Echoes of Hollow

The creaking echoes as the door slowly opens. An untouchable but visible air escapes in their direction. His eyes widen, and his foot trembles, hesitating to retreat—a reaction beyond his control. Hye feels it, seeing that dark, odorless smoke, which for some reason evokes a strong sense of revulsion, as if something putrid lies ahead of him. It feels like death has just passed him by, now walking at his side.

Samael, on the other hand, took a step forward. That was when Hye felt peace envelop him once again, as the angel's mana actively surrounded his body, clearing his mind and freeing him from invisible chains.

"It'll be alright," said the angel, stepping toward the door, his voice echoing the words of Lior: "Foolish one, how dare you even consider using me in this way?"

"Hmm, let’s be fair," Lior responded, "You owed him after taking over his body without so much as a warning. This is a small price to pay, don’t you think?"

Samael remained silent, though his displeasure was obvious.

Once they both entered, the door slammed shut. With no exit left—since the way back had vanished—Hye looked around. His body no longer trembled, thanks to Samael’s intervention, and his mind was free from its earlier constraints. Then, like countless fireflies, he saw small white orbs of light scattered throughout the dimension.

"Ah, yes," Lior said, just as Hye reached to touch one of the orbs with his fingers, "try not to touch those. They’re stars. While everything except their glow is being suppressed, I can’t guarantee you’d survive direct contact."

"…And how exactly am I supposed to avoid them?"

Hye pulled his hand back. But looking around, even a single step forward would cause dozens of stars to collide with him.

"Don’t worry. Samael’s mana surrounding your body will protect you. Though they are stars, they aren’t like the ones outside. They’re... ‘aware.’ The mana acts as a warning for them to keep their distance."

"So it wasn’t a lie, after all..."

"Excuse me?" Lior turned toward Hye, curious at his words.

"The fragility of life... That’s what all this is about, isn’t it?"

"Ah... yes. Well, in a way, yes."

"I don’t know," Samael said, smiling, "To me, it looks more like guilt."

"Haha... Yes... That’s also correct."

For a moment, Hye considered asking what exactly that meant but decided against it. He had seen this expression before—or at least something very similar. It was the same look Samantha had the day she broke the news about his mother’s death.

"Hmm, so? Do you understand now?"

"I’m sorry...?"

"The reason. Haven’t you seen it yet?"

In silence, Hye looked around. But he saw nothing beyond the darkness and the endless stars shining within it.

"How could he?" Samael asked. "Without any explanation, and in a place like this?"

"Huh...? Oh, yes, my apologies. Let me show him."

Placing a hand on Hye’s shoulder, Lior propelled them through the darkness. In that instant, Hye felt a strange lightness consume his body. There was no space, no gravity—no up, down, or sides. As if he was everything and everywhere at once, the infinite dimension beneath his feet folded into a circle. All the countless stars now appeared before his eyes or, if he wished, in the palm of his hand. Looking around, he finally began to understand what Lior was trying to show him.

"Now you see it, don’t you?"

Hye nodded, swallowing hard.

An infinite dimension within an even greater infinity. He could clearly see this unfolding before his eyes. The stars resided in the first layer, mere points within the vastness. Yet coiling and unraveling within something infinitely larger, the body of a creature capable of devouring them with a simple opening of its jaws lay resting.

"Amazing, isn’t it? Alyia gave it to me when I was... five months old. Though it was my only gift for six years..."

"That’s..."

"Yes, a dragon. As far as I know, there aren’t many left now," Lior said, briefly glancing at Samael’s glowing blue eye. "Even though there used to be thousands, isn’t that right?"

Though clearly directed at him, the angel remained silent.

"...And is it alive?"

"Almost."

"Almost?" Hye questioned, confused.

"Yes. Well, it’s complicated..."

"Life and death are concepts created for mortal beings," Samael explained. "For those outside this place and everyone else below them."

"I see. So gods and dragons cannot die. But if life works the same way, does that mean you’re not truly alive either?"

"That’s why I said it’s complicated."

"According to my father," Lior continued, "dragons are just creatures born by chance. Beings that emerged from the scales of something greater. So they cannot die—unless that being wills it or allows it. There are other ways, involving an ancient flame, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here."

Breathing, the beast creates worlds. And with a sigh, the winds it produces destroy them all.

"I can’t see it—the thing you called the flame of life. Before, I thought they’d die without it." After thinking for a moment, Hye turned to Lior. The black flame within his body stirred even more intensely, as though trying to break free. "Is that why you asked for the flame I created? I believe the one from this dragon is what resides within you. So, if it’s a copy, or at least something based on it, what do you intend to do with both? Fuse them?"

