Destined to be

Chapter 11: "The Hollow"

The Hollow had become a name whispered with reverence and fear. The fallout from the tech company exposé rippled through the city like a tidal wave. Executives were forced to resign, lawsuits began to pile up, and protests erupted outside the company's headquarters. The world saw it as another victory for The Hollow, a faceless force of reckoning.

But for Ben, the victory was hollow in every sense of the word.

He spent his days in near silence, pacing his apartment like a caged animal. The mask sat on his desk, its empty gaze following him. He avoided his reflection in the window; the man he used to be was someone he no longer recognized.

The messages in the group chat grew louder, more demanding. His followers wanted guidance, action, more justice. Some wanted blood. But Ben found himself unable to respond. The weight of their expectations crushed him, feeding the storm inside his mind.

Every night was the same: sleepless hours filled with thoughts that spiraled deeper into the abyss. He thought about the people he had hurt—not just the ones who deserved it, but the collateral damage. He thought about the followers he had inspired and whether he was leading them to something better or dragging them down with him.

Mostly, he thought about the emptiness that gnawed at him, a void that no amount of power or recognition could fill.

JusticeSeeker and LostGirl reached out repeatedly, but Ben ignored them. The idea of facing them, of admitting how broken he felt, was unbearable. They thought of him as a leader, a symbol of strength. He couldn't let them see the truth.

But LostGirl was persistent.

Late one night, Ben's phone buzzed with a message: We're coming over. We're worried about you.

Panic flared in Ben's chest. He couldn't let them see him like this. He scrambled to clean up his apartment, shoving papers and empty coffee cups into drawers. When the knock came at the door, he hesitated before opening it.

LostGirl and JusticeSeeker stood in the hallway, their faces etched with concern.

"You look like shit," LostGirl said bluntly.

"Nice to see you too," Ben muttered, stepping aside to let them in.

JusticeSeeker glanced around the apartment, his brow furrowing at the chaos. "You've been holed up in here for weeks. What's going on?"

Ben crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "I've been busy."

LostGirl wasn't having it. "Don't give us that. You've been shutting us out. This isn't just about the mission anymore, is it?"

He didn't respond, staring at the floor.

"Talk to us," she pressed. "You can't do this alone."

The words hit something raw inside him. He wanted to lash out, to tell them to leave, but a part of him longed for their help. His hands clenched into fists, his breath unsteady.

"I don't know who I am anymore," he admitted finally, his voice low and strained. "I thought... I thought if I became something bigger, it would fix me. But it hasn't. It's just made everything worse."

JusticeSeeker looked at him, his expression softening. "Ben... you don't have to carry this by yourself."

LostGirl stepped closer. "You're not just The Hollow. You're still you. And that's enough."

Her words should have been comforting, but they only made the ache inside him worse.

After they left, Ben sat alone in the dark, staring at his mask. He wanted to believe them, but the truth was he didn't know who "Ben" was anymore. The Hollow had consumed him, and he wasn't sure there was anything left beneath it.

His mind raced, filled with fragments of memories and regrets. He thought about his parents, their disappointment in him. He thought about the bully who had carved his name into Ben's skin, the pain and humiliation that had shaped his life. He thought about the people he had hurt and the people who had hurt him.

The weight of it all was suffocating.

Ben picked up the mask, his fingers tracing its cold surface. He slipped it on, the voice changer clicking to life. The sound of his distorted breathing filled the room, grounding him.

He stood, his movements slow and deliberate, and walked to the window. The city stretched out before him, a sea of lights and shadows. Somewhere out there, people were talking about him, fearing him, idolizing him.

They didn't know the truth.

They didn't know that The Hollow was just a broken man, desperate to matter.

For a long time, Ben stood there, staring into the night. His mind churned with dark thoughts, a battle he was losing with every passing second.

And then, a spark of clarity cut through the haze.

If he couldn't find peace, he would create it. If the world wouldn't give him purpose, he would force it to.

The Hollow wasn't just a mask anymore. It was his salvation. His curse.

And soon, it would become the city's reckoning.

A few hours later ben was laying in bed, unable to sleep due to the thoughts in his mind. He was plotting something big, something that wasn't physically destructive, but something that would burn his name into the minds of everyone.

He got up and opened his laptop, hacking and trying to access anything he could "the news?" ben looks at the mask "yeah... yeah good idea."

Ben hacked into atleast 5 huge, major news networks around an hour later and was ready to give a speech. He made sure nobody could track him from what he was about to do.

Ben put his mask on and clicked broadcast, outside in many cities it was broadcasting, on television, laptops, phones, anything that had a screen ben had hijacked. He was ready to share his news with the world, whether they liked it or not.