The silence was deafening.
Seraphina stood at the center of the ruined altar, shadows curling around her like tendrils of smoke. Her once vibrant eyes were now dull, as if someone had dimmed the light within her soul.
"Seraphina…" Darian's voice cracked, the name falling from his lips like a desperate prayer. He stepped forward, cautiously, his gaze locked onto hers. "It's me. Don't you remember?"
She tilted her head slowly. The sound of his voice stirred something deep within, like a forgotten melody struggling to surface. But her expression stayed blank. "I… don't know you."
Those four words shattered him.
Not even a flicker of recognition. Not even the warmth she used to hide behind her teasing smile.
Elaris stood at a distance, her face pale with guilt and dread. "She's forgotten everything," she whispered. "The Hollow didn't just take her memories. It twisted the bond. Reversed it."
Darian turned sharply to her. "What do you mean, reversed it?"
"She gave everything to bring you back, Darian," Elaris murmured. "The curse didn't vanish. It shifted. Now it's bound to her. And if we don't fix this—"
A low, guttural hiss echoed through the air.
The shadows slithered to the edges of the room, taking form — glowing eyes, jagged teeth, and the eerie hum of something ancient… hungry.
The Hollow was watching.
"I feel it," Seraphina said suddenly, her voice trembling. "There's something… inside me. Cold. Whispering things."
Her hand trembled against her chest.
Darian was at her side in a flash, holding her shoulders. "Don't listen to it. You're stronger than this."
"I don't even know who I am!" she shouted, eyes wide with rising panic. "Why does it hurt to look at you? Why do I feel like crying when you're near?"
Darian's throat tightened. "Because we were more than just bonded, Seraphina. We were everything."
She staggered back, clutching her head. Her scream tore through the room as the Hollow surged forward.
Darian's blade flew from his sheath, glowing with silver fire, slicing through the darkness. But the creature merely laughed — a hollow, echoing sound that seeped into their bones.
"You took her from me," it rasped. "Now she belongs to me."
"No," Darian growled, standing between it and Seraphina. "You'll never have her."
But Seraphina suddenly looked up, eyes wide in realization.
"I saw something," she whispered. "A memory. You… you were bleeding. I held your face." Her hand drifted unconsciously toward his cheek. "I said… I'd never let you go."
Hope flared in Darian's chest. "Yes. That was real."
Then, just as suddenly, her expression changed. Her body jerked, eyes rolling back as she collapsed. Darkness surged from her like a wave — shadows exploding outward.
"Seraphina!" Darian yelled.
Elaris rushed to them, her eyes wide in horror. "She's tethered. The Hollow is using her as a vessel!"
"What do we do?!"
"There's only one way," Elaris whispered, voice trembling. "We enter the Hollow Realm. Find her soul. Restore what was lost… or lose her forever."
Darian didn't hesitate. "Then we go now."
Elaris nodded grimly and began drawing a glowing circle on the cracked stone floor. "But the Hollow Realm has rules of its own. Once you cross… there's no turning back without a price."
As the portal flared open, Seraphina's unconscious body trembled. Black veins crept up her neck like thorns, wrapping around her throat.
Darian turned to her one last time, brushing hair from her face. "Wait for me, love. I'll find you — even in the darkness."
With a final step, he plunged into the swirling void.
The shadows swallowed him whole.
And then—Seraphina's eyes snapped open.
But they weren't hers anymore.
A cruel, unfamiliar smirk curled on her lips as she sat up slowly.
"Let the game begin."
A single breath.
That's all it took for everything to change.
Seraphina's lips curled into a smile that didn't belong to her. Elaris staggered backward, her heart thundered in her chest. This wasn't the girl she grew up with… This wasn't her best friend.
This was something else.
"I knew you'd follow," the voice that came from Seraphina's mouth was distorted — both childlike and ancient, soft and terrifying. "You always were predictable, little Elaris."
Elaris froze. The way Seraphina's eyes flickered between molten gold and pitch-black void was unnatural — like something inside her was fighting to stay alive.
"Seraphina," Elaris whispered, voice trembling. "If you can hear me… fight it. Please."
A small flicker crossed Seraphina's face. A twitch. A tear.
Then—rage.
The shadows behind her exploded like spears, crashing toward Elaris. The girl barely ducked in time, rolling across the stone floor as shards of darkness whistled past her ear.
"You think your voice matters?" the creature spat, stalking forward. "She gave up the moment you left her behind."
"I never left—" Elaris began, but her words were sliced by another wave of shadow.
The palace was trembling now. Walls cracking. Windows screaming. The moon bled red as if mourning the moment their world shattered.
And somewhere far away, Darian — trapped in the Hollow Realm — saw it.
Not with his eyes, but with his heart.
A searing pain ripped through his chest as the bond between him and Seraphina strained to its limit. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest.
"She's… breaking."
No. No, no, no.
Darian forced himself to his feet. The echoes in the Hollow Realm swirled around him, whispering lies, twisting truths. But his love for her burned brighter than any curse.
"I will find you," he vowed through gritted teeth. "Even if I have to burn this world and the next."
---
Back at the palace.
Seraphina stood atop the grand stairway. Her voice rang across the throne room, cold as steel.
