Run: 2026-02-19-01KHSZCS6PJ73PTQBGN1GQG9VG

Aurora stopped at the threshold of the ancient oak standing stones, her fingers clutching the Heartstone Pendant that hung from her neck. It pulsed with an unusual warmth—not the familiar heat that signaled a Hel portal, but something different, more rhythmic, like a heartbeat responding to the place itself. "We're here," Isolde announced, her silver hair catching the fading sunlight as she glided forward, leaving no imprints on the soft grass beneath. "The Grove welcomes you." Aurora exchanged glances with Nyx, whose shadowy form rippled slightly at the edges. The Shade hovered just behind her, their violet eyes narrowing as they surveyed the ancient stones. "The Veil is thin here," Nyx whispered, their voice like dry leaves rustling across stone. "I can feel it... breathing." Aurora swallowed hard and stepped forward, crossing between two massive oak pillars. The air shimmered around her, distorting like heat waves rising from summer pavement. For a heartbeat, resistance pushed against her skin—then suddenly released, like breaking through the surface of water. Inside, everything changed. The muted sounds of Richmond Park—distant traffic, dogwalkers, the occasional airplane—vanished completely. Instead, a symphony of unfamiliar birdsong filled the air, intermingled with what sounded like tiny bells chiming on no discernible breeze. The sky above was still blue, but deeper, more vibrant, scattered with stars despite the daylight. "What the hell?" Aurora breathed, turning in a slow circle. The clearing before them stretched impossibly far—much larger than what should have fit in this section of Richmond Park. Wildflowers carpeted the ground in patches of color that seemed to shift when she wasn't looking directly at them. Nyx slipped through the barrier, their form momentarily stretching thin before reconstituting beside her. "Time flows differently here," they said, their violet eyes scanning the horizon. "An hour inside can be minutes outside. Or days." "You neglected to mention that part," Aurora muttered, shooting a glance at Isolde. The half-Fae merely smiled, her pale lavender eyes reflecting light that seemed to come from nowhere. "Would knowledge have changed necessity? The Grove reveals what needs revealing." "Riddles. Brilliant," Aurora sighed, but curiosity was already overwhelming her caution. The three of them ventured deeper into the grove. Massive trees unlike any Aurora had seen in Britain stood sentinel throughout the clearing—their bark spiraled in impossible patterns, and their leaves shimmered between green and silver with each subtle movement of air. Small lights darted between branches, too deliberate to be fireflies. "Are those...?" Aurora pointed. "Lesser fae," Isolde replied. "Pixies, mostly. They're curious about you." Her silver hair lifted slightly in a breeze that touched nothing else. "They rarely see humans here." "Should I be worried?" Aurora's hand instinctively moved to the Fae-Forged Blade at her hip. The moonsilver dagger felt unusually cold against her palm, even through its sheath. "Not of them," Isolde said cryptically, continuing forward. They walked toward the center of the grove, where a circle of mushrooms surrounded a pool of water so still it looked like polished obsidian. As they drew closer, Aurora noticed that the flowers underfoot changed with each step—first bluebells, then tiny star-shaped blooms she didn't recognize, then delicate orchids that should never have survived in British weather. "The flora responds to our presence," Nyx observed, trailing shadow fingers over a crimson flower that curled toward their touch like a cat seeking affection. "This place is semi-sentient." "Everything Fae-touched has some measure of awareness," Isolde explained, stepping gracefully over the mushroom ring and kneeling beside the pool. "Come. Look." Aurora hesitated at the ring of mushrooms. Every story she'd ever heard warned against stepping into a fairy ring. But Nyx drifted across without hesitation, their shadowy form reflecting on the water's surface despite their usual lack of reflection in normal mirrors. Curiosity won. Aurora stepped over the threshold and immediately felt a strange weightlessness, as if gravity had loosened its hold slightly. The Heartstone Pendant at her throat grew warmer. She knelt beside Isolde and peered into the pool. Instead of seeing her own reflection, she saw... stars. An endless field of stars swirling in patterns that hurt her eyes to follow. "What is this place, really?" Aurora asked, her voice hushed. "A nexus," Isolde replied, trailing slender fingers across the water's surface. The stars beneath rippled but didn't break. "Where realms touch. Earth, Fae, and—" she paused, glancing at the pendant around Aurora's neck, "—other places." "Dymas," Nyx said flatly, violet eyes fixed on the pendant. "That's why your stone reacts here. This grove touches the realm of Gluttony." Aurora's fingers wrapped protectively around the crimson stone. "But why would a Fae-touched place connect to Hel?" "Boundaries are rarely neat lines," Isolde said. "They overlap, like watercolors bleeding together. This pool reflects all realms that touch this spot." Aurora leaned closer to the water, and the stars shifted to form new patterns. For a moment, she glimpsed amber skies and sprawling vineyards—Dymas, she realized with a shudder, recognizing it from her previous accidental journey there. The image wavered and dissolved, replaced by a forest of trees with luminescent bark and leaves like diamonds. "The Fae Realms," Isolde whispered, a note of longing in her voice. As they watched, the pool's surface began to change again, but Nyx suddenly hissed, their form expanding into a protective shadow around Aurora. "Something watches us through the water," the Shade warned. Isolde immediately waved her hand over the pool, and the surface froze into actual obsidian. "We've attracted attention. Move away." They retreated from the mushroom ring, and Aurora felt that strange gravity return to normal. The sky above had darkened imperceptibly while they were at the pool, now a deep indigo scattered with impossible constellations. "Was that... Belphegor?" Aurora asked, remembering the Prince of Gluttony from her previous encounter. "No." Isolde shook her head, silver hair swaying. "Something older. The Grove has guardians from all touching realms." Aurora's hand dropped to the Fae blade again, drawing comfort from its cold touch. "Are we in danger?" "Not immediately," Isolde said, leading them toward a circle of standing stones different from the ones they'd entered through. These were made of some crystalline substance that caught light from no visible source. "But we should continue moving." As they approached the crystal stones, Aurora noticed the ground beneath their feet had changed from grass to moss that glowed faintly with each footfall, leaving temporarily luminescent prints behind them—except for Isolde, who continued to leave no mark at all. "Look," Nyx murmured, pointing to a tree near the crystal circle. Fruits hung from its branches, shaped like pomegranates but glowing with an inner amber light reminiscent of Dymasian skies. The scent wafting from them was intoxicating—spiced honey and summer wine. "Dymasian dreamfruit," Isolde explained. "The Grove borrows from all its touching realms. Never eat what grows here unless you wish to be bound to the place that spawned it." Aurora nodded, but couldn't help staring at the fruit. She'd eaten in Dymas before, during her brief imprisonment there. The pendant at her throat seemed to pulse in time with the fruit's subtle glow. "We're being called forward," Nyx observed, their shadowy form stretching toward the crystal stones. "The Grove is directing our path." Aurora glanced back the way they'd come, but the entrance stones were no longer visible. Instead, the forest had closed in behind them, trees shifting their positions when she wasn't looking directly at them. "I didn't think we'd walked that far," she said uneasily. "Distance is as fluid as time here," Isolde replied. "The Grove shows what it wishes you to see." With little choice, they continued toward the crystal stones, which seemed to sing at a frequency just below hearing as they drew closer.