The Soul Keeper

We stepped outside the cave to be met with the smell of wet earth and fresh air. The sunlight shone from between the clouds. It dyed the entire forest golden as we watched. A short moment later, leaves turned green and the sky blue.

"Well," Asher glanced at the sky. A few rare raindrops still dribbled as he smiled. "This is a nice view after yesterday's storm."

I nodded. "Especially after spending the entire night in a cave." Lucius added. He stretched his legs and glanced at the peak, now somewhat visible through the clouds. "Looks like it gets quite steep." His grin disappeared as understanding dawned on him. "Wait, we're not going to fly, are we?"

I couldn't help but laugh. A powerful and skilled fighter like him was so terrified of heights. It kind of reminded me of Alex and her arachnophobia. My smile faded as I remembered Alex's collapsed state.

"Anyways," I said, looking away. "Let's go." I didn't want to think about the dead and dying right now.

They nodded and we were soon on our way. I didn't suggest flying – I didn't want Asher to expend his mana and I needed Lucius to be in condition to fight. We didn't know what we would find up there, at the peak of this massive mountain.

As we climbed, I couldn't help but think of that dream I had. Who was that man? I had a vague guess, though I genuinely hoped I was wrong. Because if I wasn't…

"…Kai? Hey, Kai?" Lucius's voice pulled me away from my thoughts. "Look." He pointed ahead. I followed his gaze to see ruins. Pieces of walls, a column here and there were scattered along the narrow path we followed.

"I wonder when the Ereth lived here." The young man mumbled. Asher shot an odd glance at Lucius as I shook my head. "No Ereth lived here." I could sense the lingering magic here. "These are demonic ruins."

Lucius' steps slowed as his expression darkened. "I see." Without a moment of hesitation, he summoned his inventory and took his sword out. He was ready in case anything decided to attack us.

"How old are these?" I asked, glancing at Asher. The blonde man ran his fingers through his hair and crouched by one of the pillars supporting what remained of a roof. He gently touched the darkened pillar, inspected it.

"I don't know for sure." He said, getting back up on his feet and dusting off his cloak. "If I didn't care about the game's lore at all, my answer would be several hundred years." He shot me an odd glance. "Close to a millennium, even."

My eyes widened. "If you cared about the lore?" I asked, hesitantly. Asher sighed and looked up at the sky. "I'd say that these shouldn't exist."

Silence followed his words as we all pondered. The demon invasion had happened about a century ago, if the Ereth libraries were to be believed. Yet here, we were looking at ruins that proved otherwise.

"We should keep going." Asher suddenly said. "We can think about all this later, after we have the primal core of water in our hands."

Lucius sighed, yet nodded. "Yes, that's more urgent." He grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the ruins. "Let's go, Kai."

I didn't resist. I felt like we were missing a single, important piece of information. If we had that, most, if not all of our questions would be answered. Lost in thought, we walked up. As we passed through the layer of clouds, I couldn't help but release some of my flames to keep us dry and warm.

"Man, it's really cold up here." Lucius said. The narrow dirt path we were using up until now was getting steeper and steeper as we approached the summit. "And I'm exhausted." He said, despite not being out of breath.

I glanced at Asher. "Do you mind if we take a short break here?" I asked. He seemed somewhat surprised but shook his head. "Good idea," He said, out of breath. We sat on the rocky surface. The cold wind pulled at our clothes, but my flames kept us warm.

"You've gotten much better at controlling them." Asher said with a smile as he watched the flames dancing on his clothes. "If you tried this a few weeks ago, I'd be burning alive."

I laughed. "As if I'm strong enough to hurt you." Lucius raised his eyebrows and glanced at the smug sorcerer. Asher shook his head. "I don't know, Kai." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "I don't remember me ever making a decision since we got here."

I flinched. "I, uh." My voice faded. He was right, I had been the one deciding things. I had been the one choosing whether I wanted to share information or not.

"You're getting stronger." He said, poking the fire on his clothes. "I'm not talking about your levels, or the souls you've collected. I'm talking about the way you think and act." He glanced at the summit. "You're not that scared child anymore."

I chuckled. "You've overestimating-"

"No, he's right." Lucius cut me off. "You're different."

I hesitated. How was I supposed to respond to that? I did feel different. I was angry and annoyed. I was tired and, probably most importantly, I had a goal. A reason to fight. People I wanted to protect.

"It's not a bad thing." Asher added, seeing my hesitation. "But it's a bit weird to see someone change so quickly. It's actually one of the reasons I didn't let you come here on your own."

I sighed and shook my head. They were just being overly dramatic. "Ok, looks like you've rested enough." I grinned and got back up on my feet. "Let's go."

Lucius laughed while Asher's smile disappeared. "Oh, come on! That's just cruel, Kai!"

Yet, despite his protests, we soon were on our way. We climbed the narrow, twisting path. As the sun began to set, we finally arrived at the summit.

"Oh my god." Asher whispered as our gazes fell on the massive building standing before us. "This thing is completely intact!"