Jean’s hand landed on Ayanna’s shoulder, waking her in the process.

She blinked rapidly as she looked around.

Her eyes eventually settled on Jean, who patiently waited for her to calm down.

“Hello.”

“Hello.” Ayanna said softly.

Jean nodded to himself before looking around.

He let out a soft gasp upon noticing that all of Ayanna’s doors were closed.

He also noticed that Àlainn sat idly by the fountain just behind Ayanna.

“You’re here too?” Jean asked.

“Yes,” Àlainn said.

Jean and Ayanna walked up to her and Jean inspected Ayanna’s fountain to see that it was empty.

“Mmm…” He groaned as he looked up and yes, Yar’ Ley was present as well.

“How is she here?” Ayanna asked.

“I don't know. I think it has something to do with her relationship with Yar’ Ley, but I really can’t be sure.” Jean said as he turned to face the door beneath the Sealladh rune.

“Ok, let’s go,” Jean said as Ayanna stared at the door.

She slowly walked towards it and cautiously placed her hand on its rough surface, but nothing happened when she pushed it.

Jean walked up to help her and as soon as his hand touched the door, it opened, revealing a blinding light beyond the doorway.

Ayanna nervously stared at Jean, but he kept staring at the light.

Ayanna reached out and held his hand before following him as he led her into the light which enveloped them as their thoughts cleared.

Jean’s vision adjusted and he found himself lying next to a shivering Ayden and next to him, was Ayanna.

The two sat up to see that Ayden’s body twisted and the sounds of splintering bone filled the air.

Ayanna quickly wrapped her arms around Ayden while Jean observed them.

He didn't know what they were to do from that point on, but he hoped that Ayanna’s presence alone would be enough to soothe Ayden’s pain.

The slightly older Ayden opened his bloodshot eyes and peered into Ayanna’s.

Jean dared not speak as the two embraced, but in the next moment, blood oozed out from Ayden’s ears and the boy let out a gut-wrenching cry.

Ayanna’s eyes trembled as he watched Ayden convulse in her arms.

His skin darkened and his hair became a bright red.

“Ayden!” Ayanna cried, but the boy didn’t respond as his limbs frantically flew about.

“What should I do, Jean? What can I do to make the pain stop?” Ayanna asked as she wept.

Jean’s mind froze, he found himself drifting towards a certain thought, but at this point, there was nothing gained in resisting.

“Just… hold onto him! I’ll go access the other doorways and see if I can get some answers.” Jean said as his thoughts became muddled.

He then found himself in a certain garden.

He ran past Àlainn and dove into the Dia doorway.

He pushed through the broken door and jumped into the light, only to have his entire body struck by an excruciating wave of pain.

Jean bit his teeth, except it was starting to feel like he didn’t have any.

His mind seemingly reached out into the unknown and as it did, he became even more aware.

.

..

Jean opened his eyes to find himself hurtling towards a gigantic blue sphere with patches of what looked like land and seas here and there.

It floated gracefully in the blackness that surrounded it and far beyond it was a bright source of light that flung massive arcs of fire into the nothingness.

Above the sphere, floated countless cubical structures that were seemingly connected to the sphere by faint, green ethereal lines.

Jean felt a sudden increase in speed as he approached the gigantic blue sphere.

It was almost as though it was pulling him towards it and he simply couldn’t resist.

Jean let out a deep sigh before giving himself to the pulling force.

He eventually arrived close enough to the sphere that he could make out the details on its surface and strangely enough, he could see vast oceans, thick forests and parched deserts.

They all littered the sphere and as Jean’s intrigue grew, so too did the force pulling him closer to the sphere.

He eventually began free-falling towards what he assumed was the ground, but he felt no fear or panic for he could see something awaiting him on the surface.

He focused his vision and saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman.

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She was so beautiful, that Jean forgot that he was falling.

She was also pretty large.

Her legs were the length of trees and her hair was like ever-long jungle vines.

Jean looked into the woman’s big silver eyes and in that moment, his heart calmed.

