Chapter 255: Not scared
[ Old World – The Shoreline...Near the dock ]
The sea should have smelled of salt.
Of foam and wind and freshness.
But the closer Jasper drew, the more his little nose wrinkled, the more his chest squeezed as the air pressed rotten and foul.
At first it was faint, just a sting at the back of his throat, like biting into fruit gone bad.
But then it swelled...it became thicker and sharper, until he gagged and almost lost his breath mid-flight.
"Ew... no, no, no...this is bad...very very bad indeed, " he whimpered, cupping a hand over his mouth so he could hold the stench away. "The sea isn’t supposed to smell like this. Mama said... Mama said it was salty and even a little sweet...like a big bowl of fresh air."
But it didn’t smell anything like that at all.
It smelled like graves cracked open.
The horizon, once silver, began to shift.
Dark threads rippled through the waves, slow at first, like ink spilling into water. Then thicker, black veins spread wide, staining the rolling surface.
Jasper’s bright eyes went wide, his little body jerking to a halt midair. His flare stuttered around him, sputtering sparks across the sea.
He gasped. "Oh no...is the water sick? It looks sick though!Maybe I should try to help it! "
He clutched his chest with both hands, heart hammering,scattered wings of blue flame flickering wildly behind him.
And then...The flare snapped.
A sharp burst of blue light spilled downward, splashing across the blackened waves. For an instant, the sea shimmered with radiant fire, the surface glittering as though it had been scattered with jewels.
But instead of soothing down... instead of pushing the rot away...instead of ’healing’ like Jasper had intended...
The darkness leaned closer.
The veins of blackness quivered...then surged towards the light.
"Ah??!! Wait... no, no, don’t come here! Don’t come here! I didn’t mean to hurt! I am sorry. I was only trying to help...wait...wait..." Jasper squealed, his small fists trembling. "I wasn’t calling you! Go away!"
The sea answered with a hiss, bubbles foaming where ichor touched blue fire.
The light danced, growing brighter, stronger, as if his fear was feeding it. Blue sparks rained down his sides, each drop exploding into ripples of flame upon the waves.
And the black surged higher to meet it.
The veins no longer crept...they climbed. Crawling tendrils rose from the depths, curling like long fingers reaching for his glow.
Jasper screamed, a shrill, frightened sound that cracked against the night.
"Mama! Mamaaa!!"
His little body flailed, trying to dart backward, but his flare pulsed harder...wilder...the more he panicked.
The sparks spilled faster, painting the sea in streaks of fire...and the darkness kept drinking it in, kept chasing.
Tears burst at the corner of his eyes. "Why?! Why are you following me? I just wanted to help you!Don’t you understand? I just wanted to see the sea! I didn’t mean any harm,I swear...I didn’t mean any of this!"
The waves groaned, a deep sound, as though the ocean itself was speaking back.
From below, the ichor spread like a wound, a great stain radiating outward. Every flash of his flare only made it pulse stronger...as if trying to tell Jasper something.
Jasper clutched his arms around himself, shaking violently.
His voice broke into a whisper now, almost swallowed by the hiss of flame and rot.
"...Mama...please...where are you...Mamma,come get me please...I am sorry I didn’t listen to you...I am scared..."
By this time the sea was no longer a sea...it looked like a struggling beast that rose and fell from the core of the earth...twisting,turning,withering...roaring and growling in pain.
The air was turning thicker by the minutes...turning more and more acrid, as though the very breath of the ocean had curdled.
Jasper slowly glided down...his boots sinking into the damp sand...the hiss of his flare sparking around him.
Blue fire licked along the shoreline as his scared little eyes looked around for an escape.
" Why does it want to hurt me? " His little jaw tightened...but he looked way too cute instead of looking angry.
The ichor shifted. Something moved inside it.
At first, it was just a distortion, a ripple fighting against the waves.
Then the blackness rose.
Not a tide, not a wave...but a figure, torn out of shadow and bone and something worse.
Its outline refused form, unraveling and knitting together, as if the ocean had tried to craft a man from rot.
It watched him.
The sound came next.
Not quite words, not quite a voice...just a whisper that slithered against his ears and into the marrow of his spine.
"...Jaaaasper..."
He flinched. His flare pulsed in his palm, blue fire cracking like his heart beat out of rhythm.
"Stay away, bad man," He swallowed, shaking his head. His voice came out hoarse, jagged. "You are not real."
The shadow tilted its head, the ichor dripping from where its mouth might have been. When it opened, there was no tongue, no teeth, no shape...just a yawning pit that breathed his name again, softer this time.
"Jaaasper... come... closer,my boy..."
The flames around him dimmed, shivering like they too feared the sound. He dug his nails into his palm until he felt the sting of skin breaking.
But the shadow stepped forward, one foot sinking into the wet sand with a grotesque hiss. The ichor clung to its body like armor, glistening black.
Its voice doubled now...whisper layered over whisper, as if a thousand drowned throats spoke in unison.
"You burn so bright, child. Yet every flame hungers for shadow. Every light... longs for its end..."
Jasper’s breath caught.
His flare snapped violently, blue arcs streaking across the shoreline, scorching sand into glass.
"Stay back!I am warning you.I...I am not scared...I am not weak...I am not even crying...my Mamma is coming for me! I am telling you to step back. She doesn’t like strangers talking to me. " His shout cracked the silence, but the thing didn’t retreat.
It only smiled...
Not with a mouth. Neither with teeth.