The being stood tall, its shadowed form blotting out the sky like a stain on reality itself. The winds howled around it as the trees bent back, as if nature itself recoiled in recognition. It hadn't even raised a hand, yet the air felt thin, suffocating, alive with ancient fury.
Mary stood frozen.
The creature—the one that had once been sealed by the rift—was unlike anything she'd faced. Not primal like the rift's core. Not hungry like a beast. This was intelligence honed by centuries of imprisonment. This was wrath with memory.
"I am Hollowlight," it said. The voice echoed in her bones, more a memory than sound. "I was the flame that burned the immortal cities. I was the silence after gods wept."
Mary's fists clenched. "If you want a second war, you'll have to go through me."
Hollowlight tilted its head slowly. "You think yourself a guardian. Like the ones who came before. But you… you are something different. A half-thing. Blood tangled with echoes. You do not yet know what you are."
Behind her, Lela whispered hoarsely, "Mary… do you feel that?"
Mary did. The vampire side of her, the part she usually kept locked beneath layers of human control, was stirring. Not violently. Not with thirst. But in reverence.
Hollowlight was a relic from before her time—but her blood recognized it. Revered it. Feared it.
"You're not from this world," Mary said.
"I am older than this world," Hollowlight replied. "I was born in the Between, where light forgets how to bend and time cannot hold its breath. And I was brought here by those who thought they could harness me. They failed. As you will."
Loosie, hands trembling, held a dagger close but didn't advance. "You don't have to do this," she said, her voice tight. "Whatever you were, whoever trapped you—we're not them."
"I know," Hollowlight said, almost gently. "You are worse. You are careless."
It stepped forward. The grass died beneath its feet. Mary moved instinctively, sword drawn. The weight of her broken blade didn't matter—she could summon another. The bond with her weapon still held, and the moment she willed it, a new blade flared into being: a deep crimson shimmer, like blood crystallized into light.
Hollowlight didn't flinch.
"Mary, we need a plan," Lela hissed, trying to keep her balance.
"We don't have time," Mary replied. "We stall. We protect each other. Then we run."
She darted forward, blade flashing. Hollowlight didn't move, but a wave of pressure burst from him like a silent scream. Mary was flung backward mid-strike, her body slamming into a tree with a bone-jarring thud.
Loosie launched a throwing dagger, enchanted with runes. It dissolved in midair before it reached him.
"I do not wish to kill you yet," Hollowlight said. "I am gathering my strength. This form is not complete. The world has changed, and I must reshape it… in my image."
Mary stumbled to her feet, coughing blood. "You talk too much for a god."
Hollowlight turned away. "You will see me again. When the moons align. When the gate opens. Then, I will show you the end."
With that, he dissolved—his form unraveling into a thousand threads of shadow that scattered across the land like dandelion seeds in a storm. The sky lightened instantly, the pressure lifting, but the damage remained. The trees still bled dark sap. The earth was scorched where he stood.
The girls stood in silence for a long time.
Lela sat down hard, eyes wide. "Well, that was terrifying."
Loosie exhaled shakily. "Did he say… 'moons'? As in plural?"
Mary nodded grimly. "There's a second moon hidden by magic. It only reveals itself during specific astral convergences. I read about it once. When both moons align… it opens the gate to the Between."
"And we just released something from that place," Lela said. "Nice. Real nice."
Mary didn't answer right away. She was staring at the horizon where Hollowlight had vanished. Something was still buzzing inside her—more than fear, more than adrenaline. It was resonance. Her blood had reacted to Hollowlight, yes, but it wasn't just fear or reverence.
It was kinship.
"He called me a half-thing," she murmured.
Loosie raised an eyebrow. "He said a lot of cryptic, terrifying stuff. You'll need to be more specific."
"No," Mary said. "I mean he knew. He knew what I was before I ever told him. Before I fully knew myself."
Lela's gaze sharpened. "You think there's a connection?"
"I don't think. I know." Mary turned to them, jaw tight. "I'm going to the Vault."
Both Loosie and Lela stared at her.
"Mary, the Vault hasn't been opened in centuries," Lela said. "It's buried under the Crown Library. Only the Archivists and the High Mages can—"
"I'll find a way in," she interrupted. "There's something in there about the Between. Maybe even about me. About Hollowlight. If I don't figure this out… the next time he comes, we won't be ready."
Loosie nodded reluctantly. "Then we're with you."
"No," Mary said. "I go alone. You two are barely standing. Go to the Outpost. Get word to the Queen. Tell her Hollowlight has returned."
"And you think she'll believe that?" Lela asked.
"She'll believe you," Mary said.
They didn't argue further. Lela and Loosie knew her tone too well—it was the voice she used when she had already made the impossible decision.
As night fell, Mary stood alone at the edge of the ruined field, the stars above faintly visible between the retreating clouds.
The world had changed.
The rift was only a seal. Hollowlight was the true prisoner—and he was free now. And Mary, a hybrid of vampire and human, held pieces of a past that connected her to that ancient realm.
She would go to the Vault.
She would find the truth.
And when the moons aligned… she would be ready.
Even if it cost her everything.