The air inside the mansion was thick with whispers, shifting shadows creeping along the walls. Adrian, Felix, and Selene stood in the dimly lit hallway, the flickering candlelight barely holding back the darkness.
The ghosts were watching them. Some curious. Some afraid. Some… waiting.
Felix smirked. "Feels like we're being sized up."
Selene exhaled, her fingers glowing faintly with purification energy. "Stay focused."
Adrian's grip tightened on his sword. "Let's just get this over with."
Then, the house shifted.
Walls twisted, doors vanished, the hallway stretched unnaturally.
And from the darkness, a voice—low, hollow, hungry.
"More exorcists… More to consume…"
Something moved in the corridor ahead. A towering, amorphous figure melted out of the walls, its body a mass of writhing shadows and spectral faces. Its mouth—if it could even be called that—was a yawning abyss lined with phantasmal teeth.
The ghosts trembled. The mansion groaned.
Hollow Maw had awakened.
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Hollow Maw's Abilities
1. Soul Consumption – Hollow Maw could devour spirits and energy-based attacks, growing stronger with each meal. The lost souls trapped in the mansion had been feeding it for years.
2. Labyrinth's Grasp – It could manipulate the mansion, shifting rooms, trapping intruders, ensuring they never escaped. It was the reason the children had never left.
3. Phantom Chains – Hollow Maw's shadowy tendrils could bind its victims, draining their energy, making them too weak to fight back. The more someone struggled, the tighter the chains became.
---
The Fight Begins
The mansion trembled as Hollow Maw lunged, its chains lashing toward them.
Adrian sliced through the first tendrils, his blade barely grazing the cursed energy. "Tch. Tough."
Felix vanished into an illusion, appearing behind the creature. "Let's see how you like a little confusion—" His dagger plunged into the monster's side—only for it to phase through harmlessly.
Selene summoned a purification seal, pressing her palm to the floor. "Bind." Light flared, halting Hollow Maw's movement—for a second.
Then, it laughed. "I've devoured exorcists stronger than you."
The mansion twisted again, walls closing in. The ghosts whispered, their lost voices pleading.
The trapped children. The missing souls.
This wasn't just a monster.
This was the house's curse itself.
Adrian, Felix, and Selene weren't just fighting to survive.
They had to break the cycle.
To Be Continued…