Echoes of Hollow

“Hey, Hye…” Hilary murmured, tugging at his pants to get his attention. “Why are they like this…? Is it because of the po... portal…? They’re even building houses, so it must be bad, right?”

Looking around, she saw that, in addition to some of those who had returned earlier, even more people were crying. Some were hugging their partners, others their children. Hilary didn’t understand why, if the problem was indeed the portal, they were avoiding looking at them and keeping their distance whenever they could. Whenever her eyes inadvertently met theirs, they seemed to reflect fear.

“…Didn’t you want to thank that girl? We need to go…”

“Oh, yes, yes, I’m going. I’m just trying to find her. Can you see her?”

Scanning the area with a single glance, Hye raised his hand, pointing out the path leading to Eudora and her family.

“Oh, yes, I see…” Hesitant, Hilary took her first step, her eyes glued to the ground as if it were dissolving at the thought of walking. After shaking her head, she sighed deeply, slowly letting go of Hye’s hand. “…I’ll be right back… so wait for me here.”

One step after another, her legs trembled but held firm. The stares followed her, sometimes accompanied by expressions of horror, but she couldn’t understand why. After all, how insignificant could a creature be, especially one so tiny that she barely noticed it in the night? Yet, for the wolves, as clear as moonlight, those blue eyes seemed to chase them wherever they went, and strangely, even their own gazes seemed to follow, ultimately converging on her.

“H…” She tried to say something, but her thoughts vanished, and her lips wouldn’t move as she wanted.

At first, Lykos was startled, and Arche quickly pulled Eudora close to her chest. Before them, they saw not a girl but the creature. Poking its wings so condescendingly that it doesn’t even seem to care about their existence.

“…Thank you,” Hilary said, smiling despite her constant effort to control her trembling. “Really, thank you for helping me earlier. I… I don’t have anything else to give you now, so… I’m sorry.”

Seeing the fragile, trembling child extending her hands in gratitude toward their daughter, Lykos and Arche felt a bitter taste in their mouths. They had seen nothing but the beast on its shoulders, completely ignoring the small, tearful child who seemed to be in as miserable a situation as they were.

Reaching out to her, sniffling, Eudora accepted the thanks. The touch of her fingers was enough to make Hilary feel the warmth of her skin, reducing her tremors.

Feeling a shiver, Arche and Lykos froze as the beast suddenly moved. It flapped its wings as if stretching and flew up to perch on the top of the girl’s head, settling there. How it managed to do that, they couldn’t say, but for some reason, it seemed to sense that it was the cause of their excessive caution toward the child. Thus, it chose to relieve them of what seemed to frighten them the most: its eyes.

“And I’m sorry you got hurt while helping me… Are you in pain anywhere? You carried me, so… your legs must be sore, right? A good painkiller… Hmm… I wish Mom were here.”

Her eyes darted around until she found Hye in moments. Then, raising her hand and waving, she called him.

“I don’t have any painkillers with me,” he replied before she could say anything.

“Hey! I thought eavesdropping was forbidden… rule number three!”

“Number four… but it’s situational.”

“Hmmm, but number three is valid.”

“What…?”

“Remember? Last year,” the girl smiled. “You said you’d give me whatever I wanted for my birthday.”

“Yes, but unicorns don’t exist… at least not in this world, maybe in dungeons.”

“No, no, no,” she said, shaking her finger side to side repeatedly. “Then I asked for a plane, and you didn’t give me one.”

“I gave you a jet, it’s not my fault if your aunt returned it.”

“No, that’s not fair! You said you would, and you didn’t.”

“Then,” sighing, Hye knelt down to place his hands on the child’s cheeks, “what are you trying to say?”

“You owe me.”

“I…?” smiling, he stood up. “So, what do you want? To fly? I should be able to arrange that.”

“Really?!” Her eyes sparkled as she approached. But remembering her objective, she cleared her throat and started again, “No… it’s not that.”

Painful words, certainly. After all, who would refuse the chance to fly without being strapped into any technological device?

“I want a painkiller. But it has to be now.”

“Painkiller…” Avoiding her gaze, Hye briefly looked at the child hidden in Arche’s arms. “I don’t think that’s what she needs.”

“Seriously…?”

Seeing the apparent sadness on his face, Hye looked back at Lykos’s child. He sighed, turning his back and walking toward the exit.

“Alright… but this makes four times. This will be the last time this will work.”

“Then bring the unicorn for my birthday!” Hilary exclaimed, turning around and smiling as she gave a thumbs up to Eudora, even though she couldn’t see it.

Throughout their conversation, the wolves were stunned, completely unresponsive to the strange contrast in Hye’s demeanor. At one moment, he maintained an impassive expression, showing no concern for others’ lives. In the next, he was not only smiling but even conceding to someone else’s wishes.

Unlike the others, Lykos was the only one to try and find a reason behind these adverse reactions. In moments when any form of emotion was minimally expressed by Hye, both during the call and when he was threatened by those who didn’t accept his decision, one thing remained common: Hilary.

Hesitant, he looked at the smiling child until, making him shiver, Hye looked at him and Archer, saying:

“It’ll be quick, so for now, take care of her for me.”