word count: 2997

CW: drowning, death, mentions of torture and prison

I still wasn’t used to this, since winter was never like this back home. I had no choice but to follow this winding, steep path in the middle of the night. It only appeared once every generation at the Winter Solstice.

To make it better, Elliott had said I’d better reach the end before sunrise. He didn’t say it, but when he saw me out it looked like he was already planning what he’d put on the mourning boat at my funeral.

It actually wasn’t so bad, ignoring the cold. Too dark to see much, including the rocks and roots I kept tripping on. But the air was still, like the whole forest was holding its breath. No monsters, no people (apparently no one else was desperate enough to come here.) I had to. Our friends were at stake and I wasn’t much good doing magic research with Elliott. But I could do this, if I was only quick enough.

Everything was fine, until a black cat ran past me. I thought it might be a spirit, because well no one told me cats were native to forests in this area.

Then I recognised it and knew company wouldn’t be far behind, “Hello, Loki, where’s your owner?”

“I don’t own him,” there they were, I’d never forget that voice. Distinct accent where they dropped the r’s at the end of words and h’s at the beginnings, and cold tone, “He chooses to stay with me.”

I pulled my own sword out, sure that Echo had theirs ready, “It’s been a while and it’d be nice if I could actually see you.” I was pretty sure they could see in the dark. It would explain manythings, but I was hoping they’d take pity and create a light orb while I tried to remember how to.

“Oh still don’t know how to?” I could hear the cockiness in their voice, which had moved to come from my left now. They obviously had no trouble navigating through the night that was only getting darker.

“I forgot, okay, it’s not an important spell.”

“A shame really, since a wee child could do it.” Then I heard a few musical notes and a small orb orb of purple light appeared between us. It floated into my hand and I could see Echo was ahead of me now, holding a pan flute. The light tinted their copper skin, black curls, and dark coat. “A little something to make the race fair. Let’s go, Loki.” They winked at me with a smirk before sprinting off.

Well, now I need to reach the spirit at the end of this path much faster. Elliott’s book said they’d only grant one request each appearance. I took off after them and the light orb conveniently stayed with me. So, maybe Echo showing up wasn’t all bad, assuming I could outrun them.

I ran like my friends’ lives depended on it, which they did if Elliott didn’t find something else. Only problem: I was a swimmer and Echo was a runner. I had good stamina, but if they didn’t tire themself out sprinting I’d lose in a contest of speed.

Later up the path though, I heard something very promising. Someone panting, then choking and coughing. And I remembered something. One of the many times Echo and I had fought I’d kicked them in the chest and they went down hard, desperate for air. They might have been fast, but they had bad lungs.

Sure enough, I turned a corner on the path and found them sitting on a rock, breathing heavily.

“Not winning any races today, are you?” I grinned

They attempted to stand, glaring at me all the while. Near me more like, as they avoided direct eye contact. But they ended up having to sit down again.

“Well?” They gestured at the path.

“No, I think I’ll keep you company a minute.” This was great. I had the upper hand for once, and they practically did it to themself.

Their eyes started looking unfocused, staring off somewhere distant, then they yawned and their expression was a bit panicked.

“What’s wrong, not enough sleep last night?”

“Perfectly fine, thank you.” They stood up, determinedly and started moving again, much slower than before. I continued on ahead of them, putting distance between us.

Somewhere along the way I started to hear music. Beautiful. Soothing. It sounded like home, the lullabies my parents sang to my sister and I, where Dad would play his Cuatro and Mom would sing. I wanted to stop. Bask in the memories. Return to being a child somehow.

I woke up and it was colder somehow. Different though. It was cold before, enough to make me shiver the whole walk, but now I knew why the forest was holding its breath. The air sank into my bones weighing me down, trying to hold me in place like I was trapped under a frozen lake. Only I could breathe and walk. I knew I was being watched though, from every direction. I wasn’t sure by who, but I could tell after the years. Whispers. All around me too. Confused. Angry. Distraught. Too quiet to hear, but still overbearing.

Then a growl pierced the crisp, heavy air. I turned to find something with no distinct form, a shadow given shape right in front of me. I brought out my sword and slashed in one move, but it only passed right through.

So, I ran. Not a permanent plan, but maybe I could’ve figured out where I was, what this was, and how I could kill it before it killed me. This place was...odd. I ran through corridors that I could’ve sworn were straight out of the barracks from when I was 16, stone walls just like when Echo and I were imprisoned,the city block where Farah and I used to walk, and the hallway where Mom marked my sister and I’s height on the wall as we grew complete with the marks.

I entered the room where Damon and I used to sleep after we trained years ago, and tripped over his bunk. As I tried to drag myself up, I saw the shadow dissolve with a black sword left through where its center was.

