Veyrath did not see this place as a permanent home.
It was a laboratory.
A testing ground.
A settlement meant not for conquest, but for learning.
Even if the outside world burned it to the ground,
It would not be a loss.
Because the true victory was knowledge.
And what he learned here, he would use elsewhere.
Again.
And again.
Until Unmaking was not just a ritual, but a perfected process.
A force that no one could stop.
That meant he had work to do.
The first Unmaking had been crude.
An alteration of flesh.
The second had been refined.
A change not just of body, but of mind.
But now—
Now he sought something greater.
To create beings that were not simply changed.
But beings that were something entirely new.
Creatures that no longer held onto their pasts.
Creatures that could become more than human.
And that meant a new ritual was required.
One that went beyond what he had done before.
Veyrath selected his next subjects carefully.
Not just those who wanted power.
But those who had nothing left of themselves to hold onto.
People who had already begun to let go of who they were.
These were the ones who would become something greater.
And so, one by one, they stepped forward.
And one by one, they were Unmade.
Not erased.
Not simply reshaped.
But hollowed out.
Stripped of the final remnants of their former selves.
And when they returned—
They were no longer just men and women.
They were something else.
Their eyes held no hesitation.
No fear.
No doubt.
Only certainty.
They did not need to ask what had changed.
They did not need to speak of what they had become.
Because they knew.
And when the others saw them, they understood as well.
The Hollowed were the next stage.
The proof that Unmaking was not just a change—
It was evolution.
The settlement was no longer divided into just the Ascended and the Shaped.
Now, there was a third tier.
The Hollowed.
The ones who had fully shed their pasts.
The ones who had let go of identity, of individuality, of limitation.
They were not slaves.
Not mindless.
They were simply beyond the need for self.
And that made them the most dangerous of all.
Because they did not hesitate.
Did not question.
They only acted.
And in doing so, they proved their worth.
Travelers still came.
Merchants still passed through.
But they did not stay long.
Because something was wrong.
Not in a way they could explain.
Not in a way they could prove.
But they felt it.
The way people moved too smoothly.
The way they spoke without doubt.
The way no one argued, no one hesitated, no one seemed… human anymore.
It was a town without crime.
Without anger.
Without the things that made life messy, chaotic, real.
And that was what terrified them.
It was not a place where something had gone wrong.
It was a place where something had gone too right.
And that was unnatural.
By the end of the third week, the rumors had spread.
Not to kings or rulers.
Not yet.
But to traders. Mercenaries. Wandering priests.
Those who had seen many things in their lives, but never this.
Some called it a cult.
Others called it witchcraft.
A few called it divine.
But all of them knew one thing.
This was not a normal place anymore.
And the world would not ignore it forever.
Soon, there would be questions.
Soon, there would be outsiders who did not come to trade—
But to investigate.
And when they arrived, they would not find a town.
They would find something else.
Something they could not understand.
And that would be their undoing.
Because they would come believing they were dealing with men.
But men no longer lived here.
Only the Unmade.
Veyrath watched his work with satisfaction.
The process was now nearly perfect.
There were no rebels.
No hesitation.
No weakness.
Only the Unmade.
Only the inevitable spread of the new order.
But there was still one thing left to test.
One final question to answer.
Would the Hollowed remain as they were?
Or could they still be shaped further?
Because if Unmaking could truly be perfected,
Then there should be no final stage.
No end to the transformation.
Only constant refinement.
And that meant the Hollowed were not the conclusion.
They were only the beginning.
And soon, he would push them even further.
Veyrath had transformed men into more than what they were.
The Hollowed were proof of that.
No longer bound by weakness.
No longer chained to their past identities.
But perfection was never achieved in a single step.
There was always room for more.
For something beyond even this.
And if Unmaking was to become a force that could reshape reality itself—
Then the Hollowed were not the end.
They were simply the foundation of what came next.
Now, it was time to push them further.
Not all the Hollowed would be tested at once.
Some were stronger than others.
More suited to the unknown.
Veyrath selected three.
The strongest.
The most capable.
Those who had shown not just discipline—
But understanding.
They were no longer people.
No longer individuals.
They were something else.
And now, they would become even more.
Unmaking had always erased and remade.
But now, Veyrath sought to go deeper.
To unravel not just flesh, not just thought—
But something greater.
He traced the new runes into the ground, carving symbols that had not existed before.
Not known by men.
Not written in any language.
The Hollowed stood before him, silent.
Awaiting his will.
He did not ask if they were ready.
They did not need to be.
Because this was not about readiness.
It was about possibility.
And so, with a single motion,
He unmade them.
The moment the ritual activated, the world resisted.
Unmaking had always been unnatural.
A force that should not exist.
But this time, it was different.
This time, it was fighting something fundamental.
Something buried beneath the very concept of existence.
The air shook.
The ground cracked.
The Hollowed were gone—
But their presence still remained.
Not fully erased.
Not fully remade.
Something in-between.
Something waiting to be defined.
And for the first time,
Veyrath felt the weight of true creation.
It took longer than before.
Unmaking usually brought them back within moments.
This time, it was hours.
And then, one reappeared.
Not as a Hollowed.
Not as a man.
But as something else.
His form was fluid, shifting in ways that defied flesh.
His voice was not a voice—
But a presence, an echo that carried weight without sound.
And when he looked at Veyrath,
There was no hesitation.
