The night did not return to normal after that.
Even when the wind calmed…
Even when the banyan tree stood still again…
Arin could feel it.
Something beneath the roots was awake.
He sat outside his house, staring at the faint green glow on his arm. It pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat that wasn't his own.
Lyra's words echoed in his mind.
He was once a Guardian.
If the Hollow King had been chosen just like him…
Then what had gone wrong?
Footsteps approached softly.
Lyra.
"You shouldn't be alone tonight," she said.
Arin gave a faint smile. "I don't think I'm ever alone anymore."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The air between them felt heavy — not with fear this time…
But with something unspoken.
Suddenly—
The ground trembled.
Not violently.
But rhythmically.
Like something massive was breathing underground.
Arin stood up immediately.
"It's coming from the tree."
They ran.
When they reached the banyan tree, the cracks in its trunk had spread wider than before.
Black mist leaked out again — thicker this time.
Darker.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Villagers began lighting lamps in panic.
"What's happening again?!" someone shouted.
The earth split open near the roots.
A wave of dark energy exploded outward.
Arin stepped in front of Lyra instinctively.
The shadow emerged — not fully formed, but clearer than before.
Tall.
Armored in darkness.
Red eyes burning.
The Hollow King.
"You grow stronger… Guardian," the voice echoed.
Arin forced himself to stand firm.
"You won't hurt this village."
A low laugh rolled across the fields.
"This village is not my target."
The shadow's gaze shifted.
"To awaken fully… I need balance."
Suddenly, black tendrils shot from the ground, wrapping around villagers.
Screams filled the night.
Arin's heart pounded.
"Let them go!"
"Then give me what is mine."
The mark on Arin's arm burned violently.
Lyra grabbed his wrist.
"Don't!"
But it was too late.
Green light burst from his body.
Roots erupted from the earth, glowing gold and green, clashing against the dark tendrils.
The collision shook the entire village.
For a brief second—
Arin saw something.
A memory that wasn't his.
The Hollow King… standing beneath this same tree centuries ago.
Alone.
Betrayed.
Sealed.
Not as a monster—
But as a warning.
Arin gasped.
"You were protecting them too…"
The Hollow King's expression flickered.
"They feared my strength."
The dark tendrils tightened.
Arin screamed as more power surged through him.
The green light grew brighter.
But something else happened.
His vision blurred.
His heartbeat slowed.
He felt…
Weaker.
Lyra's voice trembled.
"Arin, stop! You're burning your life force!"
The roots wrapped around the shadow, forcing it backward.
The Hollow King's voice deepened.
"You cannot win without sacrifice."
With one final surge, Arin released everything.
A blinding explosion of green light tore through the darkness.
The tendrils vanished.
The shadow retreated into the cracks of the tree.
Silence fell.
Arin collapsed.
Lyra caught him before he hit the ground.
His face looked pale.
Older.
Just slightly.
She stared at him in horror.
"You gave up years…"
Arin opened his eyes weakly.
"If that's the cost… then I'll pay it."
Lyra's composure finally broke.
"You don't understand," she whispered.
"If you continue like this… you'll become exactly like him."
Deep beneath the roots—
Something ancient shifted.
Not the Hollow King.
Something older.
Something that had never been sealed.
And it had just tasted power again.
The cracks in the tree spread further.
And this time—
The laughter that echoed from below…
Was not the Hollow King's.