"Are you sure you want to try this again?" Saguna asked his two companions. The three of them had gathered once more in the Tranquility Garden, this time in the late afternoon when most students had returned to their dormitories. Golden light slanted through the trees, casting long shadows across the garden's stone pathways.
"Of course," Osa replied, his usual carefree demeanor tinged with excitement. "After what happened in Professor Nyala's class, don't you want to know more about this spirit connection?"
Saguna frowned slightly. "It's not that simple. The spirits can be... unpredictable. Sometimes dangerous." The memory of his vision beneath the banyan tree—his sister's face with hollow eye sockets—flashed vividly in his mind. "If something goes wrong, what's our plan?"
Radji, methodical as always, nodded in agreement. "A valid concern. Perhaps we should designate one person to remain fully conscious while the other two practice the meditation technique. That way, if anything unusual occurs, someone can intervene."
"That makes sense," Osa said. "So who stays awake?"
"Since Saguna has the most experience with spirit encounters, and you had the strongest reaction in class, I suggest I'll be the one to keep watch," Radji offered. "I can observe and document what happens."
Osa and Saguna exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. They positioned themselves near the fountain, forming two points of a triangle with Radji at the third vertex, his journal open on his lap.
"Remember," Radji cautioned, "at the first sign of trouble, I'll interrupt the meditation. Just to be safe."
Saguna took a deep breath, trying to quell his apprehension. Part of him was drawn to the possibility of understanding the whispers that had haunted him for years, while another part feared what deeper connection might bring. But with his companions beside him, the fear seemed manageable for the first time.
Osa closed his eyes first, his breathing quickly falling into the rhythm Professor Nyala had taught them. Saguna followed suit, focusing on the sensation of air entering and leaving his lungs. Gradually, the sounds of the garden—birds, rustling leaves, the fountain's gentle splashing—seemed to fade into the background.
The marks on Saguna's neck began to warm, pulsing gently with each breath. Unlike previous experiences, there was no pain, only a pleasant heat that spread down his spine. The whispers came as expected, but this time they seemed clearer, as if whoever—or whatever—was speaking had moved closer.
Seeker of paths...
Walker between...
The veil thins... danger approaches...
Though still in an ancient tongue, Saguna found he could understand fragments of meaning, impressions rather than literal translations. Across from him, Osa had once again entered that peculiar state where time slowed. The water droplets from the fountain hung suspended in air, each one a perfect crystal catching the late afternoon light. But this time, he noticed something new—within each droplet, tiny reflections appeared, not of the garden around them, but of somewhere else entirely: glimpses of vast oceans, underwater caverns, places he had never seen yet somehow recognized.
Who calls us? The question seemed to form within the water itself, not a sound but a vibration that Osa felt rather than heard.
Tentatively, Osa focused his thoughts in response. I am Osa Hann.
The suspended droplets trembled, then began to flow together, merging in midair. Osa watched in amazement as the water coalesced not into a humanoid shape, but into a massive serpent that curved and twisted above the fountain. Its body was translucent, composed entirely of water, yet somehow solid. Scales of crystalline droplets caught the fading sunlight, sending rainbow prisms dancing across the garden. The serpent's eyes—ancient and knowing—fixed upon Osa with unmistakable intelligence.
Bearer of the mark, the water serpent communicated, its thoughts flowing into Osa's mind like cool, clear water into an empty vessel. You wake us from long silence.
Osa found himself unable to look away from the serpent's hypnotic form. What are you? he asked mentally.
The water being's body undulated, coils shifting in a graceful dance above the fountain. We are the ancient ones, the first children of the Azure Depths. Before your kind walked these lands, we flowed through the veins of the world.
Osa noticed that droplets occasionally broke free from the serpent's form, orbiting it before being reabsorbed. Within each, he glimpsed different scenes—ancient rituals conducted at shorelines, figures with marks like his own communing with similar water beings, and darker images of battles where water rose in terrible walls to consume armies.
Why have you appeared to me? Osa asked.
The serpent's massive head lowered closer to Osa, its watery eyes reflecting something akin to concern. The currents shift. The boundaries weaken. That which should remain separate now bleeds through.
As it spoke, the entity's form became less stable, ripples disrupting its smooth scales. The Breathless One stirs in the spaces between. It hungers for what it cannot have—life, breath, warmth.
The serpent's body curved around Osa in what felt like a protective gesture. We offer alliance, as in times before. The triangle must be completed, or all falls to shadow.
Before Osa could respond, the water serpent suddenly recoiled, its entire body shuddering violently. Darkness comes! it warned, its mental voice becoming a harsh splash rather than the gentle flow of before. It hungers—it seeks the unguarded one!
