Kael sat in the quiet.
The Hollow hummed with the low rhythm of night—wind in bamboo, the drip of tonic water cooling in clay jars, distant footsteps in the corridor.
But inside him—
The noise had begun.
He sat cross-legged in his chamber, the Nameless Verse stretched across his knees.
Breath in.
Hold.
Out.
Repeat.
His pulse quickened too fast.
The breath wouldn't settle.
Every cycle felt like it was digging deeper.
But into what?
The parchment shimmered faintly.
Not from spirit.
From something else.
The ink twisted—only slightly—but he swore the characters moved.
He blinked.
They didn't move again.
He closed his eyes.
And the voice came.
Not words.
Friction.
A scraping behind the ears, just under thought.
Not enough.
Too slow.
Become… or break.
Kael's breath caught.
He opened his eyes.
He wasn't cold.
But he was sweating.
His fingertips tingled.
His jaw clenched.
He looked toward the shelf.
The bottle was there.
Wrapped.
Still.
But the cloth… moved.
Not visibly.
Just... rhythmically.
Like it breathed.
Kael stood too quickly.
Staggered.
His head swam.
A sharp pain bloomed behind his eyes.
The Verse fell from his hand.
He grabbed the shelf to steady himself.
Then—
A whisper.
Clear.
But not from the bottle.
From inside him.
"How many will you let pass you?"
"How long before even the weak step over your back?"
Kael gritted his teeth.
He tore the cloth open.
Reached for the bottle.
Stopped.
His hand hovered.
Shaking.
Then—
A faint warmth brushed his ribs.
The small pouch.
The leather amulet his brother had once forced into his palm.
He pulled it out.
Held it.
The voice wavered.
The pressure behind his skull dimmed.
The shaking slowed.
The sweat cooled.
He didn't open the bottle.
Didn't speak.
He sat down.
Back straight.
Placed the pouch in his lap.
Closed his eyes.
Breathed.
Once.
Twice.
The Verse didn't come.
But the silence returned.
For now.
He slowly lowered his hand.The urge to open the bottle had passed—but not the unease it left behind.
Kael looked at the small leather pouch on his lap. The one Joren had given him.
Carefully, he placed the bottle inside.
Not to hide it.Not to seal it.
But to keep it close, without touching it.
The pouch pulsed faintly as it closed.
And Kael breathed in the silence.