For the first time in days, the air within the Hollow felt... still.
After their encounter with the Warden of Embers, the group had retreated deeper into the canopy's embrace. Kael had scouted a safe cavern nestled between moss-covered roots, shielded from both sky and ground.
Ren sat cross-legged before a small flickering light—not fire, but a hovering orb of green energy.
It was part of the system's interface, something that had appeared the moment he had placed the Seed of Ash in a sealed sub-inventory.
System Panel: Containment Mode ActivatedItem: Seed of Ash
Current Status: Isolated (No external influence)
Stability: 67%
Passive Emissions: SuppressedWarning: Extended containment may delay adaptive integration.
Across from him, Kael sharpened his blade.
Moss napped atop a broken root, tail twitching gently. The silence was peaceful. But Ren didn't feel peace.
He felt watched.
Not by the forest this time—but by something internal. Since the Warden had retreated, something had changed within him.
He opened his system interface again. This time, it responded not with the usual verdant glow—but a flicker of orange woven into the green.
System Update DetectedSynchronization: 39%New Module: "Echo Memory" UnlockedDescription: View lingering soul impressions connected to stored seeds.
Ren blinked.
He accessed the module.
A ghostly vision shimmered in front of him—an echo, like the Warden's memory but more fragmented. Flashes of another time. A burning sky. A stone altar. A child's cry—then silence.
He opened his eyes. Sweat trickled down his back.
The Hollow hadn't just given him life. It had given him history.
And through the seeds—Verdant, Ashen, and others he hadn't yet encountered—he was inheriting not just power, but memory. Will. Pain. Triumph.
Responsibility.
Kael looked over. "You spacing out again?"
"I saw something," Ren said. "From the seed. Not just power. A life."
"Another life?"
"Fragments. Feelings. It's like these seeds are... pieces of forgotten cycles."
Kael whistled. "You're telling me you're not just the Hollow's protector—you're some kind of reincarnated librarian now?"
Ren managed a faint smile. "Feels like it."
Kael stood, sheathing his blade. "Well, librarian or not, you're going to want to see what I found nearby."
Ren followed him a short distance, careful not to disturb the natural growth. The trees parted into a dome-shaped clearing—and in the center, vines spiraled upward to form a lattice canopy, under which stood a pool of crystalline water.
But the water wasn't normal.
It glowed.
System Notification: Vital Confluence Detected
Source Type: Natural Node
Effect: Enhances Seed Growth, Accelerates System Adaptation
Note: Compatible with Host's Verdant Signature
Ren stepped closer. "It's alive."
"Yeah," Kael muttered. "And it's not alone."
They both turned as movement stirred at the edge of the glade.
Three figures emerged from the brush—travel-worn, cautious, each with a faint glow in their eyes. They weren't like the Warden. They were human. But not untouched.
The lead one stepped forward, raising empty hands.
"We mean no harm. We were drawn here by the pulse. Are you the Hollow's Keeper?"
Ren's system flared.
Analyzing Unknown Individuals...Status: Host-BondedAffinity: 42%-60% VerdantClassification: Wanderers of the Green Wake
Kael shifted beside him. "You're not alone in this anymore, Ren."
The man continued. "We've wandered long. Saw what the Hollow used to be. We felt it stir again—and followed. The old roots whisper. You've woken something."
Ren nodded slowly. "Then help me protect it."
The strangers bowed.
New Questline Unlocked: Cultivation of the HollowObjective: Establish Safe Zones, Share Domain Affinity, Prevent Seed CorruptionParticipants: Player (Ren), Kael, Green Wake InitiatesOptional Objective: Identify New Seeds (0/5)
Suddenly, Ren no longer felt alone in the burden. The Hollow wasn't just his to protect. It was beginning to become a sanctuary.
He turned to the glowing pool and stepped forward, kneeling.
He dipped his hand in.
Green light wrapped around his fingers.
Verdant Core Absorption: +10Seed Compatibility IncreasedSystem Integration: 44%
Behind him, the others stood in quiet awe.
In this place—lit by life, shadowed by ruin, and filled with those who still believed—Ren breathed in deeply.
The Hollow had spoken.
And he was finally starting to understand the language.