Man of Hollows

"Ugh..." Hill groaned, expecting more throbbing pain from the side of his head. Yet none came.

He had expected it to get much worse after Lands had lifted him off the ground, mostly due to the sudden plummeting sensation he'd felt.

His headache had worsened briefly then, and the pain was blinding to the point that it brought tears to his eyes.

But that pain was gone now. Instead, he felt a weight on his chest that was restricting his breathing slightly. He could also feel the ground beneath his body. It wasn't particularly uncomfortable. In fact, it felt surprisingly soft.

Compared to the brick-of-a-bed that he slept on in his family's tenement back in Agshaka, this soft surface was leagues above in terms of comfort. His back, for one, was receiving truly therapeutic treatment from whatever surface he was lying on.

Wait.

Since when was I lying on my back?

His eyes flew open as he let out a loud gasp. Looking around, his eyes widened further as he recognized the emptiness that was the light-eating sand. Up above, the red disc remained fixed in place, staring down at him ominously.

Lifting his head off the ground, he slowly looked toward what was resting on his chest.

It was Mime. She was using his chest as a pillow, and her brilliant red eyes were focused on his. Her expression was that of a manic smile, so wide and profound that it caused chills to flood Hill's senses.

"AAHHHHH!"

The scream was as raw and loud as it could get, but in the sound-devouring emptiness of the black desert, it simply went nowhere. There was no echo.

He thrashed, scrambling backward on his hands and feet as he tried to put distance between himself and Mime.

Mime's reaction, on the other hand, was tamer than Hill's own. She simply pushed herself up from where she had been shoved to the sand, tilting her head as if she was curious about why Hill reacted so fearfully. The manic, painted-on smile on her pale face remained fixed and unwavering despite all of this, but her brilliant red eyes blinked slowly as if she were a cat waking from a nap.

Hill finally managed to get his feet under him and staggered back several more paces, his heart hammering in his chest. He pointed a trembling finger at the smiling Mime. "What... What were you doing?! Why were you sleeping on my che—" He looked down at himself, only just now noticing that he was shirtless. A fierce blush invaded his face. "You fucking creep!"

Mime responded by bringing her hands to her face, mocking his expression of terror in a theatrical gasp. Then she proceeded to clap her hands together loudly and began to hop from foot to foot. Hill could have sworn that her smile grew wider.

What's wrong with this girl? he asked himself, staring at her in horror. She's completely unserious!

"Bah! What in the name of the seven hells are you screaming about now, boy?"

A gravelly voice boomed from the crest of a nearby dune. Hill's head snapped toward the sound to see Hero standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking down at the two of them with an expression of annoyance. "Cryin' like a damn banshee. Pathetic."

While Hill felt slightly more comforted by Hero's entrance, he took offense at his words.

"She was on top of me!" Hill yelled, pointing again at Mime, who had stopped her hopping to give Hero a graceful curtsy.

Hero let out a long sigh and trudged down the dune toward them. "Mime, why were you on top of the boy?" he asked, stopping a few feet away.

Mime pointed at Hill before spinning around like a ballerina and then exploding into a jumping jack.

Hero raised an eyebrow. "You're sayin... he appeared out of thin air?"

Mime nodded, mouthing the word "Yeah" while shaking her head up and down vigorously.

Hero turned to Hill, looking him up and down before proceeding to frown. "I see... Boy, I must say, you're a skeletal one. Whatever happened to your shirt, by the way?"

Hill instinctively wrapped his arms around his torso. "It got... destroyed."

Hero didn't seem to care. In fact, his facial expression seemed to point to the fact that he was marveled by something. "This is interesting, to say the least! It appears as if your body in the real world and your body within your soul realm are the same. Your shirt, which was destroyed in the real world, is now nonexistent within your soul realm."

Hill opened his mouth to respond, but he paused.

Hold on, that is interesting...

Hero continued, a giddy smile crossing his face. "You know, I was getting bored just sitting around within this darkness, unable to do a damn thing. But now, I feel like I have the potential to do something."

It was evident that he was hinting at something, but Hill struggled to identify what it was. "What are you talking about?"

Hero simply smirked before closing his eyes and stretching his right arm out to the side. The air suddenly thickened, giving Hill a sense of déjà vu, before several motes of light emerged from his fingertips. They swirled and collided into each other as they formed a clump of fabric that seemed to carry the colors of a true night sky, unlike the dismal one within this realm.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Hero tossed the cloth toward Hill, who caught it awkwardly, fumbling with it desperately in order to avoid dropping it on the sand. He immediately noticed that it wasn't just a simple clump of fabric, but a shirt that was clumped up. Unfurling the rustic fabric, he was greeted by the sight of a perfectly-sized black shirt.

He looked up toward Hero, a question on his face.

"You seem to be confused, boy," Hero began, unable to hold in a chuckle. "That right there is a relic! I've relinquished my claim on it, so... go on, then! Claim it as yours!"

Hill smiled awkwardly. "You say that like I know how to do it."

Hero turned to Mime and rolled his eyes. "Do you see how I have to babysit this child? Goodness, just think about claiming it. It's not that hard!"

Mime turned to Hill, cupping a hand over her mouth and air-poking at him repeatedly.

Okay, Mime, I get it! Hill scowled as he turned his full attention to the relic in his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Look, he even has to take a deep breath just to think!"

The sound of muted clapping followed by a gravelly giggle let Hill know that Mime had joined in on the mockery as well.

But he wasn't deterred. Focusing hard, he exhaled slowly before issuing the following mental command:

You're mine.

And just like that, he claimed his first relic.

[You have claimed a relic: .]

Relic Description: [On a cold winter night, a woman worked tirelessly, sewing together a present for her first-born son. She waited expectantly for his arrival, clutching her creation within her trembling palms. But he never came home.]