The Hollow's scream wasn't sound.
It was pressure.
A crushing, vibrating force that made the stone beneath my feet crack and the air around me ripple like heat over fire. The void shook violently, shadows whipping in every direction, recoiling from the silver light pouring out of my chest.
I stood in the centre of it, breath sharp, heart racing, silver veins glowing beneath my skin.
The Hollow trembled.
Not in rage.
In fear.
It had never been challenged.
Never been resisted.
Never been claimed.
I lifted my hand again, silver light gathering in my palm.
"You're not taking me," I said, voice steady despite the shaking ground. "You're not replacing me. You're not merging with me."
The Hollow's silhouette flickered, its form glitching like a broken reflection.
Conduit.
The word vibrated through the void, weaker now, uncertain.
I stepped forward.
"You don't get to choose what I become."
The Hollow recoiled.
I kept walking.
"You don't get to choose what I give."
The void pulsed.
"You don't get to choose what I lose."
The silhouette shuddered.
"You don't get to choose me."
The Hollow froze.
I stopped inches from it, silver light blazing from my chest, my arms, my throat. The void rippled around us, shadows pulling back like a tide.
I whispered the words that changed everything.
"I choose you."
The Hollow convulsed.
Not in triumph.
In shock.
The void cracked — a jagged fracture of white light splitting across the darkness. The silhouette staggered backward, its form unraveling, shadows peeling away like smoke.
It didn't understand.
It had only ever taken.
Consumed.
Merged.
Destroyed.
It had never been chosen.
The Ridge pulsed through me, silver light surging outward in a wave. The ground beneath my feet glowed with ancient symbols — circles, lines, runes older than the packs, older than the mountain itself.
The Hollow screamed again, shadows thrashing wildly.
I raised both hands.
Silver light erupted from my palms, forming chains of pure energy that shot across the void and wrapped around the Hollow's silhouette. The shadows writhed, twisting, fighting, but the chains tightened, glowing brighter with every heartbeat.
The Hollow shrieked.
The void shook.
The ground split.
And far, far away — through the cracks in the darkness — I heard the world outside.
Wolves howling.
Stone breaking.
Rylan screaming my name.
"LYRA!"
The bond flared — golden fire surging through the void, slamming into my chest like a heartbeat.
I gasped.
The Hollow convulsed.
The silver chains tightened.
The void trembled.
Rylan's voice broke through again, raw and terrified.
"LYRA — COME BACK!"
I clenched my jaw.
"I'm not done."
The Hollow surged, shadows whipping violently, trying to break free. The chains strained, cracking with light.
I stepped closer, forcing the binding to hold.
"You don't get to destroy my world."
The Hollow writhed.
"You don't get to take my bond."
The void pulsed.
"You don't get to take me."
The Hollow screamed — a final, desperate, furious sound.
I pressed my hand against its chest.
Silver light exploded outward.
The void shattered.
The Hollow collapsed inward.
And everything went white.