The Midnight Key

The first impact shook the ruins.

Dust rained from the crumbling stone as a deafening boom cracked through the air. Shadows twisted unnaturally, drawn toward the disturbance like a living thing.

Lucien moved first.

"Go. Now."

His golden eyes burned as he unsheathed his blade, the black steel gleaming under the fractured sky.

Nyra didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed Rene's wrist and pulled.

Rene clutched Rena tightly as they ran, Adrian and Adriel flanking them. The twins moved with deadly precision, their silver light already forming barriers as they fled deeper into the ruins.

The whispers started again.

Soft. Faint.

But growing.

"She was never meant to wake up."

"The key must remain sealed."

"End it before it's too late."

Rene gritted her teeth, shaking them off.

Not now.

Not when—

Another impact.

The ground cracked beneath them, sending debris flying. A jagged chasm split the earth, nearly swallowing them whole.

From the darkness, they emerged.

Figures—shapeless at first, but then twisting into something wrong.

Bodies stretched too long, limbs bending at angles that defied nature. Their faces were empty voids, except for their eyes—hollow pits of silver light.

Adrian moved instantly. His frost lashed out, the freezing winds encasing one of the creatures mid-step. Adriel followed, his own power amplifying the attack, shattering the frozen form into dust.

But more took its place.

Nyra drew her blade. "We can't keep running!"

Lucien skidded to a stop, eyes sharp. "We won't."

Rene tightened her grip on Rena. "What are they?"

Lucien's expression was grim. "The Hollow Ones."

Kieran's laugh rang out from behind them. "Oh, this just keeps getting better."

Nyra threw him a glare. "Save the commentary."

Kieran shrugged. "Just saying, it's adorable that you're all still trying to fight this."

Lucien didn't spare him a glance. "What do they want?"

Kieran tilted his head. "Isn't it obvious?" His gaze flickered to Rena. "They want the key."

Rene's blood ran cold.

One of the Hollow Ones lunged.

Before she could react—

Rena lifted her tiny hand.

The air stilled.

The Hollow One froze mid-attack, as if something had bound it in place.

Then, in a voice far too steady for a child, Rena spoke.

"You cannot take what belongs to me."

A wave of force ripped through the air.

The Hollow Ones screamed—a sound that scraped against reality itself—before their forms collapsed, dissolving into nothingness.

Silence followed.

The ruins were empty once more.

Rene's breath came fast, her heart hammering.

Slowly, she looked down at the baby in her arms.

Rena blinked up at her with silver eyes—calm, unbothered.

Like she hadn't just erased them.

Lucien exhaled sharply. "...Well."

Kieran let out a low whistle. "I think I'm in love."

Nyra smacked him.

Rene swallowed hard. "What… what was that?"

Rena tilted her head.

Then, softly—almost innocently—she said:

"The ones who locked me away… sent them."

Lucien's hands clenched at his sides. "Then they know where we are."

A chill ran down Rene's spine.

Because if the Hollow Ones were just messengers—

Then what came next would be worse.

Much worse.

To Be Continued…