The Hollow King remained on his knees, bound by the necromantic chains that Elias had forged, his once-imposing form now a shadow of its former glory. Elias stood before him, watching as the last remnants of resistance faded from the king's broken expression. The crypt, once echoing with the Hollow King's defiance, was now quiet, save for the faint hum of necrotic magic that resonated through the stone walls.
Elias's breath came in slow, controlled inhales, his mind racing with the implications of what he had just accomplished. He had claimed a victory, but at what cost?
The Hollow King, though bound in spirit and flesh, was still dangerous. His aura lingered with the weight of centuries, and Elias knew that even in this diminished state, the Hollow King held secrets that could unravel the very fabric of his reign. Elias had broken him—yes—but it would not be long before the king would test the limits of his newfound captivity.
As the silence stretched between them, Elias stepped closer, his boots clicking softly against the cold stone floor. The king's head remained bowed, his glowing eyes now dull, like fading embers in the night.
"Do you know what you've done?" the Hollow King finally whispered, his voice hoarse, yet still carrying the remnants of regal authority. "You have not simply bound me—you have unlocked a door you cannot close."
Elias's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. The Hollow King's cryptic words hung in the air, stoking a flicker of doubt in the necromancer's chest. He had expected this. He had anticipated resistance, but not this kind of warning. Not a revelation that seemed to suggest something darker, something far beyond even the Hollow King's own suffering.
"I bound you," Elias repeated, his voice cold, resolute. "You are mine now."
"You believe that?" The Hollow King chuckled, a dry, rasping sound that echoed off the stone walls. "You may control my body, but not my soul. You cannot bind a king's spirit with your petty spells. I was forged by the gods themselves. You are nothing in comparison."
Elias clenched his fists, his power radiating in an almost imperceptible pulse. The Hollow King was not wrong. Elias's magic was formidable, but it had its limits. The very core of the king's being—his essence—was tied to forces that Elias had yet to understand. The gods, the forgotten deities, and the ancient powers that had shaped the Hollow King were still a mystery to him.
But he was not afraid. He had come this far; nothing would stop him now.
"I will learn to control you," Elias said, his words cold and deliberate. "You will serve me, and together, we will reshape this world."
For the first time, a flicker of something other than disdain passed over the Hollow King's face—something akin to pity. "You think you are the master here, Elias? You are merely a child playing with forces beyond your comprehension."
The necromancer's eyes blazed with determination. "Then I will learn, king," he said, his voice steady. "I will become the master of death itself. And you, Hollow King, will be my instrument."
The Hollow King raised his head, his hollow gaze meeting Elias's. There was no longer any pride in his eyes, only an ancient weariness. "Then hear me, necromancer, for your fate has been sealed. You believe that you will command me, but the path you walk will lead to your own undoing. I was the ruler of death, but I was not always this way. My reign began as a blessing—but it ended as a curse."
Elias took a step back, curiosity prickling his mind. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice laced with a touch of intrigue.
The Hollow King's voice grew softer, the words seeming to carry the weight of ages. "I was a king once, before death took me. My people adored me, feared me... but they never understood the price of my power. I was given a gift, a divine gift, from those who walked beyond the veil. They promised me immortality, eternal reign, the power to control the dead." His eyes flickered with something dark. "And I accepted, without question."
Elias leaned forward, the intrigue now gnawing at him. "And what was the cost?"
The Hollow King's lips curled into a twisted smile, one that carried the agony of his eternal torment. "The gods never give without taking. In exchange for my immortality, I became a vessel for their will. I was forced to serve them in ways I never could have imagined. They bound my soul, trapped me in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, always returning to this cursed form."
Elias felt a chill run down his spine as the king's words settled in his mind. The gods, the ancient forces that had shaped the very fabric of existence, had made a deal with the Hollow King. A deal that had damned him. A deal that had turned him from a ruler into a puppet of higher powers.
"And now you would use that same power to control me," the Hollow King continued, his voice hollow, resigned. "You are no different from the gods who cursed me. You seek to use death to your advantage, to bend it to your will. But you do not understand the true cost of such power."
Elias's grip tightened on his staff, his eyes narrowing. "I will not be bound by the same chains that ensnared you," he said, his voice firm, yet tinged with doubt. "I will master this power. I will control death."
The Hollow King let out a low, bitter laugh. "You speak of mastery, but you do not yet understand. Death cannot be controlled, Elias. It is not a tool to be wielded. It is a force of nature, an endless tide that devours all in its path. To control it is to be consumed by it."
Elias's heart raced as the Hollow King's words echoed in his mind. He had always known the dangers of necromancy, the fine line between control and destruction. But hearing it from the king, from someone who had lived through the horrors of such power, made it all the more real.
"Then I will take the risk," Elias said, his voice unwavering. "I will take the power you once wielded and reshape it in my image."
The Hollow King studied him for a long moment, and for the first time, there was a flicker of something like regret in his eyes. "You may be strong, necromancer, but the gods are not easily ignored. They will come for you, just as they came for me. And when they do, you will find yourself alone, lost in the very darkness you seek to command."
Elias met the king's gaze, his resolve hardening. "Then I will stand against them, as I have stood against all who opposed me. I will not falter."
The Hollow King sighed, the sound heavy with centuries of suffering. "We shall see, Elias. We shall see."
As Elias turned and left the crypt, leaving the Hollow King behind in his imprisonment, he felt the weight of the king's words pressing down on him. The path ahead was no longer certain. The power he had sought was now in his grasp, but so were the dangers that came with it.
For the first time since his rise to power, Elias questioned whether he was truly ready for what lay ahead.