The air around the Hollow Gate had changed.
The shadows no longer watched—they waited.
Liana sat at the edge of the blackened steps, staring into the fog. Her mind swirled with echoes from the Echo's abyss, and Lucien's memory still lingered like a wound. Everything felt heavier, as if the realm itself had shifted to something colder.
Lucien stood a few feet away, unmoving. He hadn't spoken much since they returned. Trust had been offered and accepted, but in its place came something worse: vulnerability.
Liana broke the silence. "You said something yesterday… about betrayal. That it made you what you are."
Lucien's voice was low. "It wasn't the betrayal that changed me. It was what I became after."
She glanced at him. "Then what are we becoming?"
Lucien turned slowly. His eyes no longer burned red. "That depends on how much we're willing to lose."
Before she could answer, the sky above cracked—not thunder, but something deeper. Like bones snapping across the heavens.
Lucien moved instantly. "Inside. Now."
Liana didn't argue. They rushed back into the crumbled chapel of the Hollow Gate. But even inside, the shadows stirred differently—restless, almost anxious.
"What is that?" she asked...
Lucien's voice tightened. "Something I hoped wouldn't awaken."
He crossed to a sealed arch in the floor—one Liana hadn't noticed before—and pressed a hand to the stone. Ancient markings flared, pulsing blue.
"There are creatures in this realm we don't command," he said. "Ones not even Reapers dare speak to."
"You mean like gods?"
He looked at her. "Worse. Forgotten reapers. Souls who refused the balance. They became Forsaken."
The seal cracked open with a hiss. Cold air spiraled up from below. Liana shivered.
"Why open it now?" she asked...
"Because they've sensed you."
The descent was steep, the stone steps worn with time. Lucien led with silent urgency, his cloak dragging like smoke behind him. Liana followed close, clutching the edge of the wall as the world grew darker.
She whispered, "You think they're after me?"
Lucien didn't look back. "You carry light into a place that shouldn't have any. That alone makes you a target."
They reached a vast chamber—a subterranean cathedral, silent and cold. Pillars shaped like twisted figures lined the hall, and at its end, a dais with three empty thrones.
"Where are they?" she whispered.
"They don't sit until called."
Lucien stepped forward and knelt. "I seek the counsel of the Forsaken."
For a long, breathless moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Whispers. Dozens. Hundreds. A thousand thoughts overlapping.
Liana stumbled, grabbing Lucien's arm. "I hear them—inside my head."
"They speak through your fears."
A voice split through the chamber. One voice, clearer than the rest—female, ancient, haunting.
"You bring us the mortal girl. The candle in the dark."
Lucien stood. "I seek answers. She's bound to my soul now. The balance shifts."
The thrones filled—first with shadow, then shape. Three figures, robed in mourning cloth and bone. Faces hidden, but power radiated from them like heat from a forge.
The center one rose.
"She does not belong here."
Liana swallowed. "I didn't ask to come."
Another voice spoke. Male, venomous. "Yet the gate opened for you. That means fate has already chosen."
Lucien stepped protectively in front of her. "She's under my mark."
The third Forsaken, voice like wind on stone, said, "Then you are cursed with her outcome."
The chamber grew colder.
"We see what sleeps beneath her skin," the female one whispered. "A soul once touched by fire… and something older."
Liana stepped forward. "You keep talking about me like I'm some weapon or curse. What am I?"
The Forsaken didn't answer.
But the mirror behind them lit with flame.
And inside it, Liana saw herself again—not falling this time, but standing tall. Eyes black. Wings of ash. And beside her, the world burned.
She gasped. "That's not me."
"It could be," the female Forsaken said. "Unless you choose otherwise."
Lucien gritted his teeth. "Enough games. Tell us what's coming."
The flames dimmed.
"The seals weaken. A true Death stirs. One that does not serve balance… only hunger."
"A rogue Reaper?" Lucien asked.
"Worse," the Forsaken said. "A being unbound by rules. One created when mortals tamper with fate. You know of him, Lucien."
Lucien's eyes darkened. "No… He was destroyed."
"He was buried," they said. "Not erased."
Liana whispered, "Who are you talking about?"
Lucien looked at her, haunted. "My brother."
Back at the Hollow Gate, Lucien slammed the chapel doors shut, sealing them with sigils.
"You have a brother?" Liana asked.
He nodded slowly. "Riven. We were both chosen as Reaper apprentices long ago. But he wanted more. He tried to breach the boundary between life and death permanently."
"And he failed?"
Lucien's voice was low. "He almost succeeded. Until the Forsaken and I trapped him. Buried him under the Veil of Decay."
She paced the stone floor. "Now he's waking up?"
Lucien leaned against a column. "And he'll come for you first. Because you're not just marked—you're a key."
Liana looked up sharply. "Key to what?"
"To breaking the boundary."
Silence.
Liana whispered, "Why me?"
Lucien stepped closer. "I don't know yet. But I swear this—if he rises, I'll protect you."
She met his eyes. "Even if it costs you?"
He didn't hesitate. "Yes."
She touched his hand. "Then I trust you."
And in the shadows outside the gate… something moved.