A soft, gentle hum danced in his ears as he slowly opened his eyes. The sky above was neither day nor night, but a swirl of calming purple, ghostly green, and mystical blue. The colors danced, as if inviting him to play with them.

  I’ve never seen anything like that.

  The pain that once suffocated his body, now absent. His senses no longer overwhelmed him. Instead, everything felt like it had before.

  Was it all a bad dream? Am I still dreaming?

  He shifted his hand, fingers brushing against the velvety bed beneath him, providing him a resting place.

  His canid ear flickered as a trickling river soothed his nerves, the sweet, earthy, and floral fragrance wrapping around him like a warm blanket.

  With a heavy breath, InuShin sat up, his long silver hair falling around him like silk. He turned his wrist, noticing his clawed fingers. I lost dad’s tantō.

  I guess it wasn’t a dream. He swallowed, shifting his gaze up and surveying more of his surroundings. “Where am I…?”

  His voice echoed.

  Enormous trees surrounded him appeared normal, each with vibrant colored leaves; orange, yellow, red, and green, except for the faint silver streak, pulsing like lightning, that ran through the trunk and branches. A mist the color of lime bathed the forest floor.

  Deep within the mystical forest, the frail, old woman from earlier stood, dressed in her purple and white grid-like patterned kimono, arms folded in her sleeves. Her green eyes shined brightly, with a comforting warmth.

  She didn’t speak, only motioned for him to follow.

  InuShin carefully pushed himself up, standing on top of the velvet, noticing it was shaped like a flower, pink petals with an outer white edge.

  He looked around and found no way off of the flower. “How do I join you?”

  She tilted her head slightly, the soft, caring smile never leaving. With a small bow, she turned around, stepping into the forest.

  “Wait!” he shouted.

  As he stepped, a small bridge of petals formed in front of him, arching to the ground below him.

  InuShin froze and looked up, noticing the woman hadn’t stopped her stride.

  “Don’t leave me.” His heart thumped heavily as he stared at the bridge.

  He stepped hesitantly, but the bridge supported his weight, and he crossed it, his bare feet pressing into the soft, wet moss.

  InuShin quicked his steps, following the woman deep into the forest.

  As he pushed through the colorful leaves and pulsing branches, he reached an open field.

  The woman had vanished, leaving not a trace. No scent, no footprints. Nothing.

  An impossibly tall tree stood in the distance, its trunk pale, bark peeling. High above, its crown, dropped with brittle branches, the leaves either black, brown, or faint green. The tree wasn’t dead… but it was dying.

  The roots protruded through the dirt, stretching into the nearby pond. A silence filled the space. Not empty, but rather waiting.

  InuShin approached the pond’s edge, staring up at the branches, his heart aching at the sight.

  “Why does it look so sad?” he asked softly, voice trembling.

  “Because you are,” answered in a thick, unusual accent, yet comforting.

  He turned and saw her.

  The old woman stood there, long gray hair tied into long braided coils, eyes without judgement, only recognition.

  “Where am I?”

  She raised a hand, gesturing to the sky. “Where the improbable breathes.”

  “Why am I here?”

  “Lessons. Understanding,” she answered and then pointed to the tree. “Every spirit born in the realms is gifted a tree. It is tied to us, not by roots. But by reflection. How we treat ourselves is how the tree grows. Some bloom. Some burn. Yours…” She paused, her eyes softening, on the verge of tears.

  InuShin followed her gaze, watching a leaf fall and turn to ash midair.

  “...is still deciding.”

  His chest tightened, curling his fists. “I left him. Left him to die.”

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  A sharp crack echoed across the pond. One of the tree’s largest branches split. A single leaf broke off, turning to black, crumbling to ashes before touching the ground.

  The woman said nothing.

  She walked forward, each step on the water caused a ripple as she approached the tree base on the other side.

  “You can walk on water?” He stared, eyes wide and mouth open.

  She smiled. “I told you. We’re where the improbable breathes. Come join me. You won’t fall in.”

  InuShin stared at the pond, taking a deep breath and then shook his head. “I’ll go around.” He stepped on the glistening grass, joining her on the other side.

  At the base of the tree, a stone, smooth and warm-looking, rested, with a single carved ladle on top–wooden, polished.

  “I didn’t want to leave,” he whispered. “But I had no choice.”

  The shimmered glowed faintly. A small branch near him straightened. A leaf opened with a soft green, trembling like a new promise.

  She knelt beside him, grabbed the ladle, holding it between them. “Then don’t mourn the choice. Honor what it gave you.” Her voice was gentle, nurturing. “Your father lives still, though not without cost.”

  “He’s alive?” He shot his gaze towards her, eyes wide. Hopeful.

  The woman smiled softly. Without answer, she placed the ladle in his hands. “Grow your roots, InuShin. Your journey will continue when your branches are strong enough.”

  InuShin crouched, and dipped the ladle into the pond. The water, glowing with faint threads of blue and silver, clung to the edges. He carefully poured it at the base of the tree.

