The Reaper's Wicked Obsession-Chapter 190: A Hollow’s Desire

Logi stretched before cracking his knuckles. "Stand back."

Isadora took a step back, giving enough space for whatever he was about to do.

Logi released a sharp exhale, closing his eyes. When he opened them, there was a glimmer in his green eyes.

Green weaves bloomed from his palm, glowing brightly and casting light across the space. The weaves wriggled gracefully to his fingertips.

Isadora observed in wonder as the weave sank into the earth, causing the ground beneath them to quiver.

"Hold on tight," Logi instructed.

Isadora yelped as the force plunged her forward to her knees. In ragged breaths, she turned her head, and her eyes went wide when she noticed they were suspended in mid-air, with the vines holding the platform underneath. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Logi’s teeth gritted, his features beaded in sweat. The strain from the intense use of his aura grasped his body in cold chills.

Weaving was always difficult for any weaver because it consumed so much energy. Right now, he felt like his body would split apart.

Logi dropped to one knee as his hand dug into the ground and fused more weaves into it. The vines beneath throbbed alive and grew unnaturally, causing the platform to lift.

The more weaves Logi fused into it, the faster they moved, breezing to the top.

Logi quickly covered Isadora with his body as they emerged—the impact disintegrating the inn in a blast, the wood splinters flying around.

Logi growled, taking the pieces away. "I think we should try that again," he mused.

"No thanks," Isadora said, spitting the dirt from her mouth. She rose to her feet and dusted the remaining away from her body.

Logi rose to his feet, but he collapsed right away.

"Logi!" Isadora rushed him.

"This is why I hate weaving... it takes too much aura." He groaned. "You can’t heal this, little one. Go ahead, find Kraven."

"I can’t leave you behind, what if a Hollow comes?" she said, worried, fear spiking into her bones as that scene played through.

Even though Kraven killed them, they still came back to life. They were hard to kill.

"I’ll be fine, Isadora, I’m a ravenite," he said, pulling out his axe. "I can take on a few Hollows."

Isadora wavered, but Logi’s pressing stare made her sigh in defeat. She nodded in agreement before rising to her feet.

"Don’t engage Kraven when his eyes are void black."

"I’ve seen when that happens," she replied.

It happened several times, especially when they were intimate.

"You see the silver, don’t you? There is a difference... I’ve only seen it once and I pray I never do again."

"What does it mean if his eyes are void?"

"It means he has unleashed his thirst to take control, he has full access to his dark weaves, and trust me, Isadora, you don’t want to see that," he explained. "When you see it... Run. Do you understand me?"

Isadora gave a stiff nod in response.

~♧~

It was morning, yet the sun never came up—only a dim light lingered in the sky.

The croak of ravens filled the air, they flocked around the skies—some perched on the bodies, feasting on the flesh.

Isadora halted her steps as her quivering eyes took in everything, as if to spare her sanity, the bodies were no longer in disguise.

They were in their true form, but the scattered black pieces made it hard to detail.

Crimson blood smeared across the streets, and it was horrific for Isadora because she had yet to remove the peaceful village image from her head. She needed to remind herself that it wasn’t real and that this was a necessary evil.

They were long since made Hollow, and whatever she saw was what they were before their unfortunate fates.

Isadora closed her eyes, offering a silent prayer for them.

May they greet Daudi peacefully, and maybe the gods will judge their fate with mercy.

Their death was a long-awaited peace for them, and she prayed they found it.

The sharp croak jerked Isadora’s attention.

She continued her search for Kraven, she had a feeling following the trail of the bodies would lead her to him.

"It’s all ruined."

Isadora gasped and froze in place. The voice was distorted and grotesque, causing cold chills down her spine.

The eerie sound of footsteps crunching against the snow alerted her. Emerging from the woods was Solin in his true form.

A dark being with a hunched back and elongated hands and legs. It had no face, just a circle of abysm, cornets like a deer antenna.

"My perfect village is gone..." He dug his claws into the snow and held them with both hands. "It’s gone."

"Solin..." Isadora said.

"You wouldn’t understand. What it’s like to never have enough. I’ve walked this dimension for winters, I’ve lost count of how many times I had to feed and shit out their bones!" He clenched his hand as the snow faded like dust. "It was endless... it was hollow."

Isadora’s eyes saddened, but she did not sympathize with him.

"It’s funny, isn’t it? Why should a creature like me be sickened by their own nature?"

"You’re not the only one," she mumbled.

"Ah... the words of a mannfae."

"I’m sickened by my nature too... I was created by the same gods. A child of Alda and Almadra... It’s not fair we’re questioned for it." She raised her gaze, as anger scorched through them with an intensity that almost crumbled the air. "But that doesn’t justify the poor souls you condemned to Hollows."

The possibility of what Logi could have become fueled her rage.

Solin grabbed a wood splinter and launched it into the air, the mere force of it causing a blast that parted the snow in dividing.

"I created Mossvale to heal!" he wailed. "I made the perfect village to fill that void I was created with. How dare you question me!" he bellowed, his voice causing the wind to gust and twirl.

But Isadora remained unfazed. Her insides screamed at her to run, but she silenced them.

"You’re a mystery... speaking to a monster as if it has morals."

"I know a monster who does. And he’s by far a better one than you’ll ever be. At least his darkness never wore a mask."