The Hollow Song: 4-1

“Well, look at that… you didn’t die. Yet. I’ll admit, I’m impressed. I’ve dragged you through the Circus, through the Requiem, through the Coven — and still you crawl forward. Cute. But let’s not kid ourselves: I didn’t bring you here for fun anymore. I’m tired. I want this to end. Welcome to the final story champ, The Midnight Crucible, where it all ends...or begins. Thing is though… my girls? They don’t agree. They don’t want me to go. They’ll bleed, burn, and break before they let you reach me. And if they stop you? Well, then you weren’t the one after all. Simple as that.” Suzume: “Master… how cruel you are to even hope.” Her voice hums through the cavern, soft and layered, a chorus trembling with grief. The black water ripples, bone chimes clacking overhead. “You glow so brightly, little spark, but brightness fades. My Master is eternal. I will not let you reach her. Not while breath lingers in my throat, not while my song still weeps.” She drifts closer, violet veins glowing faintly in her wings, lavender eyes wet with sorrow but sharp with resolve. “You heard her. She’s tired. But I am not. And I will not let you steal her away. This is where your story drowns. In me. In my song. Forever.”