Sophia followed as Aleks walked through the winding halls of his subterranean workshop, ignoring the scurrying movements at the edges of her vision and where the dim light of the runes carved into the walls did not reach.

Her focus was only on the unconscious form of Natasha carried in his arms. Her pained expression had returned and Aleks anxiously picked up their pace as the smooth stone walls quickly turned uneven and jagged.

The change had been so abrupt that Sophia hadn’t noticed the three of them now stood in the middle of a seemingly naturally formed cavern, a placid pool of water forming a small lake ahead of them.

Aleks wasted no time wading into the water, breaking the tranquil surface, sending ripples towards the banks, yet instead of returning like echoes, the unruly waters calmed as crimson runes along the edge of the pool came to life, settling into a steady pulsing.

The water was at his hips when he lowered Natasha into it; her pained expression easing almost immediately and the steady pulsing settled into a rhythm

“Almost like a heartbeat.” Sophia thought.

“She will need to stay here for a while... I’ll tether this section of my domain to the cabin’s basement.” Aleks said, frowning worriedly down at Natasha.

Sophia hadn’t realized she’d stepped forward until she already stood in water to her knees and by then it was too late to back away, she continued onward, reaching out a hand along with her senses, trying to make sense of the situation as she delved into Aleks’s mind.

Her medical knowledge, both mundane and supernatural, couldn’t account for what was happening right now, and she needed answers, and answers she found.

An abundance of information rushed over her so fast she could barely make sense of it, some based in science or concepts she was familiar with, but many more were like primal instincts, a guiding certainty of what was happening and what needed to be done.

The pool of water would simulate an energy rich environment at equilibrium with Natasha’s body, preventing contamination of foreign energy while also stemming the hemorrhage of her own, almost like an iron lung.

Having found her answers, Sophia began to withdraw her consciousness, but just as she was about to break the psychic connection, a strange melody called out to her, like a siren’s song. She was drawn to it, slowly delving ever deeper.

It told a story of kinship and loss, fears of which she shared, but as the sadness faded, the mournful melody changed. becoming twisted and deranged, and like a delirious dreamscape, she saw an impossible scene take place before her.

A pyre of grief and despair had been erected, doused in rage like kerosene, and like a string snapping on an instrument, a spark of insanity lit the blaze of madness, burning away all there was and all that there would ever be.

She felt a physical touch but remained locked in place by the searing violence and bloodlust burning her senses until, instinctively; she pushed it away.

The connection broke, and Sophia’s senses returned just in time to hear a violent crash. Moments later Aleks rose from beneath the surface, coughing up water with the beginnings of two palm shaped bruises on his chest and ribs.

Sophia stood frozen in place as she locked eyes with Aleks, her mind warred against itself, part of her feeling ashamed at her violent rejection of what she’d seen, but another part of her felt an almost instinctual horror and revulsion at something she had experienced for less than a second.

Aleks looked at her with an expression of sudden understanding before a dull ache began emanating from him as he closed off his mind.

“I’ll be tethering this part of my domain to under the cabin. She’ll be able to leave for short periods of time once she wakes up, but she has to return if she feels any discomfort.” Aleks stated blankly before leaving.

Sophia stood paralyzed as feelings of guilt, grief and loneliness rushed over her, washing away any remnants of her carefully constructed walls of composure and control.

She felt lost as she looked at Natasha and was reminded of how close she had been to losing her... To losing both of them.

She felt alone and empty, but she had no more tears to cry and all she could feel was the suffocating pressure as she struggled to breathe.

***

Bonny was in the midst of trading with one of the less aggressive shadowy constructs. The small arachnid creatures rarely moved through their corridor, but one of her sisters had noticed its almost hypnotic fascination with anything made of silver.

They had, through trial and error, worked out a rudimentary system to request simple items in exchange for the metal, and, being of the Covens, they naturally carried a large amount of such trinkets.

However, today their trade was interrupted by a roaring sound like twisting metal, the sound of which reverberated in Bonny’s chest and sent the small creature fleeing as fast as its legs could carry it.

The stone beneath her feet shook and cracks spread along the walls like the icy surface of a lake.

