Astral Flow

Chapter 37

"Stay close, never know what'll be ahead." Regis spoke, sword drawn as she moved forward.

The sudden shift in reality had been disorienting, temporarily making her question the path she was on, however she knew there couldn't be any other way to reach this place.

This wasn't like the Wolfsbane Manor, it was one way to and from.

"Where are we going?" Demea tiredly asked, exhaustion clear in her voice and mannerisms as she tried to keep up. "It feels like we've been walking all day..."

"Please tell me it's up ahead, I'm a scholar, not an explorer." Laurence adds in, his voice also filled to the brim with exhaustion.

"It's alright guys, the place is just right up this path." Regis said with a slightly cheerier tone, she couldn't hide her excitement at this moment.

How could she? Finally she was going to see a familiar face, the first one in so many years.

Sure, time had felt like a blur while in the tomb and under that parasite's influence, but even in that state it had felt like so very long.

Memories played on repeat, the feeling of fear and failure eating away at her, oh so many deaths weighing down her already heavy heart.

All of that had finally been worth it-

Demea halted, noticing that their guide had frozen in her tracks.

"Regis, are you alright?" she cautiously asked, moving up closer to her.

What came into view was a decent sized house on a cliffside, made of beautiful reddish brown wood.

However, the house was dark... weeds and plants ran rampant, growing onto the house as well as any objects nearby.

The windows were darkened, the glass panes intact but covered in dust from years of neglect.

Yet the most interesting thing was an abundance of flowers growing around the house, almost looking like a private flower field.

Laurence was the last to catch up, pausing upon seeing the sight, his voice lowering a bit.

"This place looks untouched by the blizzard, how is that possible?"

"It was a domain, belonging to a very powerful witch..." Regis weakly spoke, her sword now resting loosely at her side.

Without another word she started walking towards the house, seeming to forget about Demea and Laurence entirely.

Silently letting her sword drop to the ground as she did so, now seriously alarming the both of them.

However before Demea could try to snap Regis out of this trance she was stopped, Laurence placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Just give her a moment." he calmly says, his voice holding a surprising amount of empathy in it.

"What, and just let her go into what could be a death trap?!" Demea begins, clearly outraged at the thought until she looks back at him.

Laurence was standing there, a pleading look in his eyes, as if he'd noticed something she didn't.

"Demea, do you know what these flowers are?" he calmly asks, now letting go of her as he looks at the blooming wildflowers once more.

Calmly she looks around, slowly taking a look at these wildflowers, a somber realization washing over her as she crouches down to look at them closer.

The flowers were a dreary white color with the petals turning into a black color towards the tips, a light but noticeable aroma was coming from them.