Night fell over the Ashen Wilderness like a funeral shroud.
The five members of Team Raimer moved through the dead forest in complete silence.
Even the insects refused to sing.
The twisted trees looked more like skeletal hands clawing toward the moon than living wood.
Raimer tightened his grip around his sword.
“Something’s wrong…” he whispered.
The dark elf, Lyra Vaelthorn, slowly nodded.
“This forest is alive.”
No one laughed.
Because they all felt it.
They were being watched.
A cold wind swept through the trees.
One…
Two…
Three…
Footsteps.
But none of them belonged to the team.
Everyone instantly drew their weapons.
“Who’s there?” Kael shouted.
Silence.
Then…
A child’s laughter echoed through the forest.
It came from every direction.
“Did… did you hear that?” Mira asked, her voice trembling.
Before anyone could answer—
A figure appeared between the trees.
A little girl wearing a white dress.
Barefoot.
Long black hair covered her face.
She stood perfectly still.
Raimer took one cautious step forward.
“…Are you lost?”
The girl slowly raised one hand…
…and pointed behind them.
Every member turned instinctively.
Nothing.
When they looked back—
She was gone.
Only tiny muddy footprints remained.
“This mission wasn’t supposed to bring us here,” Kael muttered.
Lyra’s expression darkened.
“I know this place.”
Everyone looked at her.
“This is the Whispering Hollow.”
Silence swallowed the group.
“It was once a battlefield during the Fronin War.”
She continued quietly.
“Thousands died here.”
“They say every soul that couldn’t accept death still wanders these woods.”
A heavy chill settled over everyone.
Mira forced a smile.
“Ghost stories.”
Then…
Someone stepped on a branch.
Everyone spun around.
Nothing.
Crunch.
Again.
Closer.
Crunch…
Closer.
Every sound stopped the moment they turned toward it.
Suddenly—
A scream exploded through the forest.
“HELP ME!”
It sounded exactly like one of the examination candidates.
Raimer sprinted toward the voice.
“Raimer, wait!” Lyra shouted.
But he was already gone.
The others followed.
The screams became louder.
More desperate.
Branches tore at their clothes as they rushed through the darkness.
Finally…
They reached a clearing.
There was no injured student.
No blood.
Nothing.
Only dozens of old wooden crosses.
Each one carried a rusted helmet.
The screams stopped.
Complete silence.
Kael slowly looked around.
“This…”
“…is a graveyard.”
Then every helmet slowly turned toward them.
Without anyone touching them.
Mira gasped.
“That’s impossible…”
The crosses began shaking.
The earth cracked open.
Black mist poured from the ground.
One…
Ten…
Twenty…
Dark silhouettes crawled from beneath the soil.
Their bodies wore ancient armor covered in dried blood.
Empty eye sockets burned with pale blue flames.
The Fallen Soldiers.
Not alive.
Not dead.
Something far worse.
“They’re cursed!” Lyra shouted.
“Don’t let them surround us!”
The undead charged.
Steel collided with rusted blades.
Only for it to stand back up.
Kael crushed another’s skull.
It laughed.
Mira unleashed a wave of fire.
The flames passed straight through several spirits.
“They can’t die!” she screamed.
Panic spread.
The battlefield turned into chaos.
One soldier grabbed Leon’s ankle and dragged him toward the cracked earth.
“HELP!”
Raimer lunged forward.
His blade severed the creature’s arm.
But more hands emerged from underground.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Trying to pull them below.
The whispers began.
Soft.
Endless.
“You should have died…”
“Join us…”
“Become one of us…”
Raimer felt his heartbeat slow.
His vision blurred.
The voices weren’t entering his ears.
They were inside his mind.
He dropped to one knee.
His hands trembled.
Then…
A familiar voice echoed through the darkness.
“Stand.”
His grandfather.
“Fear is their greatest weapon.”
Raimer clenched his fist.
A faint ripple of dark energy escaped his body before disappearing again.
Only Lyra noticed.
Her crimson eyes widened.
“…What was that?”
Before she could ask—
A deafening roar erupted across the battlefield.
The ground split apart.
Even the undead froze.
Something enormous was awakening beneath the Hollow.
A giant crimson eye slowly opened from the abyss below.
It stared directly at Raimer.
The whispers stopped.
The entire forest became silent.
Then the eye blinked.
And every undead soldier bowed.
A deep voice echoed from beneath the earth.
“I have finally found you… Heir.”
Raimer’s blood ran cold.
The monster knew exactly who he was.
End of chapter 7