Page 26 of Hollow

Jack then tried describing his true form, or the form of the spirit merged with his body. It was similar to a centaur, only instead of a half horse, the full body of the horse took on a demonic, shadowy form, and the appearance of a human rode on top of it—only the mortal had no legs and seemed fused to the horse’s spine. It sounded truly sinister in Dimitri’s mind. Especially when Jack turned his smiley face into one with jagged shark-like teeth that snapped loudly.

“Anyway, my mom managed to separate the Nuckelavee from the corpse it possessed and then merged it with me. Which is how I ended up like this.” Jack gestured to his many stitched-up injuries across his arms, chest, legs, and neck.

“I was wondering about this. You seemed virtually immune to damage, even with iron, but you have so many wounds.”

“Scars, really,” Jack said with a light laugh. “When the Nuckelavee jumped into my body, it literally ripped me apart. I ended up torn into a ton of tiny pieces.”

“That sounds…” Dimitri forcibly contained a shudder. “That sounds incredibly painful.”

“For sure. Mostly, it wasn’t the best start to our relationship, but since we were fused as one being, the Nuckelavee immediately went to work fixing what it’d broken.” Jack stood under a bright streetlight and posed with his arms out wide. “Ta-da, this was unfortunately the best it could do.”

Dimitri frowned, disappointed in how Jack saw himself. There was nothing unfortunate about his appearance.

“The stitches are actually just my own shadows holding my body together.”

“That must take a lot of concentration.”

“Not really, the Nuckelavee is on it.”

“Does it talk to you?”

“No, I mean, sometimes I can feel its feelings, and I know it can feel mine. We’re the same being now, but also not at all. Weird, right?”

“It is interesting that you were human before all this.”

“I guess.” Jack shrugged.

“That makes us similar.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I am half-human, half-monster. You were full human and now are full monster.”

“Hmm, didn’t think about it like that.”

“You know, Leshy are also more spirit than other creatures. Not the same as this Nuckelavee, but some similarity.”

Jack smirked; his shadowy eyes seemed delighted by the connection.

“Can I ask another question?”

“You just did, but sure, I’ll give you another question.”

“What is that pumpkin made of?” Dimitri asked, sensing the magical properties but unsure what the purpose of such a thing was.

“It’s enchanted. Witches and enchanted pumpkins, I swear.” Jack chuckled. “It’s hollowed out and got a little extra reinforcement to it. Sort of like an armored helmet.”

“Fascinating. Bizarre but fascinating.”

“Yeah, let’s just say before the Nuckelavee ripped me open, I had a face only a mother could love. But after it blew my head apart and stitched me back together, even my mother had a hard time looking at me. The pumpkin helps.”

Dimitri got quiet, saddened by such a thought. He couldn’t fathom his mother being disgusted by his appearance, not ever. She loved all his features, those that were human and Leshy. She loved everything about his father, no reservations or hesitation at his monstrous appearance.

“I apologize for prying.”

“Nah, no worries. I used to share this stuff online all the time. Just most folks didn’t like my OG lore, saying it was too complicated, or commenting how they heard different versions of the Horseless Headsman—Daxter’s doing.”

“He seems very intrigued by the Horseless Headsman, even if he tells the wrong story.”