The Soul Keeper

I dropped my scythe. My legs refused to move as I froze in place, staring at the spot where one of my friends' name used to be.

My vision blurred. My hands shook and I fell on my knees. "No…" I whispered. "No," I raised my head to look at the mage, the crossbowman and the swordsman. They had turned their attention to me by now. 

I felt as if I was watching them in slow motion as they very slowly ran towards me. They… they had killed someone. They killed her! They killed her!

They killed her!

Before I even noticed, I was at the crossbowman's throat. My hands wrapped around his neck as he desperately struggled to break free. I hissed through my gritted teeth. 

"Why did you kill her? Why?" I shouted; my eyes let out a purple glow as I squeezed herder. A sword came down on my arm, but it bounced off the pale scales appearing where it would have hit.

Black miasma spread from the scythe on the ground behind me. I turned my gaze on the swordsman. His face went pale as he tried to shout something unintelligible. I grabbed his arm with my left hand, while still holding on to the other man's throat.

"Why did you kill her?" I shouted. Flames danced on my skin – black and purple flames that only fed the miasma of the scythe. 

"Let go of them!" The mage shouted. I could see him casting a spell. I clenched my fists. I heard the crossbowman gasping for air as he tried to break free of my unrelenting grasp. 

An explosion shattered the ground around us. My ears ringing, I found myself in the air. It only took me a fraction of a second to regain my balance. I landed on my feet and glared at the source of the explosion – the cloaked person from before.

As a familiar glow appeared around the figure and the three players, my eyes widened with recognition. My expression twisted with pain and wrath as my sword materialised in my hands – not the one Luhen had given me, but the one I made all those months ago. 

As soon as the makeshift crystal sword appeared in my hand, I threw it with all my might.

I heard the cloaked figure's scream just as the group disappeared in a flash of light. It was a woman's scream. Had I perhaps killed her? I didn't think so. I… I…

My thought process shattered. I collapsed on the rocky peak, black miasma surrounding me. The cold, dry wind pulled at my hair and clothes as I stared at my hands. 

I couldn't stop that bolt. I couldn't save her. I… had failed.

Eventually, I returned.

As the slow beat of my wings carried me to the others, I prepared myself.

They soon entered my view. There was no sign of the creatures that attacked us. Even their bodies were gone. 

Everyone had gathered at the centre. As I approached, the low murmur I could faintly hear stopped. I landed not too far away from them and let my slow steps carry me as my wings disappeared in a black mist.

"She…?" I whispered, looking at their pale faces.

As I approached them, they slowly stepped aside, revealing her lifeless body.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I looked at Samantha's almost peaceful expression. The bolt that I failed to stop was buried in her chest. It must have pierced her heart. 

"I'm sorry," I heard Asher's voice in my mind. "I'm so sorry, Kai."

Come dusk, we had all gathered in an opening in the woods just outside Baile Chailce. Black clad Ereth soldiers stood guard as we watched the funeral pyre burn.

Rina and Alex stood by Alina, who was still crying. She hugged her friend's tattered cloak as she watched her lifeless body be swallowed by the flames. 

Erik stood closest to the flames. His face was red from the heat, yet he refused to step away. He watched the flames until there was nothing left, his bloodshot eyes wide open.

Joshua and Vincent waited at the back. Wordless, they were there to support Alina in case she needed it. Though they tried not to show, I was well aware of the pain they were in.

Asher, Lucius and Victoria stood by Mona's group. They were silent, yet I knew how much they blamed themselves. Especially Victoria seemed like she was about to break into tears.

A few other players were also there, though none were from the group that killed Samantha.

I stood farthest from the pyre. No matter how hard I tried to, I couldn't stop replaying those few moments in my mind. Could I have done things differently? Could I have stopped that arrow? Could I have saved Samantha?

Where had I gone wrong? 

By the time the fires went out, most strangers were gone. The Ereth remained – Divine Matriarch Aelith seemed adamant on protecting us from something like this if it ever happened again. 

When only ashes remained, Asher and the others also slowly left. Eventually, Erik, Vincent, Joshua and Alina were all who remained. The blonde priestess sat by a tree and hugged the tattered cloak, hiding her face among the cloth.

I looked away; I couldn't bear to look at her right now. Honestly, I couldn't look at any of them right now. So, I fixed my gaze at the lush green grass beneath my feet. 

I heard footsteps. With a deep breath, I lifted my head, only to be met with a punch to my chin.

I was so surprised that I couldn't even understand what was going on as another my nose met with another fist. I struggled to keep my balance but failed and fell on the grass.

Erik didn't stop there. Despite my bleeding nose and aching chin, he grabbed me by the collar of my clothes and punched me again.

"Hey, Erik!" I heard Vincent's shout as I just barely stopped Erik's punch with my arms. "Stop it!" Joshua shouted.

They grabbed Erik by the arms and pulled him off me. I continued to lie on the grass. His punches really hurt.

"You killed her!" The young paladin shouted at the top of his lungs. "You were there when they shot that bolt! You could have stopped them! You murderer!"

He struggled and broke free of the Kestler brothers' hold. Just as he was about to pounce on me, two black clad Ereth guards stepped in.

"Paladin of Divine Rohir, please." One of them said as even more of them gathered around us. Another one helped me up.

"Thanks," I mumbled as Erik continued to shout how I had killed Samantha.

"Erik please just stop already!" Vincent shouted, but his plea fell on deaf ears. 

"The Divine Matriarch summons you." The guard who helped me up said with a calm, yet cold voice. I clenched my fists. Seeing her was the last thing I needed right now, yet I had to see her. I had to question her about the identity of that cloaked person.

"Right." I mumbled, then glanced at Vincent. He seemed conflicted. His glance jumped between me, Erik and Samantha. 

"Sorry, Kai." He said after a short while. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" 

That was good enough for me. I nodded with a bitter smile, then followed the black clad Ereth guard back to the city. When we arrived at the palace, to my surprise, the guard didn't lead me to the throne room. Instead, we passed through different set of hallways until we ended up before a large, white door.

"This room is given to you. The Divine Matriarch will see you in the morning." He gently, yet firmly pushed me into the room. I heard the door lock turn as soon as the doors closed.

The room was white and golden, just like everything else in the city. It hurt my eyes. I glanced outside from the massive windows – the sun had set a while ago. The city stretching below my feet looked like a sea of light.

Nervous, I paced the floor a while. My face still hurt from Erik's punches. Eventually I collapsed on the fluffy white bed. I couldn't get Erik's expression out of my mind. 

For how long had he known Samantha? I could faintly remember how he first introduced me to them. He had called them friends from high school.

I clenched my fists and buried my head under the fluffy pillow. Of course, he was angry, he'd lost a friend he'd known for so long! He had every right to be angry, sad, disappointed… After all, I had failed to protect her.

I stopped that thought process before I put any more of the blame on myself. Yet, the deafening silence made it very difficult not to think about anything.

I touched the bruised skin on my face and used Soul's Respite. It took the souls only mere seconds to heal me. 

With a sigh, I decided to at least try and sleep. If I were to face Aelith in a sleep deprived state, I'd never get anything useful out of that conversation.

I let the darkness pull my consciousness away, to a restless sleep.