The sky was bleeding.
Above the ruined city, crimson clouds spiraled like a wound torn in heaven.
Crows circled the cathedral ruins, their shadows merging with the ashes of fallen cultists.
Hiragi stood amidst it all—barefoot, coat torn, his body still steaming from the collapse of the illusion.
The void residue clung to his skin like ink that refused to dry.
His eyes... weren't the same anymore.
Something inside him had fractured—maybe awakened.
He no longer blinked like a boy who'd seen horrors.
He blinked like a god who'd become one.
Beside him, Ishigami reloaded his silver hex-gun, flicking void dust from his sleeves.
"That monk wasn't the real problem," he said quietly.
"The ritual wasn't meant to summon something. It was a signal."
Hiragi turned his gaze slowly.
"A signal... to what?"
"A war."
"One that never ended. It just got buried."
Airi stumbled toward them, carrying a cracked staff and a half-burned field journal.
She was covered in scrapes, one leg limp, but her eyes were sharp—filled with urgency.
"You need to hear this," she said, tossing the journal at Hiragi.
"It's from the archive beneath the cult vault. Pages talk about something called Protocol Null."
Hiragi flipped through it.
Diagrams. Old runes. Forbidden seals. A map with coordinates buried in redacted layers.
Then one sentence stood out—burned into his memory like fire:
"When the dream collapses, the Hollow War resumes."
Suddenly, the ground shook.
A low frequency echoed beneath their feet—like a whisper inside the bones.
Then they saw it.
From beyond the eastern forest, dozens of lights appeared.
Marching.
Figures in black void armor. Faces covered.
Each one branded with the same mark: -Null
"You've got to be kidding," Airi whispered.
"The cult was just the opening act," Ishigami muttered.
"We're dealing with a remnant army. Voidborne soldiers from the original Eden Collapse."
Hiragi clenched his fist.
His voice came out low, not angry—but clear.
"Then I guess it's time we answered the call."
Behind them, the broken ritual circle began to re-form—drawn not by ink or blood, but by memory.
Hiragi stepped into it.
Void pulsed around him.
And from beneath the rubble, his blade emerged—not summoned, not forged—but remembered.
"Name it," Ishigami asked.
"This isn't just another case," Hiragi replied.
"It's a war now."
He turned to the army advancing toward them.
"And I'm done being hunted."
The Hollow War... had resumed.
And the first to fall would be those who tried to control dreams.
End of Chapter 65