He was eating away at my sanity.
I couldn't get this thing out of my head, no matter what I tried. It was attached to my brain, this Hollow. They are nasty things that suck out all the life from you, and corrupt your body and take it as their own. They can appear as gooey shapeshifters, grim reaper-like things that fly around, or, when they corrupt you, what looks like circuits from "TRON" that are black and spread across your body.
This Hollow wasn't normal, though.
This was the Hollow.
I knew I shouldn't have learned to summon this thing. I am a Dark Alchemyst, which means I have an affinity for dark sided alchemy, which are the elements of lightning and fire, and the Essence of Darkness, of course. That doesn't make me evil, though.
Anyways, I was power hungry. Once I got a taste at resurrecting spirits, I wanted to revive more. I wished I was a Light Alchemyst instead.
I could bring my family back...
I couldn't stop thinking about them. I have tried reviving them, but when you use Darkness to revive people, they're just... not the same...
As I knelt on the stone bridge, trapped in my own head, clutching my temples, and waiting for death to save me, the Master Hollow spoke to me.
He was invisible to me, but I could feel him getting closer to reality. His presence was dreadful.
Summon me, boy.
"AAAGH!" I wailed. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Revive me... bring me back...
"SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER!" With one final cry, I lurched forwards, headfirst.
My allies told me there was a sickening bang when I banged my head. It hurt, even with Alchemist Strength, which can make wounds that could kill a human, not hurt so much. An alchemist can even withstand several stabs, but this damaged my brain temporarily.
Everything turned hazy and red. I couldn't even hear the Master Hollow's desires anymore. The world turned into shadows, and I slipped away from consciousness.
I awakened in the middle of the Battle of Imperius Bridge, where my team was supposed to defeat Dementia, an insane Dark Alchemist, but just when we were going to charge, I heard the voices again. I was the captain of this team, and I didn't want to let them down, but the voices got worse each day.
Speaking of voices...
Revive me...
"Ughh..." I moan softly.
Revive me...
"What..?" I hear the faint voice of the Hollow again. I was just about to take a knife and lacerate myself to death when I saw the condition of my team.
Dementia was having a Power Surge, and had taken the form of his Essence, the Chronos. He had spikes all over him, and the features of a vampire. Glowing red eyes, menacing fangs, and deadly claws.
He was slicing everyone in a berserk rage, creating a one-man army. Literally. All of his crew were dead.
But not him.
Witnessing the final desperate acts of my team, I started to cry. It made me feel like my heart was a crushed can, thrown into the streets, now garbage. I couldn't do anything to save them. I watched Dementia destroy another alchemist, then sprint towards me.
The voices got stronger in those few seconds.
Revive me...
No, I think.
Revive me...
No!
Revive me...
"IF IT WILL MAKE YOU SHUT UP I WILL!"
I spring up, then slam my hand on the ground. A white circle is forming on the ground. I fear it will be a matter of moments before Dementia would slaughter me.
Come on... I think.
Just as Dementia leaps for me, a thing covered in black, wispy aura appears, reaching out a hand to Dementia, about to vaporize him.
And in that very second, I recognize the thing covered in black aura. I gasp in surprise, anger, and sadness.
It was my dad.