The moment they crossed the gate—
the world vanished.
Not gradually.
Not slowly.
Instantly.
The forest was gone.
The wind was gone.
The stars were gone.
Everything disappeared.
Abraão instinctively reached for his sword.
Lia grabbed her lantern.
Its light trembled.
Not because of the wind.
There was no wind.
The air itself felt dead.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
The silence felt heavy.
Almost physical.
Then—
the lantern illuminated stone.
Ancient stone.
They stood inside a massive corridor.
The ceiling stretched so high that the light couldn't reach it.
The walls were covered in lunar symbols.
Thousands of them.
Some glowed faintly.
Others seemed carved by something sharp.
Something that hated the stone itself.
Lia slowly looked around.
"Where are we?"
Abraão swallowed.
"I don't know."
The answer sounded pathetic.
But it was true.
The gate had brought them somewhere else.
Somewhere impossible.
The phone vibrated.
DING.
MISSION UPDATE
Location Confirmed:
The Hollow Moon
Objective:
Retrieve the Eye of Lies
Warning:
Reality instability detected.
"…Reality instability?"
Lia frowned.
"I don't like those words."
Neither did Abraão.
Not at all.
The message vanished.
Leaving them alone.
Again.
The corridor stretched endlessly ahead.
Their footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Every sound seemed louder than it should have been.
As if the ruin were listening.
Watching.
Waiting.
Minutes passed.
Then Abraão noticed something.
The symbols.
At first they looked random.
Meaningless.
Ancient.
Then one of them changed.
He stopped walking.
Immediately.
Lia nearly walked into him.
"What happened?"
Abraão pointed.
"There."
She followed his finger.
The symbol remained motionless.
A simple crescent moon.
Nothing unusual.
Lia looked confused.
"What about it?"
Abraão frowned.
"…"
A few seconds ago he could swear it had been different.
A different shape.
A different symbol.
Hadn't it?
The uncomfortable feeling returned.
The same feeling from the cabin.
The same feeling near the fallen trees.
Like reality had skipped a step.
Like something wasn't lining up correctly.
Eventually he shook his head.
"Nothing."
Lia stared.
"You've said that a lot today."
Abraão didn't answer.
Because he wasn't sure anymore.
The corridor eventually opened into a massive chamber.
Their lantern illuminated hundreds of stone pillars.
Each one covered in symbols.
Each one ancient.
Broken.
Forgotten.
The room looked like a temple.
Or perhaps a tomb.
At the center stood a giant statue.
A man.
Holding a sword.
His face had been destroyed.
But the sword remained intact.
Even after centuries.
Lia slowly approached.
"This place is huge…"
Abraão nodded.
The scale was unbelievable.
Who built something like this?
And why?
Then—
a sound echoed through the chamber.
SCRATCH.
Both froze.
The sound came again.
SCRATCH.
SCRATCH.
Metal against stone.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Abraão immediately drew his sword.
Lia gripped her lantern.
The room became silent again.
Nothing moved.
Nothing appeared.
Several seconds passed.
Then—
something shifted behind one of the pillars.
A shadow.
Tall.
Thin.
Far too thin.
Like a human stretched beyond reason.
Abraão's heartbeat accelerated.
The thing slowly leaned out.
Watching them.
Its body looked wrong.
Its arms were too long.
Its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
Its face…
had no face.
Only darkness.
Lia nearly dropped the lantern.
"What is that?"
The creature tilted its head.
One side.
Then the other.
Observing.
Studying.
Neither moved.
Neither breathed.
Then—
the creature retreated behind the pillar.
Gone.
Silence returned.
The scratching stopped.
Lia immediately moved closer to Abraão.
"Tell me you saw that."
"I saw it."
"Good."
A pause.
"Actually, no. That's not good."
For the first time since entering the Hollow Moon—
Abraão agreed completely.
They continued moving.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Every shadow felt dangerous.
Every corridor felt wrong.
And every minute made the ruin feel more alive.
As if it were aware of them.
Then—
they found the first body.
Lia immediately froze.
The skeleton sat against a wall.
Ancient armor covered its remains.
The metal was rusted.
Broken.
Almost destroyed.
A sword rested beside it.
Half buried in dust.
Abraão slowly approached.
The skeleton wasn't alone.
