The Hollow Thing

ere deep within the walls, accompanied by the distant creak of wood settling after years of abandonment. Shadow

isappearance of her family. The grand staircase ahead groaned under the weight of sil

lit barely pierced the darkness, casting dancing shapes that twisted along the cracked walls. Her finge

bly human. Aria stopped, heart hammering, straining to listen. The sound came again, a whi

idor lined with faded portraits whose eyes seemed to watch her every move. Each step pul

er, resting on a dusty table, lay a leather-bound journal, its cover worn and cracked. As she stepped forward, the whispers g