If this is how it ends, then so be it. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be pulled from my home, marked by something I don't understand, and thrown into a world that treats me like a threat just for breathing. You think I wanted to be a vessel? I was a woodcutter, damn it. I knew who I was. I had nothing, but at least it was mine. Now I've got strangers in masks whispering about phases and trials, voices in my head telling me not to die, and monsters from dreams trying to tear me apart.
I clenched my fists, eyes fixed on the descending blade. My breath shook, but I didn't blink.
But I'm still standing. Somehow. After everything, I'm still here. And maybe I don't know what I am, or what the Hollow Sovereign even wants from me, but I know this: I'm not giving up. Not here. Not like this. I made a promise, to myself, to my mother's memory. If there's even a sliver of truth to all this, if I really am the one they've been waiting for, then I'm going to see it through. I'm going to survive. I'm going to win. And I'll drag the truth out of every shadow in this world if I have to.
The sword approached, rapidly. All hope left my body.
It was over. It was truly over. I couldn't stop it. That sword would crush me.
In another life, could things have been different? Could I have survived? Would my mom still be alive? Maybe I'd still be back home, doing who knows what, cutting wood, avoiding the noise of the city, living simply. It wasn't much, but it was mine. And it was real. All of this? This wasn't real.I love you, Mom.
Just as the blade was about to hit, I was yanked sideways and slammed onto my side, the wind knocked out of me.
"You alright, friend? We gotta move. We're not beating that thing on our own," Brianan shouted, eyes locked on the stone behemoth still trying to rip its greatsword out of the ground.
He helped me to my feet, and we took off. Not back toward the village, but deeper into the wild. The stone creature gave chase, relentless. It wasn't just following. It was hunting. It felt summoned, like it had one purpose: kill us.
I stopped running.
There was no point. It was faster than us, bigger, heavier, and somehow still quicker. I turned to face it.
Instinctively, I raised my hand, and something happened.
Golden runes burst to life along my arm, glowing brighter with every breath. My palm pulled like a vortex, like gravity reversed. The creature stumbled forward, then in an instant, it was being dragged toward me.
The moment its face met my hand, it exploded and hurled backward like a meteor into the side of the distant mountain.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The ground shook again. Not from the creature I had just defeated, but from the five more that had emerged behind it.
Brianan's voice broke through the rising panic. "You mind doing whatever the hell you just did again?"
I raised my hand to try, but nothing happened. No runes, no power, just skin and sweat.
"That's… probably not good," Brianan muttered, clearly trying to stay calm.
"Yeah, I don't think so either."
One of the new stone giants swung. I tried to dodge, but its blade grazed my leg and sent me crashing to the ground.
"Simon!?" Brianan rushed over, tearing his shirt and pressing it to the wound.
Another swing.
This one didn't miss.
It hit Brianan square in the side, and I watched, horrified, as he was flung into a tree like a ragdoll. Blood splattered from the gaping wound in his ribs.
"Brianan!" I screamed, the name ripping from my throat.
Why was this happening to me? Why did this dream feel like reality? The pain, the loss, it was all too real.
I got up, leg shaking from the injury, but I ran toward Brianan.
"I'm okay, Simon," he coughed, barely holding consciousness. "Try… defeat those things."
"Stay here. I'll be back."
I turned toward the five remaining constructs. They towered above me, hulking, ancient, inhuman. But I didn't flinch this time.
I tried to will the power back. Nothing.
One swung. I ducked.
Another. I rolled.
One of their swords embedded itself into the ground. Opportunity.
I sprinted, leapt onto the blade, climbed up the stone arm and onto the creature's shoulder. I slammed my fist into its head again and again, but it was like punching a mountain.
"Die, you son of a b-!"
With one motion, the creature shrugged me off. I hit the ground hard, gasping for air.
One of them stooped low and picked me up. I felt like a doll in its massive grip.
And then it began to squeeze.
The pressure built instantly, pain exploding through my body.
"SNAP."My right arm broke. I screamed.
"CRACK."My left followed.
Tears filled my eyes. My lungs burned.
This is it.This is how I die.I wasn't meant for this.
My eyes closed. The world dimmed.
But then power surged through me.
My eyes flew open. My arms, once broken, burned gold.
And I wasn't afraid anymore.
With a roar, I pried the giant's fingers apart and forced my way free. The ground shook as I landed.
"I will not lose like this."
Present.
"The next one has arrived," Endor said calmly, eyes fixed on the monitor.
The doors hissed open. A woman in a flowing brown and white dress entered the chamber, her white hair trailing behind her, a porcelain-white mask covering her face.
"Hello everyone!" she chirped, full of energy, twirling once before sitting beside Endor.
"Vanilla." Arkais nodded. "May I ask where you've been?"
"Oh, just tending to some more important matters," she said with a dismissive wave.
Arthur, usually the most relaxed, actually stood up. His voice was sharp. "More important than the trials of the next Sovereign vessel?"
"Calm down, Arthur," Lucia said coolly, not looking away from the screen.
"Ooh, lookie!" Vanilla squealed. "He's got sparkly gold runes on his face!"
They all turned toward the display. Simon's body was glowing faintly, golden markings trailing across his cheeks and down his arms.
"He's tapped into the Sovereign's power," Arkais muttered. "Not much, but enough. It's sufficient to pass the first trial."
A long silence followed. Each of them watched the screen with rapt attention.
"I think he can do it," Arthur said softly.
Arkais smirked. "We'll see."