The glow deepened within the armor.
Pale.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Corvyn did not move.
Nightfeather held steady before him.
Around him, the men of Ravenhold tightened their grip on their weapons.
No one spoke.
No one dared.
The armor took a step forward.
Slow.
Heavy.
The sound of metal against stone echoed through the chamber like a distant toll.
Halric exhaled sharply.
"Well," he muttered, "we've found something worse."
The Hollow Knight lifted its head fully.
The pale light within its helm flared brighter.
Not eyes.
But something watching all the same.
Corvyn stepped forward to meet it.
"Hold formation," he said quietly.
The creature moved again.
Faster now.
Its blade—if it had one—was not drawn.
Instead, it raised an empty hand.
And the air itself seemed to shift.
A sudden force slammed outward.
Invisible.
Violent.
Two men were thrown back instantly, crashing against the stone walls.
Halric braced himself.
"Right," he growled. "Not playing fair."
Corvyn surged forward.
He closed the distance before the creature could act again.
Nightfeather struck.
The black blade rang against the armor with a sharp, piercing note.
Sparks flew.
But the armor did not break.
The Hollow Knight turned toward him.
Too fast.
Its gauntleted hand lashed out.
Corvyn twisted aside, the blow grazing his shoulder with crushing force.
Even that glancing hit sent a shock through his body.
Strong.
Far stronger than any man.
He stepped back, resetting his stance.
"Not steel alone," he murmured.
Halric charged in from the side.
His blade crashed down with brute force against the creature's back.
This time—
A dent formed.
Small.
But real.
The Hollow Knight staggered half a step.
Halric grinned.
"Good. It bleeds… in its own way."
The creature turned on him instantly.
Its movements were precise.
Controlled.
Like a trained fighter.
It struck.
Not wild.
Not slow.
Halric barely raised his sword in time.
The impact drove him to one knee.
"Seven hells—!"
Corvyn moved again.
He circled behind the creature.
Watching.
Learning.
Waiting.
The Hollow Knight shifted its stance.
Not blindly reacting—
Adapting.
Corvyn's eyes narrowed.
"It thinks," he said quietly.
Halric grimaced.
"I preferred it when it didn't."
The creature raised its hand again.
The air tightened.
Corvyn saw it this time.
Felt it.
"Down!" he shouted.
The force burst outward once more.
But this time, they were ready.
They moved with it.
Flowed around it.
Not broken.
Not scattered.
Corvyn stepped in close.
Too close for the creature's wide strikes.
Nightfeather drove forward—
Between the plates.
Into the narrow gap beneath the arm.
The blade bit deep.
A sound escaped the Hollow Knight.
Not a roar.
Not a cry.
Something hollow.
Empty.
The pale light within its helm flickered.
For a moment—
Just a moment—
It faltered.
Corvyn pulled back.
"Strike the joints!" he ordered.
The Ravaryn men surged forward.
Now with purpose.
Now with understanding.
Steel found the gaps.
The weak points.
The Hollow Knight fought back.
Relentless.
Unyielding.
But no longer untouchable.
Halric rose again, blood on his lip, grin still in place.
"Now this…" he muttered, raising his sword,
"…this is a fight."