Echo stood behind it. They seemed duller, almost? Some of the colour was gone, not only from their skin, but their hair, clothes, and eyes. I checked, but as far as I could tell I looked the same.

“So you weren’t fast enough, either?” They said.

“What? It wasn’t sunrise. I still had time.”

They scoffed and started walking away, “ You still understand nothing, Santiago. The path disappears at sunrise. That’s not what happened. They caught up to us.”

I started to follow, “ Hold up. I have questions.”

“And I care why?”

Right. Yeah. Getting anything out of them was like getting a wound stitched with no anesthetic. Think. Everything’s a mind game with them. I just had to find a reason they couldn’t ignore.

“You seem to understand this place pretty well. It wasn’t a coincidence you found me You could’ve left me in that prison when you escaped. You didn’t give me that light orb to make it fair. Despite all the time we’ve spent on opposing sides. Despite all the times we’ve fought. You don’t want me to die. That’s why I’m going to walk with you. And you won’t stop me.”

They didn’t say anything. But I did catch up to them and matched their pace, staying far enough away that they wouldn’t be tempted to bring a weapon out.

“Sooooo?”

“Yes, Santiago?”

“I have a name, you know.”

“How unique.”

“It’s Luna.”

“I’m aware.”

“Then why do you call me Santiago?” We’d left that room, wandering through the complex hallways, and exiting out onto the training field.

“First names breed familiarity.” Oh-kay. I’d accept that. Or at least accept they believed that.

The forest changed. Now we were walking through an abandoned warehouse in Ecrin.

They paused, “Well, this is where our lives got fucked over. This realm has a sense of humor.” The place we met...

“Realm you say. Where are we?” I looked around like I’d find a clue, even though I was pretty sure the training field didn’t exit into this place when I’d been there. It wasn’t as cold anymore. More on par with the forest before I’d woke up here.

“This is why I say you don’t know anything,” They muttered that part. “The Shadow Vale, The Night World, Eariotria. Whatever name you like. It’s where human souls go when they die, where dreams and nightmares originate, where spirits live. We’re obviously in the memory portion.” Throughout this whole speech, their tone indicated I should have known all this already.

“Alright. Okay. I see,” I tried not to panic. “So, we’re dead.”

“No! Our souls have been taken here by an Aener. You heard the music didn’t you?!”

“Yes, what’s an Aener?” I said it the way they did, only realizing I was copying their stupid accent after. The warehouse had long winding hallways. We exited one into an apartment. Simple, with worn wooden floors. The air was a bit lighter. It was easier to breathe now.

“A kind of spirit. Winter is when this realm is closest to yours, so spirits can wander. They’re especially strong on the Winter Solstice. Didn’t Yang warn you? Didn’t Farah? They’re the only ones among your posse I’d expect to know.”

“No!”

“So none of you understand magic and the world. Lovely.”

Something stuck out to me beyond the insult. Elliott was last name basis. But they’d called her Farah.

“Okay, I get it. I’m an idiot. Everyone is next to you. But what was that and why couldn’t I kill it?”

“A Shayde. Preys on lost souls. You can’t kill it.” They said it I’d insulted its family.

“But you could. Why?”

Echo led us through one of the doors in the apartment hallway instead of answering. I was surrounded by water, and when I kicked to the surface I was warm. I felt sunlight on my face, but the air was still off. I couldn’t see Echo, but I saw me. I was younger. 6 years old. Learning to swim with my sister and my dad.

What. What was this? Where was Echo? I couldn’t see them anywhere on the surface, so I took a breath and dived down.

It was just like I remembered swimming back home. Everything was the same, except the drowned form of someone much smaller than me, a little over shoulder height and dressed in a dark coat.

I wrapped an arm around Echo, to pull them to the surface. After bringing us both to shore, I placed them on their back. I checked their breathing.

They weren’t. No pulse.

I started chest compressions.

This was bad. I’d be stuck here alone. And more than that, I realized. I didn’t want Echo to die either.

They weren’t responding. It was harder to breathe again.

Did I even know who to tell if they died in here?

They gasped, and relief surged through me. I hugged them without thinking, and their body stiffened.

I let go quickly. “Right, sorry, no touching.”

Their eyes were shut tight and their voice was shaky, “What do you see?”

“The ocean. The Beach. We’re back home. My home, I mean.” I tried to keep the wistfulness out of my voice. I was pretty sure I failed.

They exhaled and their body lost some of its tension. “Right. The sun. The sun’s out.” The relief in their voice was palpable.

“Huh?”

They sprang to their feet, “Time to go.”

“It’s not so cold and the air’s not so thick anymore either.”

“Yes, yes.”They were looking for an exit, and found the entrance to my house. “We’re getting farther away from where the dead roam.”

“Hold up! You almost died. Let’s take a minute.Please. ”They stopped. “Come on, I know a nice spot on the beach.”