***

It had taken every ounce of focus and control I could muster to separate the tethered part of my domain containing Sophia and Natasha and move it under the cabin before the maelstrom of emotions overwhelmed me.

It would seem the iteration of myself which had taken control of my physical vessel upon my own forced removal had been from a darker period of my life, one in which I had little to live for, subsequently he had few concerns in regards to the channeling of raw Immaterial energies.

Even now, I could feel the caustic energies coursing through my veins affecting my mind and mood, setting me on edge and eroding my control.

I looked down at the mess I’d made in my frenzied state.

The wall in front of me was cracked and Bloody, throbbing waves of pain surged up my arms from my shattered knuckles and the pieces of bone digging their way through the muscles and tendons of my forearms.

The control rune at the back of my neck gave off a pungent smell of burned hair and blistering skin, as it had been repeatedly shorted by the massive amounts of unrefined energy coursing through my system.

Black smoke rose from my shadow and dug its way through my wounds, replacing what had been damaged beyond repair.

which felt like every bone below my elbow.

As I stared blankly at my mending limbs, my mind was pulled back towards unpleasant thoughts, the image of Sophia’s expression as she touched the part of me I had repressed after waking up.

It was the suicidal impulses of a berserker, something I had long fought to control, yet my periods of lost time were becoming more frequent and my mind more unstable.

The relapse into channeling raw power from the Immaterium was just the tip of the iceberg.

But those problems would have to wait.

The sound of basking wings and an echoing caw announced the arrival of Huginn.

Upon spotting me, he circle thrice and perched himself on my shoulder before leaning his head forward to lock eyes with me, a flash of red crossed his pupils and the broken room before me disappeared, replaced with a scene of the open skies.

The view dived towards the ground below and focused on a wreckage of a plane; the flames having yet to die out, within minutes military vehicles showed up, soldiers securing a perimeter as unarmed civilians pointed out what should be retrieved and what to leave behind.

An old woman which seemed to embody the word crone was helped out of one of the vehicles and escorted towards the remains of a white golden chain, poking it with her gnarled and knotted cane, her expression filled with disdain.

The scene ended as she turned towards the viewpoint I was seeing her from, her lips moving before the connection was cut.

“Do you know where that one went?” I asked, receiving an discouraging squawk.

“Damn it.”

***

Artillery woke Natasha with a start as half the building her unit had occupied crumbled to the ground, exposing them to the mad charge of their enemies through the streets of Sevastopol below.

“On your feet, devochka!” Sergeant Pavlichenko yelled over the sounds of falling rubble and bullets flying overhead.

“What’s happening?!” Natasha screamed as she scurried towards her sergeant peaking around the corner towards the stairway.

“The german panzers broke through the line, we have to move-” Pavlichenko stopped mid-sentence and slammed her arm into Natasha’s chest throwing her against the nearby wall as a hail of bullets hit the wall behind where she’d been moments prior.

Natasha gasped for air and doubled over before being pushed into the room opposite the one that was now little more than a ledge and a sixty-foot drop to the bay below.

Pavlinchenko counted down from four as the sound of metal hitting concrete and yells of alarm could be heard from the stairway before an explosion rocked the building.

Pavlinchenko pulled Natasha to her feet and pushed her rifle against Natasha’s chest hard enough to make her wince as if she’d been struck again.

“Focus, or you will not be leaving this building, and certainly not this city, alive.” Pavlinchenko chided.

Natasha stood stunned for a moment, staring at her comrade’s face, something not sitting right with her.

“Where’s her scar from the shell? The one which brought down our outlook over the german advance...” Natasha froze at her silent realization, but before she could warn her sergeant, the whistling sound of the incoming artillery was replaced by a deafening explosion.

The scene shattered like a mirror as Natasha fell into a dark abyss below. As she fell, she yelled out, but no sound came from her mouth.

She awoke as if from a dream, surrounded by nothing but darkness, making her doubt whether she was truly even awake.

She did not remember hitting the bottom of the abyss, but what felt like solid stone was beneath her feet.

“Best take it easy for now.” A female voice echoed in the darkness and Natasha could not place its origin. It was as if it came from everywhere at once.

“No need to be on guard. I am not here to hurt you... In fact, I’m not even supposed to be here,” the voice explained with a hint of amusement.

