The hills grew steeper as Carter pushed forward, the dirt road narrowing into a rough trail carved by old wagon wheels and forgotten travelers. The sky above had shifted to a muted gray, clouds swirling in slow, unnatural spirals — a sign they were getting close.
REI hovered beside him, her glow faint but steady. "We are approaching the boundary of Black Hollow territory."
Carter adjusted his pack. "What should I expect?"
"Unstable mana. Spatial fractures. Creatures altered by long‑term exposure. And possibly… remnants."
Carter grimaced. "Temporal Remnants?"
"No," REI said. "Other kinds."
He didn't ask what that meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.
---
The trail dipped into a narrow ravine, the walls rising sharply on both sides. The air grew colder, the wind carrying a low hum — like distant machinery grinding beneath the earth.
Carter slowed. "REI… you hear that?"
"Yes," she said. "A Rift pulse. Black Hollow is active."
Carter tightened his grip on his dagger. "Good. I need it to be."
They walked another hundred feet before the ravine opened into a wide clearing.
Carter stopped dead.
Black Hollow Rift loomed ahead — a massive tear in the world, suspended above the ground like a floating wound. Violet and white energy spiraled around it, pulling the air inward. The ground beneath it was cracked, scorched, and warped, as if reality had been stretched too thin.
Carter exhaled. "That's… bigger than I expected."
REI floated closer. "It is one of the oldest Rifts still open. The Guild avoids it because it cannot be stabilized."
Carter smirked. "Perfect place for me, then."
But before he could take a step forward—
A voice echoed from the treeline.
"You shouldn't be here."
Carter spun, dagger raised.
A woman stepped out of the shadows — tall, lean, wearing a dark cloak with a hood pulled low. Her boots were caked with dried mud, her gloves reinforced with metal plates. A long spear rested across her shoulders.
Her eyes glowed faintly gold.
Not Guild.
Not correction.
Something else.
Carter narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The woman stopped ten feet away, posture relaxed but ready. "A traveler. A hunter. Someone who knows what Black Hollow does to people."
Carter didn't lower his dagger. "I'm going in."
"I can see that," she said. "And I'm telling you it's a mistake."
REI floated between them. "Identify yourself."
The woman's gaze flicked to REI. "An AI. Interesting."
"Name," REI repeated.
The woman sighed. "Fine. Call me Seris."
Carter frowned. "Seris what?"
"Just Seris."
She stepped closer, eyes scanning Carter from head to toe.
"You're not Guild. You're not a mercenary. And you're not suicidal."
She paused.
"So why walk into a Rift that eats people alive?"
Carter didn't answer.
Seris studied him for another moment, then her expression shifted — curiosity sharpening into recognition.
"…You're the anomaly."
Carter stiffened. "What did you just call me?"
Seris tapped her spear against the ground. "Word travels. A boy who survived a Rift collapse. A boy the Guild can't track. A boy the world is trying to erase."
Carter's pulse quickened. "You know about the correction agents?"
Seris nodded once. "I've seen what they leave behind."
Carter swallowed. "Then you know why I need to get stronger."
Seris looked past him, toward the swirling Rift.
"Black Hollow won't make you stronger," she said. "It'll break you."
Carter stepped forward. "Then let it try."
Seris didn't move.
Didn't argue.
She simply watched him with an unreadable expression.
Then she said, "If you're going in… I'm going with you."
Carter blinked. "What? Why?"
Seris twirled her spear once, the metal humming with mana. "Because I've been hunting something inside Black Hollow for a long time."
"What is it?"
Seris's eyes hardened.
"A creature that shouldn't exist. A creature that appeared the same day you died."
Carter froze.
REI's glow flickered. "Carter… that means—"
"Yes," Seris said quietly. "Whatever killed you… left something behind."
Carter turned toward the Rift, jaw tightening.
"Then we're going in."
Seris nodded. "Stay close. Black Hollow shifts. It doesn't like intruders."
Carter stepped toward the swirling tear in reality.
The air vibrated.
The ground trembled.
The Rift pulsed once — like a heartbeat.
And Carter crossed the threshold.
Black Hollow swallowed him whole.