didn't," Chizzy replied, her eyes scanning the fog for movement. "Something brought her."
The deeper they went, the thicker the fog became. It curled around their ankles like fingers, slithering across their skin in icy strokes. The air smelled of moss and magic—ancient, unsettled.
Suddenly, the forest fell unnaturally silent. Even the birds had stopped singing.
Then, a whisper.
Soft. Barely audible.
Taaaaalia…
Kiran froze. "Did you hear that?"
Chizzy nodded, drawing the Blade of Oath. Its silver glow flickered uncertainly, like a candle fighting a gust of wind. The fog pressed closer.
Another whisper came—this time louder. And unmistakably human.
"Help… me…"
"Talia!" Chizzy called out, pushing forward, heart thundering.
They reached a clearing, and at its center stood a massive stone circle, ancient and broken, overgrown with roots and lichen. Symbols glowed faintly on the stones, etched in the same language Chizzy had seen in the Hollow's depths.
And there she was—Talia. The girl stood within the circle, barefoot, her white dress torn and streaked with dirt. Her eyes were glassy, locked on something unseen.
"Talia!" Kiran shouted, running toward her.
But as he stepped into the circle, the air shimmered—and a figure emerged from the mist.
It wasn't human.
Tall and gaunt, with elongated limbs and eyes like pits of night, the creature stepped forward. Its skin looked stretched too tightly over bone, and its mouth curved in a grin too wide for its face.
"Leave the child," it hissed. "She belongs to the Hollow now."
Chizzy stepped between the creature and Kiran, blade raised. "She's under my protection. Step aside."
The creature chuckled—a dry, hollow sound like wind through a crypt.
"You sealed one breach, little oathkeeper," it sneered. "But others have begun to tear. The veil is weakening, and the girl is our key."
Chizzy glanced at Talia. Her lips moved, murmuring something over and over.
"She's chanting," Kiran whispered. "A spell. But it's not hers."
"She's being controlled," Chizzy said. "Possessed."
The creature lunged. Chizzy met it mid-air, the blade slicing through shadow and sinew. It screamed, recoiling as violet smoke spilled from its form.
"Break the chant!" she yelled to Kiran.
Kiran rushed to Talia, grabbing her shoulders. "Talia! Wake up! You're stronger than this—fight it!"
Her eyes fluttered. The symbols on the stones pulsed violently.
With one final surge, Chizzy drove her blade into the center of the circle. The ground trembled as the symbols burst into light, blinding and pure. The fog howled and spiraled upward, yanked into the sky like smoke through a chimney.
The creature let out a furious shriek as it was torn apart by the light, its form unraveling like cloth in fire.
Talia collapsed into Kiran's arms, unconscious but breathing.
It was over.
For now.
Chizzy wiped blood from her cheek, her hands still trembling. "That thing… it wasn't from the Hollow."
Kiran looked up. "Then where?"
She gazed at the ruined circle, the glowing symbols fading into stone.
"There are more gates," she whispered. "And they're waking up."
The forest was still again.
But something in the wind told her the storm had only begun.