Chapter 63 – The Crownless King
Part 1: The World Begins to Notice
They emerged from the echo tomb in silence.
Not because there was nothing to say—
But because the Hollow was listening.
Ariz walked ahead, violet eyes dimmer now, but no less commanding. The mirror's memory was gone, shattered behind him. But its echo had followed.
The creature knelt once more. Then crumbled into dust.
Serika stared at it long after it vanished.
"It bowed," she whispered."Not to a name. Not to a title.It bowed to you."
Luceris nodded. "Guess that makes you a king without a crown."
"I'm not a king," Ariz said, eyes on the horizon. "Not yet."
They kept walking.
And the Hollow shifted.
Trees grew backwards. The sky pulsed once, like a held breath. Birds that weren't birds screamed from invisible branches.
And somewhere deeper within, a new voice stirred.
Not human.
Not beast.
Something watching.
[System Update: Legacy Awakening Confirmed]Bound Echo Resonance increasedHollow Instinct - 71% SyncedWarning: You have been marked by the Observer
Ariz's eye twitched slightly. The message blinked and vanished.
He said nothing.
Luceris side-eyed him. "You just zoned out for two seconds. What happened?"
"Nothing," Ariz said smoothly.
Luceris scoffed. "You're the worst liar in the world."
"I don't lie," Ariz said. "I just don't explain."
But this time, she didn't look at him with caution.
She looked at him the way one might look at a blade that once saved your life.
"I trained with nobles. Dueled bloodline elites.Not one of them made a creature kneel by walking through a door."
She didn't smile.
But her voice lowered.
"You treat it like it means nothing."
"It doesn't," he said. "Not yet."
"But it will, won't it?"
Ariz didn't answer.
But she saw it in his eyes.
One day, he would stop walking through doors.And start breaking them down.
They made camp near a burnt-out spire. No enemies pursued them.
Not yet.
But Serika couldn't sleep.
She sat near the edge of the flame ward, arms wrapped around one leg, just watching Ariz's silhouette in the half-dark.
She didn't think he noticed.
He did.
"You stayed awake again," he said without turning.
"I'm not tired."
"You're watching me."
"…Yes."
Ariz looked over his shoulder, quiet.
She met his gaze.
And in that moment, for the first time, she didn't flinch.
"You know I'm not trying to be someone's queen," she said flatly.
"I know."
"And I don't need someone to save me."
"I know that too."
"But I..."
She exhaled.
The firelight danced violet across her eyes.
"I don't mind walking beside someone who doesn't ask me to kneel."
He didn't respond.
But he didn't look away, either.
And Serika felt something tighten behind her ribs—not fear. Not tension.
Anticipation.
Far above them, in the Hollow's broken sky, something opened.
A slit of light, violet-black and breathing.
From within it, a single eye blinked open.
The Observer had seen enough.