The Hollow King's Brand
The temple's silence was broken only by the soft humming of Tsukihana's Vein.
Purple marks surged along her neck and arms. The floor beneath her feet cracked as heat and shadow pulsed from her core. The air smelled like burning crystal and storm-washed stone.
Kira took a step back.
"That's not supposed to happen," she said. "That mark on your chest… that's not from Akarui."
Tsukihana looked down.
Beneath the soft glow of her Hollow Vein, another symbol shimmered faintly—a blackened spiral, curled like smoke, burned directly into her skin.
Renjiro narrowed his eyes. "You've been branded."
"Branded by who?" Tsukihana asked, voice shaking.
Kira lowered her head. "The Hollow King."
The Tale of the Hollow King
They sat around the cracked altar as Kira spoke.
Centuries ago, long before the Reignborn experiments, before the monks even learned to separate soul from body—there was one man who tried to master all of the Hollow Vein.
He wasn't born with power.
He stole it.
Piece by piece, from the veins of fallen warriors, from cursed artifacts, and from the dying breath of ancient beasts.
"He became the first," Kira said, "to wield the full Hollow without losing himself."
"But it came at a cost," Renjiro added grimly. "He had no soul left."
Kira nodded. "So they called him the Hollow King."
Legends say he vanished after the First Collapse… but not before planting his essence into three unborn vessels, each scattered across the broken lands.
Pain. Memory. Love.
"And now…" Kira said, "we've found all three."
Tsukihana swallowed hard. "Are we just weapons to be awakened?"
"No," Kira whispered. "You're choices."
A Choice of Chains
That night, Tsukihana wandered the temple alone.
Her mind was loud. Her heart louder.
What if she wasn't just Akarui's legacy?
What if the brand on her chest meant something worse—that she had always belonged to the Hollow King?
She stopped before an old mural carved into the stone wall. It showed a girl with wild hair and glowing eyes, wrapped in black flame… standing between two kings.
One held a sword of light.
The other, a crown of shadows.
And the girl—her hands were empty.
Underneath was an inscription, half-broken by time:
"She who carries both cage and key… will break the world… or bind it."
Suddenly, a voice echoed behind her.
"I remember drawing that."
Tsukihana turned sharply.
It was the clone.
Standing in the archway, his silver eyes calm. Not threatening. Just… present.
"How did you get in?" she demanded, summoning her Vein energy.
"I've always been here," he said.
Kira ran in moments later, blade drawn—but froze at the sight.
Renjiro arrived next. "No way he found us this fast—"
The clone raised his hands. "I didn't come to fight."
He looked at Tsukihana. "I came to ask… if you feel it too."
The Link Between Them
Tsukihana's hand tightened.
She wanted to strike him. To scream. To demand answers.
But the moment she looked into his eyes, her Vein flared in sync with his.
Their marks pulsed together—purple and silver, glowing as one.
Kira gasped. "They're resonating."
Renjiro cursed under his breath. "It's a trap."
The clone looked directly at Tsukihana. "I've been seeing memories. Your memories. Since I awakened."
She took a step closer. "How?"
"Because we were meant to meet. We're halves of the same soul, Tsukihana."
"I'm not your—"
"Yes, you are," he said quietly. "And that mark you carry… it's not a curse."
She froze.
"It's a seal. One meant to hold the Hollow King inside you."
The Real Truth
Kira knelt by the old altar and pulled free a hidden drawer.
Inside lay a brittle scroll wrapped in a red thread.
She unrolled it carefully.
On the paper were three names:
• Akarui — Memory
• Kira — Love
• Tsukihana — Pain
But beneath Tsukihana's name was another symbol:
Cage.
And under that:
True Vessel.
Renjiro's mouth dropped. "No…"
Tsukihana stared in silence.
"I'm not just a fragment," she whispered. "I'm the container."
The clone nodded. "He's inside you, Tsuki."
Renjiro stepped between them, blade half-drawn. "Don't call her that."
But Tsukihana barely heard him.
Her whole body felt cold now.
"So what happens," she asked, "when the three of us are together?"
The clone's face darkened.
"We awaken him."
Suddenly — The Betrayal
Kira stepped back from the altar.
But her hands were trembling.
Tsukihana noticed too late.
"Kira…?"
Kira's eyes glowed bright red.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I can't let him return. Even if it means killing you."
Before anyone could react, she pressed her hand to the crystal around her neck.
A seal exploded.
The temple cracked.
And the Hollow energy surged through the room like a storm.
The last thing Tsukihana saw was Kira's tears.
And then—
Darkness.