Chapter 11: The Hollow Pulse
The training field of the lower division stretched wide beneath a sky streaked in amber light. The air shimmered faintly with Flow residue from dozens of sparring pairs, each clash of weapons ringing like fragments of a song.
Kael stood at the far edge, separated from the others. His new schedule placed him under "restricted observation," meaning private sessions under the watch of Instructor Riven, one of the Academy's strictest tacticians.
"Again," Riven said coldly. "Channel your Flow through the blade, not around it. You're letting it leak."
Kael tightened his grip on the practice sword. The weapon was forged from a neutral core — unaligned steel meant to respond to any wielder's energy. When properly channeled, Flow should have made the blade glow faintly.
It didn't.
Kael exhaled, forcing his energy forward. His chest burned instantly, and instead of traveling through the weapon, the Flow folded back into him — a collapsing wave that made the air distort.
Riven's eyes narrowed. "Stop! You're doing it again."
Kael gasped, dropping to one knee. The sword vibrated violently, the air around him warping like heat haze. Then, just as quickly, it went still.
He could feel it — the same inward pull from the chamber. His Flow didn't expand outward like the others; it collapsed, drawing everything back toward his center.
"Your energy behaves unnaturally," Riven muttered, studying him like a specimen. "It's not leaking. It's consuming."
Kael clenched his jaw. "I can't control it. It feels like it wants to… devour everything I touch."
Riven crossed his arms. "Then learn to starve it. Hold your Flow until you can release it gently. Power without balance is useless."
The man turned and walked away, leaving Kael to steady his breathing alone. The words lingered — learn to starve it.
---
Hours passed. The field emptied, and Kael sat beneath the shade of an ancient obelisk, his sword lying beside him.
He pressed a hand against his chest where his Flow pulsed irregularly — like a heartbeat out of rhythm. The instructors called it "residual instability." He called it something else.
A whisper stirred in his head.
You're trying to use it like them.
He froze.
But you're not like them. Flow bends outward; yours folds inward. You take, you don't give.
Kael grit his teeth. "You again…"
Don't deny what you are, the voice said. You're not cursed. You're inverted.
The word echoed in his mind — Inverted — like a secret name.
Before he could respond, the ground trembled. From across the field, a pulse of energy erupted — a student's uncontrolled outburst during sparring. Riven was already shouting orders, other instructors rushing to contain it.
Without thinking, Kael stood and reached forward. His Flow surged on instinct.
The wild energy ahead began collapsing in on itself, spiraling inward — not toward the source, but toward him. The unstable magic compressed into nothingness before dissipating completely.
The others froze.
The danger was gone.
Riven turned, eyes wide. "You—what did you just do?"
Kael looked down at his hands, trembling. "I… I absorbed it."
The instructor's expression hardened. "No student should be able to do that. You didn't neutralize it—you consumed it."
A chill crept down Kael's spine. Around him, whispers began to spread among the students.
"Did you see that?"
"He just… ate the Flow."
"That's impossible…"
Riven stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Do not attempt that again. The Academy forbade Hollow manipulation for a reason."
Kael nodded numbly, though deep down, he couldn't help feeling it — that faint thrill of control. For the first time, the Hollow hadn't resisted him. It had obeyed.
---
That night, as he returned to his dorm, he found Lyra waiting by his door. Her red hair caught the moonlight like fire.
"I heard what happened," she said softly. "You saved a dozen people. Why do you look like you lost?"
Kael smiled faintly. "Because I didn't save them the right way."
She stepped closer. "Kael… you're changing. And not all change is bad."
Her hand brushed his sleeve. Warm. Familiar. But he stepped back, guilt flickering in his chest. "You shouldn't be near me right now."
Lyra frowned. "I don't care."
Before Kael could answer, a figure appeared at the corridor's end — Selene, calm as ever, holding a small book. Her gaze moved between them, unreadable.
"Careful," she said quietly. "The more you use that power, the more it will remember you."
Her words hung in the air — a riddle, a warning, and perhaps… something else.
---
That night, Kael couldn't sleep again. The reflection in his mind smiled faintly, whispering just loud enough for him alone to hear:
Every pulse of the Hollow is a heartbeat of the forgotten.
And soon… you'll remember everything.
---
End of Chapter 11
Next: Chapter 12 — "Ash and Resonance"