They didn’t speak on the return from the mountain.
Reed walked ahead, Hollowblood dripping from his knuckles, boots coated in mud and ash. Shia followed, silent, hooded, the light of the Hero Core Fragnt still pulsing from beneath her skin like a buried sun.
The others—a single Spine Unit survivor and a limping scout—kept their eyes low. They had seen gods flicker behind stone and live walls. They had seen n burn from words never spoken.
And they had seen Shia change.
At the edge of Goblin’s Hollow, as the war altar lood like a broken fang against the blood-red sky, Shia dropped to one knee.
"Stop," she gasped. "It’s... still happening."
Reed knelt beside her.
Beneath her skin, the crystal pulsed harder. It was no longer contained. It had fused with her bones.
[System Alert: Hero Mutation Progressing]
Soul Compatibility: Stable
Side Effects: Unknown
Current Status: Transcendence Threshold
Her breathing slowed, then stopped.
Then she scread.
Her body convulsed, cracking as her bones rearranged. Muscles tightened. Scars peeled back to reveal glowing marks beneath—runes older than language. Her claws lengthened, blackened. Her eyes turned pitch, no longer reflecting light.
[Hero Class: WRAITHBLADE – Rank E]
New Skills:
– Phase Reaver
– Blink Cut
– Shadow Split
Passive: Predator’s Mind – Shares tactical instinct with bonded Lord
She stood, trembling. Taller. Leaner. No longer entirely goblin. Sothing between life and system.
Reed reached for her.
And flinched.
Because he saw through her.
[Bond Enhancent Triggered]
Psychic tether established between Lord and Hero.
Shared experience initiated.
Without warning, Reed was ripped into mory.
A boy stood before a summoning circle.
Young. Rich. Scared.
He summoned her—Shia—not as a Hero, but a test subject. She was not beautiful. Not divine. Just wrong. Too feral. Too real.
"Kill it," the boy scread.
And they tried. Fire. Whips. Chains.
But she lived.
Trapped beneath the Hollow, with only hate to keep her warm.
She rembered their faces.
And Reed saw them all.
Then she was alone.
Chained. Forgotten.
Until Reed called her.
He staggered back, choking.
Shia stood above him.
"You saw."
He nodded. "I didn’t ask to."
"You needed to."
She stepped closer, not nacing—resigned.
"Now you understand what I am. What I’ve always been."
"No," Reed said.
"I understand what they tried to destroy. And what I’ve built instead."
They returned to the War Altar.
Goblin masses fell silent at the sight of Shia. They whispered: Shadow Queen. Blade-Mother. Hollow’s Wrath.
Reed raised his voice.
"She is no longer F-rank. No longer broken. The System lied. Her limit was never real. And neither is yours."
He turned to the altar.
"Raise the banners."
"We take everything."
That night, Reed tested the psychic link. Thoughts weren’t just shared—they echoed. In battle scenarios, Shia preempted his orders. In silence, she responded to fears he hadn’t voiced.
But it cut both ways.
He felt her nightmares—trapped flesh, the sll of burnt bone, the sound of chains dragged in darkness.
And he saw her rage—not as emotion, but geotry. Calculated fury, dissected revenge.
"Are you afraid of ?" she asked once.
"No," he said. "I’m afraid of who I’d be without you."
The System responded to their ascent:
[System Broadcast: WARNING]
Hero "SHIA" has exceeded permitted rank via unsanctioned augntation.
Classification: System Breach
Action: Monitored
Result: Domain of Goblin’s Hollow designated Rogue Tier
Rewards/Penalties: Variable. Unpredictable. Dangerous.
And then—
[Hero Limit Broken: SHIA – E ]
New Trait: Null Signature – Untrackable by standard Hero detection. Immune to tracking glyphs.
Unlockable: Rank D Ascension Trial (Suppressed by System Instability)
The world shuddered again.
Not from tectonics.
From authority breaking.
The ground behind the War Altar ruptured.
Veins snapped open.
From the wound, a pillar of flesh and black light erupted, reaching into the storm-choked sky.
[Entity Ergence: 10 HOURS]
Then ca the second alert.
[LORDS’ ERGENCY PROTOCOL]
A coalition force of five lords, including Hadren, Kheldrin, and Marseth, has been dispatched.
Estimated Arrival: 6 HOURS
Objective: "Neutralize the Hollow. Execute Lord Reed. Contain or destroy Hero Shia."
Reed clenched Thornblade.
"They’re not sending an army."
Shia stepped beside him, cloak billowing, eyes hollow stars.
"They’re sending an execution."
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