Unending: Mage's Academy III

with jewels in the patterns of bone. This time there were no grooves carved into the floor of the shrine. Instead was a basin that was crafted entirely from skulls. I knew that I had to unlock it. The door slammed open as Azrael came flying back through the opening. Annabella's eyes had turned a sickening dark color and I knew that she was definitely one of Morningstar's Thralls. Azrael stood up and brushed himself off, as though he were dusting crumbs or some other superfluous material. He planted his feet firmly and unleashed a thick jet of black towards his opponent. It was frightening to watch. I took the mirror and used it to cut my finger. The blood pulled on the tip of my finger and dripped into the basin. I watched as Azrael's black mass began to wrap around Annabella. She unleashed a scream that could have shattered my eardrums if I was in a physical body.

"Please hurry," I willed the blood to fill the shrine, and activate it. The seconds stretched endlessly as they battled around me. I then felt a pull from the top of my head. It was overwhelming. I became scared. I was being pulled away somehow. It was going dark and I knew I was going to pass out. The darkness began to grow quickly, but to my surprise, I did not lose consciousness. In fact, I felt more conscious than ever.

I had entered a new place, a strange place. Everything was dark, but not unpleasant. I could feel the gentle tug of the liminal world all around me. The fabric of it was wrapped around me in an embrace. I was cocooned securely in the place between all places. It was death, the place of rest between journeys. This was the gift of the City of the Dead. I could feel the liminal world around me. I let my awareness grow. I was not alone. There were many souls here. They pulled on me like the loose threads of a tapestry. They were all different. Their threads began to glow in so many different colors. IT was inexplicable. Like the weaver who creates the masterpiece, I could see where each thread was meant to go. It was a power unlike any I had ever felt before. My power-up until now had only affected me, but this was different. This was power over the destiny of others. If I saw a lost soul now, I had a hunch that I would be able to guide them towards their final destination.

I reveled in the cool darkness for a long time, before I realized that I too had a thread. It was warm and strong. It pulled me away from the cocoon of darkness. I was sad to leave its gentle embrace, but I was curious to see where the thread would lead me. It pulsed with an enchanting light. I followed it until I could sense the feeling of leaves brushing against my cheek, wet with sweet dew. I inhaled the smell of damp earth. It was a forest. My vision returned and I realized it wasn't just any forest. These were trees unlike any I had ever seen. They were larger than anything that grows on earth.

 I stumbled through the forest floor in awe. The roots were like behemoth snakes crossing the ground. Everything was so much larger than in the physical world. The flowers blossoming on the trees were vibrant containers for the dew that coated every green surface. I wandered into the depths of the forest. It was almost alien in its extremity. Finally, I heard a gentle humming. Beyond the curtain of roots and vines was an old woman. She wore a brown linen tunic and a hooded shawl. She was clearly elderly, but her exact age was hard to tell. There was a certain youthful quality to her.

She had a basket and was collect large mushrooms. She turned to me then and with some ambivalence said, "I rather thought you'd be here sooner."

"You were expecting me?" I asked.

"Oh yes, for quite sometime now." She explained. She handed me a cloth sack. "Help me fill these with mushrooms, will you?" She didn't even turn around to look at me directly. I studied her. She had long grey hair that fell softly around her shoulders.

"Sure," I grabbed the bag and begin to look around for the mushrooms. "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm just an old woman who's been living in these woods for a long time," She laughed at her own joke. "And a friend of your Mother's." She finally pulled down her hood and turned to look at me.

How is it that everyone here seems to know who I am? I couldn't believe my luck. The shrine had led me to someone who could maybe help me find her.

"You knew her?" I asked.

"Oh yes, she was my greatest ally." The woman sighed. "You'll have time to hear the whole story later," She promised, but now we need to be getting back.

I took the dagger from its pocket and used it to cut the root of the last mushroom. It was a beautiful spiraling growth on the base of a root. After I had sliced it and placed it in my bag, I followed her. Her movements didn't show her age at all. She was more agile than many people my own age. That was probably a byproduct of living in a forest like this one.

She moved quickly and I had to ask. "Are we safe here?"

"Quite so," She reassured me. "None can get here except those who have already been here. We are hurrying back because you have a visitor who has been waiting long enough."

"Who could possibly want to visit me?" I laughed. Someone else who I didn't know probably wanted to get something from me. But this woman seemed familiar somehow and I felt that she was trustworthy. I followed her deeper into the woods where it had