Our Mother the Mountain

40. Past the Liquid Void

Chapter Text

Ethan didn't make it far; he only moved down the hall several paces before the dark of the powerless manor (which his heightened senses had already adjusted to) began to morph into a strange blanket of inky, almost starry dark. His long paces slowed. Ethan felt frozen, as if in a dream. Every motion was slow and required intense concentration. He extended an arm in hopes of seeing it-seeing anything-but there was only black around him.

This new dark had another strange quality to it-it felt solid, as if he were encased in resin. It also seemed to have its own light source, though dim. Ethan could barely make out what looked to be glimmers all around him. His nervous system was lighting up as he flexed his muscles, as he blinked and breathed. This was reflected in the light pulses.

It seemed to be neurons firing, all around him, he realized. The blond stilled further, his breathing shallow. Everything was silent. Ethan's head tilted as the Black God's consciousness sprang forward, and using his eyes, judged the suffocating blackness. It was comfortable here, this was.... Normal. They were between realms, or something similar, caught in dead space between an organism, or perhaps a time. Nowhere. Everywhere.

This was the same void that coated the doorway between Godric's prison and the rest of the mold's consciousness.

It was eerie.

And even though Ethan knew nothing about it, the creature was more than at ease. He heard a clicking sound and realized it came from inside him-inside his chest. It vibrated outward, like echolocation. His head swiveled up as the vibrations came back to him, lighting up glimmers of the walls, tracing an outline of the house above him.

The creature was looking through multiple dimensions. But was it looking to orient itself? Was it seeking something? He didn't know. The rapid fire clicking sounded again and Ethan could almost make out forms where once was blackness. How they did any of this, he had no idea, but Ethan got the odd sensation that he'd done it recently.

It was still silent, after the clicking, almost insect-like noise ceased. They were suspended in space, and the flickering electric glimmers were moving in waves past them, thick, slow. The movement was settling. One thing became visible in the darkness, in a spot far away from him, almost over his head.

Eva didn't know Ethan was watching her through the liquid void, seeing with almost reptilian vision-perhaps, heat sensing? But in this complete darkness she shone, illuminated almost from within like a ghost.

Or was she? Was it Eva projecting light? Or was he seeing new spectrums on his own? Was it the Black God? He didn't know. Eva's eyes were focused on the bed in front of her as she grabbed the still-sleeping Rosemary, while holding Evie's hand. Eveline looked wide awake, even slightly irritated, but complied when Eva pulled her into the middle of the room. As the father stared, he watched a strange shower of golden white emanate from Eva's fingers. She drew almost a box of the gold light that encased her and the girls.

Then in a blink, they all disappeared from sight.

A century's worth of running from Miranda in the mold's strata obviously caused her to learn a few tricks, Ethan mused, and then he struggled to move forward again. How long would this void stay? He had to make it to the stairs. The area where his mother slept was still silent.

Ethan's feet seemed made of lead, and his movements were in slow motion. This was the world of dreams. But what did that mean? Was it human dreams? The Mold? Miranda? The Black God was screeching again, its need so intense that it used no words. It wanted him to go out , where Karl had stored the crystals. Donna's, as well as the strange purple one that had drawn Godric into the manor weeks ago. Both of these stones were forefront in its mind, and it was pleading to move toward them.