There were dozens.
Everywhere.
Against walls.
Near pillars.
Inside corners.
Hundreds of them.
The realization hit both at once.
An expedition.
Many expeditions.
They had all died here.
Lia swallowed.
"…Maybe Mahina was right."
Abraão didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the skeleton.
Something felt strange.
Again.
That feeling.
That horrible feeling.
Then—
he noticed the wall.
Words.
Someone had carved words into the stone.
Desperately.
As if trying to leave a final warning.
The letters were damaged.
Broken.
But still readable.
Abraão stepped closer.
And read them aloud.
"Do…"
His voice echoed.
"Do not…"
The next words made his blood run cold.
"Do not believe…"
Silence.
The message continued.
The deeper he read—
the worse it became.
"Do not believe the voices."
"Do not believe the dead."
"Do not believe yourself."
Lia stared.
Neither spoke.
Then Abraão noticed one final line.
Hidden beneath the others.
Smaller.
Almost impossible to see.
A final sentence scratched into the stone.
As if written by someone moments before dying.
Abraão read it.
And immediately froze.
The message said:
"He is still here."
The lantern flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then somewhere deep inside the ruin—
a distant scream echoed through the darkness.
And this time…
it sounded human.
The scream echoed through the darkness.
Long.
Painful.
Human.
Then—
silence.
Complete silence.
Neither Abraão nor Lia moved.
The sound had come from somewhere deep within the ruin.
Far away.
Yet somehow it felt close.
Too close.
Lia slowly tightened her grip on the lantern.
"…Please tell me that was one of those creatures."
Abraão remained silent.
Because it hadn't sounded like a creature.
It had sounded like a person.
A terrified person.
The kind of scream someone made moments before dying.
The kind of scream that stayed in your mind long after it ended.
The lantern flickered again.
Once.
Twice.
Then stabilized.
The corridor ahead remained dark.
Endless.
Waiting.
Watching.
The phone vibrated.
DING.
MISSION UPDATE
Proceed.
Failure is not recommended.
"…"
"…"
Lia stared at the screen.
"What kind of mission says that?"
"A bad one."
"Good answer."
Neither felt better afterward.
Still—
they continued.
Because turning back no longer felt like an option.
The deeper they traveled, the stranger the ruin became.
Some corridors looked older than others.
Some walls appeared damaged.
Others looked untouched.
As if centuries and seconds existed side by side.
More than once, Abraão stopped.
Certain places felt familiar.
Uncomfortably familiar.
Like he had already walked through them.
Like he had already seen them.
Like he had already lived them.
The feeling returned stronger each time.
And each time—
it vanished before he could understand it.
Eventually, the corridor opened into another chamber.
This one was smaller.
Circular.
Ancient.
At the center stood a stone pedestal.
Nothing rested upon it.
Only dust.
And behind it—
a sword.
Abraão froze.
So did Lia.
The weapon was embedded in the stone wall.
Its blade was broken in half.
Yet even damaged—
it radiated presence.
The same way Mahina did.
The same way legends did.
The same way something important did.
Lia slowly approached.
"What is this?"
Abraão didn't know.
But something about the sword felt familiar.
Then he noticed the symbol engraved near the hilt.
A crescent moon.
Split down the middle.
His eyes widened.
A memory surfaced.
Years ago.
Sitting outside the cabin.
Listening to Elias.
Listening to stories.
Listening to legends.
The greatest swordsman in history.
The man who cut through Infinity itself.
Satoru.
Abraão slowly stepped forward.
"No way…"
Lia looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed.
"The symbol."
She frowned.
"What symbol?"
"The one Elias always talked about."
The realization slowly appeared on her face.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait…"
"No way."
"Exactly."
The two stared at the broken sword.
The weapon of a legend.
Inside a ruin that shouldn't exist.
It made no sense.
Then again—
nothing inside the Hollow Moon made sense.
The phone suddenly vibrated.
DING.
UNKNOWN RECORD DETECTED
Accessing…
Accessing…
Access Granted.
The room shook.
Light erupted from the broken sword.
Silver.
Brilliant.
Ancient.
The entire chamber illuminated instantly.
Lia stumbled backward.
Abraão shielded his eyes.
Then—
a figure appeared.
Not a person.
