The creature unfolded from the earth like a nightmare given form.
Its body was long and skeletal, a twisted serpent of shadow and bone. Dozens—no, hundreds—of eyes blinked along its sides, some weeping black ichor, others burning with sickly yellow fire. Its maw split in three directions, and from each gaping jaw came voices. Not roars. Not screams. Whispers.
"Nyssa… Nyssa… you left her… left him… failed them all…"
The voices weren't the monster's.
They were hers.
Marek took a shaky step back, hand trembling at his side. "That is not a natural thing. Nope. Nope. Time to nope all the way back to—"
"Run and you'll die," Nyssa said sharply.
Marek hesitated.
Nyssa took a step forward, sword at the ready, her eyes locked onto the thing. "It's not just a guardian. It's a trial."
Marek stared at her. "A what?"
She clenched her teeth. "Jack… or whatever part of him's still in there… he left it behind to test me. To see if I'm strong enough to follow. To reach him."
"Why not just leave a note like a normal lunatic?"
The creature hissed. The bones along its spine clicked like piano keys being struck out of tune. With one fluid lurch, it surged forward, its mouths dripping fog that clung to the earth like frostbite.
Nyssa didn't flinch.
She moved.
She rolled low beneath its first swing—if you could call it that—and sliced upward along one ribbed flank. Her blade scraped bone but didn't break it. The creature screamed—not in pain, but delight.
"You're still angry, aren't you?" it whispered from one mouth.
"Still blaming yourself?" croaked another.
The third whispered, "You let Auren die. You let Kael fall. You'll let Jack go too."
Nyssa gritted her teeth. "Shut up."
She darted right, feinted a second strike, then flipped over its back using the twisted roots like a launching post. Midair, she jammed her blade into one of the larger eyes and twisted.
The creature shrieked—this time in agony.
Marek raised his hands and cast a burst of light magic. It struck the beast's spine—but did little more than singe its outer edges.
"I'm not exactly packing god-killer spells here!" he shouted.
"Then stall it!" Nyssa yelled. "Keep it distracted!"
"What do you think I'm doing?! Singing it lullabies?!"
The creature twisted and lunged. Its jaw opened wider than seemed possible. Rows of teeth circled each mouth like drills. It lashed toward Nyssa, who ducked—barely.
One whisper ghosted past her ear.
"Your mother died screaming your name."
Nyssa froze.
The moment of hesitation cost her.
A claw—if it could be called that—smashed into her side and sent her flying. She hit the ground hard and tumbled against the twisted bark of the Hollow Tree.
Everything ached.
Blood welled in her mouth.
Her sword lay ten feet away.
The creature slithered toward her slowly, relishing every inch of torment. The whispers came faster, messier, louder.
"You killed your brother."
"You abandoned Kael."
"You chose Jack. And look what he became."
"No," she whispered.
"You did."
"No…"
"You will again."
"I said—"
She screamed and rolled to her side, grabbing a splintered root, and hurled it toward the creature's eye. It hit—and the beast recoiled just long enough for Marek to blast it again, this time with a torrent of fire from a runestone in his palm.
Nyssa crawled toward her blade.
Everything in her told her to stop. That it was too late.
But she heard Auren's voice. Echoing from memory.
"It's not about being strong. It's about standing when strength has left you."
Her fingers closed around the hilt.
And she stood.
"Your whispers don't control me," she said. "You're just echoes. Echoes of fear."
The creature reared.
Nyssa lunged.
With a cry, she drove her blade deep into its central jaw—into the dark, shrieking cavity where all the voices met. The sword sank past bone, past teeth, into whatever core the beast possessed.
There was a sound like glass shattering.
And then, silence.
The creature convulsed once. Twice.
Then it collapsed.
Its whispers died with it.
For a moment, only the wind moved through the Hollow.
Marek stumbled forward. "Please tell me that's the last of those."
"It's the first," Nyssa said grimly.
She wiped blood from her mouth and looked up at the Hollow Tree.
A section of bark had peeled away.
Inside, stairs of black stone spiraled downward, vanishing into darkness.
"You going in there?" Marek asked.
"I have to."
"Do I get a say?"
"No," she said. "But you can follow."
Marek sighed. "You are the worst at pep talks."
Nyssa gave him a thin smile. "Let's go."
Together, they stepped into the Hollow Tree—and into the descent beyond.