The triumphant hum of the Giga Beast's final moments had barely faded when a simultaneous ping chimed from our wrists. I looked at my Digi Wrist Wallet, its glyphs pulsing with a soft glow. My jaw went slack. The number was massive. A single, clean transfer for 10,000 Digi Coins.
Felicity's face was a mixture of stunned awe and pure glee. Her wallet read the same. We looked at each other, the weight of the victory now also the weight of immense wealth. She broke into a wild grin and launched herself at me, her fist raised high. I met it with mine, a powerful, ringing high five that echoed in the silence of the canyon.
"We just got paid," she said, her voice a hushed whisper of disbelief. "For being dominants."
I nodded, my grin matching hers.
After the initial shock wore off, we went to work. The Giga Beast's body lay still, a dead mountain of bone and steel. I approached the colossal corpse, my hands ready. The marrow-flesh weave was easy to find—a network of dense, sinewy material that looked like woven muscle and pulsed with a faint, residual energy. I carefully stripped it from the inside of a massive forearm. The bio-mechanical scraps were a matter of prying off plates of its armor. The parts were heavy and dense, a unique blend of bio-steel chitin.
Finally, I located the three blood-bulbs. They were buried deep in the Giga Beast's chest cavity, nestled in its ribcage like dark, pulsing glands. I carefully pulled them free. They were warm to the touch and slick with a strange, oily fluid. Each one pulsed with a soft, crimson light. They hummed with a primal, living energy.
We stowed the materials, our satchels now heavy with the promise of The Hand. The temple was just a short walk away. As we approached the massive, stone-carved entrance, its surface covered in ancient, swirling glyphs, Felicity's focus shifted. Her eyes, half-tech, half-human, scanned every intricate detail of the structure, a look of pure reverence on her face.
I looked at Felicity, a thousand questions screaming in my mind. "Is this the place that you needed my help to get to?"
Felicity nodded, a serious look on her face. "Mmhmm. I've been tracking and marking these ancient runes for months. They're all over the lower Vein, but the real key is right here. This temple is sealed with something beyond normal tech." She stepped closer to the massive, rune-etched doors. "They're written in what the splicers call 'Beast Tongue.' I've only ever seen fragments. It's too complex for my scanners to translate."
I approached the doors, placing a palm on the cool, living stone. The glyphs on the surface felt like they were vibrating. I focused, and Herja stirred behind my eyes, her presence a silent hum. The glyphs, once meaningless symbols, now rearranged themselves in my mind into a language I instinctively understood.
It was an incantation, a command. It asked for a key, not of metal or bone, but of pure life force.
Just than Herja spoke up in my mind, ''Focus your Qi. Send out a filament. The door will open for the dominant.''
"I know what to do," I said, my voice low. I looked at Felicity. "This is new. Herja can read this."
She nodded, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Then do it. I trust you."
I placed my palm against the door, feeling the cold stone against my skin. I took a deep breath, reaching deep within my core for the energy that pulsed there. I didn't need a catalyst; I just had to focus. I sent a single, thin filament of my own Qi into the stone.
The doors shuddered. The runes on their surface pulsed with a soft, amber light, and the immense stone began to groan. With a deep, resounding hiss, the doors unsealed and slid apart, revealing a vast, dark chamber.
A gust of dry, ancient air filled my lungs. Felicity and I stepped inside, our footsteps echoing in the silence. The light from outside illuminated the chamber's entrance, but the rest of the room was consumed by shadow. I felt a hum from my core, a deep, resonant hum of recognition.
Felicity broke the silence. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
I grinned, my plasma tail aiming ahead as it hummed softly. I was ready to find out what secrets awaited us inside.
The chamber was immense, a cathedral carved from living stone, but my eyes were drawn to a single focal point at its center: a throne. It was not built of metal or bone, but of pure, crystalline energy, pulsing with a deep violet light. It was the heart of the temple, a seat of power waiting for a ruler.
Felicity gasped. Not a quiet, surprised gasp, but a sudden, high-pitched squeal of glee, a sound that felt entirely out of place in the ancient, silent tomb. She broke free of my side, her boots thudding against the stone floor as she ran, a blur of pure, unadulterated excitement.
She didn't approach it with reverence or hesitation. She launched herself onto the throne like a child leaping onto a playground slide. Her body settled into the crystalline contours, a perfect fit. The throne's light surged, enveloping her in a shimmering cocoon of power.
The childish joy on her face melted away, replaced by a look of profound satisfaction and a terrible, beautiful authority. The Hollow Queen had arrived.
A lattice of sigils bloomed in the air above her head!
Dominion Recognized
Tombcall Path: Hollow Queen
Tier I – Passive Foundation – UNLOCKING…
"Ash, Herja you are my witnesses watch as I crown myself!"
Her spine arched as the Throne screamed a download into her genome.
Glyphs etched her inner organs.
Phantom limbs danced behind Felicity's eyes.
A voice—not hers—whispered, "These are your birthrights."
Skill Unlocked – Crypt sense Passive:
Felicity could now sense the buried essence of dead Beasts, corrupted shards, and long-fallen Zohar fragments.
Sonar for haunted genomes.
Detection Radius: fifteen meters.
Unlocks hidden zones, memory echoes, and stealth shard nodes.
Bonus: Glimpse the cause of death from echo-shadow residue.
As the throne pulsed again, a second glyph burned behind her sternum—this time not downloaded but grown.
