Did it mean she still had a chance at going back and seeing Roman? Or was it just how this place was supposed to be?

  She continued to walk in the meadow with her mother, and her mother sensing Julie's silence, asked, "What's on your mind?"

  Julie turned to look at her mother, who stared back at her with calm and unwavering eyes. She replied, "I was thinking about…… if there's a way to go back from here. Do you know about it?"

  Opaline smiled at her daughter's question. She asked instead, "Do you feel like you have unfinished business back in the living world?"

  "A lot," answered Julie. "I didn't get to do things I was supposed to." Though there were few things that she had been able to accomplish, which was sending her foster father through the forbidden door. "I don't want to part ways from Rome……" she added.

  Opaline stopped herself from walking further and she looked at Julie, who had also paused her feet to face her mother.

  "I know that. Let me take you to a river, you might like it there," said Opaline, and a subtle frown appeared on Julie's face, not knowing what her mother wanted to show her. "And while we walk, why don't you tell me how you have been doing and what the others have been upto?"

  Julie continued to stare at her mother before she nodded, "Where do I start?"

  "From anywhere you want to," smiled her mother, and Julie began explaining things about her life in the living world, where her mother had sent her to the future.

  And while Julie and Opaline spoke to each other, on what Julie had been doing and what her plans were before she died, through the forbidden door, both Roman and Cillian had entered the dark side of the world.

  Roman could hear the skittering sound of the creatures, and to cut down time, he brought his hands forward and soon fire split around them, which started to spread. The creatures who had been hiding, waiting to attack the two new people in here started to shout and scream in agony of pain from being burnt by the fire.

  As Roman belonged more to this side of the world, with the amount of darkness he held in his heart, his magic and abilities weren't restrained and he used his full energy.

  On the other hand Cillian fought the creatures who remotely tried to get near them. The Corvin cleared the path, making their way through the dark corridors.

  "Do you know where to go from here?" questioned Roman, as this was the first time he was visiting this place. "Winters!" he shouted, calling for Julie, but there was no response from her side.

  "The last time I was here, I think I saw three doors. The doors are hidden by the creatures and we need to find it quickly before Julie's soul starts to manifest into raven or decides to stay in the afterlife," Cillian hurriedly replied, and he caught hold of one of the smudgy creatures neck and demanded from it, "Where is Julianne?"

  The creature didn't reply, but it tried to grab Cillian's face, trying to peel his skin and take his body as its own.

  "I know where Julianne is," came a voice. "I saw her being dragged from here."

  When both Roman and Cillian turned, it was Douglas, who had parts of his body being covered in the smudgy liquid.

  Earlier Roman hadn't been able to settle his score with this man, but now that they were here, he couldn't help but get right in front of the man. Douglas, who was now being infected, fought Roman back without holding back. He said, "Julie did a good job putting me in here. Now I will emerge as strong as Joaquin and then kill you all!"

  But Roman didn't care, and he caught the man's neck before throwing him on the ground with force. Douglas, instead of groaning in pain, started to laugh like a maniac. He said, "Did you know how pleased I was, when I saw that little witch's soul being dragged right in front of my eyes. She deserved it and much more. Watch me drag her and tear her—"

  As anger bubbled in Roman's veins, the creature that had attached itself to Roman appeared from his back and Douglas' eyes widened in fear. "What…… What did you do?! How—!"

  The creature separated itself from Roman, and it went straight to attack the human who was put in here. Its tentacles like hands caught hold of the man's limbs and pulled it in four different directions before blood splattered on the ground and on Roman's face.

  The next time the creature went to attach itself to Roman, he said, "Stop getting too close to me. If you want to serve me, you will do it without attaching yourself to me."

  The creature made a gurgling sound, and at the same time they heard Cillian call, "Roman! It is here! The doors!"

  With the flare of the fire that spread around the place, the creatures moved away from the doors, and soon Roman noticed three red doors.

  "I don't think they all lead to where Julie is," remarked Roman, and he turned to look at his creature. "Do you know where Julie is? The girl who was pulled in here."

  The creature's smudgy self moved towards the door before the liquid crawled up at the right door and it turned the knob of the door.

  'Here,' whispered the creature, pleased to serve its new master.

  Roman and Cillian stepped inside the door, and when they turned back, the door had disappeared and so did the passage. "Are you sure you can trust that thing?" questioned Cillian, because creatures from the forbidden door were not trustworthy and they were quick to backstab their masters.

  "I don't care if it wants to leave my side," responded Roman, because his current priority and goal was to find Julie. He wasn't going to let her die like this. She couldn't leave his side!

  The place they had stepped into was a dark forest, which looked dark as the creatures they had come across. The sky had an unusual greenish and black color to it, while the roots of the trees had emerged from the ground, showing how big and old they were.