"Well... yes, I thought it might make them stronger. And since yours seems more... ‘docile,’ if that’s even possible, perhaps it would make mine easier to control. Why? Do you think it won’t work?"

"No, actually, I thought of doing something similar."

"What…?" Lior asked, incredulous. "But... But you gave me yours!"

"Yeah, but why couldn’t I just create another one?"

"That... That’s... true? But will you do the same as me? Fuse two identical flames?"

"Maybe? I’m not sure yet. Before, I thought about merging it with this." Raising his hand, Hye created an orange flame. "But maybe I shouldn’t. I think it’s better to find a stronger flame—something like... an ancient flame."

"Dragon flames are ancient flames," Samael interjected.

"Really?"

"Yes. And that’s why mastering these living flames is one of the only ways to kill them—unless, of course, you already possess another method."

"…Do you have an ancient flame?"

Samael remained silent, refusing to answer.

"I see."

After a brief silence, Hye felt his vision return to normal as he and Lior retreated back to the starry dimension. Before stepping through the door, he glanced back for a moment. Adaptation. His eyes no longer perceived the place as they once did. Having experienced the higher dimensions even once, it now resembled nothing more than a chessboard, where he could observe all the pieces from above.

"Before we go," he said as the door closed behind them, "is there any food in this place?"

"Food? Of course. Let’s head down first. I’ll arrange something for you."

A rainbow appeared, carrying them toward the second-tallest tree at the heart of the forest. Broad and majestic, it stood like a living creature extending its presence across the entire forest.

Once they were far enough from the door, fairies emerged from the leaves and flew toward them. Hye was greeted warmly, their concern for him evident. Lior, however, was not as lucky—his hair was pulled from every direction, showing he wasn’t treated nearly as kindly.

"Putting that aside," Lior said with a smile, despite his hair being entangled in the hands of several fairies, "could you get us something to eat? It seems like he’s hungry."

"Is that true? Come, don’t worry," the fairies chirped as they lifted Hye from the rainbow. "We’ll take you to see our mother. There, you can eat as much as you’d like."

"Hey, what about me? Why aren’t you carrying me too?"

When his feet touched the ground, Hye glanced around. A variety of creatures lived together, united like a society, walking along the paths without any sign of discord. From goblins to ogres, fairies to sprites, elves to dark elves, and many more. But his eyes were drawn to the tree ahead—imposing and alive—with an oval-shaped hole that clearly marked its entrance. Though massive, he was certain the incredible tree was alive. As he approached, he saw its branches moving, and the mana flowing through its roots became visible.

"Welcome," said a beautiful voice that echoed through the grand hall.

Hye looked around. Besides the numerous fairies, vibrant flowers glowed, illuminating the space. His gaze settled on a large table in the corner of the hall, where the radiant voice had come from.

"Come, sit," said the woman with crimson hair and brilliant green eyes.

"You’re... their mother?" Hye asked as he sat across from the youthful, beautiful woman.

"Yes. Why? Is that strange?"

"Well..." Her slender body and average height—by human standards—did seem strange compared to the various other fairies around them. "I think so."

The woman chuckled, unable to suppress her laughter. "I like your honesty," she said, clapping her hands. "Please, eat. I heard you’re hungry."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I meant to mention it earlier, but I didn’t get the chance. The food isn’t for me."

"?"

Confused, the woman and her daughters stared at Hye. "You can come out now," he said, and a cloud of black dust appeared at his side.

Trembling, the woman quickly stood as the edges of Liwmorr’s wings became visible. The fairies leapt away from Hye, and the living tree braced itself, aiming its sharp branches in his direction. Ignoring everyone, the griffin approached the bountiful table, snatching a piece of meat and tossing it into its beak.

"Is there a problem?" Hye asked. "Was it wrong to bring him here?"

Before she could answer, Lior rushed in after noticing the tree’s unusual behavior. "Hey, Or, what are you—" His eyes landed on Liwmorr, trailing from the griffin to Hye, bewildered. "What the hell...?"

***************

"Where were you?" asked the girl standing in front of Teodoro, visibly irritated. "How could you leave like that without even telling me?!"

"Not now, Nadi. Don’t we have more important things to deal with?"

"Oh, really? And who do you think coordinated everything while you were out doing... ‘more important things’?"

"I don’t know... She might actually have a point," said Alyia with a smirk.

"Hey! You’re the one who asked me to help your boyfriend. How about returning the favor now, huh?"

Shrugging, Alyia walked past Teodoro and headed toward the glass wall just ahead.

"How long has he been like this?" she asked, looking at the man sitting on the floor of the room beyond. Terrified, he looked around repeatedly, his bloodshot eyes wide open, not blinking even once. His nails were gone, leaving only bloody fingertips, and his scratched scalp, where some of his nails were embedded, had no hair left.