The woman stared at Jean blankly as he fell into her bosom before his thoughts muddled.

He tried focusing on the intense warmth born from his union with the giantess, but the harder he tried to focus, the blurrier everything became.

Jean let out a whimper as his thoughts cleared up once again.

He looked around to find that he was floating above Ayanna’s house, but much to his surprise, Yar’ Ley wasn’t there.

The front door hung open and even though Jean couldn’t sense the surrounding temperature, he felt a chill crawl up his back.

He floated into the house to see it was completely deserted.

He checked Ayanna’s room to find that it was also empty.

Jean looked up to see a moonless sky. He then bit his teeth, but just as frustration welled up within him, he heard a high-pitched noise that he was all too familiar with.

He promptly looked to the north and sensed a certain presence that, if it wasn’t for his past experiences, would have terrified him.

Jean nodded to himself before allowing himself to sink into his thoughts.

He then found himself sitting next to Ayanna, who gently rocked Ayden as the half-moon hung above them.

“We should take Ayden to the Dubhar mountains,” Jean said as a teary-eyed Ayanna raised her head to face him.

Her eyes widened for a moment, but she slowly nodded while continuing to rock Ayden.

“Come, we have to wake up,” Jean said.

Ayanna slowly placed a trembling Ayden onto the bed and gently placed a blanket over him.

She then got off the bed before accepting Jean’s hand.

A deep darkness then enveloped her mind, but she did not resist its encroachment.

.

..

Jean and Ayanna awoke to find Àlainn sitting by the bedside.

“You’ve finally awoken. I was beginning to worry.” Àlainn said as Jean and Ayanna checked up on Ayden, whose veins were still ink-black.

“We must leave for the Dubhar mountains. I think either Gi or the Awnings should be able to help us with this.” Jean said. He noticed that the entire room was filled with a strange red aura, but he brushed any thoughts of it aside.

“What about the door? What did you see?” Ayanna asked.

“Everything and nothing. I saw a beautiful world and-“

Jean froze as he looked into Ayanna’s eyes.

“I’m not sure about what happened after. I just fell into the arms of a goddess and when my senses returned, I was by your side.” Jean said as he stood up to dress.

He then noticed that his skin was peculiarly dark and had strange striations, but he paid it no mind as he slipped into his shirt.

A certain someone then hopped into the room.

“Uh… is everyone else seeing what I am seeing?” Fea asked, his small form barely illuminated by the candle on the window sill.

“What?” Jean asked.

Ayanna then let out a gasp of realization.

“What? What’s wrong?” Jean asked.

Àlainn quickly rummaged through one of the many bags behind her before pulling out a mirror.

She offered it to Jean and he accepted it before raising it to his head.

“Shit.” Jean cursed as he looked into his now deep purple eyes.

Most of his once long and silky hair had become a mass of tendrils.

Jean awkwardly smiled as he had retained some of his human facial features, but still…

“You entered the door beneath the Dia rune, right?” Fea accused.

“Yes.”

“I saw a vision, I think. The house was empty, abandoned, but I sensed Yar’ Ley’s presence in the mountains. I’m pretty sure he only ever goes wherever Àlainn goes, so I guessed that maybe he's telling us to go there." Jean explained.

“Mmm… Gi and the Awnings are there. They could help, I suppose.” Fea said with a hum.

Ayanna eventually got dressed as well and everyone gathered in the kitchen area.

“Do you feel any different?” Fea asked.

“No, not really. My current concern is the massive aura surrounding Ayden. I’m not sure what it is or what it means.” Jean said.

“Mmm… maybe that has something to do with Ayden’s scent. From the day we met, I knew Ayden was special, I just did not know that it would be this painful to witness his... unique nature.” Fea said.

“Indeed. I knew that serving him would bring me joy, but I didn’t know that joy would be accompanied by such pain.” Àlainn said.

“Dammit.” Jean cursed.

“Alright, let’s get him to those mountains,” Jean said and to that, everyone nodded.