Only understanding.
"I am no longer bound."
The words did not just come from his mouth.
They resonated in the very air itself.
And Veyrath smiled.
Because he had just broken another limit.
The second and third returned soon after.
Each different, unique—
But all sharing a singular trait.
They were not limited by form.
Not bound by structure.
They could shift, bend, shape themselves as needed.
They were not just Hollowed.
They were Forgotten.
The next step beyond humanity.
The first of a new kind of being.
One that did not just lack the past—
But could never be fully defined again.
And that made them far more dangerous.
Because how could something be killed
If it had no true shape to destroy?
Veyrath watched as the Forgotten moved.
Walked.
Shifted.
Not entirely solid, not entirely bound.
They could be men one moment, shadows the next.
They could be formless if they willed it.
They could be seen—
Or forgotten entirely.
They did not fear.
Did not hesitate.
They were not living creatures.
They were concepts.
Made real by Unmaking.
And that was when Veyrath knew.
The world was not ready for what came next.
But it would have no choice.
Because soon, the Forgotten would no longer be just three.
Soon, they would be many.
And soon, the world would know fear unlike anything it had ever faced.
The Forgotten were unlike anything Veyrath had ever created.
They did not follow the rules of flesh and bone.
They were not bound by the limitations of men.
But they were still imperfect.
Still unfinished.
Veyrath had created something beyond human—
But that was not enough.
He did not seek monsters.
Did not seek aberrations.
He sought perfection.
And that meant he had to continue refining them.
The three firstborn stood before him, waiting.
They did not breathe.
Did not shift their weight.
Because they did not need to.
They were no longer bound by instinct.
Only purpose.
But Veyrath needed to understand their limits.
If they had any.
So the experiments began.
Veyrath commanded the first Forgotten to strike.
To attack with all its strength.
The creature did not hesitate.
It lunged—
But the way it moved was unnatural.
Its form warped as it attacked.
Its arm stretched, lengthening mid-motion.
Not like a spell, not like an illusion—
As if the very concept of its body was fluid.
Veyrath blocked the attack with his arm, testing its force.
It was strong.
Stronger than a human.
Stronger than even the Hollowed.
But it was not unstoppable.
Not yet.
He had seen creatures in the past with greater power.
That meant there was room to improve.
Veyrath struck the second Forgotten.
A clean slash across its chest with his claws.
A wound that should have bled.
Should have weakened it.
But instead—
The flesh didn't heal.
It reformed.
Like watching a shadow correct itself.
There was no pain.
No reaction.
Just an absence of damage, as if it had never happened.
Veyrath narrowed his eyes.
This was not regeneration.
Not in the way living beings healed.
This was something else.
Something that defied the very idea of being harmed.
The third Forgotten was ordered to vanish.
Not just to hide.
But to cease being noticed.
It did not disappear in the traditional sense.
Did not use stealth.
Did not blur into invisibility.
It simply became unimportant.
Veyrath's mind recognized that it was there—
But something in his thoughts refused to focus on it.
His eyes moved past it.
His instincts ignored it.
Even though he knew it stood right in front of him,
It was as if it had never been there at all.
He exhaled slowly.
That was dangerous.
That was potential.
But it was still not enough.
Not yet.
For all their strength, all their strange abilities,
The Forgotten were still bound to his command.
They did not act on their own.
Did not question.
Did not adapt.
They were tools.
Useful.
But not yet independent.
And that was a flaw.
Because if they were to be his true creations,
They needed to be able to think.
To learn.
To become more on their own.
So Veyrath began his next experiment.
Not on their bodies.
But on their minds.
Veyrath posed a question.
A simple one.
"What is your purpose?"
The first Forgotten hesitated.
Then answered.
"To obey."
The second answered the same.
The third.
They had no will of their own.
No understanding beyond orders.
And that was a problem.
He needed them to grow.
To become more than just followers.
To become leaders.
So he tried something new.
He did not give them a command.
Instead, he asked a second question.
"If I did not command you, what would you do?"
Silence.
A long, unbroken silence.
Then—
"I do not know."
It was the first time they had not answered immediately.
And that meant progress.
Because if they could question,
They could learn.
And if they could learn—
They could evolve.
Veyrath did not stop there.
He began remaking their minds.
Not just stripping away the past—
But allowing them to create something new.
He pushed them further into the void of Unmaking.
But this time, he did not choose what they became.
He let them choose.
Let them define themselves.
And the results were unpredictable.
The first became more aggressive.
More driven.
Not a mindless fighter, but a hunter—one that sought purpose beyond orders.
The second became quieter.
More thoughtful.
A strategist, one that saw beyond the immediate.
The third became something else entirely.
Something that did not just exist in one form.
Something that changed each time it was seen.
No longer a being of flesh or thought—
But a being of concept.
And that was when Veyrath knew—
He had broken the final limit.
The Hollowed had been tools.
Weapons.
The Forgotten were meant to be more.
And now, they were.
They were not just followers.
Not just mindless extensions of his will.
They were becoming individuals once more.
Not as humans.
Not as what they had been.
But as what they were meant to be.
The first of a new existence.
Not bound by the past.
Not bound by the present.
Something entirely beyond both.
And now, the real test could begin.
Because Veyrath had not just created new beings.
He had created something capable of shaping its own future.
And that meant the Unmaking was no longer his alone.
It was theirs.