Granny Baba POV

As she opened her eyes, the pale light that had surrounded her faded away.

Baba found herself standing in a forest cloaked in darkness. Her bare feet felt the strange chill of the dark soil between her toes. She tilted her neck, beholding the vast twilight sky stretched above, a realm stitched with multiples of twinkling stars.

That sound troubled her once more, the wailing cries of a child, lingering around her, she knew they birthed from a place not far away. But that didn't feel her with any slight feeling of warmth.

Just ahead, Baba could make out a small hut, clothed in the twilight's gloom and nestled beneath two slanting trees. Their overhanging leaves glistened, distinctly larger than ordinary foliage, telling her rain had also fallen not long before. Through the hazy windows, an orange glow hinted at life within. Drawn by those signs, Baba decided to inspect the ominous little dwelling.

As she drew nearer to one window, shadows danced inside. Knowing this was a dream sequence potentially unlocking a distant memory, she remained wary of the realm's uncertainties. Vines and darkened leaves clung to the door, withered black and blue petals scattered about, with all coated in faint traces of lingering mana.

Baba raised her right hand, on whose index finger and thumb perched two silver rings, each studded with a squared ruby. With a circular motion, she swept her open palm before the door's face. The twin gemstones sparked with crimson light, warding away the negative energies barring her path through the memory. A shriek sounded through the air, like the cry of a wounded beast. The vines swiftly repulsed away from the door.

Though it had been long since Baba last dream-walked, she was relieved her charms for navigating such blockades still served her well.

Pressing that same palm against the weathered wood, Baba forced her way inside.

Again, the sounds of a crying child filled the luminous air.

Inside the hut, Baba found herself transported elsewhere. Once again, the scene had undergone a complete transformation. She now stood atop a stone stairwell, its steps enclosed within a narrow corridor. Stretching her arms, she could brush the cold, rough surfaces of the stone walls on either side.

Peering down the steps that vanished into the darkness, she sighed softly, wishing for the ability to conjure a cane for support.

Yet, even with magic, not everything yielded to her will.

Cautiously, Baba began her descent, her pace deliberate yet steady. She closely examined the walls, their cold, uneven surfaces offering no comfort. The darkness that enveloped her bore an unfamiliar aura, starkly different from any she had sensed in such realms before

Dream realms or memory zones tended to show remnants of the host aura, Arcanists who are versed in Alteration had conducted years of research and were able to specifically identify the dominant aura that upholds the mind palaces dream zones was the key to escaping such prisons.

Given its free-flowing nature, mana is not easily contained. In realms as chaotic as these, sensing multiple mana fluctuations was commonplace. However, encountering multiple dominant auras was far from ordinary.

But the idea of sensing multiple dominant auras wasn’t normal at all.

The saying, too many big fishes shouldn’t swim together in the same pond came to Baba’s mind. And the thought of that baleful aura was still troubling her.

Baba almost reached the last steps.

Green flames flickered to life along the narrow walls, casting an eerie glow. From the deep darkness ahead, the echoing wails of a child's cries rang out. Steadying herself, she pressed onward, her mind spinning to piece together how a boy's psyche could take such a cryptic form of mystery.

Into that gaping blackness, she ventured, thick whispers slithering out to greet her trespass.

The gloom receded, revealing Baba now stood within a well-lit crypt. Her senses stood alert.

She wasn’t alone.

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Five robed, hooded figures circled a round porcelain table, shrouded in darkness. Its pale surface was webbed with cracks like golden veins. Baba paused, raising her right hand to kiss one of the ruby jewels set into her rings, imbuing the action with silent intent. A protective crimson glow enveloped her ethereal form in response.

"We cannot let her grow…" a raspy voice whispered.

"I concur…left to mature her power will eventually devour us all." another agreed, toneless.

"We swore an oath to the king, to the divine house. We must protect the descendants of dawn."

"Her birth is a taboo, a mistake within the laws of time, she cannot be the last?

"Hmm perhaps we do something to prevent the gene from spreading.

We are no longer like our ancestors, who were reliant on their grace and power.

We know now, just how to mark the skins of the Golden so…shan't we…wait! do you feel that?"

‎

‎"Feel what? "

"Shh stop talking…we are not alone."

Whoosh!

One of the shrouds slammed a pale hand against the table.

'Damn it!'

Baba reacted quickly and brought the orb to her lips again. This time she forcefully bit down against the jewel, shattering it completely and releasing a surge of red mist that quickly blinded her just in time before the rushing golden arrows arrived upon her.

A loud screech sounded, Baba felt the world around her tremble but she sighed in relief, safely shielded inside of a swirling crimson vortex.

She glared down towards her hand. One last jewel remained.

'What the hell was that? Th-that was a memory no? Then how could they...'

'Steady your mind, we have only just started.' Her dark passenger reminded her

Baba held many questions and uncomfortable truths but for now, time wasn't something she had on her side. The crimson vortex was like a whirlwind of blood, and its rapidly surging form would quickly subside soon enough.

As it gently dissipated. Baba found herself somewhere new.

In a grandiose hall adorned with azure stones, pillars as robust as a giant's limbs rose to meet the high, vaulted ceilings. The same azure hue graced the expansive floors and towering walls, complemented by stained glass windows in shades of jade gathered near the ceiling. Baba's gaze wandered through the lofty expanse of this palace-like hall, her attention captured by the ceiling that shimmered like a crystal realm, with thick cedar beams adding a regal touch.

The hall's grandeur rivaled that of the most opulent royal palace halls she had ever encountered. What initially seemed like gargoyles stationed around the perimeter revealed themselves to be images of 8 towering figures, upon closer inspection.

Each one carried a uniquely cut figurine-sized totem close to their chest.

'Lunara's children? she held a disheartening feeling about these memories.

Suddenly.

SHICK! Slash!

Sounds of steel erupted across the air. Baba lowered her gaze, where she saw a shimmering white blade returning to its wielder side, a wet splash of carmine painted the ground beneath the lowered blade.

And the one who held the sword, was only that of a little girl, possibly no older than 14, standing in the middle of the glazier hall.

Her long, combed hair shimmered raven black against her porcelain-pale skin, clad in a black dress that ended just below her knees. Baba's gaze dropped to the carmine pool beneath the little girl's feet. Following the blood splatters, she was startled abruptly, by the sight that met her.

Among the azure tiles, reflecting the room like a translucent mirror, lay five severed heads, their eyes wide in shock.

Lost in her daydream, her gaze slightly lifted again, the little girl jolted upright, turning slowly to face her, Baba felt a sinister aura like no other ensnare her ethereal form, chilling her to the core.

A pair of piercing ruby eyes fixed on her, penetrating her very ghostly essence.

Without hesitation, Baba brought the sole ruby-studded ring to her lips again, a silent incantation waiting on her breath

But just as she was poised to act...

"Wait..." A childlike voice rang out.