The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 47: To find a Witch. (Part 2)

"It's been a while," I hiked up the overgrown path. The morning sun shone all around us, passing through the few clouds that drifted across the sky. Far from the city we were surrounded by trees and the dense brush of a rarely taken path. Birds sang and fluttered through the treetops going by their daily lives. We reached a clearing halfway up the mountain, hidden away by the taller trees that surrounded it. In its centre one tree stood out from the rest, alone yet dazzling. Now that I saw it again, the tree was definitely different. The blooming blue flowers were unique enough but more so, the faint trace of mana emanated from it.

Dad stopped next to me, "I actually came by here with Zen not too long ago. We came to pay our respects."

"Yes," Zen stood next to him. "It was only right to."

Aria, the last of our party, looked at the tree and smiled, "I always knew this place was special but I didn't realise it was that special."

"That's too true," Dad walked further ahead, placing his hand on the trunk. "When I met your mother here, I really did think she was just a girl who had lost her way. Then again, I probably should have been suspicious to the fact she couldn't remember anything. Arial... thank you for looking after us."

I approached the tree beside him. The tree where my parents met. The tree we spread our mother's ashes. It meant a lot to us and we came by yearly. I placed my hand on to it and felt a string pull against me, it shook and for a moment it felt like I'd be dragged in. Aria pulled me back. My hand leaving its trunk.

"You okay? It felt like you were about to disappear," she held my shirt.

"Yeah, it did," I looked at the tree again. It wasn't native to our world. "Aria, the area around here. It feels loose, like it's at the boundary of our dimension."

"I get the same feeling."

Dad chuckled, "So it's true then? Your mother was the Witch of the Void? That she came from a different world?"

I nodded, "Seems like it. I don't know how she came here or why, but you two getting together, having us, I wonder if it was a coincidence."

"What matters is that it happened," he breathed out. "To me your mother was certainly not a Witch. She was beautiful and kind and no matter what happens, I'll never forget about her."

Zen smiled from behind him, "Maybe her being a Witch is what attracted you to me."

"Maybe... but I don't think so." He looked to Zen, "You're your own person and I love you for many of the same reasons but also for many different ones."

A tender mood spread between them causing both Aria and I to move away. We let them have their moment as we inspected the tree and clearing from the other side.

"Do you feel anything else?" Aria asked me. "What about your connection to the Void?"

I reached my hand out and as I churned my mana, felt a tug more powerful than before. The void was there. While before it was somewhere I could only reach by pushing myself beyond the limit, now it felt alarmingly closer.

"It's stronger here," I frowned. "I feel like if I touch it, I might disappear."

"Please don't," she leaned her head against my shoulder. "Do you remember mum much?"

"A little. I can picture her but honestly, I'm not sure if those memories are wishful thinking or the real thing."

"Strangely I'm the same. I know mum died when I was still a baby but, if I close my eyes, sometimes I can see her, and she looks just like in the photos." She paused, voice becoming tender, "Do you think she's actually alive?"