Within a Hollow Heart

Chapter 99: Volume 2, Chapter 43: "Beneath the Surface"

The group huddled around the flickering fire, the silence between them heavy with the weight of their narrow victory. The Knot had been stabilized, but the exhaustion in their faces told the true story. They had been pushed to their limits, and each of them knew that the void was growing bolder with each encounter.

Cole sat a little farther away from the others, staring into the fire, his mind swirling with thoughts of the void's presence. He could still feel the cold whisper of the void lingering at the edges of his thoughts, like a shadow that refused to leave. The amulet, now resting in Elara's hands, had saved them—but for how long?

"We can't keep doing this," Selene said finally, breaking the silence. She sat cross-legged, her blade resting in her lap. "We barely made it through this fight, and next time, the Severed will be even stronger."

Marcus, who had been sharpening his sword with slow, deliberate strokes, looked up. His eyes were tired, but his expression remained resolute. "She's right. The Severed aren't backing down, and they're learning. We can't afford to keep reacting. We need to get ahead of them."

Elara nodded, her gaze shifting to the amulet. "We need to find the source of the void's power—where the Severed are drawing their strength from. The Knots are important, but they're just a part of the bigger picture."

Cole's attention sharpened. "You think the Severed have a base, or some kind of focal point?"

Elara's brow furrowed in thought. "It's possible. The Severed have been organized—too organized for a group that's supposedly acting independently. They must have a leader, someone who's guiding them. If we can find their base of operations, we might be able to cut off their access to the void."

Marcus stood and sheathed his sword. "Then that's our next move. We can't keep fighting them knot by knot. We need to hit them where it hurts."

Selene looked at Marcus and then back to Elara. "But how do we find it? The Severed are elusive. If they have a base, it's not like they're going to leave a map for us to follow."

Elara glanced down at the amulet, its soft glow casting shadows on her face. "The Guardians recorded everything—every major event, every shift in the Veil's balance. If the Severed have a base, or if they're using the void in some concentrated way, the archives might hold the key."

"The archives," Marcus said, his voice thoughtful. "The sanctuary to the north. We were headed there before the Knot collapsed."

Elara nodded. "The Guardians didn't just study the void—they studied the Severed. If we can find records of their early movements, we might be able to track their current base of operations."

Cole's heart quickened. The archives had been a goal for some time, but now they felt more vital than ever. If the Guardians had documented the Severed's early actions, there was a chance they could find something that would give them the edge they desperately needed.

"Then that's our best lead," Cole said. "We head for the archives and hope there's something there we can use."

Marcus gave a sharp nod. "We leave at first light. We've wasted enough time already."

The group settled in for the night, but sleep didn't come easily. The wind howled through the mountains, carrying with it the faint echo of the void's presence. Cole lay on his back, staring up at the sky, his thoughts drifting between the battle they had just fought and the growing threat of the Severed.

The memory of the fragment still haunted him. It had been more than just a piece of the void—it had been alive, sentient, and it had almost torn the Knot apart. If there were more fragments out there, waiting to be unleashed, the world didn't stand a chance.

As he lay there, his mind began to wander back to the voice he had heard in the Veil—a faint whisper, asking for help. The threads of the Veil had carried that voice to him, but who—or what—had spoken? And why had it reached out to him specifically?

A sudden chill swept through him, and he sat up, glancing around the camp. The others were asleep, their faces drawn with exhaustion. The fire crackled softly, but beyond its light, the shadows of the forest loomed like specters.

Cole closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind to the threads of the Veil. The familiar hum greeted him, but this time it felt different—more strained, more fragile. He could feel the void's presence at the edges of the Veil, pressing against it, testing for weak points.

But there was something else.

A faint pulse, distant and barely discernible, but there nonetheless. It was the same energy he had felt when the voice had spoken to him before. A plea for help, carried on the threads of the Veil.

Cole focused, trying to reach out to the presence. "Who are you?" he whispered into the darkness, his mind stretching toward the source of the pulse.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. And then, faint and broken, a voice responded.

"We... are... lost."

Cole's breath caught in his throat. The voice was distant, fragmented, as if it were coming from the other side of a vast chasm. He pushed harder, trying to make sense of the words.

"Lost where?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.

"The Veil... it is breaking... we... cannot... hold..."

The voice faded, slipping through his grasp like sand. Cole's pulse quickened. Whoever—or whatever—was speaking to him was trapped, caught in the fraying threads of the Veil. And they were running out of time.

He opened his eyes, the weight of the revelation settling over him. The voice wasn't coming from the void—it was coming from within the Veil itself. Someone was trapped in the fabric of reality, lost in the threads that held their world together.

But who?

As the first light of dawn broke over the mountains, Cole rose and walked to the edge of the camp, his thoughts still racing. The Severed were trying to tear the Veil apart, and the voice he had heard was a warning. The Veil was more fragile than they had realized, and if the Severed succeeded in breaking it completely, not only would the void flood through—those trapped within the Veil would be lost forever.

"We need to move," Marcus's voice cut through Cole's thoughts, pulling him back to the present. The others were already packing up, their expressions grim but determined.

Cole nodded, his resolve hardening. The archives held the answers they needed, but there was more at stake now than he had realized. The Veil wasn't just a barrier between their world and the void—it was a prison for something else. Something that had been lost long ago.

And now, as the Severed continued their assault, those trapped within the Veil were calling out for help.

"We're running out of time," Cole muttered to himself as he joined the others. "We have to stop them."

The group set off once more, their path winding deeper into the mountains, the weight of the Severed's growing power pressing down on them with every step. The air grew colder, the sky darker, as they ventured further into the wilderness.

But even as they moved forward, Cole couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone.

Something was watching them.

And it was waiting.