From her.
For her.
The throne recognized a unique trauma.
A dominator's need to control even the past.
Custom Skill Synthesized – Mirror Mirth Chibis.
Felicity could now summon tiny, animated chibi versions of herself in battle—
each with exaggerated emotions and cosmetic quirks e.g., Rage-Felicity, Crybaby-Felicity, Feral-Felicity.
Effect: Distracts and mocks enemies, lowering their combat accuracy and confidence.
Limit: 3 chibis at a time. Each lasts ~fifteen seconds or until damaged.
Style Bonus: Humiliation Bar fills two times faster when chibis are active.
Rare chance of Chibi Uprising all three combine for a taunt strike that inflicts Debuff: Self-Doubt.
New Passive gained!
Throne marked – Enemies who gaze directly at Felicity for too long receive delayed psychic feedback damage and increased vulnerability to fear-based debuffs.
New Zone Unlocked!
Inner Earth – Hollow Throne Fast Travel.
Felicity may now return to the throne and expand her dominion!
Zone serves as a home base, skill upgrade chamber, and dream-seed ritual ground.
The room darkened.
Only the glow of the seated Queen remained.
Felicity sat back, one eye twitching, lips parted in amusement.
"Guess I don't need Herja's approval after all."
The chibis popped into existence on her shoulders.
Rage-Felicity punched her own head.
Crybaby-Felicity hugged her thigh and wept sparkles.
Feral-Felicity flipped the bird and howled.
Felicity smirked.
"You'll do."
She stood.
The Hollow Queen rose.
And Inner Earth took note.
The air in the chamber had changed. It no longer felt like a dead space. It was charged with a new, potent energy—Felicity's energy. She stood from the throne, and the room seemed to rise with her, the ancient glyphs on the walls flaring in recognition of their new Queen. Her grin was a wild, victorious thing, and the chibis, a tiny, chaotic trio of her own ego, zipped around her head like mischievous sprites.
I watched, a complex mix of pride and rivalry churning in my gut. Felicity's new power was spectacular, but her final words landed with the light, sharp sting of a challenge. ' 'Guess I don't need Herja's approval after all ' ' echoed in my brain.
Herja, deep in my core, let out a silent, amused huff. I'll approve when she saves my life with one of those weeping dolls, she mused. Until then, it's all just flash and ego.
"I don't need to save you," Felicity said, her eyes meeting mine, her gaze sharp. "I just need to keep the enemy busy while you handle the dirty work." She pointed a finger at Crybaby-Felicity, who promptly let out a small, pathetic sob and floated over to my shoulder, weeping a stream of tiny, glowing tears.
"Welcome to the team," I muttered.
The chibis all giggled in perfect harmony.
The Hollow Throne's presence was undeniable. The chamber pulsed with a new, steady rhythm, and I felt the Aegis Node in my own core humming in acknowledgment. The "Inner Earth" was no longer just a term—it was a new reality, a base of operations on a different level. The sheer scale of it was breathtaking, a network of chambers and tunnels stretching far below the Coral Canyon. We had been in the Gutter Nest, but this... this was something else entirely.
"So," I said, a grin spreading across my face. "Another home base away from home and a new set of powers. What's the plan, Your Majesty?"
Felicity's smirk widened. She walked toward a far wall, which shimmered and parted like water, revealing a new corridor. "The plan is to put these toys to the test. The Serpent Clan has been hoarding power for centuries. We have to learn how to counter them." She glanced back at me, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light. "We're not just going to survive in the Vein anymore, Ash. We're going to rule it."
The chibis swarmed her shoulders, a tiny entourage of chaos and confidence. The Hollow Queen had risen. And the Vein would never be the same.
Felicity's smirk was a wild thing, a promise of chaos and power. The chibis, a tiny, chaotic entourage, giggled and whirled around her head. She was a queen on her throne, but I knew we had to get back to work.
"We should return to the Gutter Nest," I suggested, my voice cutting through the triumphant air. "Aegis Node 7 has to prepare these materials. It's a forge AI, built for this. The Giga Beast's core and the other parts... they're not going to be easy to work with."
Felicity's smirk wavered, her brow furrowing slightly. "Return to the Gutter Nest? But this is our new base. It's perfect."
"This is your base," I clarified, a small smile on my face. "It's for you to evolve. The Gutter Nest is for us to build. The two aren't the same. Aegis 7 is waiting for us. It's ready to begin construction of The Hand."
She looked at me for a long moment, the chibis mirroring her inner conflict. Rage-Felicity punched a spectral fist into her palm. Feral-Felicity howled silently.
Then, the smile returned, wider and more confident than before. "Fine. But we're doing it my way. This is a two-way street, you know."
Felicity placed a hand on the side of the throne, and with a soft hum, a portal of shifting, violet light shimmered into existence beside us. It was a shortcut through the very structure of the Vein itself.
This is the "Hollow Queens Fast-travel ability" Felicity said grinning.
"After you," she said, gesturing toward the portal.
I stepped through, and with a soft hiss, we were back in the familiar, pulsing heart of the Gutter Nest. The forge glowed, the air filled with the scent of molten metal and organic fluid. Aegis Node 7 hummed in greeting, and the console flared to life.
"Welcome home, Claimant," the AI's voice echoed in my head.
I spoke to Aegis 7, "The materials are ready for processing. Construction of the hand can begin."