Chapter 0036: The Darkening Skies – The Hollow King Strikes Back
The sky twisted.
What was once a sunlit battlefield now lay under the shadow of an unnatural darkness. The Death Wyrm had fallen, but the victory felt hollow—like the world itself had held its breath, waiting for the next blow.
Raiden's heart pounded as the winds howled, dark clouds churning overhead. His eyes flicked to Vaeryx, who rode at his side, her expression grim. The Wyrm Lords circled high above, their dragons roaring in unison, but even their fiery breath seemed dimmed by the overwhelming force that now poured from the very ground itself.
Raiden could feel it—a twisting, gnawing pull at the very fabric of existence.
"The Hollow King…" he muttered, his voice low with dread. "He is tearing the world apart."
A World in Ruin
Across the battlefield, the Flameborn Army faltered, their morale shattered by the unnatural storm that now raged overhead. The ground trembled with every step of the Hollow King's unseen forces. The air was thick with the weight of his dark power, and it seemed as though the very life force of the world was slipping through their fingers.
From within the walls of Valnora, the soldiers rallied, but the hope that had once burned so brightly now flickered like a dying ember.
In the distance, the towering Hollow King appeared, his massive form cloaked in shadows, standing atop a mountain of blackened earth. His eyes, twin pits of darkness, burned with a malevolent light. The ground around him cracked and split, the very earth warping under his presence. His voice echoed across the field, carrying the weight of a thousand storms.
"You fight with fire, Flameborn, but it is the darkness that reigns. This world is already mine. It has been since the beginning. You cannot stop the end."
Raiden's Resolve
Raiden's heart ached. He could feel the Hollow King's words digging into him, testing his resolve. Yet, even in the face of such overwhelming power, something within him ignited. He was no longer just a man fighting for survival; he was the Flameborn, the one who carried the will of the gods.
He turned to Vaeryx, his voice low but unwavering.
"We will not bow to darkness. Not today."
Vaeryx nodded, her eyes blazing with the fire of the dragons. "No. We burn brighter than any shadow. The gods have chosen you, Raiden. Now it is time to choose yourself."
Raiden raised his sword high, and the flames that danced along its blade flickered in response, as if the sword itself was alive with his will.
"Dragons, to me!" Raiden cried. "We strike at the heart of this darkness!"
The Hollow King's Wrath
The Hollow King sneered, his laughter echoing like a thousand whispers. With a mere wave of his hand, the very earth split open beneath the Flameborn Army, sending waves of dark energy crashing toward them.
The shadows that now crept from the earth turned into monstrous shapes, twisted creatures made of pure night—beasts of nightmare that had once been dragons, soldiers, even the fallen warriors of Valnora.
Raiden's eyes narrowed as he raised his sword. "They are no more than echoes of fear."
He leaped from his dragon, charging toward the nearest shadow beast. With a powerful strike, the creature was consumed by flame. But the shadows were endless, rising from every crack in the earth. And for every one Raiden destroyed, two more took its place.
The Unraveling World
As the battle raged on, Raiden realized that the Hollow King's forces were more than just physical—they were an assault on reality itself. The world around him seemed to warp and twist. Time was distorted. The land cracked, and the very air became thick with the scent of decay.
"The Hollow King… He is unraveling everything," Raiden whispered, his sword glowing with divine light. "We must stop him before there is nothing left to save."
Vaeryx's voice rang out beside him. "The Hollow King is not just an enemy. He is a force of nature. We must find his heart, his source of power. If we strike at the core of his darkness, we can end this."
Raiden nodded. "To the heart of the Hollow King's realm. We end this now."
A Dark Realm Unveiled
Raiden and the Wyrm Lords took flight once more, their dragons cutting through the darkened skies. Beneath them, the battlefield stretched into a warping, nightmare-like landscape, where the very laws of reality no longer held true.
They arrived at the Hollow King's domain, a place beyond time—a realm of darkened sky and shadowed earth, a twisted mockery of Valnora.
At the heart of this realm stood the Hollow Throne, where the Hollow King sat, surrounded by endless darkness. His eyes glowed with unholy fire as he stared at Raiden.
"You seek to stop me?" The Hollow King's voice was low, like the rumbling of a distant storm. "This world is mine. I will remake it in my image, and no flame, no sword, can burn what I have become."
Raiden took a deep breath. He knew this would be his final trial. He could feel the weight of his destiny pressing on him.
"This world will burn," he said, his voice filled with the power of the Flameborn. "But not by your hand. Not today."
The fire within him was never meant to save the world... it was meant to consume it.
The roar of battle had faded, but Raiden's world was far from silent.
He stood at the edge of the Hollow King's realm—where the sky bled shadows and the ground pulsed like a living wound. The Flameborn army had held the lines, barely. The dragons circled above, restless and tense.
But Raiden… Raiden was burning from the inside.
His hand trembled as he gripped his sword. The flames that once obeyed him now flickered wildly, crawling up his arm, licking at his shoulder like a beast trying to devour its master.
"Control it…" he hissed through clenched teeth. "You are the Flameborn…"
But deep in his mind, a voice answered.
"No, Raiden. You are the Flameforged.
You were never meant to hold this power. You were meant to become it."
Hallucinations or Truth?
Raiden dropped to one knee. Around him, reality began to distort. The sky cracked open, revealing not stars… but memories.
