Three small figures climbed up the mountain slope. They had been trudging along for hours. The ascent was slow. The snow was dense and wet, and the frost bit deep under their nails.
"It's… it's really hard walking in such a small body. For every step you take, Mnou, I have to… I have to take three. And I sink way deeper into the snow," Ruth gasped, pausing to catch her breath. She leaned on her knees and waved to her two companions to wait for her.
"Want me to carry you?" Mnou teased her. She was surprised she even had time for such jokes. Maybe she was just glad to be speaking with Ruth again, even if it was in her son's body. It was still her. Her expressions and gestures. The way she comically swung her arms while walking, or how she clicked her tongue softly when she wanted to ask something. There was something beautiful in seeing and hearing that.
"Heavens, no. That would be embarrassing, being carried," the boy chuckled.
"Come on, let's not dawdle!" Esme called out, having gone ahead and only just now realizing she had lost her companions along the way. "You said it yourself—we're in a hurry, master!"
"Yes, yes, we're coming." Mnou extended a woolen-gloved hand to Ruth. "At least hold my hand. I'll help if you fall into a drift."
Azra's face blushed shyly, though it might've just been the cold. He took the offered hand. They moved on. After a while, he asked to keep the conversation going:
"Wouldn't it be faster if we flew there? You can levitate, right? You showed me once."
"Yes, but levitation itself is quite exhausting, especially uphill. We'd be worn out before we arrived. And Esme can barely manage the basics."
"I see," Ruth nodded understandingly. After a moment, she said, "Magic is incredible, isn't it? I still can't believe my son became a wizard."
"Yes… it is. But… I don't know if he truly wanted it. I think if you asked any wizard, they'd gladly trade this power for the soul of someone they loved."
"You're probably right," Azra's face changed into a grim grimace. "It must've been hard on you all, after I died. Especially for the children."
"Not just for the children," Mnou whispered, almost absentmindedly. Her grip on his hand tightened.
"Mnou, I'm really glad I got to spend at least a few more moments with you, even under these circumstances. I… I really wish I could stay with you." The boy wiped his nose and adjusted his scarf.
"So do I, Ruth. So do I," the witch replied, quickening her pace to catch up with Esme.
The melancholy silence that followed was broken by the little girl.
"So, I think we should go over the plan again. We're not far from the goal."
"Go on then," Mnou prompted, matching her pace.
"Me?" the apprentice said in surprise. "I thought you were going to say it. It was mostly your plan."
"That's exactly why I want to know if you remembered it properly. And don't forget—even if it was just a small part, it's your plan too."
"Alright… soooo… first we need to reach the fracture. There's a chance we might not even get that far, and if that happens, the mission will fail right from the start. But let's say we do make it. In the best case, Azra's soul is still here in the physical world. Ruth… Ruth would…"
"Ruth would have to return to the astral world, as you call it, where she belongs. Or, if I manage it, re-enter the magical staff," Ruth continued Esme's explanation, sensing that the girl was still troubled by having to say goodbye to her for the second time.
"Yes," Esme confirmed with her head down. Silence settled again.
"And then?" Mnou asked, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.
"Yeah… uh… then, where was I?" Esme panicked for a moment but quickly picked up again: "Then we'd guide Azra's soul back into his body. That would be the best case. But we must consider complications. The biggest one is if Azra's already in the astral world. Let's hope he's still wandering around the first or maybe the second layer. Any deeper and it gets tricky. The three of us would then go search and…"
"Esme!"
"Yes?" she looked at her master, blinking innocently.
"I told you; you're not going!" Mnou frowned. Why is she so damn stubborn sometimes? she thought.
"But master! I don't want to stay here and wait for you. I want to help!"
"And what happened last time you tried something like that?!" Mnou snapped, immediately regretting it. Esme withdrew into herself like a turtle into its shell, eyes fixed on the undisturbed snow.
Mnou felt ashamed. Why am I like this? Why do I keep hurting her like that?! Now's the worst time to bring that up.
"Esme, I'm sorry," she began. "That was mean and thoughtless of me to say. I truly am sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just… I'm scared for you. I know you can take care of yourself, but I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."
The girl's face lit up. She flinched slightly when she heard those words and looked up at her master.
"That's… that's exactly what Yelwa once told me," she said in a cracked voice. She swallowed her tears and said, "Alright, I'll stay here, but you have to promise me something."
"Anything."
The girl gently took her hand. With a deadly serious expression on her face—so serious it was a little frightening—she said:
"You must come back. You have to. Even if… even if it means not saving Azra, you must return. Don't play the hero, because I feel the same way you do. I couldn't bear it if wouldn't come back."
Mnou smiled at her. "Then I promise. What else can I do?"
Both witches watched Ruth closely. Esme, especially, realized what had just been said.
"I understand," the boy assured them, a wistful smile on his face. "Believe me, I understand all too well, and I agree with Esme completely. Even though I want to save my son more than anything in the world, you must not sacrifice yourselves for him. As Esme said—don't play the hero. If it gets too dangerous, run. If he's deeper than we expect, just come back. Consider that promise made to me as well."
Mnou nodded silently.
They finally arrived at the mountain ravines the witches had previously left empty-handed. With each passing moment, Mnou feared the same outcome. Their information and theories were too full of holes to place much hope in the plan. Still, she tried to appear determined and resolved because both Ruth and Esme believed in this mission—perhaps too much. She didn't want to crush the group's morale, so she played along. It wasn't that she didn't want with all her heart to save Azra—she was just too much of a realist. She regretted that sometimes. Having your head in the clouds of dreams and hope wasn't always a bad thing.
Tall, smooth canyon walls closed in around them. Mnou noticed a black bird-like silhouette gliding above now and then, vanishing behind the cliffs.
