“The Nightwatcher and the Hollow Moon”
In the city of Grayhaven, Halloween wasn’t just a night for costumes. It was the one night the veil between worlds thinned — and strange things crawled out of the shadows.
Most people never noticed. They were too busy with candy and laughter. But The Nightwatcher noticed everything.
He wasn’t like other heroes. He didn’t fly or shoot lasers. He could see the truth behind darkness — the shimmer of hidden realms, the flicker of restless souls. And on Halloween night, his mask lit with faint blue runes, glowing like moonlight on water.
This year, something was wrong.
The moon over Grayhaven had turned hollow — a black ring of light hanging in the sky, pulsing faintly, like it was alive. And with it came whispers.
They slithered through alleys and rooftops, curling into people’s dreams. Some woke screaming. Others didn’t wake at all.
By midnight, half the city’s lanterns had gone out.
Nightwatcher stood atop the clock tower, scanning the streets below. “It’s starting again,” he murmured. “The Hollow Ones are crossing.”
He dropped into the fog, cape swirling like smoke, and landed beside a small child crying on the steps of an apartment building. Her pumpkin bucket had spilled—candy scattered like bright offerings to the dark.
“They came from the moon,” she whispered, trembling.
And then Nightwatcher saw them — tall shapes with carved faces, hollow-eyed and grinning, moving in the mist like broken shadows. The Hollow Ones.
He clenched his fists, and the runes along his gloves flared to life. “Back to the dark,” he growled, and with a surge of energy, he struck the ground. A ripple of silver light tore through the street, scattering the creatures like smoke in wind.
But one of them lingered — taller than the rest, with a jagged crown of flickering flame.
> “The veil weakens,” it hissed. “Soon the light will fade… and you’ll join us.”
Nightwatcher’s eyes glowed under his mask. “Not tonight.”
He hurled his staff into the air; it spun once, absorbing the moon’s dim light — and exploded in a burst of white fire that filled the sky. When it faded, the moon was whole again.
The Hollow Ones were gone.
The city slept peacefully. Children dreamed of heroes.
And somewhere, deep beneath the streets of Grayhaven, a single whisper echoed in the dark:
Id: Soesoelwin