Chapter 17: The Verdant Hollow
The gates of Ashwood groaned open at dawn, spilling pale light across Elias as the guards shoved him forward. Beyond lay the forest.
Verdant Hollow.
The treeline loomed, ancient and unyielding. Trunks thick as towers rose into a canopy so dense the sunlight seemed to wither before touching the ground. A windless silence clung to the air, heavy as a shroud.
The gray-bearded elder's voice carried from the wall: "Enter, system-bearer. Return alive, and Ashwood will reconsider your place. Fail… and the Hollow will devour your bones."
Elias stepped forward, each stride dragging the tether that bound his warriors. They followed at a distance, ember eyes flickering faintly in the gloom.
The moment his boot crossed into the shadows of the Hollow, the system's cold voice surged.
> [Echo V Initiated.]
Trial: Survive Verdant Hollow until moonrise.]
Special Condition: Resist illusions of the Hollow.]
The air changed instantly. The scent of rot thickened, and whispers slid through the undergrowth. Shapes moved at the corner of his eyes — too fluid, too human.
His blade was in his hand before he realized it.
The girl's voice teased in his skull. "Careful. In this place, even your fears have teeth."
He pushed deeper. Twisted roots jutted like broken bones, and the ground pulsed faintly, as though something beneath the soil drew breath. His warriors lagged behind, strangely hesitant, their forms dimming the farther they went.
Hours passed in silence, broken only by rustling that never came from where he looked. His nerves frayed. Every step felt watched.
Then he heard it.
"Elias."
His mother's voice.
His chest clenched. He spun, and there she was — standing between two trees, dressed in the simple cloth of home, her eyes wide with tears.
"No," Elias whispered. His grip on the blade trembled. "You're not real."
The illusion's voice broke with grief. "I died waiting for you. Why do you walk this cursed path?"
He staggered back. The system flared.
> [Illusion Detected.]
Resist: Willpower Check — Pass Required.]
Pain lanced his skull. His legs faltered. His tether pulled taut, the bound warriors roaring as though fighting chains unseen.
He clenched his teeth, forcing the word through his lips. "You… are… nothing."
The illusion shattered, dissolving into ash. The forest fell silent again, more oppressive than before.
The system chimed.
> [Willpower +1.]
Illusions will grow stronger as night falls.]
Elias pressed on, sweat slicking his brow, wounds from the night before reopening. The Hollow seemed endless, twisting back upon itself.
Then the growl came — low, primal, vibrating through the roots under his feet.
Something vast was moving in the dark.
The girl's voice purred. "The Hollow doesn't like intruders. And this time… it's hungry."
The underbrush exploded. Eyes like burning coals surged from the dark — a beast of bark and sinew, taller than the trees, its jaw unhinged with a roar that shook the Hollow.
The system flared violently.
> [Mini-Boss Spawned: Verdant Warden.]
Objective: Survive the Hunt.]
Elias raised his blade, heart hammering. The forest itself had sent its executioner.
And moonrise was still hours away.