(Back at the depths of the cavern which Autumn had escaped for the sake of her family… where she had left her children…)
Darkness did not begin there.It had always existed.
Breathing. Patient.And deep within its womb-like vastness, three small bodies hung suspended.
They floated without falling, and were held.
Thin veins of blackened ether coiled around their limbs and torsos, pulsing faintly—like umbilical cords feeding from something unseen.
Little Jasper.
Wila.
Freya.
Their heads lolled forward, chins brushing their chests. Their arms drifted slightly outward, fingers twitching now and then as if reaching for something remembered.
They looked almost peaceful.Almost blissful.
A slow ripple moved through the void.
Jasper stirred first.As if he felt something move him physically, a shove disturbing his peaceful slumber, a break in his rhythm.
