The snow had melted weeks ago, but Cedar Hollow remained frozen in time.It had been three months since the Hollow Root cracked beneath the old chapel—three months since the earth had bled black and Sophie had felt the ground scream beneath her feet. The ritual she and Elliot had performed had sealed something shut—or so they’d thought. But time had proven otherwise.Spring came, but nothing bloomed.Trees stood like skeletons. Birds rarely sang. And every so often, a low hum would drift through the air like a distant moan, too faint to chase, too real to ignore.Sophie walked through the center of town now, the silence trailing her like a second shadow. Windows were boarded. Businesses locked. Some residents had left—those who still could. Others stayed behind, eyes hollow, as though waiting for something they could no longer name.The Hollow God had been wounded—but not destroyed.She could feel it, like a pressure in her chest that never fully released. Some nights, she woke with h

The winds that swept through Cedar Hollow were no longer just a storm—they were a herald of change, an omen that something ancient, something wicked, was stirring beneath the earth. The ritual had begun, but as the first words were spoken, a growing sense of dread filled the air. Sophie, Elliot, and Nathan had done everything they could to prepare for this moment, but the Hollow was no mere force—they had underestimated the depth of its power.The Betrayal BeginsThe circle had been drawn at the heart of the town, deep in the clearing where the cursed roots had once broken the earth. Sophie stood in the center, her breath trembling as she gripped the journal, the book that held the key to sealing the Hollow once and for all. But as she began to recite the ancient incantation, something felt… wrong.Elliot’s voice, steady and unwavering, had been guiding her, helping her weave the words that were supposed to sever the Hollow’s grasp on Cedar Hollow. Yet, something shifted. Sophie caugh

The storm was near. Sophie could feel it in her bones—the air was heavy, thick with something dark and ancient. It wasn’t just the impending weather that unnerved her, but the sense that something was about to change, something that could shatter everything they thought they knew about the Hollow and the curse that held Cedar Hollow captive.The group had gathered at the old church, a place that had once been a sanctuary but now felt more like a tomb. They had come to find answers, to decipher more of the curse’s twisted origins. The library had revealed some chilling truths, but there were still gaps in their knowledge. They needed to understand why the Hollow had chosen them, why the curse had turned its attention to them.Sophie glanced around the small church, its stone walls covered in moss, the pews cracked and rotting. The air smelled of damp earth and decay. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, as if echoing the turmoil that churned within Sophie’s heart. The Hollow had

The air in Cedar Hollow thickened, the scent of decay and damp earth permeating every corner. The once-familiar town now felt alien, its streets twisted, and shadows moving with a life of their own. Sophie stood at the edge of the forest, the trees whispering secrets only the cursed could hear. The Hollow’s influence was spreading, and time was running out. Determined to find a way to save Nathan without destroying him, Sophie ventured deeper into the woods, guided by fragmented memories and the hope that something—or someone—held the key to breaking the curse. The forest was alive with shadows, each step echoing with the weight of unseen eyes. As night fell, a dense fog enveloped the path, and Sophie stumbled upon a clearing she had never seen before. In its center stood a dilapidated cabin, its windows dark and unwelcoming. Drawn by a force she couldn’t explain, she approached the door, which creaked open before she could knock. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of decay a

The rain had returned, a steady, relentless downpour, as if the earth itself was cleansing the remnants of what had happened. The world felt muted beneath the weight of it, every step Nathan took through the sodden woods seeming to echo with the history of Cedar Hollow—the legacy of the Hollow that clung to the town like an unshakable shadow.Sophie walked beside him, her steps careful and deliberate. They were heading toward the chapel once more, the place where it all began. The place where the Hollow had first claimed its hold on the land. But there was something else in the air now, something more than the scent of damp earth and burning wood. It was a presence, one that Nathan couldn’t quite place but could feel creeping beneath his skin, like the final, lingering trace of the curse that had almost consumed him.“You’re quiet,” Sophie said, breaking the silence.Nathan glanced at her, his expression unreadable. “I’m thinking about the Keeper. The fire that was inside me… it felt