  The roots pulsed faintly beneath the soil, like a breathing rippling through the clearing. A sigh. Acceptance.

  “Good. You have shown you’re ready.”

  “Ready for what?”

  “You carry storms in your chest, yet shame blocks your rivers like dams,” she answered. “Let me show you how to let it flow. To be free.” She rose to her feet.

  With a wave of her hand, a narrow stream of water emerged from the pond and flowed around them in a circular pattern. She pulled the water between them, forming it into a small ring.

  “The first breath of power is not control. It is understanding. And with this understanding, it will bring you closer to your other half.”

  “My other half?”

  “The half from your mother, awakened by your necklace.” She pointed towards his chest.

  “The gift from Mother…” He reached up, clutching the pendant and ran a thumb across it. “What am I? Can you tell me?”

  “Little pup, you are many things.” She returned the water back to the pond. “Come, join me in the field.”

  InuShin followed her to the open field back on the other end of the pond. The mist hummed faintly beneath InuShin’s feet. Grass bent under the moisture.

  She stood near the edge of the pond, her kimono rippling in a breeze that didn’t touch the trees. “Water is not just flow. It is feeling. The soul remembers most clearly in rain.”

  A mixture of strong scents filled the air: damp moss, fresh dew, and soaked dirt.

  He stepped forward as the woman raised a hand. A stream lifted from the pond. Slow. Curious.

  “This is not about force. Try to feel before you move.”

  InuShin reached out.

  At first, the water drifted towards his hand, twisting like ribbons around his fingers and wrist, responding to the ache in his chest. Grief. Loneliness.

  But then, his thoughts drifted to his father. The villagers. Hurtful words. His muscles tensed and the water flinched, splashing violently onto the ground.

  The woman’s voice was calm, but firm. “When your heart surges, so too will the tide. You must guide it, not dam it. Again.”

  InuShin’s heart pounded against his ribs as he raised his hand. A ribbon of water lifted once more, but his breath quickened. This time, the memory of the fire, the rock, the screaming. The water lashed outward, crashing into a tree with a burst of force and breaking some of the bark.

  “Storms do not begin with clouds. They begin with pain left unspoken.”

  InuShin squinted his eyes as his chest tightened. Guilt. Anger. Frustration.

  “It wasn’t a normal typhoon, was it? I saw colors in the clouds.”

  She nodded. “That was you. Your fear. Refusal. Sorrow.” The wind stirred the grass around them as her voice softened. “Your emotions are rivers, not walls. When suppressed, they build and build until too much and overflow. Out of control.”

  Tears welled up again, but instead of fighting, he recalled the hurtful moments.

  The water rose, slowly and fluidly, coiling like a vine around his arm. Not wild, but curious. Gentle. He slowly wiggled his fingers and twirled his wrist, the stream flowing between his fingers.

  “Good. You are beginning to understand your emotions.”

  “I am?” He looked away from the stream and it splashed against him, drenching him as his hair clung to his face.

  “Beginning to, not fully,” she smiled warmly. “Rest, too much at once isn’t good for the body.”

  InuShin lowered himself onto the damp grass, running his fingers over the little blades. His breath started to settle, as the tremors in his heart. The woman shifted towards a worn stone, perching herself on top of it.

  Her presence was calm, patient. Welcoming.

  “You said the storm was me,” InuShin murmured. “Is that… what I am? A storm.”

  The woman laughed lightly, playfully. “You are not the storm. You are the sky that carries it.”

  “I don’t understand what I’m becoming. My mother… she wasn’t human… I can feel that now. In my blood. In my bones.”

  “Hai. Your mother is a S?lvcù. A child of wind and moonlight. And so are you, though born between worlds.”

  “What does that mean? What does that make me?”

  She smiled gently, folding her arms in her lap. “S?lvcù are born attuned to the elements. Some carry whispers of rivers, others the fury of flames, the breath of air, the patience of stone, or the strike of lightning.”

  “And me?” he asked, voice trembling.

  “You carry many. Too many for one so young.” She rose from the stone, closed the gap, and sat down in front of him, legs folded underneath her. “Your soul is… rare. You were born with more than one element tethered to you. Water is but the first to wake. Others will follow. When you’re ready, or when the world forces them.”

  His heart dropped. “What if I can’t control them? What if I hurt people?”

  “Then you listen,” she said. “To yourself. The rhythm inside you. The elements are not weapons. They’re mirrors. They’ll reflect what’s inside you. Peace. Or chaos.”

  He let out a shaken breath, reaching up to touch the pendant. “And the necklace?

  “To connect you to her and your heritage.”

  “Will I get to see her again?”

  The woman remained quiet.

  Silence fell between them. Not uncomfortable, but warm. The sound of blowing wind and rustling water filled the atmosphere.

  InuShin laid back on the grass, the sky dancing above him, pendant warm against his skin. “I want to understand who I am.”

  “Then you are on the right path.”