We sat underneath a tree. “So you can’t swim.”

“No.”

“I figured that. So why could you kill that thing?”

They inhaled deeply,” I suppose I owe you. I didn’t almost die. I almost died again.”

“As in you’ve had near death experiences twice?”

“No, I died a few years ago.”

“You seemed pretty alive in the forest!”

“Let me explain. I was taken hostage. They wanted information and held me under too long. As far as I knew they threw my body into a lake in this forest on the Solstice. I woke up in this realm with new abilities.”

That was...something. I’d expected many things. They were better at magic than me. The spirits just didn’t like me. I wasn’t expecting this. “Oh, you’ve been here before. That explains a lot.”

“Yeah.”

Held me under too long. That explained the panic after drowning.

I felt like I should apologize, but for what? I had my problems with them, but the thought of that happening to them hurt.

“Thats’s, that’s awful. How could someone do that?”

They shrugged, stood up, and started walking back towards the exit.

We walked out into a place I didn’t recognize. A brick corridor. I could smell blood. A man walked straight through me, like how my sword passed through that Shayde.

“You can’t interact with them. They’re a memory.”

“But there weren’t any people in the earlier memories?”

“We’ve gone deeper. The memories are stronger now.” We turned a corner and I heard the sounds of a struggle, water splashing. “Thinking deeply about something will bring it to us.”

“So?”

“Think about what you want most, Luna, with your entire being.” Their back was turned to me as they brought out their pan flute.

“If we focus hard enough on an exit we can leave, Echo?”

“Now that you’ve gone far enough, yes...” I didn’t like that phrasing. “And...”

“And what?”

“You can call me Noah.”

“Noah? What do you mean ‘you’?”

“It’s the name I chose for myself, and I mean you’re leaving.”

“Not without you!”

“They aren’t going to let me leave...besides I’m dying anyway and no one will miss me.”

They started playing. I surged forward, grabbing their arm to stop them. “Wait! Explain.”

They flinched away, “What’s to explain? I’m ill. Always have been, and the second part is obvious.”

The scene shifted. I remembered this one. The outside of the old prison where Noah and I were held hostage. We’d escaped together and I watched us run out the door. Still so strange watching myself from the outside. Versions of me and Noah from a couple years ago rushed out the door, desperate for fresh air and sunlight. I followed along with our past selves, watching from the outside as I met up with my friends. They’d come to help me. Farah and I embraced tightly. Noah stayed off to the side alone.

I heard pan flute music start again, but I was too late this time.

I woke up back on the path. Purple light orb still attached to my hand. It was still dark out. I had time.

Looking back, a bit away, a human body was lying on the path.

Noah.

I rushed over and checked their breathing. They were, softly, but they were breathing. They were asleep it seemed. I got no response when I shook their shoulder. “Now’s really not the time for a nap, y’know.” I said desperately.

Then I realised this was similar to how Farah and Damon were, too similar. They’d been searching a different area of the forest with Elliott for some ruins when they’d suddenly fallen asleep on him, not waking up no matter what he did. He’d brought them out of the forest one at a time, before coming to get me so we could take them home and search for a cure. I still wished he’d gotten me earlier, but he was terrified of me going in here. Thought he must’ve been immune somehow to whatever got Farah and Damon and I might not be.

Apparently, he was right. And Farah and Damon were stuck there, too. Along with Noah now.

If I brought them with me, it’d take longer. If I didn’t they’d vanish with this place at sunrise.

I picked Noah up, and carried them across my shoulders. The sun was just starting to peak over by the time I reached the clearing.

It was beautiful. Trees with soft pink leaves unlike all the trees before that had green needles. A pool of water in the center that glowed with blue light. Flowers of every color I could think of in bushes. There was a translucent figure of a deer floating above it.

I set Noah down gently and approached the deer, “Um, hi?”

I heard a voice in my head in response, “Hello, Luna, you’ve done well making it here. With a friend no less. What do you seek?”

“Could you cure my friends of any and all ailments, please? Farah, Damon, and Noah?”

“It’s done.”

I turned around, expecting to see Noah awake, but they were as still as ever.

“Why aren’t they awake?”

“Sadly, your friend is too wrapped up with the dead. They have to want to leave.”

“Then send me back! I’ll convince them!”

I woke up back in Eariotria again. Just as disconcerting as ever.

Noah was sat cross-legged on a building ledge watching what I’d guess was a younger version of themself with a teenage boy.

“Why’d you come back?”

“I told you. Not without you.”

They stood up, turning towards me. The scenes flashed by. Noah’s memories. Violence. Bloodshed.

Not all of us think the ends justify the means. I saw when I said that to them.

“Still think I’m worth it?” There was a hesitation in their voice. A bit of hope.

“Yes.”

We woke up together outside of the forest.