The Voice

When Katherine came to, she felt like she was floating. Gravity was no more, and neither was pain or worry. There was only this exhilarating feeling of weightlessness. After all the troubles she'd gone through, her mind felt like mush, now that the pain and threat of death were gone. A few seconds flew by before worries invaded her mind again.

The first, even outperforming the question of where she was, was the angst for her child. Her eyes flew open, one hand already on its way to her stomach, but the sight in front halted her. It was a strange and at the same time way too familiar view. She was floating inside a bubble of light in a space filled with... gauze birds.

Fright gripped her heart. This was the space she entered after the wolfs ate her flesh. Something akin to a dream she never thought about again. But if she nearly died again... her hand trembled when it reached her stomach, feeling it through the dirty and bloody cloth of her shirt. "Are you... still there?"

Of course, she didn't expect an answer. This time, the hope that her baby might still exist was almost nonexistent. One reason for that was the pain that had vanished. It meant that she was healed. Yet that entailed that her power had done its work while she was unconscious. A power that hurt her baby before...

Tears gathered in Katherine's eyes. What were the chances? Were there any for her baby? A deep resentment for her own power rose in her, followed by heartwrenching guilt. If she'd just held out, stayed conscious through the pain and chaos, she could have saved that spark of hope, that living proof of her and Nathaniel's love. Unknowingly, her hand stroked the flat surface that, even though its shape never changed, suddenly felt empty. When she spoke, her voice was laced with tears. "Sweetheart, mummy is sorry. So, so sorry. Mummy didn't protect you enough."

Suddenly, a gentle voice rang out in the emptiness. "Your baby is alive."

It startled Katherine so much that she almost fainted. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she looked around in a panic. Yet, there was no person in the vicinity. Only the gauze birds and her sphere of light - and Blackie, or something like Blackie, somehow bloated, lingered near a rip in space that oozed black substance. Strangely, the substance seemed connected to it, fusing with it and making it bigger and bigger like a round balloon.

Katherine stared at the Blackie-thing. Was it, maybe, the real Blackie? She remembered that this strange entity talked once before, but its voice was rough and simple-minded then. Like an ill man with the mind of a child that just learned how to talk and only thought of its own needs. Still, could Blackie be the source of this voice just now? And how could it know if her child was alive?

The gentle voice chuckled. "I'm not that poor thing over there. I am right here, by your side. I've always been there. Do you really not know who I am?"

Again, Katherine scanned her surroundings. There was Blackie, the rift oozing black substance, and some gauze birds a distance away. The closest one was dark red, maybe twenty meters up left from her. It could also be much closer, though, because she wasn't sure about its size and distance was hard to judge in this space without ground, sky, mountains... essentially without anything. Except for the things she called gauze birds, that was.

There were some moving red and blue gauze birds in the distance as well, but she doubted that they were the source of the voice. The dark red one was also too far away in her opinion. However, what else was there? She pondered about anything that was here with her the last time she entered this dreamy space... anything close to her... wait, didn't she hear this voice last time as well?

Yes! It was the voice she heard shortly before waking from her near-death experience. She almost forgot it since so much happened afterward. This voice, who - or what - did it belong to? Could it be... well, there was only one thing that had been there with her both times. Yet, the thought of it having a voice, a personality, was exceedingly strange.

"Are you my magic?" Uttering the question, Katherine became increasingly confident. Of course, this white sphere resembled her magic when it coated her completely, shielding her from the currents of the dark river. Her magic could also perceive her body, so it was clear why it could tell the state of her baby. And lastly, this Ve had talked about another dimension with godly beings... if her magic was truly sentient, if it was this sphere of light, wasn't it wonderous enough to be called 'godly' by a crazy magic researcher?

"Correct!" The voice seemed exhilarated and finally, Katherine could tell why it sounded familiar to her. After all, she never heard her magic before she was mauled by wolves. She could only recognize it because it bore an uncanny similarity to how her own voice sounded in her ears. As if it was another her.

"But if... if you are my magic, can you tell me why you attacked my child before? I thought you were only there for healing!" There was a hint of resentment in Katherine's voice. Mind her, her power seemingly did save her baby this time, yet it wouldn't have been necessary if it didn't hurt it in the first place. If it just remained like it always had been, a source of healing and protection, it wouldn't have come so far that Katherine had to worry for her child at all.

"I am sorry for that," the voice apologized readily. "Truly sorry. I can't perceive your world very well from here and only noticed the danger it posed. I did not know what it is and what it meant to you. That is why my help warped into a threat to your child. Of course, when you entered this dimension, I noticed my mistake and tried to rectify it. At least, until I hear your decision."

The reasoning was slightly different from Katherine's expectation, but she had also never expected to talk to her magic power like to a living person. Overall, she was satisfied, so her focus latched onto the last sentence. "What does that mean, 'at least until you hear my decision'? I want my child to live. What else is there to decide?"

"Well," the voice drew out the word, seemingly unwilling to explain. In the end, it sighed. "Sadly, you people of the flesh world can't see it. So, I must be the one to break the bad news. This child in you can grow into a threat to your life. Because of its father, its connection to this plane is - so to say - twisted. Its gate is damaged as well. If the magic it is connected to bursts through this damaged gate while it is still in your womb, you could die."

After the second it took Katherine to understand the words, a question burst from her mouth without a thought. "And my baby? What about my baby?"

"If it is old enough to be born, it might survive. Barely."

Katherine's forehead wrinkled and she bit her lips. Seconds of silence passed until the voice asked: "So, what is your decision? In this place, I could make it go painlessly."

"I..." Katherine breathed deeply. "I never knew it would be so hard to start a family with the man I loved. But I really want to have this child. A child together with him. Besides, if it is inherited, any child of his could bring the same risks, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then I will try my best. And I am curious: can you see what magic my baby is connected to?"

"Of course. It is the same as your husband. This being that you call Blackie. It has grown so much that it gained a second gate. This never happened before. However, many unexpected things happen with the mutated magics. The true danger is this damaged gate that can be opened at any time. I won't be of much help if it does."