Echoes of Hollow

‘What do you mean by that? I can’t? Why not?’

Hye looked at Lykos and his family, clearly unsettled by the situation. They seemed minimally hopeful, still wanting to continue living, while Hye felt nothing at all, his heartbeats steady and devoid of emotion.

However, the situation changed when his gaze turned to Samantha, lying in his arms. Normally, this wouldn’t happen, but for some reason, with the slight acceleration of his heartbeat—a detail many wouldn’t notice, but he did—he now seemed concerned about Samantha’s reaction to hearing that he had given hope to these people only to betray them.

‘Making a soul contract is easy; you just need to be able to see and touch the souls of your future possessions. But... you can’t do that, can you?’

"..."

"So..."

Lykos took a step forward, approaching Hye.

"Can we talk to the others? They should know about this too."

"Oh, well..."

"Yes, of course, they need to know."

"Alright, thank you for understanding."

With his eyes slightly widened, Hye looked at Samantha, who, although able to move her arms a little now, still couldn’t open her eyes.

"What are you doing...? There are too many of them."

"They need to know what awaits them, and if you’re willing to help these three, why not the others?"

"What?! Wait, this is ridiculous, you’re the one who told me to help them."

"What is this...?"

After a sigh, Hye cleared his throat.

"Sorry... But it really was your idea, starting with stopping that woman from killing herself..."

"Great, keep talking; you know they can hear you, right? You’ve just spread to everyone what she asked you not to."

"..."

Standing near the huge red portal that easily occupied the space of three houses, Hye looked around. All the wolves were watching him, including Lykos, who then turned his gaze to Arche, who immediately turned her face away.

"That was bad, wasn’t it...?"

"Horrible."

It’s not necessary to feel embarrassment to understand the current situation in that place; the atmosphere generated by the exchange of glances was enough. However, what should Hye do since he doesn’t care, or rather, is fully aware that a much larger problem lies ahead?

The question of what the place truly is led to immediate discord, and as expected, the first logical reaction was denial. But with the portal shining right before their eyes, denying something obvious was futile.

Attempts at bargaining failed, and in the end, with acceptance came hundreds of other people pleading to be taken out through the portal.

"Only the old refused to leave, which still means a number close to two thousand people... It will take a lot of space, right...? How exactly do you plan to handle that?"

"Well, a remote place with a few portals should suffice, and the cost would be much lower."

The wolves watched him constantly, waiting for the possible "ritual" that might be necessary, but how could there be a ritual if he couldn’t actually form the contract?

Clearing his throat and sighing briefly, Hye took a step forward.

"Well, actually..."

His eyes gleamed, and with the calming of his heartbeat—which, despite being quite slow from many perspectives, felt abnormally fast to him—he couldn’t help but let a small involuntary smile form on his face.

"We need to be quick, so you must decide quickly whether to accept or not. Click yes if you agree, or no if that’s your decision."

Confused, everyone looked at each other. However, with the appearance of the words wrapped in strange black smoke before their eyes, an intense chill ran through their bodies and a visceral fear took hold of their hearts. In front of that screen, they couldn’t even open their mouths properly to breathe... many even forgot that breathing was necessary to continue living, while others tried and failed miserably.

Lykos and Arche looked at each other, and with a nod of their heads, the decision was once again reinforced. Without their hands to caress her, what remained was to lick Eudora’s face for a moment to remind her that despite her terrified expression, they were still there and always would be.

[Alert!]

[A proposal is being made]

[Give your soul and gain authorization to become a Void Servant]

[Yes] [No]

‘Interesting, kid... It seems that this body isn’t the only strange thing about you...’

[The exit portal will close in 5:45]

"Alright, time’s up; we need to go now."

[Alert!]

[The proposal has been closed]

[963 beings have accepted to become Void Servants]

[The Servants will be synchronized with the Void]

[Synchronizing...]

[1%... 2%... 4%]

"S-stop! ...Let me go too, please...!"

"Y-yes..., give me another chance, I was... I was about to accept!"

Their pleas were ignored, and they realized this with a simple, cold, and distant look. Their words only reinforced something they already knew.

"Rule number two: don’t regret, accept the consequences of your decisions and deal with them."

Recognizing that phrase and unable to think of what to say about it, Samantha involuntarily moved part of her face, briefly lifting her eyebrows. Then, turning her back on the wolves who chose not to follow him, Hye walked towards the portal.

"I don’t think it would be good to take them out like this; there are too many, it would be impossible to hide them if the portal opens in a city."

"Yes, I had already thought of that."

He turned back.

"Come on, get close to me and make sure you’re touching each other at least a little. First, I’ll send you to a safe place, as it would be problematic if all of you came out of the portal with us together. And then, once we’re outside, I’ll bring you back. Got it?"

Cowering on her mother’s back, Eudora shivered upon hearing his words, and this tremor only intensified when he continued:

"Oh, and if there’s an egg there, don’t touch it."

Incredulous, all those who chose to stay watched in awe as, before their eyes, all the wolves before Hye disappeared. Except, of course, those who had tried to stay close even without having said yes to the previous proposal.

"Incredible, how did you know this would work?"

"...I didn’t know..."

[The exit portal will close in 01:13]

After a final glance at those who hadn’t been taken through the portal to the Void, Hye turned and walked toward the red glow.

[Alert!]

[All earned points have been calculated]

[36,825 points have been acquired]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

[You leveled up]

[Congratulations]

.

.

.

Howling, one of the wolves leaped towards him, but before it could even reach the portal, it was hurled dozens of meters away with several of its bones broken. It crashed through the leader’s house, causing it to collapse.

“Due to the error of offering one’s own kind, to return to what once was…” says a few phrases transcribed on a fragment of rock that fell after the collapse.

Everyone looked at each other, as despite knowing that time was running out, none of them actually knew how much time they had left. As their gazes wandered reluctantly, an intense tremor shook the ground beneath their feet.

[00:00]

[Alert!]

[The sixth floor of the Tower of Six will be deleted]

The moon split in half along with the entire sky and stars, and as they continued trying to believe what their eyes were seeing, the wolves trembled, their powerless legs collapsing to the ground.

With the advancing darkness came a silent and painless death that, having barely started, was already over.

***************

[Alert!]

[The minimum requirements have been met]

[A hundred intelligent beings have agreed to devote their souls to the Void]

[The Void Servant contract has been unlocked]

[Type: agreement Title: Void Servant Characteristic: those who prioritize the stability and management of the Void above all else.]

***************

[Alert!]

[Due to the large number of points earned, the user will enter hibernation until the earned points are properly absorbed]

[Time until the end of hibernation: 48:07:12]