Chapter 5 The hollow return

The training grounds of the Citadel stretched beyond the spires, suspended on floating islands tethered by bridges of light. Each section pulsed with dream-energy-fields of shifting color, obstacle courses that morphed with thought, and sparring rings where the laws of gravity bent at will.

Ava stood on a marble platform in the middle of an arena, sweat beading her forehead. Her body ached, and her thoughts were scattered like shattered glass. Across from her stood Nyra, one of the Council's elite-stoic, razor-sharp, and uncompromising.

"You're still fighting like you're awake," Nyra barked, circling her. "Here, thought is motion. Focus is power. If you can imagine it, you can do it-but only if you believe it's real."

Ava swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm trying."

"Trying is what gets you devoured."

Nyra raised her hand and conjured a whip of glowing thread. Ava barely dodged it in time, landing hard on her shoulder and rolling across the platform. Pain bloomed down her side. Even in dreams, it felt real.

"Again!" Nyra shouted.

Ava pushed herself up, breathing hard.

She focused.

Close your eyes. Not to retreat-but to see better.

She let go of the pain, the confusion, the weight of expectation. In its place, she imagined something simple: a shield. Not of steel or fire-but of memory.

She thought of her mother's lullaby, of the light that always crept into her room just before morning. She wrapped that warmth around herself.

When the whip came again, it shattered against an invisible wall of golden light.

Nyra paused. Then, she nodded. "Better."

Leo stood watching from the edge of the platform. His expression was unreadable, but when Ava looked his way, she could see the spark of pride in his eyes.

---

That night, Ava wandered the dream streets of the Citadel alone.

Markets buzzed with quiet energy. Creatures shaped like jellyfish drifted through the air, illuminating the stalls below. Vendors sold objects made of emotion-bottled laughter, carved regrets, memories sewn into scarves.

Ava passed a bridge with silver lanterns, each one glowing with someone's dream. She paused and touched one gently. A scene flickered before her eyes: a girl flying above her city, arms wide, laughing into the wind.

It vanished the moment she blinked.

There was so much beauty here. So much hope.

And yet...

Something was wrong.

She felt it before she saw it. A coldness in her spine. A pressure, like the air thickened behind her.

Then the scream.

It pierced the sky-not from a person, but from the dream-fabric itself.

Ava spun, and the lanterns shattered around her, plunging the street into darkness.

The dream began to dissolve.

Walls cracked. The ground split.

From the ruptures, shadows oozed upward-liquid blackness with no faces, no sound. Just hunger. The Hollow had found her.

Ava backed away, heart racing. She could feel it reaching-not just for her, but for the dreams. The light around her flickered, as if the stars themselves were recoiling.

"Leo!" she shouted, but her voice fell flat, smothered by the darkness.

She summoned her shield again, but it flickered.

The Hollow wasn't attacking her physically-it was pressing into her mind, whispering doubts like smoke in her thoughts.

You don't belong.

You're a mistake.

You'll ruin this world, too.

She clenched her fists. "No," she whispered. "You don't get to decide who I am."

A warm light bloomed behind her.

Leo appeared in a flash, surrounded by a storm of silver arrows. He unleashed them without hesitation, pinning the shadows to the ground. Each one hissed like steam as it was struck, melting into the floor.

He grabbed her hand. "Come on. We need to move."

They ran through the unraveling street, the dream collapsing behind them. More Dreamweavers emerged from the sky, casting spells of light and memory to seal the cracks, but the Hollow was faster now-bolder.

They reached the Citadel gates just as the last wave struck.

A wall of dark surged toward them, rising high above the buildings like a tidal wave of despair. Ava turned, breath frozen, and watched it crash against the Citadel's wards.

The whole world shook.

Cracks split the marble steps.

And then... silence.

The darkness retreated, peeling itself back like a wounded beast.

But it left a mark.

Where the Hollow touched, the dream was tainted. Colors dimmed. Sounds warped. A statue of a sleeping child near the entrance now wept tears of ink.

Leo looked grim.

"It wasn't supposed to get this far in," he said. "The wards were meant to keep it out."

Ava turned to him. "What does that mean?"

"It means something's wrong. Either someone let it in... or it's getting stronger."

---

The Council met in emergency session that night.

Ava stood behind Leo as the members argued. Their words echoed off the crystal walls.

"The Hollow should have been sealed beyond reach."

"It wasn't supposed to breach the veil on its own."

"It must have a vessel in the waking world."

"Or a beacon," someone added, eyes flicking toward Ava.

She stiffened.

"Enough," said Nyra. Her voice cut through the room like a blade. "This isn't about blame. It's about survival."

She looked at Ava. "You've seen it in your dreams, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"You've felt it."

Ava nodded.

"Then you're the only one who can track it."

Ava blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You're the link. The Hollow marked you because you're like it-part of both worlds. If we can use that connection, we might be able to trace where it's coming from."

Leo stepped in. "That's dangerous. She's not ready."

"She doesn't have a choice," Nyra replied. "None of us do."

Ava looked around the room. Every eye on her. Some filled with fear. Others with suspicion. But a few... held hope.

She took a breath.

"Tell me what I have to do."

---

Later that night, Ava stood alone in the Mirror Hall-a chamber of water and reflection deep beneath the Citadel. The walls were alive with rippling silver, showing fragments of dreams past and future.

She held her hand over the pool, and the symbol of the Lucid Key glowed brighter than ever.

She was afraid.

But she wasn't alone.

She thought of Leo.

Of her old life, and how far she'd come.

Of the dreams she used to run from... and the ones she now fought to protect.

"I'm not who I used to be," she whispered.

Then she stepped into the pool.

And let the Hollow pull her in.

---