Before long, mist began to form around them—at first subtly—twisting around their legs like hungry snakes. With every step, it rose until it enveloped them in its cold, damp embrace. Fortunately, before they completely lost the trail, they managed to find carved stone symbols they had left on their last trip. It wasn't much, but it helped them stay oriented in the confusing terrain.
"Hold my hands," Ruth said, offering her small boyish palms. The girls obeyed without hesitation, each taking one hand.
"Ruth, do you… do you know where to go?" Mnou asked, worriedly, after they'd been walking silently for some time. The boy was a step ahead, leading them. Mnou had seen a few symbols earlier, but it had been a while since the last one. She felt like they were somewhere they hadn't been before. She wasn't sure what to think. It could mean they were getting closer, but just as easily, they could be moving away.
"Yes… yes, I feel… the calling." No further explanation was offered.
"Master?" Esme's tense voice now broke in. "I hear voices. They're talking, whispering, screaming, laughing, crying. They're everywhere."
Mnou listened carefully, and indeed, eerie sound currents drifted all around them. The witch shivered from a cold that swept through her entire body. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Her palms were also soaked and nearly slipped from Azra's grip. She tightened her hold quickly. She had a dreadful feeling that if she let go now and lost her guide, she would never escape the mist. She'd be lost in the stream of forgotten souls that gloomily flowed around them. Never had she felt so close to death. It wasn't a direct threat like an undead hound might pose. This was death's physical presence—almost tangible. She reached cautiously into the fog with a trembling hand—and then a dark, blurred arm reached back. Mnou recoiled in fright. Not fast enough. The foggy limb passed lazily through her body, but nothing more happened. Just another chill to the fingertips.
"Did you see…" she turned to her companions but didn't finish the sentence. They were both staring in awe at something.
A small rocky mound had emerged before them. The mist had parted enough to make it clearly visible. And atop that hill, shadows clustered thickly. They ranged in colour from black to light grey. Some had clearly human shapes—so much so that one could distinguish male from female. A few even had facial features. Others were just blurred ink blots. It was exactly as Ruth had described. Some souls wandered back and forth, others sat or stood idly. Many shadows were moving up the hill. Mnou swallowed dryly. She knew what was there. A strange aura radiated even from the base of the hill.
They moved forward cautiously. Most of the souls ignored them, shuffling past or lounging in apathy. A few turned their smeared faces toward them, and two or three reached out—mostly to Ruth. She seemed to draw the most attention from the shadows. They must sense she's one of them, Mnou realized.
Finally, all three reached the top, panting. Less than a meter away, it hovered in the air. It looked almost ridiculous, just hanging there in the void. A thin crack about half a meter long. A faint rainbow shimmer traced along its edges. Tiny lights flickered around it, like unnaturally glowing fireflies. They stepped forward in silent awe. A soft ringing and buzzing began in their ears. Amid the constant droning tone that filled their heads, a clear chime occasionally rang out. The closer they got, the louder it became.
Mnou had to duck a little to get the fissure at eye level. Curious and nervous, she peered in—then recoiled in fright. Someone was looking back from the other side. Esme stepped closer to look too, but Mnou blocked her with an arm. She braced herself to peek again. She knew it was pointless, but still raised her staff defensively, just in case.
When she looked again into the void, the figure was still there. It held a staff and wore a pointed wizard's hat. Mnou lowered her staff, and the figure mirrored her movement. Despite the tension, she nearly laughed. Was I seriously scared of my own reflection?
But when she studied the other Mnou—and Esme at her side—she realized it wasn't a mirror image. These were misty figures that only vaguely resembled their real selves. She understood immediately—they were looking at the reflection of their souls in the astral world.
Azra's voice pulled them from their thoughts.
"Uhm… do you feel Azra's soul is somewhere around here?
Mnou snapped out of it. She looked around, only to realize that with her physical sight, she had no chance of finding the boy.
"Esme," she tapped the girl on the shoulder, trying to shake her out of it too, and encouraged her to help with the search.
The witches combed through the currents of this world with invisible nets, but the fish they were seeking kept slipping away. It was no easy task to sift through crowds of souls. Still, they searched diligently. Despite the difficulty of the task, they soon confirmed that Azra's soul no longer existed in the physical world. Mnou leaned on her staff, exhausted, and eyed the entrance to the astral plane.
"Ruth, there's no point in waiting. Your son is no longer here. We must go deeper to find him."
The boy stood beside her and nodded determinedly. Then he turned to the young witch who was watching them sorrowfully from a distance.
"Esme, this… this is our goodbye. Even if I could return to the magic staff, I would never speak to you again, never laugh with you again or spend time together. But I must do this for my son. I hope you understand."
The girl turned away from them for a moment. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, swallowed hard, and looked back at them.
"Of course I understand. I would do the same for you and for master."
For a moment, a look of astonishment spread across Azra's face, then it gave way to a moved smile.
"You know, Esme… sometimes I wonder if you really are just a little girl."
"I'm not a little girl! I'm already twelve… or at least I think I am," Esme blushed.
A clear, piercing boyish laugh echoed through the sombre landscape. A shy girl's giggle followed.
Ruth grabbed Mnou's hand, her eyes seeming to ask: Shall we go? They stepped toward the passage, and Mnou turned back to the girl.
"Esme, I'll come back. I promise. I know my promise may not mean much—you've learned that yourself—but believe me, I've never stood by my word more firmly."
"I'll wait for you as long as it takes. Even if it takes days, weeks or years."
With those words still ringing in their ears, the two brave souls plunged into the rift and fell into the unknown. The physical realm ceased to exist for them, and they were enveloped by the void of nonexistence.