Natasha tried once again to speak, but no sound came from her efforts.

“It’s not easy to speak without a mouth. The trick is intent, the rest will come naturally.” The voice explained.

Natasha was left puzzled by the mention of not having a mouth and unconsciously reached up to touch her lips, only for her to realize she had none, nor hands to feel with.

Shock and horror flooded her mind as she panicked.

“Easy there, it’s alright, your body is recovering and so is your mind. They’re just doing so separately.” The voice told her, although it did little to ease her panic.

“How about we begin with a name? I am called Athena. Do you remember your name?” Athena asked.

Natasha felt as if grasping at smoke, the words and memories slipping through her fingers, but slowly something came to the surface and, like the boom of thunder, she found her voice.

“Natasha.” The sound was deafening even to Natasha herself, and she could not help but wince.

Athena laughed softly as one would after seeing a toddler try and fail at something, but something seemed off about the sound. The mirth seemed genuine, but it was almost as if the sound itself was a lie.

“Maybe a little less intent. It would seem your kind have quite the affinity for it.” Athena said cryptically.

“Where... Am I?” Natasha struggled to piece the words together, but succeeded eventually.

“That... Is a difficult question to answer. The important thing is that you are safe.” Athena replied.

Natasha quietly tried to gather her thoughts in an attempt to find the answers she wanted, but it was a laborious task as her mind seemed dulled and slow to draw connections between what she sought and what she knew.

For what felt like hours, Natasha continued trying to piece together the broken pieces to create some semblance of what had been the whole, small things came back to her first, and little by little she collected enough to create an image of what and who she was.

She saw an angel of blonde hair and emerald eyes bathed in the light of the rising sun. The woman raised up a hand and placed it on the treated pane of glass, obviously marveling at the warmth.

“I had almost forgotten...” Natasha remembered the words but did not hear the sound as the woman turned and looked at her with tears of pure joy rolling down her face.

But as if plunged into a basin of icy water, Natasha was pulled out of the memory.

“That... Was quite beautiful... I hope you don’t mind my intrusion.” Athena said in a daze.

Natasha’s understanding of the space she inhabited grew as memories slowly came back to her and, as her understanding grew, she began to test its limits.

It wasn’t long until she felt the borders and restrictions as well as bridges to other places-

“Please remain within your assigned area.” The voice identifying itself as Athena said in a weird machine-like cadence... Something Natasha recognized, but could not remember where from.

Natasha disregarded Athena’s request and pushed towards one of the other spaces, and as if pushing on a door which suddenly gave way, she felt her consciousness tumble into this new space.

Her surroundings were blurry like ink in water, slowly coming into focus.

She found herself in the middle of a desolate plain, nothing but gray sand and stone as far as the eye could see, except for one place.

In front of her was a hill with an opening and a slow, melancholic whine echoed from within.

The scene shifted and Natasha now stood deep inside the cave, enveloped by darkness as something slithered all around her. She could not feel its emotions, but something foreign told her that the creature felt afraid and deep sorrow.

She lifted the lantern in her hand, sending a ray of crimson light into the darkness, immediately wincing and grasping at her temple as it felt like someone had driven a spike through her skull, the pain so intense she could not even cry out.

The creature pulled away and shivered, curling itself up in a corner.

Natasha wasn’t in control of her body as she picked up the lantern and walked forward again. The creature responded with a symphony of unearthly sounds, their unique tune somehow both pleasant and revolting.

But, nevertheless, her body continued forward, reaching out a hand towards the creature, as if beckoning it forward.

Its hesitation was clear as it took several minutes before it slowly reached out an inky black tendril, and as they touched, a disordered wave of images and emotions flooded through her.

First was a weightless slumber and feeling of innocence broken by a great fall and burning pain.

After which came a period of confusion and overwhelming hunger and fear, she saw armies of strange creatures, always followed by agonising wounds. She saw spanning cities and forests, but felt only hunger.

In the blink of an eye an unknowable span of years seemed to have passed, and like a newborn she opened her eyes again, no longer feeling hunger or fear... Nor confusion, she knew what she had done, and she wept, now only feeling loneliness and regret.