Echoes of Hollow

"I think I'm going to stop trying to please you for a while. How can someone not control their own hand?"

"Sorry..."

Getting out of the car, Alyia sighed. Her eyes scanned the school ahead and all the boys and girls who were staring at them with wide eyes.

"Who is Hilary? Is she in high school?"

"She’s my cousin, Samantha’s daughter, and no, she isn’t..."

"Hye!"

With long, curly hair and dressed in a white shirt, blue skirt, and blue blouse, the little girl ran towards him with a backpack and a big smile on her face. As she approached, her feet got tangled, and with her smile instantly fading, she fell.

"How many times have I told you not to run?"

Sighing, Hye knelt down, took off her backpack, and picked up the girl, who continued to whimper, into his arms. He wiped the tears that were about to fall from her eyes with his finger.

"Don’t cry... look, there’s no injury, right? There’s no reason to cry."

"But it hurts..."

Sniffling, the girl hid her face in his chest.

"...Would an ice cream make it stop hurting?"

"...Strawberry...?"

"Strawberry."

"...Maybe two..."

Placing one hand on the child's back, a small smile formed on his face.

"Alright, two and nothing more, okay?"

Still hiding her face, Hilary nodded.

Maybe it’s because they’re still children that they can be so bold, but looking around, Alyia couldn’t find a single spot where there wasn’t a camera pointed in their direction.

"Shall we go? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to become a daily topic for high school kids."

"Yes, let’s go, but we need to stop somewhere before we head off."

Alyia followed Hye down the busy street, while Tom trailed behind slowly in the car. More than before, the stares now bothered her even more, as, unlike usual, they weren’t entirely directed at her.

‘So this is how Lior felt all this time...’

A tongue clicked.

‘How annoying.’

"Do you think if I asked for his number, he’d give it to me?" a young woman at the bus stop across the street asked.

"I don’t know, he seems to have a daughter, so he probably has a girlfriend too."

"And what does that matter? Look at me. After having a kid, she must have a terrible body now. I’m obviously much better."

Pulling her shirt down, the girl let her hair loose, and with her phone in hand, she confidently prepared to approach Hye.

"I’m going, wish me luck."

"Uff! Alright, do what you want. But hurry, the bus is almost here."

Her confidence was evident, as it seemed to radiate from her smile. With her phone ready for the number to be added, all that was left was to get it. The crowd moved by, and obviously, she wasn’t the only one looking at someone so attractive, but she seemed to be the only one with enough confidence to approach him.

"Hi, I..."

The golden hair came closer, shining with the slightest touch of light, and stopped right in front of her.

"Huh?"

Turning, Alyia looked into her eyes, and... where did her confidence go? Her face flushed, and the words wouldn’t come out. It was now clear why even the men were standing around, watching that place.

"Do you need something?"

Gradually widening her eyes, the girl didn’t even realize when she stretched her arms toward Hye. Even more unexpected was the fact that her mouth finally opened, but not for the reason she initially came for.

"Yo-You... could you give me your number?!"

"What...?"

Everyone looked, and even those who hadn’t been staring before stopped to watch, as she hadn’t said it as quietly as she intended. Alyia watched in surprise, knowing from the beginning why the girl had approached, having heard every word. Hye broke the small spoon in his hand, causing the ice cream to fall onto the table.

"How rude," Hilary said, shaking her head in disapproval. "You’re wasting food, Hye."

The girl left, heart completely broken, unlike what she expected. From the bus seat, she cried while watching the two of them together because, no matter who it was, she just wanted one of them for herself...

The stares didn’t stop, far from it, but the same scene didn’t happen again. Hilary continued to enjoy her ice creams to the fullest, as each spoonful made her body shiver, followed by a smile.

‘So I wasn’t wrong after all...’

Forgetting the stares around them, Alyia saw something shining and even stranger than Hye’s lack of mana. That child in front of her, perhaps the purest creature on that street at that moment. However, she wasn’t the only one who noticed.

‘That child...’ she thought, as did Samael. ‘...she’s a monster.’

‘Hilary..? Why are you saying that?’

Alyia’s thoughts were unheard by Hye, but both Samael’s words and thoughts were more than clear in his mind.

'Think of your body as a vessel. Yours seems empty since you have no apparent mana. The vessel of the one with the Father’s eyes seems to be in constant evolution, with more and more mana filling it, which should indeed happen, as all those who seek power should always be pushing their limits. Bodies are vessels, and vessels have various limits that cannot be surpassed unless you decide to transform your own body. But this girl’s... just as I see no limits, I also cannot say what more she might aspire to achieve.'