The raid had ended, the goblin's war horn now just a memory that echoed in the minds of those who survived. The Blood Moon Clan's remnants had scattered like shadows at dawn. But peace was always a lie in the Land of Exile.
Renji, Zach, Mira, Velahza, and a handful of seasoned warriors descended into the ancient vale known as the Weeping Hollows—a cursed stretch of fog-bound forest that had once been home to a thriving spiritual order. Now, it was just a graveyard where regrets whispered through the trees, and forgotten souls wept for justice.
The mist was thick enough to drink. Even the moonlight struggled to reach them.
Renji kept a hand on his blade.
"Any idea what we're walking into?" he asked Zach.
Zach shrugged. "Depends. You ever been guilt-tripped by a tree?"
Mira, perched atop a boulder, sniffed the air. Her ears twitched. "There's something wrong here. The spirits… they're watching."
Velahza, cloaked in raven black with gold threads, trailed a step behind the group, silent and regal. She was oddly quiet, her gaze set on the swirling mist, lost in thoughts Renji couldn't read.
As they walked deeper into the hollows, the trees seemed to bend inward. The forest was quiet—not peaceful quiet, but the kind of silence that warned of something holding its breath.
Then, the hallucinations began.
It started with Mira.
She broke off from the group, eyes wide with horror, whispering, "No… no, not again. Not them…"
Renji turned, only to see her sprint into the trees like a terrified animal.
"Mira!" he shouted.
But when he tried to chase her, his body wouldn't move.
He blinked.
The forest was gone. He was in a cold, grey cell, chained like a dog. Seraphina's lifeless eyes stared back at him—her body collapsed beside his. And the voices—those twisted scientists from the lab—laughed behind the mirror walls.
"You failed her," one sneered. "You let her die."
Renji screamed. "No! That's not—this isn't real!"
He reached for the Exile System, but it flickered like a dying flame. His nightmare mode wouldn't activate.
"Renji," came Seraphina's voice—warm, firm, and cutting through the illusion. "This isn't you. Wake up."
He gasped as reality crashed back. He dropped to his knees in the middle of a twisted clearing.
Zach was beside him, pale and tense. "She got you too, huh?"
"What… the hell was that?"
"The spirits here—they don't want to kill us. They want us to break ourselves. It's like drowning in guilt while something watches and feeds."
Renji stood, breath heavy. "Where's Mira?"
Velahza emerged from the fog, her face pale. "She's gone deeper. Whatever she saw… it shattered her."
"We go after her," Renji said.
Zach shook his head. "Not like this. We need a mind anchor. Something personal. Something real to hold onto. Or we all get consumed."
Velahza stepped closer to Renji and touched his chest with her fingers. "You'll find her. But remember this—every step you take forward, the Exile System watches. And it judges."
The trees ahead split open to reveal a path of glowing bones—leading deeper into the Hollow's heart.
Renji narrowed his eyes, "Then let it judge."
The path of glowing bones crunched beneath Renji's boots like brittle glass. With every step, he felt the weight of unseen eyes pressing down on him—judging, whispering, waiting.
"Keep your focus," Zach muttered. His eyes flickered gold as he activated a minor ward. "This forest eats weakness."
Velahza walked with unnatural poise, her robes almost floating over the forest floor. Her silence felt louder than the howling wind. Renji shot her a glance. "You knew this place would do this, didn't you?"
"I did," she said. "But I also knew it's the only path to the next trial. The Weeping Hollows were once sacred. Before the Blood Moon Clan corrupted it."
They reached a gnarled archway of petrified trees, fused together like twisted limbs. The moment they passed beneath it, time and space warped.
A scream echoed through the woods—Mira's.
Renji's body jolted. "She's close."
But Zach grabbed his arm. "Wait."
Renji's vision blurred. The mist shimmered, and standing before him was…
His mother.
Alive. Smiling. Arms open.
"You found your way home, Renji," she said softly. "It's over now. Come. Just rest…"
Renji's heart ached. The voice, the warmth—it felt real. So real.
"Don't," Zach snapped, punching him hard in the chest. "It's not her. Look again!"
Renji blinked.
The illusion shattered. A grotesque spirit, stitched with grief and shadows, reached for him with fingers like broken branches.
He slashed it apart in a blink, divine energy cracking the air.
"I hate this place," Renji muttered, panting.
Velahza finally spoke again. "The spirits here aren't your enemies. They're your pain. Each one was once a soul who couldn't let go."
Zach growled. "We don't have time for riddles. Mira's losing herself."
The trees opened into a shallow glade bathed in silver-blue light. At its center, Mira stood—naked, shivering, her golden eyes glazed over, surrounded by dozens of echoing illusions of herself, all crying, screaming, clawing at their heads.
Renji stepped forward. "Mira. I'm here."
One illusion hissed, "He let us starve."
Another wept, "He used us. Just like the others."
Renji clenched his fists. "That's not true!"
He walked into the illusions, enduring the spectral claws and the bitter guilt-laced words. Each step felt like drowning in past sins. But he reached her—the real Mira—and wrapped his arms around her.
She trembled. "Renji… make it stop."
"I'm here. You're not alone.", Renji whispered in Mira's ears.
His Exile Core pulsed with warmth. A faint light shone from his chest, and the illusions dissolved with an anguished wail.
Mira collapsed into his arms, tears streaming.
Velahza stood still, watching him quietly.
Zach exhaled. "One soul saved. Countless more to go."
Renji looked ahead.
The trail wasn't done.
But now… he was ready.