The Burning of Hollowmere

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Chapter 10: The Burning of Hollowmere

Summary:

Raiden launches his attack on Ryo’s village—Hollowmere. The once-peaceful home becomes a battlefield. Ryo, joined by Kiro and a handful of defenders, must hold off The Void’s corrupted forces. Meanwhile, Aiko and Sylen race to rejoin him, but something ancient awakens beneath the earth, drawn by the fragments’ growing power.

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Story:

Nightfall blankets Hollowmere in uneasy silence. The village, nestled between forest and cliffs, is lit only by the flicker of torches. Families hide in cellars and ruins. Warriors line makeshift barricades, outnumbered and unprepared. At the center stands Ryo, his eyes locked on the tree line where shadows shift unnaturally.

Then, like a wave, they come—Raiden’s army, cloaked in Void-fire and chaos.

The battle is brutal.

Twisted beasts formed from corrupted souls charge first, shrieking through the night. Ryo and Kiro stand side by side, blades flashing. Kiro moves like a man possessed—silent, deadly, and precise. His eyes glow faintly with a power he doesn’t understand.

But the defenders fall, one by one.

Above it all, Raiden watches from a black warhorse, his face unreadable. When he finally descends into the chaos, the ground cracks with every step. His sword—once their father’s—now pulses with Void energy.

Ryo confronts him at the village shrine, the same place where they once trained as children.

"You came to destroy what made us human," Ryo says.

Raiden replies, cold and bitter, "No. I came to remind you what we are."

Their swords clash, light against shadow, fire against ice.

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Meanwhile...

Aiko and Sylen race across the plains, the second fragment pulsing in Aiko’s satchel. But the closer they get to Hollowmere, the heavier the air becomes. The earth cracks. The sky weeps black rain.

Something beneath the soil—ancient and waiting—stirs.

Sylen halts suddenly. "Something’s wrong. The fragments... they’re calling to each other."

As they reach the cliffs above Hollowmere, they see the village in flames—and a black rift beginning to open at its center.

"We’re too late," Aiko whispers.

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Back in the heart of battle...

Ryo and Raiden’s duel rages across rooftops and ruined gardens. Memories flash between strikes—laughter, fire, betrayal. Ryo’s blade is chipped. Raiden’s armor is cracked. Neither brother yields.

Then, as Ryo prepares to strike the final blow, the ground shudders.

A massive black fissure tears through the village square. Screams echo as shadowy tendrils rise from the chasm. From it, a voice speaks—not Raiden’s, not Ryo’s, but The Void itself.

"The fragments awaken... and so do I."

Everyone freezes.

Even Raiden looks shaken.

"This wasn’t supposed to happen... not yet."

The rift explodes outward, and from it emerges a monstrous figure—half-shadow, half-flesh, crowned with bone and fire.

The battle for Hollowmere becomes something more: the birthplace of the Void Incarnate.

Ryo and Raiden are thrown apart by the blast. Aiko screams from the cliffs. Kiro is swallowed by darkness.

And the Heart... pulses louder than ever.

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