Hollowed Minds Novels & Stories

He agreed wholeheartedly as he said, “That’s right, Olivia. Could you stop with your tricks? It’s really annoying.” I looked at my childhood best friends and felt as though I was looking at strangers. In the past, they had held my hands and sworn to protect me forever. They said that they would be my twin knights. Instead, they were looking at me with disgust and hatred. Mandy Smith had been hiding outside the research lab while scrolling through her cell phone. When she saw the three of us in the research lab, she immediately put her phone away and walked in. She was carrying a heavy box full of test tubes.

Najmah’s eyes drooped low as she stared out into space, her mind traveling back to two days back when she got her heart possibly broken. She hadn't had an ounce of sleep since then, it had merely evaded from her. And now, her eyes had begun to drop and exhaustion began to overcome her. As she gave in to the world of oblivion, she thought she saw the silhouette of the person who had become the topic of her worries but mayhap, her sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on her.

“Thousands of years ago, our ancestors discovered a form of intelligence unlike anything they had encountered.” “Artificial intelligence?” “No.” “Alien?” “No.” “Then what?” He looked toward the ground. “Collective intelligence.” Elena frowned. “Explain.” “It had no single body.” “No single mind.” “No single location.” “It existed wherever information existed.” Mara's voice came through. “A distributed consciousness.” Elias nodded. “They called it the Hollow.” Elena felt a chill. “Why?” “Because it consumed identity.” Adrian stared. “What does that mean?”

Every act strengthened cohesion. The forest itself seemed to hold its breath. Branches rustled softly in the wind. Mist curled low to the ground, wrapping the trunks of the trees like a veil, softening the edges of shadows. Wolves moved within this muted landscape, guided by intuition and subtle acknowledgment rather than explicit command. The Elders’ influence had diminished because it relied on obedience rather than understanding. They could dictate fear, but not conviction. We had begun shaping a pack that responded to awareness, to presence, to deliberate thought.

As though it knew who it was seeking. In the uppermost orbit, the last of the Council satellites flashed a final warning: PHASE THREE ENABLED. DUAL SUBJECT MERGE ON THE WAY. ZERO HAS BROKEN EVERY BARRIER. And over the silence there was a voice that caused even the machines to tremble: "Two minds. One body. Countdown begins." In Hollow Base I was shaking in Kieran's arms and thinking whether I would be the same person in the morning. Or whether there would be anything left of me at all.

“ The next game is called the game of Echoes.” Luke announced, standing on the makeshift ring where the five used to practice fighting. “Each competitor will go through the East portal which leads to the world of the hollows. For the sake of those who do not know,” he continued. “ Hollows are phantoms that can see guilt, pain, rage, jealousy, and envy. They can also materialize into your greatest fears, your deepest desires and the things that haunt you when you sleep.

I muttered a quick prayer in my mind and stepped into the most hottest bachelor's hood. You know, I thought drums were the only instruments that had the ability to be beaten so hard and loud. Who knew the semi-nude sight of my boss who was busy doing a press up, could make my heart pound furiously and leave my brain totally messed up. There is only one way to describe the sun-kissed specie of Homo Sapien. His skin is smooth and flawless which is like a sheet of well-done cloth, light brown skin that glistened with sweat and soft moisture each time he went lower and upper, flexing his muscles.

“We called him Xeroth because we needed a name to shape our fear. But he was never whole. He was only a piece… a scout, you could say. Sent ahead to test the locks on the prison. To whisper into dreams. To see how far we’d fallen.” Dorian took a step forward, eyes narrowing. “Then what’s the real enemy?” Silas’s voice dropped. “We called it the Hollowing. A force that doesn't devour flesh, but meaning. Identity. It turns memory to dust and leaves behind shells wolves who don’t remember why they ever loved. Covens who forget their names. Bloodlines hollowed out from the inside until nothing remains but hunger.” Seraphina felt the cold thread its way up her spine. “And now?” she asked.

Not the Hollow. Something older. Something watching. And waiting.

“If this is about Mira No. Mira remembered. But only pieces. You bring shape to her echo. She was not the first. You are not the last. Kaima reached out. The ghost stepped forward. And then it opened the core beneath them. The floor dissolved into translucent light, revealing a chamber far below a vault of memory. Hundreds of suspended glyphs hovered in midair runic systems older than any Pact, some formed from pure tone, others from physical motion, and one that shifted shape as it was observed. Ari whispered, “This isn’t from our world.” Kaima pointed downward. The ghost guided them both. The Hollow is not a place. It is a memory. A resonance discarded by early shapers. Too unpredictable.