Chapter 5: The Warden's Gambit
The Tower's groan deepened into a shuddering roar. Dust rained from the ceiling as Elias pressed a hand to the wall—the stone was fever-hot.
"It knows," Illana whispered. "The Tower knows you're here."
Elias flexed his black-veined fingers. The corruption had reached his elbow now, the skin numb and tingling, as if his arm wasn't entirely his own.
"And the Hollow King?"
Illana's eye flicked to the ceiling. "Oh, he's laughing."
A thunderous crash echoed from above—the sound of doors slamming shut, one after another, sealing them deep beneath the earth.
Lockdown Protocol: Complete.
The Kill Order
The Forsaken Section had its own secrets. Illana led Elias through a hidden passage—a narrow crack in the wall that stank of damp parchment and old blood. The tunnel opened into a vault, its walls lined with glass jars.
Inside each jar floated a brain, suspended in murky fluid, threaded with filaments of gold.
Elias stepped closer. The nearest brain twitched, and a voice echoed directly into his skull:
"Subject Kael Arvandor. Designation: Keybearer. Threat level: Terminal. Recommended action: Immediate termination."
Illana cursed. "They've already voted."
Elias stared at the jars. "These are the Grand Magisters?"
"Backups," Illana said grimly. "Their consciousnesses are stored here in case of bodily death. And they just sentenced you."
A new sound joined the distant groans of the Tower—the rhythmic clank of armored footsteps.
The Inquisition was coming.
The Hollow King's Map
Elias tore his gaze from the jars. "We need a way out."
"There is no 'out,'" Illana snapped. "Not anymore. The Tower won't let you leave."
"Then we go deeper."
Illana hesitated. Then, with a snarl, she smashed one of the jars. The brain within spasmed as she rummaged through its fluid, pulling out a small silver key.
"The cultist's 'gift' wasn't just a shadow," she said, tossing it to Elias. "It left something in you. A map. You just have to listen."
Elias closed his eyes.
The whispers surged—not just the Hollow King's voice now, but others, layered over each other, a chorus of the damned.
"The third cell holds the first sin."
"Walk where the numbers go mad."
"The lock is hungry. Feed it."
His eyes flew open. "I know where to go."
The First Sin
The third cell was different from the others. No corpse. No desk. Just a single sentence carved into the floor:
"I OPENED THE DOOR."
Elias knelt, his corrupted fingers brushing the words. The moment he touched them, the ground liquefied, swallowing him whole.
He fell.
And fell.
And—
—landed in a place that should not exist.
A vast, starless void stretched in every direction, bisected by a single path of white stone. At its end loomed a door.
No—not a door.
A mouth.
The Hollow King's prison.
The Final Choice
Illana landed beside him, her dagger drawn. "We're inside the Tower's heart. Its core equation."
Elias's veins burned. The door-mouth breathed, its edges writhing like living script.
"KEYBEARER." The voice shook the void. "YOU HAVE COME TO FREE ME."
Elias took a step forward. Illana grabbed his arm.
"Don't. Even if you could survive opening that door, the world wouldn't."
The footsteps grew louder. The Inquisition was close now.
Elias looked at the door. Then at his blackened arm.
"What if I don't open it?" he whispered. "What if I become the lock?"
Illana's grip tightened. "You'd die."
"Would I?"
The Hollow King laughed.
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End Chapter 5