[I pity the abandoned prince.]

A voice said, prompting Jean and Ayanna to stop in their tracks.

Jean looked up as he clenched his fists.

“What do you mean?” Jean asked, slightly loudly.

No one spoke as they stared at Jean.

“Grr! I’m sorry Àlainn, but Yar’ Ley has a serious communication problem.” Jean said through clenched teeth.

“He was a tad mysterious at times,” Àlainn said with a lowered head.

“That may be true, but I have a feeling we would be able to help Ayden if he just opened his mouth,” Jean said.

No one said anything afterwards and it wasn’t long before everyone got to packing.

.

..

Ayanna locked the door as the light of the waxing moon bathed the land.

Jean held Ayden tightly in his arms and the group began their journey north with enough supplies to get them to the base of the mountain range.

They’d have to scavenge and hunt for anything they needed after.

The group made their way north and riding along the cool winds were snarls and howls, but the group would not be deterred.

They continuously marched through a deep fog before entering a certain dark forest.

Jean looked everyone over and saw that Àlainn needed some rest.

He pointed at a spot near the forest's southern edge and there they set up their little campsite.

Ayanna made sure that the surroundings were clear before she prepared what would be dinner with Àlainn’s help.

Fea on the other hand, spoke with Jean about various things as Jean sat against a tree with Ayden in his arms.

“What could have caused this?” Fea asked.

“Ugh, I hope the Awnings have the answers to-“

“I think it was me,” Jean said, prompting everyone to freeze.

“It was I who stupidly tried to nurse his other self. If only I had-“

“Thinking that way solves nothing,” Ayanna said.

Jean lowered his head as he gently rubbed Ayden’s mildly luminous hair.

He looked up to see a familiar, but very much still terrifying presence.

Yar’ Ley creepily walked over to where their camp was and Jean watched in awe as the fires slowly turned purple.

Jean let out a soft chuckle before cursing Yar’ Ley internally.

He let out a sigh as he realized that cursing Yar’ Ley wasn’t helping.

The snapping of a twig made everyone quickly turn their heads towards the forest interior.

There, they saw a woman walking towards them.

Her grey clothes were covered with all manner of bloody stains and she wore no shoes.

Ayanna quickly stood up, grabbed her claymore and stood in front of the woman.

“Hello-“

“Hand over the prionnsa.” The woman said in a strangely distorted voice.

It was low. Almost as though she was gurgling water as she spoke.

“State your name and intent,” Ayanna said as she raised her claymore.

“Hand over the prionnsa.” The woman said again, but at this point, Ayanna had lost her patience and so she violently swung her claymore in an attempt to behead the grey-clad woman.

“Wait!” Jean cried, but it was too late.

Ayanna lowered her sword as the woman’s head fell to the damp ground, but strangely enough, the woman’s body didn’t fall.

“Ayanna get back!” Jean cried just as strange black glass-like spikes shot out from the woman’s chest.

They launched themselves towards Ayanna, who managed to dash sideways just before the spikes shot by.

The woman’s body then violently convulsed before a voice came from within Jean’s head.

[Bring my brother to me!]

The forest was then filled with the howls and screams of hundreds of creatures.

“Ayanna, kill it, we have to move! Àlainn, serve up that food, we’ll eat as we walk.” Jean barked as he gently placed Ayden down so that he could pack.

“What can I do to help?” Fea asked.

Jean bit his teeth before looking up at the tree line.

“Can you hop from tree to tree?”

“Most definitely!” Fea said with a caw as Jean lifted him.

“Good. Watch over us from above.”

He then threw the dark crow into the trees before packing the camping equipment.

Meanwhile, Ayanna violently hacked apart the strange woman’s body, but even then, it didn’t fall.

Not until the last piece of flesh dropped from its body.

Jean frowned as he looked up at the waxing moon.

It seemingly glared back apathetically, but Jean scoffed in response.

He wouldn’t let this night end without getting Ayden to the mountains.