THE FIRST CLUE

Isaac’s gloved fingers traced the etched name on the stone wall.

Veyra.

Not a rumor. Not a forgotten story. Real.

Which meant,

There was more to find.

His masked face tilted slightly as he scanned the ruins.

The architecture here was different from the outer areas of Blackveil.

More intact. Less weathered.

Preserved.

As if something or someone had kept it that way.

Isaac exhaled slowly.

"Alright, Hollow." he murmured. "Where'd you go?"

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Then, he moved.

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MAPPING THE DEAD CITY

Isaac’s first rule when searching an unknown area,

Make a map.

His hand flicked open a small notebook, and with quick, efficient strokes, he began sketching a rough layout of the ruins.

Every intact structure.

Every collapsed archway.

Every possible path deeper inside.

His eyes flicked between the environment and the page, his brain already piecing together potential routes.

There was a pattern here.

There was always a pattern.

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THE HOLLOW’S PATH

Isaac moved carefully through the ruins, footsteps silent.

He checked crumbling doorways.

Searched through shattered buildings.

Most of what he found was useless.

Broken pottery. Dust-covered books, too decayed to read.

But then...

In the depths of a half-collapsed library, something caught his eye.

A door.

Not ruined like the others. Not cracked or broken.

But sealed.

Isaac approached, running his fingers over the surface.

There was no handle. No visible way to open it.

Instead...

There were more symbols carved into the stone.

And at the center of them.

Veyra.

Isaac exhaled.

He was close.