CHAPTER 345: EIRANA’S RETURN

The Hollow echoed with silence, save for the labored breaths of Kaelen, Kelvin, and Morris who had just emerged from the brutal Iron Blood trial. Each sat in a cross-legged position, steadying their frayed minds and ravaged bodies as Qi and mana slowly flowed back into their limbs.

Their skin glistened with dried blood and sweat, eyes dull with fatigue, but beneath the exhaustion was a solidified strength—an unshakable will that had been forged through agony.

Naena stood nearby, watching them with pride etched beneath her stone-like expression.

Then, a Nullcarver scout, panting and wide-eyed, approached her hurriedly.

"Elder Naena! Your granddaughter... Eirana... she’s returned. But—she’s not alone. She’s brought back a strange entity. The others... they’re panicking. Some want to attack it immediately."

Naena’s brows creased.

"Entity? What kind?"

"We... we don’t know. But it’s not human, not beast either. It’s just... there. And it hasn’t spoken a single word."

Naena’s face darkened with intrigue and caution.

"Take me to them."

She turned to walk without hesitation, her robe flaring around her ankles. As she moved, Guinevere and Ethan—who had been observing the exhausted trio with quiet admiration—exchanged glances before stepping forward.

"We’ll come too," Guinevere said, her hand resting lightly on her hilt.

"No way I’m missing whatever this is," Ethan muttered.

Naena didn’t object. She simply gave a curt nod.

The walk didn’t take long as after a while, they reached the outer perimeter of the Hollow.

When they reached the edge of the Hollow, the scene that met them was tense and chaotic.

Nullcarvers with their blades drawn, Qi laced across their weapons, stood in a semi-circle—faces tight with fear and suspicion. In front of them, Eirana stood like a barrier, arms flung wide, shielding the silent figure behind her.

That figure—the Voidcloak—was kneeling, its strange humanoid form crouched in silence, tendrils of shadow ebbing off its skin like smoke off hot iron. Its eyes glowed like dying stars, emotionless but far from unaware.

Eirana’s clothes were torn, her silver sword was nicked, and her breath shallow from the journey—but she didn’t move from her defensive stance.

When Naena arrived, the other Nullcarvers instinctively gave way. The air tensed further as she stepped forward slowly, Guinevere and Ethan flanking her.

"Eirana," Naena’s voice rang out sharp as cracked crystal, "What... is the meaning of this?"

The air crackled with Qi. The Voidcloak lifted its head slightly as if acknowledging the elder’s authority. Both Guinevere and Ethan instinctively raised their guards as the Voidcloak looked their way.

Eirana turned her head sharply toward her grandmother. Her voice was tired—but resolute.

"I brought it back. It... it saved me."

Naena’s eyes narrowed.

"What is it?"

"I don’t know. But I think it’s called a Voidcloak. Endless tried to kill me and take it away. Not only that, but during when I was surrounded by the Elves, and it—this thing—appeared from nowhere. Saved me without hesitation. It could’ve left me to die. It didn’t."

Gasps rippled through the Nullcarver warriors. Even Guinevere looked shaken at the mention of Endless.

Naena’s eyes locked onto the Voidcloak again. Her voice dropped, low and dangerous.

"Do you have any idea what you’ve brought to our doorstep, girl? A creature of shadow with origins lost to time? Do you know what the Voidcloaks once were?"

Eirana didn’t flinch.

"I do now. Velyrian mentioned them. The Elves know. The Celestials probably do too. But I don’t care. I owe it my life."

"And you would risk our entire tribe because of a debt?" Naena challenged.

"Not a debt. A decision," Eirana snapped. "We fight for survival, do we not? This one chose to protect, not destroy. It looked at me like... like I was its mother."

Even Naena blinked at that. Something shifted in her eyes—barely—but it was there.

The Voidcloak turned its gaze on her now, slow and deliberate. A pulse of shadow spread around it like a ripple of thought. The warriors raised their blades again instinctively, but Naena raised her hand.

Silence fell.

For a long moment, the wind whispered through the Hollow. Then Naena spoke, voice lower than before:

"Then we will not destroy it. Not yet."

Gasps and mutters erupted from the Nullcarvers, but Naena’s stare shut them up at once.

"But it will not walk among us freely. You will be held responsible for it, Eirana. If it turns, if it harms a single member of this Hollow..." she let the words trail off, heavy with intent.

"Then I will handle it myself," Eirana said, stepping back and allowing the Voidcloak to slowly stand behind her.

"And... if what you say is true," Naena added softly, looking at the creature again, "then we may need it before this is over."

Ethan folded his arms.

"A shadow beast on our side. That’s new."

Guinevere, still watching the Voidcloak, murmured:

"Maybe the world isn’t just light and dark anymore."

Naena finally turned away.

"Return to the Hollow. The rest of you, get back to training. We don’t have much time."

She cast one last look at the Voidcloak.

"I don’t know what you are. But if you’ve chosen a side... then stay on it."

As the group began to move back toward the training circle, Eirana gave the Voidcloak one last glance. The creature met her eyes, then silently followed.

No one said it aloud.

But something in the world had shifted.

And everyone felt it.

––––

The air in the Hollow was still unusually still, like the moment before a storm, or after one has passed.

As Naena and her small retinue—including Eirana, Guinevere, and Ethan—returned to the sacred Hollow, they found a quiet, yet palpable change had taken root.

