Chapter 19: The Hollow King’s Whisper

As Ithan and Lyra journeyed deeper into the misty wilderness, the air grew colder, and an unsettling silence enveloped them. Every step felt heavier, as though the land itself resisted their passage.

One evening, as they rested by a dying fire, Ithan’s dreams were haunted by whispers—fragments of words and fleeting visions of a man clad in black, seated on a jagged throne. His eyes burned like molten gold, and his voice, though faint, carried a weight that chilled Ithan to his core.

When he woke, sweat dripping down his face, Lyra was watching him, her gaze piercing.

“You heard it, didn’t you?” she asked.

“The voice… Who was it?” Ithan’s voice trembled, though he tried to hide it.

Lyra hesitated before answering. “The Hollow King. He’s reaching out to you through the Sigil. Testing your resolve.”

Ithan clenched his fists, the image of the golden eyes seared into his memory. Despite his fear, there was a flicker of defiance in his heart. He wouldn’t break. Not now.

As they pressed on, the whispers grew louder, more persistent. Ithan began to notice things he hadn’t before—a strange resonance in the Sigil, as if it were trying to speak to him. He couldn’t yet decipher its message, but he knew one thing for certain: the Hollow King wasn’t just an enemy; he was a force unlike anything Ithan had ever faced.

And the path ahead was about to reveal just how deeply their fates were intertwined.