The First Dragon God-Chapter 85: The Trail Of The Black Water (II)

As Tatiana waded through the icy black water, it bit into her skin like shards of glass.

The fog around her thickened, swirling with an unnatural life of its own, obscuring everything beyond an arm’s reach. The air was heavy, carrying a faint metallic scent that clung to the back of her throat.

The current strongly tugged at her legs, pulling her deeper into the river.

Tatiana’s breath came in steady, measured exhales. She made sure not to lose her resolve despite the oppressive atmosphere.

She could feel the eyes of the emissary watching her from the riverbank. The steady reassuring sound of Elda’s voice had already faded into the silence.

She pressed forward, the black water rising past her knees, as she went deeper, then her waist.

The chill seeped into her very bones, but Tatiana kept moving. Each step felt heavier than the last. She felt that things would had been easier if her strength wasn’t sealed but still, she was also aware that it would had made almost no difference as she was in a divine realm, and divine realms have rules of their own.

The fog around her thickened, curling around her like tendrils, causing her to lose sense of her surroundings, with the riverbank vanished from sight.

Tatiana stopped for a moment, straining to see ahead, but there was nothing. Except for the swirling mist and the faint sound of water lapping against her legs, there was nothing else.

"Keep moving," she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible above the oppressive stillness.

And then… the next moment, the ground beneath her feet disappeared suddenly.

Tatiana gasped as she sank into the icy depths, the water swallowing her whole. Her arms thrashed instinctively, but there was no bottom, no sense of up or down.

The current pulled her deeper, spinning her in a disorienting spiral. Her lungs burned as she fought to hold her breath, her vision darkening.

Just as she felt the last threads of air slipping away, the cold was replaced by warmth. The water disappeared entirely, and Tatiana found herself standing on solid ground. She stumbled forward, coughing and gasping, her knees hitting the floor.

When she looked at the ground and she saw that her surroundings had changed and she was no longer in the river, no longer surrounded by the fog of Mictlan.

She felt warm air hit her body. Air that felt both foreign and achingly familiar. Her knees buckled as she stumbled forward, gasping for breath, her arms trembling.

Her fingers brushed against the ground, and she froze. The terrain beneath her was soft, cool, and alive.

She glanced down, her breath hitching as she took in the bioluminescent grasses glowing faintly beneath her fingertips.

Their hues shifted between deep crimson, silvery whites, and purples, casting a soft glow that illuminated her surroundings.

The scent of blooming jasmine wafted through the air, mingling with a faint metallic tang from the Black Water that she could still almost taste on the back of her tongue.

The gentle rustle of leaves in the distance added a rhythm to the surreal quiet, broken only by her own ragged breaths.

Her heart skipped as she slowly lifted her gaze to the horizon.

Two moons... One blood-red and the other a silvery white hung low in the sky, bathing the landscape in their otherworldly glow.

Shadows of tall trees stretched like reaching arms across the shimmering grass. Her eyes widened as recognition dawned, the realization hitting her like a physical blow.

"No… it can’t be," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Her breaths quickened as she stumbled to her feet. The air grew heavier with every step forward, her body trembling as the realization set in.

The Crimson Fall Realm. Not just anywhere in it... this was home. Her home.

Tatiana’s pulse thundered in her ears as she broke into a run, her feet pounding against the soft ground.

The bioluminescent grasses glowed brighter with every step, guiding her like a trail of stars. She knew where she was going, knew it with the clarity that only years of memory could carve into someone.

And then she saw it.

The garden.

The sight stole the air from her lungs. She slowed, her steps faltering as she approached the edge of the moonlit sanctuary.

The flowers were as vibrant as she remembered—crimson roses entwined with silvery vines, towering trees with leaves that shimmered like polished gemstones, and delicate blossoms that glowed faintly in the moonlight. The air was sweet, heavy with the scent of honey and jasmine.

It was just as it had been.

Her legs trembled beneath her, and she clutched at a nearby tree for support, her gaze scanning the garden with frantic desperation.

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Her chest tightened as her eyes locked onto the figure seated beneath the massive Bloodwood Tree at the garden’s center.

There she was as always.

