AN: For those concerned about my car accident, don't worry, I wasn't injured at all. It did shake me up for a while and it's been really stressful dealing with insurance. But playing games helped me relax and now I'm pretty much back to normal.

Chapter 3:

Though Gehenna feared what would happen when she removed the veil on the unnatural link, she shouldn't have worried quite as much. There wasn't the immediate flood she thought would happen, instead, a few ghost animals found their way through and her Halfa was able to deal with them. But then one day, her Halfa's father decided to sit outside the portal and through in a line of wire before pulling back and repeating the process. It was harmless, but the sight of a real-world object moving back and forth was bound to draw attention soon. And indeed it did.

Princess Dora was angry and in her dragon form, flying through Gehenna's realm when the wire flew right in front of her. Dora snapped at it in anger, clenching it in her jaw. She followed it back to its source where Gehenna's young Halfa was waiting. After a short battle, Princess Dora returned to the Ghost Zone and Gehenna's Halfa left for school. What Princess Dora didn't realize in her frustrated state was that her amulet had been left in Gaia's realm. Gehenna tried to gently remind her of the object, but Dora wasn't open to her promptings in her current state.

It took a little over a day for Princess Dora to finally calm down enough to realize she was missing something and she began to look around frantically for where she had dropped it. Feeling that Dora was more open to guidance, Gehenna compressed her conscious into her physical form and floated up to the Princess. Dora ignored Gehenna at first before staying at her more closely.

"Great Mother," Princess Dora greeted hastily once she recognized Gehenna, dropping into a curtsy. "I am humbled that such a divine being has graced me with her presence. How may I serve you."

Gehenna wasn't at all surprised that Dora could see her. When Dora had been human, she had grown up in a very superstitious time and the nature of the realm she now lived in made sure those beliefs stayed strong. Though it was doubtful that Dora's brother Aragon would be able to see Gehenna. His Arrogance and Vanity would prevent him from acknowledging anything greater than himself, even if Gehenna displayed the full might of her powers. But Dora was open and needed her comfort and guidance, which Gehenna would happily provide.

"I know you've lost something of great importance to you and I am here to help you," Gehenna replied with a loving smile. "The object you seek currently resides in the mortal world. If you go through the unnatural link, I know you'll be able to find it."

"Thank you, Great Mother," Dora curtsied again. "I shall make haste to retrieve it. I am grateful that you will honor me with your guidance."

"I'll always help my children if they are open to my influence," Gehenna said, lifting Dora's chin gently so she could see Dora's eyes. "And I will continue to do so until my last child passes from my realm. If you ever need my guidance in the future or even just some comfort, just call out for me. I'm always around and always listening."

"I shall take your words to heart," Dora replied with a smile, trying to hold back tears of relief. Gehenna smiled again before letting go of Dora and floating back slightly. Dora took her cue and began to fly towards the unnatural link.

"One last thing Dora," Gehenna called as her body began to dissipate, causing the princess to pause and look back. "It will get better. You won't remain under your brother's shadow forever, I promise."

Gehenna may not be able to see the future as clearly or as accurately as her son, but she could still feel the general flow of where things were heading and the things she could say or do to help guide towards a brighter future. Dora was so stunned by what Gehenna had said that she wasn't able to reply before Gehenna's body completely dissipated back into her realm. Dora just floated there for a few moments, trying to process the whole encounter, before she continued her flight towards the unnatural link, feeling a bit more hopeful than she had in a long time.

Dora was able to return to Gehenna's realm after successfully reuniting with her amulet and making her way home. After Dora's adventure, more sentient ghosts than just the animals began finding their way towards the unnatural link, the box ghost most frequently. Ghenna's young Halfa slowly fell into the habit of patrolling for her stray children and returning them to her realm, though he was still trying to figure out how to balance his human life with his ghostly activities.

Unfortunately, this would not be getting any easier for him for a while. For while ghost animals were the most common to come across the unnatural link, Gehenna's more sentient children were the ones that started spreading stories of its existence and her Halfa that guarded it. Now, the stories were still too few to convince a lot of her children of the unnatural link's existence, but a few curious ghosts would start to search for it. And all these stories also attracted the ear of the most feared hunter of the Gehenna's realm.

Skulker was always on the lookout for new prey and unique prey. He had gone after the older halfa at first, but because he already had so much experience with his powers before Skulker had come across him, Skulker had decided he valued his own existence more than getting a new trophy. So when he heard the stories of a new unnatural link with a very young halfa guarding it, Skulker was eager to get his hands on him.

Gehenna was worried for her young Halfa, having seen for herself how relentless Skulker could be when it came to perusing his prey. She tried to lead Skulker astray from where the unnatural link resided, but his tracking skills could not be fooled for long. He soon found the unnatural link and eagerly crossed over to begin his hunt, leaving Gehenna to wait fearfully behind and hope her Halfa was ready for what lay ahead.