Not exactly.
A memory.
A recording.
A fragment of the past.
The image was distorted.
Unstable.
Yet unmistakable.
A man stood before them.
Tall.
Calm.
A sword rested at his side.
His face flickered constantly.
As though time itself was struggling to remember him.
But one thing remained clear.
His eyes.
Confident.
Determined.
Fearless.
The legendary swordsman.
Satoru.
Neither Abraão nor Lia spoke.
Neither dared.
The projection slowly looked around.
Then directly at them.
For a brief moment—
it felt alive.
Then it spoke.
"If you are seeing this…"
The voice echoed through the chamber.
"…then the seal has weakened."
Silence followed.
Abraão's heartbeat accelerated.
Seal?
The projection continued.
"I do not know who you are."
"I do not know when you are."
"But I know why you came."
The image flickered violently.
For a moment, part of it disappeared.
Then returned.
"The Eye of Lies."
Lia exchanged a glance with Abraão.
Even Satoru knew about it.
That alone was terrifying.
The projection slowly lowered its head.
And for the first time—
sadness appeared in its voice.
"I failed."
The words echoed through the chamber.
Simple.
Heavy.
Human.
Abraão frowned.
The greatest swordsman in history.
The man who became a legend.
Failed?
The projection continued.
"I could not destroy it."
Silence.
The chamber suddenly felt colder.
Much colder.
"The Eye does not create lies."
"It reveals them."
The words lingered.
Neither fully understood.
Yet both felt their weight.
Then the image looked directly at Abraão.
For a brief moment—
its gaze seemed focused.
Intentional.
Almost real.
And it spoke.
"The most dangerous lies…"
The projection flickered.
"…are the ones you want to believe."
Abraão's chest tightened.
Images flashed through his mind.
Elias.
Elara.
His parents.
The things he wished he could change.
The things he wished were different.
The projection continued.
"If you seek the Eye…"
Its voice weakened.
The recording was breaking apart.
"…prepare yourself."
"Because it already knows who you are."
The room became silent.
The light surrounding Satoru began fading.
Slowly.
Piece by piece.
The projection was ending.
Then—
one final sentence.
The last thing he left behind.
The final warning of a legend.
"Do not trust the one beneath the Hollow Moon."
Silence.
The projection vanished.
The chamber went dark.
The sword became motionless once more.
Dust settled.
Nothing moved.
Nothing spoke.
Only the two of them remained.
Standing in the darkness.
Trying to understand what they had just learned.
Then—
a sound echoed from somewhere behind them.
A slow clap.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Neither Abraão nor Lia had made that sound.
And they were no longer alone.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Mocking.
Abraão spun around instantly.
His father's sword was already in his hand.
Lia raised her lantern.
The trembling light illuminated the darkness behind them.
Nothing.
The chamber was empty.
Completely empty.
No creatures.
No shadows.
No movement.
Only ancient stone.
And silence.
The clapping stopped.
Neither lowered their guard.
Several seconds passed.
Then a voice echoed through the chamber.
A familiar voice.
A voice Abraão knew better than his own.
"Brother?"
Everything stopped.
His heartbeat.
His breathing.
His thoughts.
No.
No.
No.
Slowly—
very slowly—
Abraão turned.
And saw him.
Elias.
Standing near the entrance.
Smiling.
Exactly as he remembered.
The same messy hair.
The same bright eyes.
The same ridiculous grin.
The lantern nearly slipped from Lia's hand.
"What…?"
Abraão couldn't speak.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't think.
Elias tilted his head.
Confused.
"Brother?"
The voice sounded real.
Too real.
Every detail was perfect.
Every movement.
Every expression.
Every breath.
The world blurred.
For one horrible moment—
Abraão wanted to believe it.
More than anything.
More than power.
More than answers.
More than the Eye of Lies itself.
He wanted to believe.
Then—
Satoru's warning echoed through his mind.
The most dangerous lies…
are the ones you want to believe.
His grip tightened around the sword.
"Elias is dead."
The smile didn't disappear.
The figure took a step forward.
"Why are you saying that?"
Another step.
"It's me."
Another.
"You promised you'd protect me."
Pain shot through Abraão's chest.
Because that wasn't random.
That wasn't a coincidence.
Those were the exact words he used against himself every night.
