Snow swept through the northern winds of Velmara, lashing against the trio's cloaks as they ventured deeper into the whispering pines. Adamas led the way, moving with certainty, as though every crack in the frost had meaning to him.
"This way," he said quietly, not even glancing back. "The cave I saw… it's not far now."
Asari walked behind him, silent as always, while Aicha clung to her furred cloak, her breath misting in the cold. There was something haunting in the stillness here—no birds, no beasts, only the sound of snow crunching beneath their feet and the occasional groan of distant ice.
The path narrowed until it became a jagged descent between two cliffs. Asari glanced up at the blackened sky, then at Adamas.
"You said this cave changed overnight?"
Adamas nodded. "I go there sometimes. It's where I go when things get hard. I talk to the echoes. But yesterday… there were no echoes."
"No echoes?" Aicha asked, confused.
Adamas didn't answer.
They reached the mouth of the cave—jagged and twisted, as though the earth had screamed to form it. A foul wind exhaled from its depths, and the snow around the entrance was tinged gray.
Asari narrowed his eyes. His senses tingled.
"Stay here," he said.
"No," Adamas said firmly, surprising both of them. "This is my village. I'll go too."
Asari considered him for a moment, then nodded.
The cave swallowed them whole. Darkness seeped through every inch. The torches they carried struggled to stay lit, the fire dancing erratically, as though the shadows themselves tried to extinguish them.
Aicha moved cautiously. "Something's wrong. The Eather here... it's corrupted."
Asari agreed silently. He could feel it too. It slithered along the walls, slinking through cracks, feeding on whatever had taken root within this cave. He unsheathed his sword, and it hummed—recognizing the darkness.
He moved forward first.
Then came the sound.
Not a roar.
Not a growl.
A cry.
Child-like.
High-pitched.
"Help me…"
Adamas froze.
"That voice…"
"It's not real," Asari warned.
But Adamas sprinted.
"No!" Aicha yelled.
They chased after him, winding deeper into the cave until the tunnel widened into a dome-shaped chamber. Stalactites hung like jagged teeth. And in the center stood Adamas—frozen.
Facing him was something impossible.
A reflection.
A child—Adamas himself—pale, eyes hollow, skin cracked with black veins.
"What is that?" Aicha whispered.
The figure smiled at Adamas and spoke in his voice. "You left me behind. You forgot your pain."
Asari stepped forward, blade raised.
"You're not real."
"Oh, but I am," the creature hissed, mouth stretching unnaturally. "He abandoned me, and now I am what's left."
Eather surged from its limbs like liquid shadow, crawling toward Adamas. Asari lunged, slicing through the darkness, but it reformed.
"Devil Cry: Dominion Slash."
The force cleaved the air, shattering part of the chamber—but the creature only laughed, reforming again.
"You can't kill me. Not without killing him."
The creature grinned and pointed at Adamas.
Aicha's hand trembled. "It's a mental construct. This whole place is a trap built from memory."
"I see it now," Asari muttered. "It's a manifestation born from corrupted Eather… feeding on trauma. And it's tied to him."
"Then let me fight it," Adamas whispered.
"No," Asari said. "You're not ready—"
But Adamas stepped forward.
"I've run from this part of me for years. The part that hated being weak. The part that cried when everyone else starved. I thought burying it would make me strong. But it didn't."
He turned to Asari and Aicha. "If I can't face this… I don't deserve to follow you."
The creature lunged, screeching. Its form distorted into something monstrous—elongated limbs, dozens of black eyes, spines of frozen Eather erupting from its back.
Adamas raised his arm. "Eather Flow: Binding Thorns!"
Chains of glowing blue Eather snapped around the creature's limbs.
Then, stepping into the air, Adamas shouted, "Eather Skill: Memory Shatter!"
A pulse exploded from his hand—his pain, his memories, his truth—all thrown back at the being. It screamed, its body cracking like glass, splinters of darkness raining into the chamber.
The torches brightened.
The air cleared.
And the creature collapsed, its body fading.
Adamas stood alone in the center, panting.
Aicha approached first, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did it."
Asari watched him for a long moment. "You just awakened your core."
Adamas blinked. "My… core?"
"You bonded with your Eather through resolve. Your true self faced your shadow. That's the first step of all warriors."
Adamas blinked back tears but smiled.
A quiet strength filled the air. Even in this cursed place, something had been reclaimed.
But as they turned to leave, Asari's eyes lingered on the walls—etched faintly into the stone were dozens of names.
Each scratched with blood.
And at the bottom:
"The Hollow Ones remember."
He didn't mention it to the others.
Not yet.
Outside, the wind had calmed, and above them, the northern lights shimmered faintly.
But the darkness was not gone.
It had merely moved deeper.