Hello everyone! I am back from my hiatus and ready to begin writing once more! Huzzah!
I am sorry but I have to ask you guys to wait a little bit longer for the Lizardmen Chronicles rewrite, I am working on it though do not be mistaken! I just wanted to coincide it with the upcoming Lizardmen/Scaven DLC coming out around April. In the meantime I have this and one other story coming up to tide you over with for now. Hope you enjoy!
"Hollow and/or Protagonist speaking."
"Everyone else speaking."
Prologue: We are…
A lone figure was walking through the endless white expanse of Hueco Mundo, seeming to have no particular direction in mind. A large voluminous brown clock hiding its appearance from view. It was a stranger, an oddity, something that shouldn't exist, at least not within the Land of Hollows. It did not know it yet, but it was being watched from afar. On a nearby ridge half a mile away from the wandering figure, stood a Hollow that resembles a panther. It stared at the figure, its eyes narrowed with ill intent. It turned away, moving to catch up with its newfound prey.
The Panther-like Hollow has been tracking the wandering figure for hours now, and it was starting to get impatient. Luckily enough, its prey seemed to decide to halt its progress for the day, choosing to seat itself on the only rock formation for miles.
The Panther Hollow smiled, it seems that dinner was soon to be served. It crept up the rock formation, making sure to put itself behind the figure. It seems to be successful, the figure appears to have no inkling of the panther's presence. The Panther Hollow lowers its body to the rock, tensing all its muscles, getting ready for the pounce.
'Your mine!' The Hollow roars in its mind as it surges forward in a burst of speed. Its front paws raised towards the figure, its claws unsheathe to tear and rend the cloaked figure apart.
But this was not some helpless nobody. Nor was it unaware of its surroundings. Suddenly a green grow surrounds the Hollow, stopping it dead, its limbs flying around uselessly as it is suspended in the air. The figure got up from its sitting position and turned to face the Hollow. The First thing the Hollow noticed about this figure…no, it was a man. The man had a collection of tattered garments of faded red and black, held together by buckles and straps. But the most unique characteristic of this man was his milky green eyes, glassed over as if he were blind.
"Why are you attacking us?" The cloaked man inquiries, his voice giving an echoing sound, as if multiple voices are speaking at the same time and speaking the same words.
The Hollow stops struggling for the moment, angry and somewhat confused at the question.
Why do you want to know, meat-sack?" The Hollow growls, its voice surprisingly feminine in tone.
"We have been attacked multiple times now by your...kind." States the man, obviously not altogether sure what Hollows were at the moment. "So, we thought it best to interrogate you to find out why. So we will ask again only once, why are you attacking us?"
"And Why should I tell you anything," The Panther Hollow replies harshly, "also what is with this 'us' stuff you keep going on about? Are there more than one of you?" It then asks.
"No." He says simply. "And yes, in our own way."
The Hollow growls again, this time irritated by that ambiguous answer. "Well, which is it!?"
"We are many, yet we are one." The man answers, again in a somewhat vague manner. "We have replied to your query, now tell us..." The green glow starts to constrict the Panther Hollow, slowly cutting off its air flow. "Why are you did you attempt to harm us?"
The Hollow was starting to feel light-headed due to lack of air. "Do it." It rasps weakly, its lungs burning, striving to breathe. "Kill me, if you got the guts."
The man stares at the Hollow for a few moments, then releases it from his power, causing it to fall on to the rock. It gasping as its lungs heave and haw to bring in much-needed air. It then looks at the men. "Why?" It asks. A common question on this night, it seems.
The cloaked man doesn't say, he simply looks at the hollow for a second, then turns around and begins to climb down the large rock they were on to the sands below.
"H-Hey! Where are you going!?" The Panther Hollow yells, it previous confusion giving way to anger. How dare this meat-sack just decide to walk away, as if it wasn't worth killing. It jumps down after him. "Aren't you interrogating me?" It asks. A strange to ask, to be sure. But this was a new experience for the Hollow. Because in Hueco Mundo, no one just walks away from a defeated opponent who was within the other's mercy.
"It is obvious to us you will not divulge to us the reason for your attempt on our lives, and killing you will bring us no benefit." The man then looks at the Hollow, though he was masked his voice betrayed his curiosity. "Most would not question such things, why do you?"
The Panther Hollow stares at the man in bemusement. "Nobody in Hueco Mundo is as stupid as you then. The strong live and the weak die, that's how things work here. That's why I was trying to kill you, to get stronger." The Hollow wasn't sure why it was telling the man this, or why it was now walking beside the man away from the rock formation and into the desert.
"And how would killing us make you stronger?" The man asks, again in curiosity.
The Hollow laughs darkly. "By eating your corpse, duh."
The man hums in thought. "We see."
The now seemingly new companions thus began their trek into the desert. The Panther Hollow looks up at the man as they walked. "Not sure why I'm telling you this, but the names Grimmjane." The Hollow tells the man. "What's yours?"
the cloaked man glances at the now know female Hollow, then looks back to where they're going. "We are Ermac."
…
…
"You know I'm going to try to kill you again, right?" Grimmjane says with a feral grin.
Ermac doesn't say anything, not at all intimidated by that statement.
After all...they were many, she was but one.
And that is the start of this story. What do you guys think, was it good, was it bad, was it a steaming pile of bat poo? Let me know in the reviews and PM me if you have any specific question you want to ask. Sorry if this chapter is a little short, I will be making them longer, I assure you all. This will be a harem story. If you don't like that then I understand. Flames and Flamers will be dutifully ignored.
Well, that is all for now, everyone. In till the next chapter of This Mortal Koil.
"May your imagination bring you to places old and new." - The Bug Catcher.