Next D 640

Posted by ADMINMMADMIN, ? Views, Released on December 13, 2025

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I turned to my grandmother. “What do I do?

Gaia laughed. “So strong, yet so unsure of herself and power.” She waved a hand, and the ground where my hand had been became a stone bowl. Water filled from an unseen force. “She can’t help you with this little one.” She stepped closer. “But just like me, call to them. You are of the land, the sky and the sea. And you can connect with all of it.” Her eyes were gentle but firm

I started with what I could see. I put my hand into the bowl of water. Letting the cool liquid close over my skin. Unlike with the ground, this wasn’t alive. There was nothing to connect. I shook my head as I stared at the goddess. “I feel nothing. Not like I did with you and the ground.”

She smiled. “You are thinking too small. Close your eyes.” I listened to her. “Water gives you life, just like the earth. The earth gives you food, but without water there is nothing. Not humans, not plants, not even bacteria. It is the lifeblood of our planet. The water is the blood of my body. It flows through me, bringing the ground nutrients, keeping everything alive. Listen to the sound of the sea, of the creatures living in it.” Suddenly I heard the sound of waves crashing against rocks. I heard a whale song, and the clicks and squeals of dolphins. “Call to my son. Pontus of the sea. And if you are strong enough…he will come.”

I let my body sink into the feeling of the water. In my mind, I knew I was still kneeling on the ground, but I felt the sea’s currents rip me away from the land, and I was floating in the dark abyss of crushing water. “Pontus.” I called out his name, and I felt a ripple in the water. “Pontus, I call to you.” A dark shape took form in the almost–black water.

A sea snake that looked to be a mile long swam towards me, eyes like the black sea, with teeth sharper than any knives. “Who calls to me?” The dark voice echoed through the water, and I felt like I was choking. The sea serpent swam faster towards me, and right before its teeth closed around me, I heard a footstep on grass. “Mother.” The same deep voice was warm, and my eyes sprang open.

A man as big if not bigger than Rowan, with pale, almost translucent skin, and the same black eyes of the serpent, was standing over me. He bent down at the waist and used a finger to tip my head back. “Pretty little thing, aren’t you?” His smile was slow, but one by one, his sharp teeth came to life.

“You’re here.” My voice was a whisper.

He smiled wider, his fangs on full display. “You called.”

25 Bonus

Gaia pulled him back with a scowl. “Leave the girl alone, Pontus. She has to save her people from the scourge.” She lifted her lip in disgust, and Pontus grew still. He turned his head to me with a tilt.

“Not human?” He asked.

I shook my head. “Closer than you, I guess, but still not human.” He nodded once. “Then I guess you need my brother.” I nodded once.

“Well then, call him. The man is flighty and hard to catch.” He grinned at his own joke and then stepped next to his mother.

If I lifted my hand from the water, and let the breeze dry my skin as I closed my eyes. Gaia was the body, and Pontus was the blood, then Uranus was the air in our lungs. It kept every living being alive, fed our cells, and nourished our bodies as much as water. I focused on the air in my lungs. The wind whipped around the clearing.

The wind was soft, but I remembered the day before how loud and terrifying it could be right before I pulled lightning from the sky. It could be destructive enough to rip houses apart, to push water away, but gentle enough to feed the soul. I felt my hair whip around my face, and I heard the distant cries of eagles. The wind grew louder in my ears until it sounded like a thundering stampede charging down at me. Uranus.” I called out through the wind. “Uranus, I call to you.” I screamed over the screeching wind. I heard the thumping of an enormous bird, and in my mind I saw it. A circling thunderbird flying above me. The lightning I had called down, flashing through the sky, and the loud roar of thunder echoed in my ears. The thunderbird seems to stare down at me. “Who are you?” The deep thump of its wings as it flew above me could still be heard over the storm raging, the power of each flap changing the pressure in my ears.

“No one if importance. Just someone hoping to save her kin.” I called out, and then it dove at me. I held firm, waiting for it to attack, but a hand cupped my cheek instead.