"I-It’s… It hasn’t been long," answered the trembling woman seated in a chair nearby, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes wandered, as though tempted to look into the room, but they always stopped short of fully following through. "Last night, he started saying some strange words from time to time, but then he’d go back to normal. It was like he was losing consciousness for a few seconds, then regaining it."

"Strange words?"

"Yes... But, honestly, they didn’t really sound like words. It was more like nonsensical combinations of random letters..." Wiping her tears, the woman took a deep breath, though her eyes remained wet as she desperately tried to calm herself. "And then... everything got worse after the nightmare. He woke up screaming, thrashing around, and kept repeating the same things in a panicked tone."

"Those words—are you able to repeat any of them? Do you remember at least one?"

"No, I... I’m sorry. I know they were the same because of how they sounded, but I can’t reproduce them. Even when I try to remember, they don’t come to mind—not even to hum them."

"America, Europe, Asia, and Africa," Teodoro said, stepping beside Alyia and turning his gaze to the glass wall. "Now I understand why they don’t stop—it’s a global issue. Annoying... How many cases have been reported in our territory?"

"We’re not sure yet. So far, over fifty cases have been confirmed, and the number keeps rising. According to Daniel, in Europe, the cases have already surpassed one hundred, so I believe the number will grow considerably. Hundreds? Maybe thousands? It’s hard to say for certain. The real problem will be finding all the... infected...? Is this an infection? Or should we refer to them some other way?"

"You’re focusing on the wrong thing again, Nadi. What we call them doesn’t matter. We need to find all of them as quickly as possible. Every minute they’re free is another minute of potential danger."

Sighing, Alyia moved toward the door. "What are you doing?" Teodoro asked.

"I can’t hear what he’s saying. I’m not sure if he’s just moving his lips without speaking or if I’m truly unable to hear him. Either way, I think it’s better to hear it directly from him."

"Please!" the weeping woman cried, grabbing Alyia’s arm to stop her from opening the door. "Please help my husband. He’s a good man—he’s never done anything wrong. So... please..."

Ignoring the woman’s pleas, Alyia turned her gaze toward the door. Realizing her cries were in vain, the woman collapsed to her knees, unable to stand any longer.

"Please, ma’am," said Nadine gently, helping the woman to her feet. "Come with me. Don’t worry, we’ll do everything we can to help him."

Her sincere smile offered a fleeting moment of calm to the woman’s storm-tossed heart. But as the door was opened, that calm vanished, taking with it the strength in Alyia and Teodoro’s legs.

"Buiw pcndui nywldw. Buiw pcndui. Prp uispbuicn ywlnyp, ywlnyp, ywlnyp..."

To those unable to even brush the true enormity of the words, the sound was nothing more than a meaningless jumble of letters, incoherent and random. But for the rare few who could sense, if not understand, their deeper form, only one thing awaited them—pain. The pain of pure, inevitable chaos. Destruction in its truest form.

Nadine ran to Teodoro, but his eyes had turned white, and his screams filled the room. There was nothing anyone could do to help him. Alyia, on the other hand, wavered between chaos and clarity, her eyes flickering as she struggled to reach the door. Meanwhile, the man inside repeated the strange word “Ywlnyp...” over and over, watching them with a smile, as if savoring their agony.

In a swift motion, Nadine slammed the door shut.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..."

"Did you catch anything?" Teodoro asked, the pain having subsided almost entirely, though the tremors in his body remained relentless. "Or better yet, do you remember anything?"

Alyia shook her head.

"It’s a dead language," she replied. "Nonexistent."

"Oh, it exists, I’m sure of that."

"I can’t remember the words or understand them... It’s a language that..." Her eyebrows shot up as her gaze snapped back to the grinning man. Alyia’s eyes widened. "Permission..."

"What?"

"You need permission to access it..." She turned to Nadine and asked, "You said the cases have already reached the hundreds?"

"W-What...?"

"Answer me!"

"Y-Yes! That’s right!" Nadine stammered, shrinking behind Teodoro. "There are already 100 cases in Europe alone..."

"Damn it!" Alyia punched the ground, shaking the three-story building they stood in, along with the subterranean floor below. "Kill them all," she said as she stood up.

"What? But—"

"It doesn’t matter what or who says otherwise. No interruptions. If you need to explain the situation, fine. But don’t let anyone stop you. Got it, Teodoro?"

"The way you say it makes it sound almost easy..." Teodoro muttered, pausing to stretch, oblivious to the fact that Alyia had already left. "Hey! Where are you going?!" he shouted upon noticing her absence. "Who’s supposed to help me?!"

"Call Lior!" her voice echoed through the nearby areas, shaking everything in its wake.