Osa's gaze followed the direction of the serpent's attention. Even in his meditative state, he could perceive something unusual—not near the banyan tree as he might have expected, but at the far end of the garden where an old stone well stood almost hidden behind overgrown shrubs. The well had been sealed with a heavy stone slab centuries ago, according to Academy lore, but now dark tendrils of shadow seeped through the cracks around its edges, pooling on the ground like spilled ink.
The darkness moved with purpose, not spreading randomly but flowing directly toward where Radji sat, his attention focused on his notes rather than the well behind him. The shadow seemed to pulse with a sickly reddish glow deep within its core, like the beating of some monstrous heart.
Wake! the water serpent commanded urgently. Wake or your friend is lost!
The serpent began to dissolve, its magnificent form losing cohesion as water droplets scattered in panic. We cannot remain where it reaches. Find us again when you are stronger. Remember—the triangle must be completed!
With that final warning, the water serpent collapsed entirely, splashing back into the fountain with unnatural force. The sound broke through Osa's meditative state, jolting him toward consciousness. As the world around him resumed its normal pace, he saw the shadow tendrils creeping silently across the garden stones toward Radji's unsuspecting form.
"Radji!" Osa shouted, lunging forward out of his meditative position. "Behind you!"
Radji looked up from his journal, startled by Osa's sudden movement, but his expression showed no comprehension of the danger. The shadow was nearly invisible in the fading light of evening—something more sensed than seen, a darkness deeper than it should be, moving against the natural flow of shadows.
Saguna's eyes snapped open at Osa's shout, the whispers fading as he returned to full consciousness. He immediately felt it—a cold, heavy presence that made the mark on his neck burn in warning. Following Osa's gaze, he saw what appeared to be a patch of abnormally dark shadow advancing across the garden floor.
"What is it?" Radji asked, still unaware of what approached from behind.
Before either Osa or Saguna could explain, the first tendril of shadow reached Radji's ankle, wrapping around it like a vine. Radji gasped, his body going rigid as his face drained of color. His journal fell from suddenly nerveless fingers as more tendrils emerged from the main mass of shadow, climbing his legs with terrible purpose.
"It's feeding on him!" Saguna cried, recognizing the entity's nature from his whispered visions. "We have to break its hold!"
Osa acted instinctively, reaching toward the fountain. To his surprise, water responded to his gesture, rising in a thin stream that he directed toward the shadow entity. The water struck the darkness like a whip, causing it to recoil momentarily—but the victory was short-lived. The shadow absorbed the water, growing slightly larger in the process.
"That's not working!" Saguna warned. "It's getting stronger!"
The shadow continued its advance, more tendrils wrapping around Radji's torso. With each passing second, Radji's complexion grew paler, his breathing more labored. His eyes, wide with fear and confusion, began to lose their focus.
"We need to get him away from it," Saguna decided, moving toward their struggling friend.
But as Saguna approached, the shadow pulsed with malevolent awareness. A tendril shot out, faster than thought, striking Saguna's chest with such force that he was thrown backward several feet. He landed hard on the garden stones, the breath knocked from his lungs.
Osa, witnessing Saguna's failed attempt, hesitated. The shadow entity now covered most of Radji's lower body, and dark veins had begun to spread across his exposed skin. His head lolled forward as consciousness began to slip away.
"Radji, fight it!" Osa called desperately, but Radji seemed beyond hearing now.
Saguna struggled back to his feet, his chest aching where the shadow had struck him. "We need help," he gasped. "We can't fight this thing alone."
As if in response to Saguna's words, the shadow pulsed again, and a deep, guttural sound emerged from its center—not quite a growl, not quite a laugh, but something that raised the hairs on their necks nonetheless. More tendrils extended from the main mass, reaching toward Osa and Saguna with predatory intent.
"Run," Saguna urged, grabbing Osa's arm. "We need to find Professor Nyala or Master Damian."
Osa pulled away, his eyes never leaving Radji's slumped form. "We can't leave him!"
"We'll lose him for certain if we both get caught too," Saguna argued, his voice tight with desperation. "This thing is too strong for us right now."
The shadow entity continued to engulf Radji, who had stopped struggling entirely. His skin had taken on a bluish tinge, and his breathing had become shallow and irregular. The darkness around him seemed to deepen, as if drawing strength from the life it drained.
"Go," Osa said suddenly, his voice hardening with resolve. "Find help. I'll stay with him."
"That's suicide!"
"I'm not leaving him," Osa insisted. "Maybe I can slow it down. Buy some time."
Saguna hesitated, torn between staying to help and the knowledge that they needed someone with greater understanding of what they faced. The mark on his neck burned fiercely, almost as if urging him to action.
"Five minutes," he finally said. "I'll be back with help in five minutes."
As Saguna turned to run, the shadow made another lunge toward him. He dodged, feeling the cold brush of its tendrils against his leg. Without looking back, he sprinted toward the exit, praying that he would find help in time.
Behind him, Osa faced the dark entity alone, with only his determination to protect his friend standing between Radji and whatever fate the shadow intended for him.