"Bring me the scroll," she commanded.
The high mages — once loyal to the royal bloodline — stood frozen. The scroll she asked for was sacred. Forbidden. Locked away for centuries.
She smirked, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
"I won't ask again."
One of them — an old man with silver eyes — stepped forward, holding the scroll with trembling hands.
"You don't know what this will do," he begged. "It will tear apart everything the Light Realm stands for—"
"That's the idea," she purred, snatching it.
She unrolled the scroll, whispered the ancient incantation… and the ground cracked open beneath her feet.
Screams echoed through the palace halls.
A portal surged to life behind her — not glowing blue like a gateway, but bleeding. It pulsed. Alive. Waiting.
And from within, a figure stepped out.
Dressed in white. Barefoot. Eyes hollow.
It was…
Seraphina.
The real one.
Her hands were shackled. Her body bruised. But her spirit burned.
Elaris gasped. "Wait—if she's here—"
Then who was standing on the stairway?
Two Seraphinas.
One full of pain.
The other full of rage.
And for a split second, both stared at each other.
"You should not be here," the dark one hissed.
"And you," the real Seraphina said through bloodied lips, "should never have been born."
The flames surged between them. Light against dark. Twin reflections of a soul shattered in two.
---
In the Hollow Realm, Darian reached a mirror.
And in it, he saw the two Seraphinas — about to face off in the throne room.
He reached toward the mirror, crying out—
"SERAPHINA!"
And then—
The mirror shattered.
A scream split the air. Not Seraphina's.
Elaris.
Back in the real world, she stood frozen in horror. Because—
Only one Seraphina was still standing.
One body collapsed to the ground. Unmoving.
Blood slowly pooled beneath it.
And the one left standing turned around, eyes wild with something new—
Regret.
"No…" she whispered. "No, what have I done…"
And as everyone stared in silence, unsure whether it was the real one or the cursed one…
She looked up.
And smiled.
The blood hadn't stopped spreading.
Elaris stared — her limbs frozen, her throat raw from screaming.
Only one Seraphina stood… but which one?
The survivor trembled. Not with fear. Not with grief.
With something darker. More dangerous.
Then she looked up — slowly — her eyes gleaming like fractured mirrors.
And she smiled.
"Let the hunt begin," she whispered.
Before Elaris could move, the ground beneath her exploded in a blinding blaze of light. She fell backward, shielding her face.
From the dust, two figures emerged.
Arabella — cloak torn, eyes like lightning.
And behind her, Mason — his blade unsheathed, glowing with pulsing, ancient runes.
"Step away from her," Mason growled, pointing the blade at the Seraphina who stood.
The girl — or creature — laughed. It wasn't a child's laugh. It wasn't human.
Arabella stepped forward, fury bleeding from every pore. "That's not Seraphina."
"I don't think you know who I am," the creature replied, her voice now layered — Seraphina's tone echoing beneath something monstrous.
"Oh, but I do," Arabella said, her fingers glowing with celestial fire. "You're a parasite. A shade. And you made the mistake of touching our family."
Mason flanked her, eyes locked on the imposter. But his free hand reached behind him, motioning to Elaris. "Run. Now."
"I'm not leaving," Elaris whispered. "That could be her. She—she was smiling like she remembered something."
Arabella's voice was cold. "That smile isn't hers. It's his."
The creature flinched at the name his — just for a second — before hissing like smoke and stepping back toward the pool of blood.
That's when Mason noticed it.
The body lying behind her — the fallen Seraphina — was disappearing.
Not in flame. Not in magic.
She was being erased.
Her features flickered like fading light. Her soul — devoured.
"No—" Mason surged forward.
But he was too late.
The imposter raised a hand.
Time bent.
Space cracked.
And then—she vanished.
---
Silence.
Arabella's fire dimmed.
Elaris collapsed to her knees.
Mason sheathed his sword, knuckles white.
"I should've acted sooner," he muttered. "I should've known it wasn't her."
"She tricked all of us," Arabella said, kneeling beside the bloodstained floor. "But now we know one thing."
Elaris looked up, eyes red. "What?"
Arabella's gaze darkened. "She's not just wearing Seraphina's face. She's wearing her memories. She knows how to make us hesitate. She's not just a shadow anymore…"
"She's a reflection," Mason finished grimly.
Then, suddenly—
A sound.
A heartbeat.
Coming from the far end of the throne room.
Thump… thump… thump…
They turned.
Behind the shattered throne — in the darkest shadow — a mirror began to form.
But not like the Hollow Realm mirror Darian had seen.
This one was cracked, flickering violently, and inside—
A child's face stared back.
Seraphina's.
But not her current form.
It was her as a child. Crying. Bleeding. Screaming silently.
And then—a voice echoed from the mirror.
"He's coming."
Arabella stepped back.
Mason froze.
Elaris clutched her chest. "Who?"
The child in the mirror turned her head slowly.
And behind her, a tall shadow stepped forward.
He had no face.
Only a crown of fire and a voice that sounded like every nightmare stitched together.
"You opened the wrong door."
CRACK!
The mirror shattered. Blood spilled from the cracks on the wall.
And all three of them turned toward the window—
The moon had vanished.