"Some weapons are not forged in fire… but in silence."
— Unknown inscription at the base of the Mirror-Tomb
---
The Hollowlands were nothing like the maps described.
There were no trails.
No wind.
No sound.
Just ash, and jagged earth, and a quiet that pressed on the soul like drowning.
Vayren and Lyra stood at the edge of the canyon, staring down at the spiraling ruin below — carved into the rock like a coiled serpent made of glass and shadow.
It pulsed.
Not with light.
With memory.
---
"It's calling," Lyra whispered.
Vayren didn't respond.
His Mark spun once, then stopped — frozen mid-turn.
Even it was afraid.
---
Scene: Descent
The entrance to the Tomb was a spiral staircase chiseled from obsidian and emotion.
Each step felt different.
One made Vayren feel cold.
Another made Lyra forget her father's voice.
A third made them both hear a scream that belonged to neither of them — but still felt familiar.
After fifteen steps, Vayren stopped.
"This place is alive."
"No," Lyra said. "It's worse. It's aware."
---
Scene: The Trial of Reflection
They reached the chamber.
A circular room lined with black mirrors.
No doors. No exits.
Only their reflections — hundreds of them.
But none matched them exactly.
One showed Vayren with a burning halo.
Another showed Lyra laughing in white robes.
A third showed both of them lying dead at Serenya's feet.
Then the room spoke.
Not with words.
With emotion.
Vayren clutched his chest. His breath hitched.
Lyra fell to her knees.
They weren't being attacked.
They were being rewritten.
---
> "This is the blade's will," Vayren gasped.
"Tenebranth doesn't cut flesh… it cuts identity."
---
Lore Drop: Tenebranth's Curse
Tenebranth is not sealed behind traps or monsters.
It is protected by emotion itself.
To claim it, one must face their purest feeling.
Not overcome it.
Endure it.
---
Vayren stepped forward.
The mirrors shifted.
A version of him appeared, holding Lyra's corpse — bleeding, broken, and begging for forgiveness.
The vision said nothing.
But it hurt more than any wound he'd ever taken.
Vayren didn't look away.
"I know what I've already lost.
You can't break what I've already bled out."
The mirror cracked.
---
Lyra faced a different image.
Serenya, holding Vayren's Mark in her hand.
Veilbrand shattered beside her.
Lyra, watching… and doing nothing.
"No," she whispered. "That's not me."
"You want to run," the reflection said. "You've always wanted to run."
"Maybe. But I'm still here."
And she punched the glass.
It shattered into flame.
---
Final Scene: The Chamber of the Blade
Beyond the broken mirrors, a hallway opened — smooth stone, lined with veins of silver Veyra.
At the end?
A pedestal of bone.
Floating above it…
Tenebranth.
A dagger shaped like a heartbeat.
Its blade reflected no light — only grief.
And seated beside it, back against the wall, legs crossed and calm—
Serenya.
Wings folded. Eyes closed.
She smiled without opening them.
> "Took you long enough."