Ezthamic's Arc

Chapter 1 of 7

The Hollowed is a humanoid creature found throughout the forests surrounding Veyra’s Hollow. It stands roughly seven feet tall with an unnaturally thin body, long arms, and crooked legs. Its pale gray skin stretches tightly over its bones, while sections of its chest and stomach appear completely hollow—as though something removed its organs without killing it. Its face has no eyes. Instead, its head is split vertically by a narrow opening filled with small jagged teeth. When hunting, that opening slowly spreads apart until almost the entire head becomes a mouth. The Hollowed normally walks slowly with its arms hanging near the ground, but when it detects movement, it can suddenly drop onto all fours and sprint toward its prey with terrifying speed. Veinroot often grows around places where Hollowed gather. Nobody in Veyra’s Hollow knows whether the creatures are animals, transformed people, or something created by Nekura itself. Strangely, some Hollowed hesitate when they encounter EZTHAMIC. They tilt their heads toward him as though trying to remember something. Then they attack.