Darkness swallowed the mountain.
The explosion threw Amara backward.
Stone shattered.
Wind roared.
For a few terrifying seconds, she couldn't tell which way was up.
Then she hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through her shoulder.
Dust filled the air.
The world became chaos.
"Amara!"
The young man's voice cut through the darkness.
She coughed and pushed herself upright.
The mountain was breaking apart.
Massive cracks spread through the cliffs, glowing with silver light and black shadow.
Above them, the enormous hand continued forcing its way through the fractured seal.
Every movement sent tremors racing across the landscape.
It wasn't fully through.
Not yet.
But it was trying.
And something told Amara that if it succeeded, nothing would ever be the same again.
A burst of silver light flashed nearby.
The stranger stood with both hands raised, streams of energy flowing from his palms into the broken seal.
His face was pale.
Sweat ran down his forehead.
For the first time since meeting him, he looked overwhelmed.
"Get away from the fracture!" he shouted.
The young man grabbed Amara's arm.
"Move!"
Another crack split the mountain.
The hand pushed farther through.
Long fingers of darkness stretched into the world.
Where they touched stone, the rock seemed to age instantly.
Ancient cliffs crumbled into dust.
Amara stared in horror.
"What is that thing?"
Neither man answered.
The stranger couldn't.
He was too busy holding the seal together.
The young man looked like he didn't want to.
Above them, Seraphine floated within her silver light.
Her expression was grim.
"The barrier is failing."
The stranger laughed bitterly.
"I noticed."
The ancient woman ignored him.
Her gaze settled on Amara.
"You need to leave."
Amara shook her head.
"No."
Seraphine blinked.
"No?"
"If I keep running, people keep trying to kill me, kidnap me, or throw me into ancient disasters."
The young man couldn't help a short laugh.
Even in the middle of the apocalypse.
Amara pointed toward the seal.
"I'm tired of not knowing anything."
The darkness behind the fracture stirred.
A low growl rolled across the mountains.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Hungry.
Every shadow around them trembled.
The stranger's face hardened.
"It's waking up."
A chill swept through Amara.
"The Hollow King?"
"No."
The answer came from Seraphine.
And somehow it was worse.
"The prison."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Amara stared at her.
"The prison is alive?"
Seraphine's expression darkened.
"It always was."
The words settled heavily over the mountainside.
The prison.
The seals.
The locks.
Nothing was what Amara had believed.
Nothing.
The enormous hand suddenly froze.
For a moment, everything became still.
Then—
The hand slowly turned.
Toward her.
Amara's breath caught.
It wasn't searching anymore.
It had found her.
The giant fingers twitched.
The fracture widened.
Darkness poured through the opening.
And a voice echoed from within.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Just clear.
"Amara."
The world shuddered.
The stranger nearly lost control of the seal.
The young man stepped protectively in front of her.
But Amara couldn't look away.
The voice continued.
"I remember you."
Fear rushed through her.
Not because of what it said.
Because part of her believed it.
Somewhere deep inside.
Some impossible part of her.
The darkness shifted again.
Images flashed through her mind.
A silver throne.
A kingdom beneath endless stars.
A man standing beside her.
Not threatening.
Not hostile.
Waiting.
The vision vanished instantly.
Amara staggered.
The young man caught her.
"What happened?"
She looked at him.
Terrified.
"I've seen him before."
Nobody spoke.
The stranger's face lost all color.
Seraphine closed her eyes.
As if she had been hoping never to hear those words.
The mountain shook violently.
The fracture expanded again.
More darkness emerged.
More power.
More pressure.
The stranger dropped to one knee.
The seal was winning.
Or perhaps he was losing.
"Listen carefully," Seraphine said.
Her voice carried across the chaos.
"There isn't much time left."
Amara forced herself to focus.
The ancient woman looked directly into her eyes.
"When the final lock breaks, two paths will remain."
"The first?"
"You free him."
The darkness behind the fracture pulsed.
The voice became stronger.
Closer.
Almost hopeful.
Amara swallowed hard.
"And the second?"
Seraphine's expression filled with sorrow.
"You destroy him."
The mountains fell silent.
For one brief moment, even the fracture stopped growing.
As though the world itself was waiting for her answer.
Amara stared at the ancient woman.
"Which choice is right?"
A long silence followed.
Then Seraphine spoke the words Amara feared most.
"I don't know."
The ground exploded beneath them.
A shockwave tore across the mountains.
The stranger was thrown backward.
His connection to the seal shattered.
The fracture widened dramatically.
The enormous hand pushed farther through.
And this time—
A second hand appeared beside it.
The prison was opening.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Seraphine's silver form flickered.
The effort of manifesting was draining her.
Before fading, she looked at Amara one last time.
"Find the Seventh Lock."
The young man frowned.
"Where is it?"
But Seraphine was already disappearing.
Her voice echoed faintly through the night.
"Hidden where the world first broke..."
Then she vanished.
Gone.
The silver light disappeared.
Only darkness remained.
The mountain trembled.
The prison continued opening.
And somewhere deep within the fracture—
Something laughed.
Not the prison.
Not the Hollow King.
Something else.
Something that had been waiting even longer.
Something that had just realized the locks were failing.
Amara felt cold.
Truly cold.
Because for the first time, she understood one thing.
The Hollow King wasn't the only thing trapped behind the seals.
And whatever else was in there...
Might be far worse.