The orphanage caretaker was named Rolan.
A fat man with small eyes, always smiling, always "kind".
Kael hated him on instinct.
Not because of memories.
Because of the way the Hollow reacted to him.
It felt… repulsed.
As if something about Rolan was wrong.
Kael observed him for three days.
Rolan took donations.
Rolan distributed food.
Rolan recorded supplies.
But the numbers never matched.
The children ate stale bread and thin soup.
Yet the ledger showed meat deliveries, fresh vegetables, medicine.
Kael remembered something from his previous life.
Follow the money.
One night, Kael pretended to be sick and stayed awake.
He watched Rolan leave through the back door.
Kael followed.
Silently.
The caretaker entered a hidden storage room behind the main building. Inside were boxes. Sealed. Marked with noble crests.
Kael waited.
Then slipped in after him.
What he found made his blood run cold.
Crates of food.
Medicine.
Clothes.
All untouched.
All hoarded.
Rolan wasn't just corrupt.
He was starving children to sell supplies on the black market.
Kael clenched his fists.
The Hollow pulsed.
Hungry.
He stepped forward.
"Interesting operation you have here."
Rolan nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Y-you—! What are you doing here, brat?!"
Kael tilted his head.
"Stealing from orphans. That's your answer?"
Rolan's face twisted.
"You think anyone cares about you trash?! I feed you. I house you. I deserve compensation!"
Kael smiled.
"No. You deserve to disappear."
He placed his hand on Rolan's chest.
The Hollow activated.
Rolan screamed.
Not in pain.
In terror.
Something invisible was being ripped out of him.
Not aura.
Not mana.
Something darker.
New resource acquired.Spiritual residue: Corrupted Greed Core (Low-grade)
Rolan collapsed.
Alive.
But empty.
Eyes blank.
Breathing shallow.
A vegetable.
Kael stepped back slowly.
"…So I can steal souls too."
The Hollow didn't care what it devoured.
Power was power.
Concept was concept.
And greed…
Was a concept.
Kael stared at the unconscious caretaker.
Then at the food crates.
He dragged them back to the orphanage.
That night, the children ate meat for the first time in months.
Rolan never woke up.
The officials called it a stroke.
Kael called it inventory management.