  At a distance, they heard owls hooting and the crows cawing, which left an ominous feeling around the place. Soon fog started to appear on the ground, and Cillian said,

  "This wasn't here before, not this thick at least. The forest must have sensed us."

  Roman kept his guard as he tried to move through the place, while looking for Julie. He asked the Corvin, "Do you know anything about this place?"

  "I have only heard about it in twisted tales, but no one knows anything about it. Not even us Corvins as we have no consciousness of this place when we die and go back to the living world," replied Cillian with a deep frown on his forehead.

  Like Roman, Cillian didn't want Julie to die.

  She didn't deserve it after the things she had gone through. She deserved happiness. And somewhere he couldn't help but think if Julie was here, he would like to leave the living world and stay here with her. It had been his purpose since he had come to know of her existence. The afternoon where she and her friend had drowned in the river and below the bridge… He wouldn't forget their first meeting.

  Cillian then said, "I once heard that there was another passage from this place, to pass through the next life.

  We need to look for it. There has been no mention of where we can find it."

  "Maybe looking through the bark of the trees would be a good idea," Roman murmured under his breath, and they started to take a closer look at the tree, which might appear the oddest compared to the lot around them.

  [Music Recommendation: Andrei- Martin Phipps]

  Back where Julie and Opaline walked, Julie had spoken most of the important things while not picking up the bad memories as she didn't want her mother to feel bad. She asked her mother, "Did you meet father?"

  "I have. If he knew you were coming, he would have stayed here," replied Opaline, and her eyes held a distant look in there. "I am sure he will feel good to know that you have been doing well."

  "I was sad that he had left so early. It felt like we barely spent time together," replied Julie, and Opaline softly smiled.

  "Yes. He mentioned it to me, and wasn't particularly pleased with his short time, but still appreciated that he got to see you," replied the older witch, and an inaudible sigh escaped from her lips. "Here is the river that I wanted to show you."

  Now that Julie had noticed, the atmosphere around them had dulled down, and the sun's rays didn't reach the ground anymore. And it has been like this for some time now. Even the trees were much denser, and the ambience quieter and darker. Her eyes took in the place, and she asked her mother,

  "Are we still in the afterlife?"

  "We are at the bridge, Julie," replied Opaline, and she placed her hands on Julie's shoulders before continuing to speak. "Not everyone knows it, nor does everyone have the opportunity. And you have your whole life ahead of you, it would be a pity if you spent your time here."

  Julie slightly frowned at her mother's words. Was this the route to get back home? she wondered in her mind.

  Opaline dropped her hands from Julie's shoulders, and she fished for something in her pocket before taking Julie's hand and placing a coin in it.

  "What is this?" questioned Julie, her eyes falling on the coin that held a skull marking on it.

  "This is the fee for your trip back," As Opaline said this, they heard water being splashed, catching their attention and making their heads turn in the direction.

  For a few seconds, Julie didn't know if it was some animal beneath the river that was making the noise, but soon she noticed a boat, and with the boat appeared a man in a hat who held a staff in his hands.

  Julie turned to her mother and said, "Come with me, mother. We can both leave, or maybe have father come join us too."

  But Opaline only smiled at her daughter's request. She hugged her, patting her back, "We have lived here for a very long time to come back to the living world, Julie. But you…… you are new and still will be able to get back if you leave now."

  Suddenly Julie was torn as she didn't want to leave her mother behind. It was after years did they unite, and to leave like this, it didn't feel right.

  "We'll meet again, Julie. I know we will and you will make it happen," stated Opaline in confidence. "Your father and I will miss you."

  The man brought the boat towards the edge of the land, and he looked at the two of them before speaking to the older woman, "I didn't know you found a coin, Opaline. One would think they would use it for themselves."

  Opaline replied, "I knew I had to save it for someone, instead of using it for myself."

  "How selfless," murmured the man, his gaze falling on the young woman.

  Julie was in deep thought. It wasn't the first time her mother had sacrificed something for someone else while not using it for herself.

  She felt her heart clench, while she heard the man in the boat say, "Are you going to take the ride today, milady?"

  "Go now, Julie. The longer you stay here, the harder it will get to return," urged her mother, looking at her kindly.

  "I will meet you again," Julie promised Opaline and the woman nodded.

  "I know we will," said the older woman, who then turned to look at the man and said, "Thank you for taking her, Rower."

  "Anyone who has the coin shall ride the boat and you know how much I love my coins," replied the man named Rower, where it wasn't his first time when it came to taking a soul back to the living world. He looked at Julie, "Hop in before someone notices you or your mother, this is no place for a soul to wander."

  Before Julie placed her foot inside the boat, she quickly hugged her mother, holding her tightly before letting her go. It wasn't easy for Opaline either, but she knew there was more waiting for Julie, and it wasn't here.

  Soon the man named Rower started to row the boat away from the bank of the river, and Julie stared as long as she could at her mother, before the fog came to hinder and hide the place they had left.