ログインRAVENBy the time I got back to Blackridge tunnels, I already knew something had gone wrong without anybody saying it out loud.It was in the way people looked at me again.It was not hostile or worshipful either. Something worse than both because it sat in the middle where nobody had to admit what they were thinking.Expectation.Like I was supposed to walk in and fix whatever mess the world had decided to become just because I happened to be standing in the middle of it.I pushed through the main hall without stopping. Guards moved aside too quickly. Too practiced. Like they’d been told exactly how to react to me now.Theo was the first person I saw. He was standing near the stairwell with Jax beside him, both of them talking to one of the engineers about something I didn’t care enough to follow. The moment Theo noticed me, his entire expression shifted like he was trying to decide what version of himself I needed.That was already annoying.Jax saw me next and immediately straighte
THEOAfter Marek’s last sentence, nobody really knew how to move forward.You don’t just hear that the Hollow wasn’t destroying things but actively maintaining a cycle and then go back to normal conversation like someone commented on the weather.So we did what everyone does when reality becomes too heavy to hold properly.We kept working.The archive chamber stretched deeper than any of us had originally mapped, and now that we were actively looking instead of just reacting, the place started feeling less like ruins and more like something carefully buried. Not destroyed. Not lost.Hidden.The engineers spread out along the walls again, running their hands over stone seams and old shelving structures that looked decorative until you noticed they didn’t align naturally with the architecture. Jax followed one of them for about ten seconds before stopping at a section of wall that looked no different from the rest.Then he tapped it.Twice.“It’s hollow,” he said.One of the engineers l
DOMINICThe painting stayed on the table between all of us like it had personally decided to ruin everybody’s mental stability.Nobody spoke for a while after Raven pointed out the child’s hair because there honestly wasn’t much to say. The entire underground archive room had gone weirdly quiet now. Even the workers nearby looked uncomfortable like they knew they had accidentally uncovered something they weren’t supposed to see.Jax leaned against one of the old shelves with both arms crossed tightly.“I hate ancient people,” he muttered. “Every single thing they did was dramatic and emotionally destructive.”Theo rubbed a hand across his face tiredly. “You say that like our generation is any better.”“We’re at least emotionally destructive with modern communication skills.”“That is not the improvement you think it is.”I barely heard them.My attention stayed fixed on the portrait while something ugly kept turning over slowly in my chest.The child in the painting looked too familia
DOMINICThe painting stayed on the table between all of us like it had personally decided to ruin everybody’s mental stability.Nobody spoke for a while after Raven pointed out the child’s hair because there honestly wasn’t much to say. The entire underground archive room had gone weirdly quiet now. Even the workers nearby looked uncomfortable like they knew they had accidentally uncovered something they weren’t supposed to see.Jax leaned against one of the old shelves with both arms crossed tightly.“I hate ancient people,” he muttered. “Every single thing they did was dramatic and emotionally destructive.”Theo rubbed a hand across his face tiredly. “You say that like our generation is any better.”“We’re at least emotionally destructive with modern communication skills.”“That is not the improvement you think it is.”I barely heard them.My attention stayed fixed on the portrait while something ugly kept turning over slowly in my chest.The child in the painting looked too familia
DOMINICThe painting stayed on the table between all of us like it had personally decided to ruin everybody’s mental stability.Nobody spoke for a while after Raven pointed out the child’s hair because there honestly wasn’t much to say. The entire underground archive room had gone weirdly quiet now. Even the workers nearby looked uncomfortable like they knew they had accidentally uncovered something they weren’t supposed to see.Jax leaned against one of the old shelves with both arms crossed tightly.“I hate ancient people,” he muttered. “Every single thing they did was dramatic and emotionally destructive.”Theo rubbed a hand across his face tiredly. “You say that like our generation is any better.”“We’re at least emotionally destructive with modern communication skills.”“That is not the improvement you think it is.”I barely heard them.My attention stayed fixed on the portrait while something ugly kept turning over slowly in my chest.The child in the painting looked too familia
RAVENI regretted coming underground almost immediately.Not because the city beneath the mountain was ugly or dangerous anymore but because every single person down there kept looking at me like I was part of the ruins too.It was deeply irritating.Workers moved carefully through the underground streets carrying lanterns and stacks of recovered records while territory guards stood near the larger entrances pretending they were not openly staring every time I walked past them.I ignored all of them.Mostly because if I acknowledged it, I was going to start throwing rocks at people.The underground city looked different than I expected now that I could actually see it properly. Without the Hollow twisting everything into nightmare fuel, the place almost looked beautiful in a sad kind of way.Massive black stone roads stretched beneath the mountain with silver carvings running along the walls. Old towers disappeared into darkness farther ahead while bridges crossed over lower sections
COLEI have always been a man of the ice. I like the sound of skates cutting through the rink. I like the smell of sweat and the cold air of the arena. I am used to being in the spotlight, but usually, I am wearing pads and a helmet. I am used to people cheering for a goal, not staring at my tie.T
DOMINICThe sky was the color of a bruised plum when I finally shook myself awake. I hadn't really slept; I had just drifted in and out of a light doze, my ears twitching at every floorboard creak in the hallway.Raven was still tucked against my side. In the gray light of dawn, she looked small.
RAVENThe morning started with a strange kind of beauty.I was standing on the porch of the main house, a cup of hot tea in my hands.The sun was just starting to peek over. It was beautiful, but it made the hair on my arms stand up."Dominic," I called out.The screen door creaked open and Domin
DOMINICThe sun was hot and it did not feel good. It felt like we were standing too close to an open oven.I stood in the middle of the training field with a broom in my hands. All around me, the wolves of the Iron Howlers were working. We were not training with swords or shifting into our beas







