CHAPTER 220: BEYOND THE WATERY VEIL

( ... continued)

" No!"

Autumn’s voice cut through the humming air, sharp as a blade, without any hesitation.

She stepped forward, Jasper’s little hand still in hers, her chin high and her eyes blazing with shimmering hurt. "This is my son, Jasper Ulfsen! He has nothing to do with that murderer..."

The words spat from her lips like venom, and the fire in her tone left no room for doubt.

From the mist, a figure emerged...a small,elderly woman with grey deadlocks tied in a bun that defied gravity...draped in flowing robes the color of twilight. One hand over her glowing staff, while the other rested casually on her hip.

Her eyes, however, softened as they met Autumn’s fury, sparking with both understanding and a strange sorrow.

"Alright, alright," the woman said gently, her voice carrying that lilting calm that always disarmed. "No need to get all worked up, Autumn. You know I am always on your side."

Her gaze flicked towards Jasper, lingering just a second too long, before she added with quiet weight, "...But. On that note, it isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes, even our eyes and mind play tricks."

Autumn opened her mouth, her jaw tight, the words already forming to protest...to argue, to defend...but she never got the chance.

The woman closed the space between them in an instant and pulled her into a fierce embrace, Jasper caught snugly between them.

"Ohhh," the woman sighed, her arms tightening around mother and child. "This feels so good. I am so glad to finally see you!"

Jasper squirmed at first, startled by the sudden squeeze, but when Autumn exhaled, relaxing just enough to allow it, he nestled into the warmth as well.

When they finally pulled back, Autumn’s face had softened, her lips curving into a small, weary smile. She turned her gaze to her son.

"Jas," she said gently, brushing his curls from his forehead. "Say hi to Mango. She is..." Autumn hesitated, her voice catching as if the words weighed more than she was willing to carry. "...She was..." She stopped again, a shadow flickering across her expression.

Before the silence could grow heavy, the woman herself filled it with ease.

"I am an old friend of your mother, my prince!" she said brightly, bending slightly so her face was level with Jasper’s. Her staff tapped the ground once, sending a soft ripple of blue light across the shimmering sand. "You can call me Mango. But..." she winked, her smile warm, "you can also call me Nanna, if you please."

Jasper’s eyes lit up instantly, his mouth splitting into the widest grin. "Nanna!" he squealed, throwing his tiny arms around her neck with all the strength his little body could muster.

Mango laughed, holding him tight and swaying him gently side to side. "Oh, what a sweet boy you are. Just like your..." She paused mid sentence, catching herself, and instead kissed his temple with a loud ’mwah’. "No, even better."

Autumn’s smile grew, tender but shadowed with memory, as she watched her son cling to Mango with such quick affection.

Behind them, Orion stood a step apart, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed...not with anger, but with the measured suspicion of a man who had seen too many betrayals to trust easily.

His gaze never left Mango, even as the scene played out like a long awaited reunion.

Mango finally pulled back just enough to beam at Autumn again. "Alright, alright," she said with a playful wave of her staff, her tone suddenly brisk. "Autumn, they are waiting for you. Let’s go inside."

The blue lit horizon seemed to ripple wider.

The portal widened with a low, rippling hum, and when Mango swept her staff forward, the shimmering blue folded open like a curtain.

What looked like a wall of cascading water appeared before them, but the droplets glowed faintly, as if moonlight itself had been captured inside every bead.

Jasper gasped, tugging hard at Autumn’s hand. "Mama...waterfall! Can we go swimmin’? Please? Pretty please!"

Autumn’s lips twitched despite herself. "No, baby. It’s not water...it only looks that way." She crouched down so her face was close to his nose. "When we walk through, don’t be scared. Just hold my hand, alright?"

He nodded furiously, curls bouncing, then looked at Orion. "Dada, you comin’?"

Orion hesitated, his body rigid as his sharp eyes scanned the unnatural flow. The glow reflected in his wolf iris, and he clenched his jaw. "I don’t like walking into things I can’t see through..." he muttered.

Mango chuckled softly. "You will see. Eventually. If you have the eyes of course!"

He shot her a look, but Jasper tugged at his sleeve, whispering with all the seriousness a child could muster, "Don’t be a scaredy cat, Dada."

That earned a faint smirk from Autumn, though she quickly turned away before Orion could notice.

With one final breath, Orion stepped in after them, his hand resting near his blade even as the shimmering veil swallowed them whole.

On the other side, the world shifted.

The first thing Jasper noticed was the dark.

Not black, not empty...but a velvety shadow that seemed to breathe. Then the light came...the faint glow of bioluminescence scattered like stars across the cavern walls.

Moss glimmered in gentle greens, roots curled like veins with blue light pulsing through them, and great hanging vines shimmered faintly, as though dusted in silver.

"Mamaaaa..." Jasper whispered, his eyes wider than they had ever been, pointing frantically around them. As if he wanted to say..."It’s like the sky came down here!"

Autumn brushed her thumb across his knuckles, her gaze softening. "Yes, baby. Like the sky."

Orion’s eyes, however, never left the shifting shadows. His stance betrayed tension, his free hand hovering near his weapon. "Too quiet," he muttered under his breath.

But then...a sound rose from the darkness.

A chorus.

Not of one voice, but of many, woven together in unison. Deep, resonant, carrying a cadence older than the stars.

"Welcome... welcome, oh carrier of the great knowledge."

The voices seemed to come from everywhere at once, wrapping around them like invisible hands. Jasper clutched Autumn’s hand tighter but still tried to peek around eagerly, spinning his head left and right.

"Welcome, daughter of moonlight, child of flame. Blood of the First who still walks among us. You honor us with your presence..."

Autumn lifted her chin, her lips pressed thin but her voice steady. "You speak as though I am my ancestors. Let me make this bit clear, I am clearly not them."

"You are," the voices intoned again, unfaltering. "The pulse of their legacy runs through you. The Great Line is unbroken."

Jasper tilted his head, whispering loudly, "Mama... who’s talkin’? Can’t see ’em!"

Orion’s eyes narrowed further. His voice was clipped, suspicious. "Neither can I. Show yourselves." His voice echoed in that eerily beautiful place.

The air shifted. Slowly, the darkness began to stir, like paint bleeding across canvas.

At first, it was nothing more than outlines...faint silhouettes barely distinguishable from the cavern’s shadows. Tall forms. Bent forms. Some broad, some willowy. They flickered faintly, as if woven from the very bioluminescence that crawled along the walls.

And indeed, the silhouettes slowly began to take shape, stepping forward from the shadows, their forms still half shrouded in darkness.