The Soul Keeper

"You-" I stopped, looking at her bright smile and teary eyes. "Why though?" I cried out in confusion. I couldn't fathom why and how she'd follow me here. 

"Well," She said, looking at the tomb. Her smile faded as her expression darkened. "I was worried about you. You left the city so quickly, I thought you were going to try and get revenge." She fiddled with her long hair. 

"Oh," I mumbled. "I didn't want to waste time we honestly don't have." I hesitated. "And if I just sat there doing nothing but rot in my own sorrow, Samantha would be disappointed, wouldn't she?" I forced a faint smile. I wasn't lying – if I gave myself any more time to mourn, I'd never be able to pull myself together in time.

"I see." Mona smiled and stood up. "I guess everyone grieves in a different way." She glanced at the tomb. "The same could be said about that demon, couldn't it?" She asked.

I flinched. How much had she seen; I wonder? "Yes." I instinctively touched my chest. I could feel her. Rhia, the demon who sacrificed herself to protect the lands beyond this point. The young girl who wanted nothing more but save her dear brother. 

"Are you sure you're ok, Kai?" She asked as my mind began to drift. I quickly snapped out of it and nodded. "I'm fine, just really tired." How much did she know? 

Footsteps echoed through the hallway. I forced myself to get up as Asher and Lucius entered my view. Lucius' expression changed from worry to relief in an instant as he ran up to me and gave me a hug, immediately followed by a punch to my shoulder. "What the hell were you thinking Kai?" He shouted. 

"He was angry the whole time." Asher explained as I tried to calm the young man down. "He also wants to have a word with you later, though you may need some protection for that." 

Mona giggled as I sighed. "Sorry, Lucius." I understood how worried he was, but there was something I wanted to talk to him about as well. Mainly, his attitude in this last fight.

"Mona," Asher suddenly spoke. "I get that you followed us by transforming into a bird, but I'm sure you didn't come inside as a bird. What exactly did you do that none of us noticed you?" 

That was a perfectly valid question that I'd love to hear the answer to as well.

"Let a girl have her secrets." Mona said with a cheerful smile. She glanced at Lucius. "You guys still have some stuff to do here, right? I'll keep watch at the entrance." 

Surprising enough, Asher accepted her answer. "We'll be there shortly." With that, Mona quickly left.

"I wonder what that was all about." Lucius mumbled. Asher sighed. "She's a druid – being underground must be quite challenging for her. Especially in a tainted and corrupted place such as this." His blue eyes focused on me. "Kai, what are you planning after this?"

I hesitated. "I need to go back and report to Aelith." I couldn't risk incurring wrath right now. Not yet. 

"Before you do that, we need to talk," Lucius said with a dark expression. Just from his heavy tone, I could easily guess that he, or maybe both of them, had something important to tell me. "Alright." There wasn't really much else I could say.

Whatever they wanted to talk about would have to wait until Mona left. There was no point in worrying about any of that right now. I looked around the room until my gaze stopped as it fell on the tomb

I approached it with slow steps. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged from the battle. I could feel a lump in my throat as I slowly reached out and gently touched the stone slab covering the tomb.

"Who rests there?" Asher asked after a moment of silence.

"Rhia." I said as I felt her soul stir within me. "Delthur's sister." I glanced at the blonde sorcerer. "She died to protect this place from Divine Matriarch Aelith." 

"I see." 

We stood there in silence for a short while, then I slowly stepped away from the tomb. "Let's remove the core." I said, knowing that Rhia didn't want me to do that.

As I made my way over to the circular room, I could feel her soul trying to burst out. I could hear her wordless whispers. Trapping me in her memories had cost her what little amount of power she had amassed in these last few centuries. Now, the only thing that made her more present than the nameless, faceless souls within me was her seemingly endless willpower and determination.

"What is this, I wonder," I said as I approached the core. It looked like an egg, no larger than my fist. Despite the demonic magic spreading from it, it almost seemed tranquil.

"It looks like an egg, but I can't tell you anything more than that." Asher said with a sigh. "Will you destroy it?"

I took a deep breath and reached for the egg. As my fingers touched it, I felt Rhia's pain. She feared this things destruction so much that it affected me, physically. 

"Damn it…" I mumbled as I removed it from the pedestal. "No, I won't destroy it." I said with a sigh. As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt Rhia's relief. I placed the egg in my inventory and directed my gaze at the purple veins on the ground. "Now, how to get rid of these…"

A memory flashed before my eyes as soon as I spoke. Nearly losing my balance, I held on to the pedestal for support. 

"Kai, what's wrong?" Asher's worried voice sounded. I shook my head and focused on the memory. She was showing me how she'd cast the spell. All I had to do was to reverse it. I took a deep breath and let go of the pedestal. 

"I'll purify this place." I said, glancing at Asher and Lucius. "Be ready to run to the exit in case the place decides to collapse. Asher, make sure you have a spell ready for it." Asher nodded while Lucius seemed even more concerned than before. I took a deep breath. "Here we go."

I placed my palms on the pedestal and allowed the veins of demonic magic to connect with my hands. I expected a burning sensation, something painful and unpleasant. Instead, I felt the cool touch of the night breeze. At least, that's what this demonic magic reminded me of. I allowed it to flow into my body. I could feel the souls of demons within me stir, this was a sustenance for them. They grew in power, and with them, so did I.

I closed my eyes and allowed the process to happen. I don't know exactly how long it took, but when I opened my eyes, there were no more purple veins in the ground.

"Are you ok?" Was the first thing Asher asked me when I opened my eyes. I nodded, I felt renewed almost. And relieved. With this, I had completed the mission Divine Matriarch Aelith had given me. Erik and the others were safe for now and I wasn't in any immediate danger by one or more of the divines. I think.

"Let's go before this place collapses." We left the room and climbed up the stairs. We climbed out the cut bars and finally made our way to the surface. 

Mona was sitting on the grass, not too far from here, enjoying the warmth of the sun. I covered my eyes with my hand – the sunlight still hurt. A lot.

"Mona, we're done." I called out to her. Startled, she jumped on her feet and turned towards us. Her expression softened as soon as she saw us. "Oh hey!" She grinned. "You scared me!" 

"What's your plan now, Mona?" Asher asked. The cheerful druid laughed. "I just got word from Laura – we'll meet up and do some quests." She glanced at us. "Do you guys want to join in?"

I smiled, "I don't think we should butt in. Besides, I want to check up on the others." I was especially worried about Alina. She seemed devastated on the night of the funeral. I knew she was closest with Samantha. 

"That's a good idea." Mona said, her smile fading. "I'll see you again soon then." She hesitated. "And Kai?" She asked right as she turned her back on us. "I'd like to talk to you when you get the chance."

A lump appeared in my throat. "Of course. Let's meet back in Baile Chailce soon."

She smiled and nodded, then turned into an eagle and flew off.

We watched her until she was out of sight. Lucius kept his eyes on her even after Asher and I couldn't see her anymore. After maybe a minute, he also looked away.

"I suggest we begin our journey to Baile Chailce tomorrow." Asher said, glancing at the sky. "For today, we should find a place to set up camp and rest."

Lucius sighed, then nodded. "Agreed." He glanced at me. I also nodded. It was already late in the afternoon. Even if we began flying back to the city, we wouldn't make much progress before nightfall.

It didn't take us long to decide to go back to the alcove we used the other night. We knew it was safe and it was easy to set up camp there.

We dug the firepit and prepared our blankets. Once our preparations were complete, I finally decided to ask.

"So," I said, taking a deep breath. "What was it you wanted to talk about."