Echoes of Hollow

[The exit portal will close in 18:36]

"Soul contract...? Was it Lucif... Samael who taught you about it...?"

Hye nodded.

"Well, he said it was possible, but he hasn’t taught me how to do it yet."

"This contract..."

Re-entering the cave, Arche approached.

"What would we need to do if we agreed?"

A clicking sound echoed, and with a sigh, Samantha looked at the wolf.

"From what he’s saying, it’s a contract of slavery, so it would be something like living and dying for whoever is seen as the master, as well as fulfilling their wishes."

"But it doesn’t have to be everyone, right...?"

"What?"

"I mean... so, if I take responsibility for doing these things, Lykos and Eudora could..."

Samantha gritted her teeth.

"Damn it! Can’t you even hear yourself?!"

"You don’t understand!"

A short, contained howl resonated. Her claws dug into the ground, and tears began to flow from her eyes.

"They are all I have left...! If it’s for them, I..."

"It’s interesting that you think that way, but nothing could be done. The soul contract is unbreakable, and everyone would have to fulfill it."

"I understand, so... what’s needed to make it happen?"

"Are you going to do this?! I don’t know how, but maybe you haven’t fully understood this yet, so I’ll say it again—doing this means accepting that your life no longer belongs to you."

"And what’s the difference...?"

Walking to the edge, Arche gave a painful, silent smile as the tears stopped flowing from her eyes.

"From what I know, we’re just a small, insignificant phase in a twisted game. My parents, their parents, and so on, lived thinking this damn forest was everything and that our people were cursed to be the only ones in the world. When, in reality, we’re just playthings. We haven’t even been truly living all this time, so what’s the difference? If doing this allows her to at least see something beyond this... cemetery, then... why should I refuse...?"

For a brief moment, Arche looked into the cave, where Samantha remained on the ground, leaning against a wall in silence.

"Shall we? You said we don’t have much time, right...?"

"Yes, but..."

Feeling the breeze hitting his entire body, Hye looked down for a moment.

"Could you give us some clothes? I don’t want to leave like this."

[The exit portal will close in 15:07]

Even though she was a child, Eudora had seen and done many things no child should. Lykos knew this. However, a scene so brutal was not something he wanted her to see at any point in her life. That’s why, when the bones started to appear, he took her away while Kyros’s screams had turned into nothing more than whispers.

"Are you saying you saw a man who had no smell and, like you, he was also not transformed...?"

While remaining clung to Lykos’s back and surrounded by his soft fur, Eudora nodded.

"..."

Feeling Arche’s traces in the forest, he walked among the trees, struggling to stay calm and sane. However, his claws scraped the ground he walked on, and his heart raced frantically with each moment. It was no easy task.

"Huh..?"

A faint breeze reached him, passing under his nose and bringing a very familiar scent. Turning his head immediately and with a wide leap, following the direction of the smell, Lykos didn’t even see the trees passing by around him, while Eudora struggled to stay on his back. Holding onto his long, sturdy fur, she occasionally swayed but did not fall.

"Daddy! I’m... Stop...!"

The wind suddenly stopped, and with her body swaying to one side, Eudora hesitated to open her eyes.

"Dear!"

"Mama...?"

Hearing Lykos’s shout, Eudora opened her eyes immediately, only to see her father running carefreely toward her while she remained precariously on his back.

"Mama!"

After Lykos finally stopped, she released his fur and leaped to Arche, clinging to her warm, soft neck and staying between her parents.

Although warm, the moment was unfortunately brief. Seeing Hye emerging from his home through the destroyed door, Lykos immediately went on guard.

'Those who don’t transform...' he thought. 'They really do exist...'

"Stop! Who are you?!"

"Darling, calm down..."

Taking a few steps forward and stepping out from behind Lykos’s back, Arche faced him.

"We need to talk."

The idea that his entire life was just a small phase in a twisted game had shaken Lykos, leaving him in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to. However, thinking that, in addition, now the duration of his life was being marked by a damn timer they couldn’t even see.

"There’s no other option; we have to do this."

Arche left no room for discussion; the decision had already been made, and Lykos could see it in her eyes. After all, he knew her well and knew she would never go back on something she had decided.

Looking first at Eudora and then at Arche, in the end, he didn’t really care. Whether he lived or died was indifferent to him. But not for them. If there was any way to make them live a little longer and truly enjoy their time, even if it was in a new and strange world, he would give anything to ensure that.

'So, how is this soul contract done?'

‘Oh, sorry, I should have been a bit clearer. It’s possible to make a soul contract so they can exit through the portal, indeed. But now, you’re not capable.’

'...What...?'