The thing knew.
It knew exactly where to attack.
Lia looked between them.
Confused.
Terrified.
"Abraão…"
Her voice sounded distant.
Very distant.
Because Abraão couldn't stop staring.
The illusion continued smiling.
Then—
its face cracked.
Just for a second.
A tiny crack.
Like broken glass.
Then another.
And another.
The smile became wider.
Far wider than a human smile should be.
The eyes stopped blinking.
The skin began splitting.
Lia screamed.
The thing laughed.
And the illusion shattered.
Gone.
Completely gone.
The chamber became silent once more.
Abraão lowered his head.
His hands trembled.
Not from fear.
Not entirely.
From anger.
The Hollow Moon had used Elias.
And he hated it.
The journey continued.
The deeper they went, the worse everything became.
The architecture changed.
The walls became darker.
The symbols became larger.
Older.
More aggressive.
Some appeared scratched into the stone by desperate hands.
Others seemed to move whenever nobody looked directly at them.
The atmosphere grew heavier.
Every step felt harder than the last.
Then—
they reached a crossroads.
Three corridors.
Three directions.
Three identical paths.
Lia immediately frowned.
"Great."
Abraão sighed.
"I assume you don't know which one?"
"No."
"Wonderful."
For several seconds they examined the corridors.
Nothing.
No clues.
No signs.
No map.
Then the phone vibrated.
DING.
MISSION UPDATE
Choose.
"…"
"…"
Lia stared at the screen.
"That's not helpful."
Not even slightly.
Then something happened.
A strange feeling washed over Abraão.
A familiar feeling.
The same one from before.
The same uncomfortable sensation.
Like something had already happened.
Like reality had skipped.
His eyes widened.
Wait.
The crossroads.
The conversation.
The corridor on the left.
The way Lia was standing.
The exact position of the lantern.
He had seen this before.
Hadn't he?
No.
That was impossible.
He had never been here.
Never.
Yet the feeling remained.
Strong.
Persistent.
Wrong.
Lia looked at him.
"What?"
Abraão frowned.
Then shook his head.
"…Nothing."
The answer came automatically.
Again.
The same answer.
The same response.
The same feeling.
His stomach tightened.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
A disturbing thought.
One he immediately rejected.
Didn't this happen before?
Silence.
The question lingered.
Then he forced himself to look away.
Must be my imagination.
That had to be it.
Nothing else made sense.
Eventually they chose the middle path.
The corridor descended deeper underground.
The temperature continued dropping.
The air became colder.
Older.
As though they were walking into a forgotten age.
Minutes later—
they discovered another chamber.
This one was different.
At the center stood a massive stone door.
Ancient.
Covered in lunar symbols.
No handle.
No visible mechanism.
Only a single sentence carved into the center.
Abraão stepped closer.
And read it aloud.
"The truth opens the way."
Silence followed.
Lia looked at the door.
Then at Abraão.
Then back at the door.
"…I have no idea what that means."
Neither did he.
Then—
the symbols began glowing.
One by one.
The chamber trembled.
A voice emerged from nowhere.
Not male.
Not female.
Not human.
Ancient.
Cold.
And very, very old.
It spoke a single question.
A question directed only at Abraão.
"Do you still blame yourself for Elias's death?"
The chamber fell silent.
The glowing symbols waited.
The door remained closed.
And suddenly—
Abraão understood.
This wasn't a lock.
It was a test.
And the Hollow Moon wanted an answer.
The question echoed through the chamber.
Not once.
Not twice.
Again.
And again.
And again.
As if the ruin itself wanted to hear the answer.
The glowing symbols continued shining across the stone door.
Waiting.
Watching.
Judging.
Abraão remained silent.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Lia looked between him and the door.
Then the ancient voice spoke again.
"Do you still blame yourself for Elias's death?"
The chamber trembled.
Slightly.
Almost impatiently.
Abraão lowered his head.
The answer should have been simple.
Should have been.
But it wasn't.
Because part of him already knew the truth.
Every night after Elias died…
he blamed himself.
Every nightmare.
Every regret.
Every promise broken.
He carried all of it.
Even now.
Months later.
The guilt remained.
The voice waited.
The symbols glowed brighter.
Then Abraão finally spoke.
"…Yes."
