The hollow
In this world, every human had a Core inside them.
The Core was the source of a person's power.
Some people had the power to control fire, while others could control lightning. Some gained strength like that of wild beasts, while a very rare few possessed powers that could pose a threat to the entire world.
Every child's Core awakened on their sixteenth birthday.
That day almost determined their future.
The stronger a person's Core was, the higher their position in society.
But...
Every rule had an exception.
And in this world, that exception had a name—
Rei.
---
The Awakening Ceremony
In the middle of Arven City stood a vast open field.
Thousands of people had gathered there today.
At the center of the field stood a massive black stone known as the Core Altar.
At the age of sixteen, every child had to stand before this stone and awaken their Core.
One by one, the children stepped forward.
“Flame Core!”
Red flames suddenly ignited in the palm of a boy's hand.
The crowd erupted in excitement.
“Rank C!”
The next child stepped forward.
“Lightning Core!”
Lightning flashed around the child's body.
“Rank B!”
The sound of applause echoed throughout the field.
A little farther away, a boy stood quietly.
His black hair moved gently in the wind.
His name was—
Rei.
He had come here today, just like the others, to awaken his Core.
His childhood friend, Mira, was standing beside him.
Mira looked at him.
“Nervous?”
Rei gave her a faint smile.
“No.”
Mira looked carefully into his eyes.
“You're lying.”
Rei let out a small laugh.
“Maybe a little.”
His gaze returned to the Core Altar.
“Today, I'll find out what's inside me.”
---
After a while, a voice echoed throughout the entire field.
“Next candidate—Rei!”
Rei took a deep breath and stepped forward.
The entire field turned its attention toward him.
He reached the Core Altar.
For a few moments, he simply looked at it.
Then he placed his hand on the black stone.
Nothing happened.
One second passed.
Then another.
Then five seconds.
But the Core Altar remained completely still.
Rei looked at his palm.
Confusion began to appear on his face.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
“What happened?”
“Why isn't his Core awakening?”
“Maybe he doesn't have any power inside him.”
Rei said nothing.
He simply stared at the Altar.
Then—
CRACK!
A sharp sound echoed throughout the field.
A large crack suddenly appeared across the surface of the Core Altar.
Everyone stepped back in fear.
The black stone began to glow faintly.
A few moments later, a single word appeared on its surface.
HOLLOW
The entire field fell silent.
Then someone began to laugh.
“Hahaha! Hollow!”
Within moments, several others started laughing as well.
“He doesn't even have a Core!”
“His Core still hasn't awakened at sixteen!”
“He's completely useless!”
Rei said nothing.
He simply clenched his fist.
Mira, who was standing beside him, angrily turned toward the crowd.
“Stop it! You don't even know anything!”
But Rei stopped her.
“Leave it.”
Mira looked at him.
“But—”
“It's fine.”
Rei gave her a faint smile.
“I'm leaving.”
He walked out of the field.
The laughter of the crowd could still be heard behind him.
But Rei didn't look back.
---
The Black Door
Night had fallen.
Rei was walking alone along a deserted road outside the city.
For the first time, he felt that perhaps he really was different from everyone else in this world.
He took a small black stone out of his pocket.
His father had given him this stone when he was a child.
There was a strange symbol carved into it.
Rei had never understood what that symbol meant.
Looking at the stone, he quietly said—
“If I really don't have a Core...”
He stopped for a moment.
Then he slowly said—
“Then why am I like this?”
Suddenly—
Tick.
Rei stopped.
He looked around.
There was no one there.
Then the same sound came again.
Tick.
This time, the sound was coming from the stone in his hand.
The symbol carved into the stone began to glow faintly.
Rei's eyes widened.
“What is this?”
Suddenly, the wind completely stopped.
The bright moon in the sky slowly disappeared behind dark clouds.
And the next moment—
The ground began to shake.
A black circle appeared on the ground in front of Rei.
From the center of that circle, a massive black door slowly emerged.
The same symbol that was carved into the stone in his hand was engraved on the door.
Then red letters began to glow across the surface of the door.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE BORN.
Rei took a few steps back.
“Me...?”
The door slowly began to open.
Inside was nothing but deep darkness.
Then a voice came from within that darkness—
“Rei...”
Rei's heart began beating rapidly.
“Who are you?”
There was no answer for a few moments.
Then the same voice spoke again—
“You kept me asleep for a very long time.”
Rei couldn't understand what was happening.
Then suddenly, a terrifying roar came from the direction of the forest.
Rei immediately turned around.
Two red eyes were glowing between the trees.
A massive monster slowly emerged from the darkness.
Its body looked like black stone, and smoke poured from its mouth.
Rei slowly began stepping backward.
“I don't have a Core...”
The monster suddenly charged toward him.
Rei turned around and ran as well.
But the monster was too fast.
Within a few seconds, it caught up to Rei.
Its massive claw swung rapidly toward him.
Rei raised his sword to defend himself.
BOOM!
The monster's claw slammed into the sword.
The tremendous force pushed Rei backward across the ground.
His hands began to tremble.
He couldn't withstand the monster's strength.
The monster raised its claw again to attack.
Rei gripped his sword tightly.
But then—
A sudden black light burst from Rei's chest.
A powerful shockwave spread throughout the surroundings.
The monster was thrown several meters away and crashed onto the ground.
Rei stood completely still for a few moments.
Then he slowly looked down at his chest.
A black mark was glowing there.
Suddenly, blue letters appeared before his eyes.
[CORE DETECTED]
Rei's breath caught.
“I... have a Core?”
A few seconds later, another message appeared.
[ANALYZING...]
Then—
[ERROR]
[UNKNOWN CORE]
Before Rei could understand anything, another message appeared.
[WARNING]
[THIS CORE DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS WORLD.]
Fear was clearly visible on Rei's face.
“Not from this world...?”
Suddenly, a black sword fell onto the ground in front of him.
Strange symbols were glowing across the entire blade.
Rei slowly walked toward it.
He stared at the sword for a few moments.
Then, the moment he touched it—
A sudden vision flashed through his mind.
A massive city was burning.
The sky was completely red.
People were running in every direction for their lives.
Fire and destruction were everywhere.
And in the middle of that destruction stood a boy.
The same black sword was in his hand.
Rei looked at him carefully.
His face...
It was exactly like Rei's.
The boy stood before thousands of people.
His eyes were completely black.
He slowly said—
“I am sorry.”
The next moment, the entire world was swallowed by darkness.
Rei released the sword in fear.
He fell to the ground.
His breathing became rapid.
“That... was me?”
Then a quiet voice whispered beside his ear—
“Finally...”
Rei immediately raised his head.
“Who are you?”
The same voice came from the darkness again.
“You finally found me.”
Rei's breathing grew faster.
“Who are you?”
There was silence for a few moments.
Then the voice said—
“The very person... you killed one thousand years ago.”
Rei's eyes widened.
“But how is that possible?”
His voice was trembling.
“I am only seventeen years old.”
The voice in the darkness let out a quiet laugh.
“That is the mystery, Rei.”
The black sword began to glow again.
[CORE AWAKENING...]
[UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.]
Then the final message appeared.
[EXISTENCE ERROR]
[REI WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST.]
Rei stared at the message.
That night, he finally understood—
Perhaps the problem wasn't that he had no Core.
Perhaps the real problem was that...
his Core didn't belong to this world at all.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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