He saw himself—a child in a ruined village, crying over a charred corpse.
He saw a cloaked figure standing in fire, placing a hand on his head.
"Flame is not for saving," the figure whispered. "It is for cleansing."
Raiden gasped, eyes wide.
Was that… the Hollow King?
Or a forgotten god?
Vaeryx's Doubt
From behind, Vaeryx approached. Her dragon landed with a furious rumble, sensing the shift in Raiden's energy.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not well."
Raiden didn't look at her. "The flame… it's showing me things. Things I shouldn't know."
Vaeryx's voice turned cautious. "What kind of things?"
Raiden finally looked up, his eyes glowing unnaturally. "I think the Hollow King isn't the end… he's the beginning."
Vaeryx froze.
Raiden's gaze bore into her. "Tell me the truth, Vaeryx. Who taught you to resist flame?"
She hesitated. Her dragon snarled. The wind died.
"My mother," she said softly. "And she served the Hollow King once… until he betrayed us all."
Raiden stepped back as the realization hit him.
"You're his blood."
The Flame Within Cracks
Before Vaeryx could answer, Raiden's flames exploded outward in a burst of wild power, sending shockwaves through the air. His scream echoed across the land as his skin glowed with radiant lines—like molten cracks running through his body.
"You are the vessel," the divine voice boomed inside him.
"When the fire awakens, the world resets."
Raiden fell forward, barely catching himself.
"No…" he gasped. "I'm not your weapon!"
But deep inside, he could feel the Hollow Flame stirring. The source of his strength… and maybe the world's end.
A Shadow Returns
Suddenly, the clouds above twisted violently, and the ground beneath Raiden split open.
From the crack emerged a shadowed knight, armor rusted black, a flaming crown floating above its head.
Vaeryx stepped back. "That's… the Hollow King's Harbinger."
The creature pointed its blade at Raiden.
"The Hollow King calls you home, Flameforged."
And in that moment, Raiden understood.
The Hollow King didn't want to destroy him.
He wanted him to join him.
Cliffhanger Ending
As the Harbinger charged, Raiden stood tall, fire dancing wildly across his body.
His final words in the chapter:
"Then let him come. If I burn… I'll burn down his throne with me."
The flames surged higher—unstable, divine, deadly.
"In fire, I was forged. In fire, I shall ascend… or fall."
The battlefield twisted around Raiden as the Harbinger approached—one step at a time, heavy and deliberate. Each footfall cracked the scorched earth, and the flames around Raiden danced as if in fear, not loyalty.
The Hollow King's Harbinger was no ordinary foe. He wasn't flesh. He wasn't even flame.
He was remnant will, a vessel of the throne Raiden was unknowingly born to inherit—or destroy.
The Harbinger's Message
"I am the gate," the Harbinger's voice rang out like metal grinding on stone. "You must pass through me… if you dare claim your destiny."
Raiden tightened his grip on his sword—now glowing not with fire, but heatless white light, as if something ancient inside it had awakened.
"I never asked for destiny," Raiden said, his voice low. "And I sure as hell won't kneel for it."
The Harbinger raised its blade—a weapon made of molten bone and obsidian. "Then burn, pretender."
A Duel of Fates
The moment steel clashed with shadowed flame, the world around them warped.
Raiden moved like a storm—fast, brutal, and unrelenting. But the Harbinger… he was calm, like a force of nature that couldn't be defied, only endured.
With each blow, Raiden felt something inside him breaking.
Not bone. Not will.
But control.
His flames flared higher, wild, as if reacting to the Harbinger's presence.
Why does my fire fear him…?
Then came the strike that changed everything—Raiden blocked a powerful slash, but his sword shattered, the blade exploding in pieces of glowing ember.
Raiden stumbled back, defenseless.
"You are not ready," the Harbinger growled. "You are still chained by emotion. Still tied to the mortal shell."
Vaeryx's Intervention
Before the Harbinger could deliver the final blow, a blast of frost-laced wind struck the creature from the side. Vaeryx flew in, her dragon shrieking as it slammed into the Harbinger.
"Get up!" she shouted at Raiden. "This isn't your end!"
Raiden looked up—blood on his lips, flame in his eyes.
"No," he said. "It's my beginning."
He reached into the air… and the Hollow Flame answered.
Ascension Begins
From the ashes of his broken sword, the fire reformed—not as a blade, but as a burning sigil across Raiden's chest. His body lifted off the ground, flames swirling around him in an infernal halo.
The Harbinger looked up, for the first time… uncertain.
"You awaken it…" he muttered.
"No," Raiden whispered.
"I become it."
In that moment, Raiden's scream tore through the sky, and the flames engulfed him completely.
The Throne Shifts
Far away, in the Hollow Kingdom's heart, the true throne—made of black crystal and eternal fire—shook.
A voice older than time itself echoed in the darkness:
"The Flameforged awakens…
The child of ash rises…
And the throne… is watching."
How did you like this chapter? Don't forget to share your thoughts! Your comments and reviews help me improve the story.
Did you enjoy this plot twist? Share your thoughts in the comments! Your feedback means a lot to me.
If you enjoyed this chapter, support me with a Power Stone!
If you're enjoying the story, add it to your library and don't forget to leave a review!
(To be Continue...)