Silence.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
the door remained closed.
Lia blinked.
"What?"
The ancient voice returned immediately.
Cold.
Unchanging.
"Lie."
The word echoed through the chamber.
Abraão froze.
A lie?
How was that a lie?
The voice continued.
"You no longer blame yourself."
His eyes widened.
The symbols intensified.
The chamber trembled again.
And suddenly—
he understood.
The Hollow Moon wasn't asking what he thought.
It was asking for the truth.
The real truth.
Not the one he repeated to himself.
The real one.
Deep inside.
Months of training.
Months with Mahina.
Months of healing.
The truth was painful.
But it was there.
He still missed Elias.
He still regretted that night.
But he no longer believed he could have saved him.
Not really.
Not against Sasuke.
Not at Level 65.
Not against a monster like that.
The realization hit harder than expected.
Because it felt like betrayal.
As if accepting reality meant abandoning Elias.
The voice spoke again.
"Answer."
Abraão clenched his fists.
Then slowly looked up.
His eyes met the glowing symbols.
And this time—
he answered honestly.
"No."
Silence.
The chamber stopped shaking.
The symbols dimmed.
And with a deafening rumble—
the giant stone door slowly opened.
Lia stared.
"…That was terrifying."
Abraão agreed.
Completely.
Beyond the door waited darkness.
A staircase descended into the depths.
Far below.
Deeper than any place they had seen so far.
The air felt heavier there.
Older.
Wrong.
As if reality itself had become thinner.
The two slowly descended.
Step by step.
The staircase seemed endless.
The lantern barely illuminated the way.
Then—
they reached the bottom.
And immediately stopped.
A massive underground city stretched before them.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
The sight was unbelievable.
Ancient towers.
Broken bridges.
Collapsed buildings.
Entire streets hidden beneath centuries of dust.
A civilization.
Buried beneath the Hollow Moon.
Lia's voice barely escaped her lips.
"…What is this place?"
Abraão slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
Yet one thing was obvious.
People had lived here.
Thousands of them.
Maybe more.
Long before Storm Village existed.
Long before Mahina was born.
Long before recorded history.
The city felt frozen in time.
As if everyone had vanished overnight.
Then the phone vibrated.
DING.
NEW INFORMATION UNLOCKED
Civilization Identified:
Eliria Prime
Status:
Extinct
The message vanished.
Both stared.
Extinct.
The entire city.
Gone.
Forgotten.
Lost beneath the earth.
The realization felt disturbing.
How many civilizations had existed before theirs?
How much history had been erased?
And why?
No answers came.
Only more questions.
They continued through the city.
Past broken statues.
Past abandoned homes.
Past streets where nobody walked anymore.
Until eventually—
they reached the center.
A colossal structure stood there.
Far larger than anything else.
A temple.
Or perhaps a palace.
Its entrance remained intact despite the centuries.
Unlike everything around it.
As if something had preserved it.
Protected it.
Waiting.
The phone vibrated once more.
DING.
FINAL LOCATION CONFIRMED
The Eye of Lies
Distance Remaining:
120 meters
Abraão's heartbeat accelerated.
They were close.
Very close.
Lia swallowed nervously.
"I have a bad feeling."
"So do I."
"Mine keeps getting worse."
"Mine too."
Neither laughed.
Then—
a sound echoed through the city.
A whisper.
Soft.
Almost impossible to hear.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Thousands of whispers.
Coming from every direction.
Every street.
Every building.
Every shadow.
The city was speaking.
No.
Not speaking.
Whispering.
Lying.
The words overlapped.
Impossible to understand.
Yet somehow—
Abraão could feel them.
The whispers grew louder.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The lantern flickered violently.
The ground trembled.
And for the first time since entering the Hollow Moon—
fear appeared in Abraão's eyes.
Because something was waking up.
And whatever it was…
it had been waiting for them.
The question echoed through the chamber.
Not once.
Not twice.
Again.
And again.
And again.
As if the ruin itself wanted to hear the answer.
The glowing symbols continued shining across the stone door.
Waiting.
Watching.
Judging.
Abraão remained silent.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Lia looked between him and the door.
Then the ancient voice spoke again.
"Do you still blame yourself for Elias's death?"
The chamber trembled.
Slightly.