At the edge of the training grounds, Kaelen, Kelvin, and Morris were already standing. Their backs were straight, their eyes sharp, and their breathing unnaturally calm, as if the air itself bent slightly around their presence.

Their auras were different now. Heavier. More refined. Like molten steel cooled and tempered.

Ethan narrowed his eyes at the trio.

"They’re not the same anymore..."

Guinevere nodded, murmuring, "No. They’re not."

Naena’s eyes narrowed with a deeper understanding. The Iron Blood trial must have pushed them further than even she anticipated.

Just then, Morris stepped forward, a sudden and subtle tremor running through the ground beneath his feet. He exhaled slowly before speaking, his voice calm, yet urgent.

"Elder Naena... I need a separate space."

She tilted her head, intrigued. "Why?"

Morris pressed a hand to his chest, where a pulsing glow of his core faintly shimmered beneath his skin.

"My mana domain... It’s awakening."

The Hollow fell into brief silence. Ethan’s jaw twitched. Guinevere’s eyes widened.

Without hesitation, Naena raised her hand and pointed at one of the Nullcarver guards at her side.

"Guide him to one of the Resonant Chambers beyond the basin. Fortify it with two layers of Qi seals."

"Yes, Elder." The Nullcarver bowed, then gestured to Morris. "This way."

Without a word, Morris followed, his every footstep ringing like metal on stone.

Once he was gone, Naena’s gaze shifted to Eirana, who stood nearby—dirty, bloodied, and covered in the remnants of her skirmish and travel.

"Go wash up," Naena said. "You’ve done enough for now. Get your mind back in order."

Eirana gave a tired nod and turned to leave, her silver sword strapped to her back. The Voidcloak, ever-silent, ever-present, trailed behind her like an obedient shadow.

The tension eased somewhat—but not for long.

Naena turned to inspect the state of the training ground, only to find Kaelen approaching her directly.

His steps were measured, purposeful. His silver-blue eyes shimmered with something deeper than ambition now—resolve hardened by loss, grief, and purpose.

"Naena," Kaelen said.

Her eyes met his. "Speak."

"What’s the next trial?"

Guinevere looked stunned. Ethan blinked. Even Kelvin, behind Kaelen, raised a brow in surprise.

But Kaelen didn’t waver. His fists were clenched, but his voice was steady.

"I’m ready. I have to be."

Naena didn’t respond immediately. She studied him—not just his physical form, but his Qi flow, the aura he exuded now. It rippled with purpose, no longer the unstable chaos of a boy learning his limits, but a warrior walking toward his burdens.

After a long pause, she finally nodded.

"Very well," she said. "The next trial... is the Path of Flowing Waters."

Ethan straightened, surprised. "That’s the next one?"

"Yes," Naena said. "It embodies adaptation and precision. Like the still Earth molds strength, and the Eternal Flame burns weakness, the Flowing Water teaches movement—fluidity between offense and defense. Reaction. Instinct. The mind over impulse."

She turned toward Kaelen, Kelvin, and Ethan—the three selected for this path.

"You three will take this trial. The Circle of Resonance awaits."

Right after that, the group approached the Circle of Resonance.

As soon as they got there, Kaelen exchanged a glance with Kelvin and Ethan.

"You sure you’re good?" Kaelen asked.

Kelvin gave a dry chuckle. "I just got cooked in hellfire and had my soul run dry in the Iron Blood path. This’ll be a breeze."

Ethan grinned, rolling his neck. "Not like we have a choice. Besides, adaptation? I was born to improvise."

Naena raised a hand, and the statue representing Flowing Water—an elegant figure with a winding stream of sculpted crystal around it—glowed with an azure light.

The Circle of Resonance shimmered again as the trial prepared itself.

"Remember," Naena warned, "water is the element most connected to the subconscious. The test will not only shape your adaptability—but drag out your hesitation and shatter it. You must become the current itself."

Kaelen stepped forward. So did Ethan and Kelvin.

Together, the three walked into the circle.

The moment their feet touched the Circle’s center, the world shifted.

Gone was the Hollow.

Kaelen blinked—and found himself submerged in a vast, seemingly endless ocean. He wasn’t drowning, but floating. Moving.

But the water churned violently around him. Shapes formed in it—memories, decisions, pivotal moments—each one demanding that he react. If he hesitated, he was dragged under. If he moved with thought, he was torn apart. Only instinct, fluid and precise, allowed him to stay afloat.

Kelvin faced something similar. His ocean was crimson and dark, filled with the blood of his past, with faces of his father, sister, and enemies morphing into each other. Every second, a different force tested his resolve to bend or break.

Ethan, meanwhile, found himself in a landscape of mirrors—each one showing a version of himself. Some arrogant. Some fearful. Some broken. His trial wasn’t about physical adaptation, but mental fluidity. Could he switch between ego and self-doubt, become the person each moment needed him to be?

---

Back outside, Naena stood by the training circle, watching silently.

"These boys," she murmured to herself, "may just walk the Seven Paths."

Guinevere, leaning against a post nearby, folded her arms.

"They better. If Endless shows up again, we’re going to need more than courage."

Ethan’s figure flickered inside the Circle. Then Kaelen’s. Then Kelvin’s.

The waters were rising.

And their minds... would either flow—or drown.