Her mother.

The woman’s dark, cascading hair spilled over her shoulders, shimmering faintly in the moonlight like strands of polished obsidian.

Her pale skin seemed to glow against the deep crimson of the Bloodwood Tree’s bark. She sat with perfect poise, her long, elegant fingers delicately tracing patterns in the dirt at her feet.

Her mother’s profile was turned away, but that profile alone was enough to send a tidal wave of emotions crashing over Tatiana.

"Mom…" The word escaped her lips in a broken whisper, barely audible, but it carried the weight of everything she hadn’t said... everything she had wanted to say for years.

The woman turned slowly, her movements graceful, her expression soft and familiar.

Her eyes, deep pools of warmth and love, met Tatiana’s. And then she smiled.

That smile shattered her.

Tatiana’s legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to her knees, her hands trembling as they clenched the grasses beneath her. Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over before she could even think to hold them back.

"Mom!" she cried, her voice breaking, the floodgates of her emotions bursting wide open.

Her mother’s brows furrowed in concern as she rose gracefully to her feet, closing the distance between them.

"Tia, baby," she said, her voice soft and melodic, wrapping around Tatiana like the embrace she so desperately craved. "What is it? Why are you crying, my darling? Did you get hurt?"

The sound of her voice struck something deep within Tatiana, and the tears fell faster. Her mother crouched before her, reaching out with gentle hands to brush away her tears, her touch featherlight and achingly familiar.

But Tatiana shook her head, her lips trembling. "No, it’s not that. I… I missed you. I’ve missed you so much…"

Her mother’s expression softened, a mixture of love and concern etched into her features. "Oh, my sweet Tia. I’ve always been here, haven’t I?"

Tatiana shook her head again, the words stuck in her throat. She wanted to scream, to tell her mother that she hadn’t been here, that she had been ripped away too soon. But she couldn’t.

Her mother’s hands cupped her face, tilting it upward to meet her gaze. "Tia, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I—" Tatiana’s voice broke, her tears choking her. She forced herself to take a shaky breath. "I… I can’t do this. I can’t lose you again."

Her mother’s expression shifted, a flicker of sadness passing through her eyes. "Again? What are you talking about, baby?"

Tatiana shook her head repeatedly in response but the tears refused to stop. She did everything she can to stop it but she couldn’t.

It was when her mother knelt down that she understood what was actually going on. She was back to the past, back to when she was still little. She was back to that day. That dreadful day that she never wants to relive again.

Her mother rose slowly, her concern deepening as she took a step closer.

"Tia, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me."

The realization caused the tears to increase and made her unable to stop. She slowly took a step back, and another, and another, and more, until she was out of her mother’s reach.

The next moment, she had no idea what happened but all she knew was that she saw herself running with tears in her eyes, surrounded by the flames that was consuming everything in its reach, blood pooling on the floor and the air around choked by the smoke from the fire.

She forced herself to stop to look around but the next thing she heard was a familiar voice telling her to run away to safety.

She traced the direction of the voice and there she saw it. She saw her mother doing her best to fight off three men in dark robe and five hounds with shadow spilling from their bodies.

Tatiana frozed up immediately at the sight but the next moment she heard her mother’s voice again.

"Tia! I said run!"

Then, suddenly, soft arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Before she could react, she was lifted off the ground.

"No! Let me go!" Tatiana screamed, kicking and thrashing. Her tiny fists pounded against the chest of the person carrying her, but their grip didn’t loosen.

"We have to go!" a familiar voice yelled.

She craned her neck and caught a glimpse of the one holding her—Elda.

Tears streamed down Tatiana’s face, blurring her vision as she caught one last glimpse of her mother through the haze of smoke and flames.

Her mother stood tall, her body glowing faintly as she fought with everything she had. The hounds lunged at her, their jaws snapping.

And then, she saw it. She saw one of the dark robed person driving a sword through her mother, where the heart is.

"No!!!!!" She screamed, her voice breaking as her heart shattered.

"Mom!" she whimpered one last time, her voice breaking into a sob.

The world blurred into a haze of flames and tears, and Tatiana’s consciousness faded, swallowed by the darkness of her grief.