Almost impatiently.
Abraão lowered his head.
The answer should have been simple.
Should have been.
But it wasn't.
Because part of him already knew the truth.
Every night after Elias died…
he blamed himself.
Every nightmare.
Every regret.
Every promise broken.
He carried all of it.
Even now.
Months later.
The guilt remained.
The voice waited.
The symbols glowed brighter.
Then Abraão finally spoke.
"…Yes."
Silence.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
the door remained closed.
Lia blinked.
"What?"
The ancient voice returned immediately.
Cold.
Unchanging.
"Lie."
The word echoed through the chamber.
Abraão froze.
A lie?
How was that a lie?
The voice continued.
"You no longer blame yourself."
His eyes widened.
The symbols intensified.
The chamber trembled again.
And suddenly—
he understood.
The Hollow Moon wasn't asking what he thought.
It was asking for the truth.
The real truth.
Not the one he repeated to himself.
The real one.
Deep inside.
Months of training.
Months with Mahina.
Months of healing.
The truth was painful.
But it was there.
He still missed Elias.
He still regretted that night.
But he no longer believed he could have saved him.
Not really.
Not against Sasuke.
Not at Level 65.
Not against a monster like that.
The realization hit harder than expected.
Because it felt like betrayal.
As if accepting reality meant abandoning Elias.
The voice spoke again.
"Answer."
Abraão clenched his fists.
Then slowly looked up.
His eyes met the glowing symbols.
And this time—
he answered honestly.
"No."
Silence.
The chamber stopped shaking.
The symbols dimmed.
And with a deafening rumble—
the giant stone door slowly opened.
Lia stared.
"…That was terrifying."
Abraão agreed.
Completely.
Beyond the door waited darkness.
A staircase descended into the depths.
Far below.
Deeper than any place they had seen so far.
The air felt heavier there.
Older.
Wrong.
As if reality itself had become thinner.
The two slowly descended.
Step by step.
The staircase seemed endless.
The lantern barely illuminated the way.
Then—
they reached the bottom.
And immediately stopped.
A massive underground city stretched before them.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
The sight was unbelievable.
Ancient towers.
Broken bridges.
Collapsed buildings.
Entire streets hidden beneath centuries of dust.
A civilization.
Buried beneath the Hollow Moon.
Lia's voice barely escaped her lips.
"…What is this place?"
Abraão slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
Yet one thing was obvious.
People had lived here.
Thousands of them.
Maybe more.
Long before Storm Village existed.
Long before Mahina was born.
Long before recorded history.
The city felt frozen in time.
As if everyone had vanished overnight.
Then the phone vibrated.
DING.
NEW INFORMATION UNLOCKED
Civilization Identified:
Eliria Prime
Status:
Extinct
The message vanished.
Both stared.
Extinct.
The entire city.
Gone.
Forgotten.
Lost beneath the earth.
The realization felt disturbing.
How many civilizations had existed before theirs?
How much history had been erased?
And why?
No answers came.
Only more questions.
They continued through the city.
Past broken statues.
Past abandoned homes.
Past streets where nobody walked anymore.
Until eventually—
they reached the center.
A colossal structure stood there.
Far larger than anything else.
A temple.
Or perhaps a palace.
Its entrance remained intact despite the centuries.
Unlike everything around it.
As if something had preserved it.
Protected it.
Waiting.
The phone vibrated once more.
DING.
FINAL LOCATION CONFIRMED
The Eye of Lies
Distance Remaining:
120 meters
Abraão's heartbeat accelerated.
They were close.
Very close.
Lia swallowed nervously.
"I have a bad feeling."
"So do I."
"Mine keeps getting worse."
"Mine too."
Neither laughed.
Then—
a sound echoed through the city.
A whisper.
Soft.
Almost impossible to hear.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Thousands of whispers.
Coming from every direction.
Every street.
Every building.
Every shadow.
The city was speaking.
No.
Not speaking.
Whispering.
Lying.
The words overlapped.
Impossible to understand.
Yet somehow—
Abraão could feel them.
The whispers grew louder.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The lantern flickered violently.
The ground trembled.
And for the first time since entering the Hollow Moon—
fear appeared in Abraão's eyes.
Because something was waking up.
And whatever it was…
it had been waiting for them.