The Soul Keeper

My flames continued to rage, as if I hadn't heard her at all. They grew stronger with each breath I took.

The Divine raised her hand. The golden shine coming from the sky brightened. More magic, more power flowed to the Divine.

In response, I created yet another flaming spear. The black-purple flames spread throughout the room, threatening Alina and Joshua as well.

"So, you will kill them?" The Divine spoke. Her voice filled with satisfaction and arrogance. Her lips formed a disgusting smile. 

A wordless shout left my mouth. A scream – a cry of pain and anger. Wrath and sorrow. 

I heard a woman's cries. Alina shouted something as a golden light shone behind the Divine. My sight snapped to it – so she was still alive! I felt no relief, as I had felt no regret at attempting to kill her.

She had betrayed me. The purple flames leapt towards her, only to be blocked by the Divine's power.

"I will not allow you to harm them, demon!" She declared as my flames relentlessly assaulted her crimson barrier.

All I could think of – all I could see was the golden light behind her. Healing Joshua, only so he could attempt to kill me once more. As if I'd allow that. As if I'd fall for the same thing so many times. 

I needed power. More power. More than I already had. Enough power to burn down those crimson barriers. Enough power to kill the Divine. Enough power to get out of this world. 

I used Soul's Aspect – not with the Phoenix' soul, or with the wyvern's soul, instead, I called upon Rhia's soul. I knew she was the strongest. She had stood against Aelith after all – she had enough power to stall that monster of a Divine. 

Come to me, you want revenge too, don't you?

She had no voice; she couldn't answer me with words. But as her power flowed into me – her knowledge, her memories – I knew she wanted revenge as much as me, perhaps even more than that. My eyes – our eyes – shone with a purple light as my wings burst into flames – purple flames.

"I can't heal him!" Alina's shout echoed from behind the Divine. "The flames won't go out!" 

I could fee my flames burning Joshua. I didn't care.

I raised my hand high as my scythe materialised in my palm. 

"Filthy demon." The Divine spoke. "Don't fret, priestess. The flames will die when he does. The assassin will survive until then." As she spoke, crimson tendrils burst out of the ground around her.

I dashed forward as my flames raged. Rhia's anger and wrath was added to my own. And not just hers, I could feel it from every soul I had taken in. I drew from that hatred and wrath. I allowed it to feed me, to add to my power. 

I allowed it to consume me.

My scythe shattered the barrier the Divine had put forth. Standing at the centre of the room, she flinched, visibly. For only a fraction of a second, fear flashed across her face. Her expression twisted, but she quickly regained her composure.

She raised her hand, calling forth more power from the Divine Pillar. The golden lines reaching to the sky pulsated with power. 

A blade made of pure golden light appeared in her hands. She raised it just in time to stop the crystalline blade of my scythe.

We remained locked like that for a moment before she pushed me back. I dashed towards her as soon as I regained my balance – I wasn't going to let her get away. 

Wrath and anger consumed me as I struck her again and again. With each one of my strikes, she moved a little bit backwards and I stepped forward. My last strike somehow got through her defences, leaving a deep cut in her forearm. 

Genuine shock appeared on her face as she stumbled back. I was ready to chase her but stopped right before I took a step. 

What was this symbol the golden lines of the Divine Pillar had created on the ground? 

"Too scared to finish the job?" Her voice sounded. "You're pathetic, even for a demon."

My sight snapped back to her. What was that all about? I glanced at the symbol on the ground. Did she… was she trying to lure me to step in it?

My foot was right at the edge of it. 

I could fee the souls' wish – they wanted me to kill her. They were urging me to chase her. Yet, Rhia seemed to have calmed down somewhat. She was silent. In fact, she was almost wary.

It took some effort, but I took a small step back.

Why? Do you want to die that much?

"Stop that." She shook her head. I could see her clenched fists. So that was her angle – whatever she needed me for required that symbol on the ground. "Stop talking like him." 

I didn't care much for her words. I wasn't sure who she was talking about. I took another step back.

"So what, you're going to cower now?" She asked with a wicked grin on her face. Yet, her eyes showed a different expression. Fear and worry. Because I had just stopped acting like she expected me to.

I'm done. 

I turned my back on her, only to see Alina running towards me. Before I could react, she threw herself into the flames surrounding me and hit me with all her strength and weight.

I stumbled back.

Pain jolted through my body as my grasp on my power slipped. The flames around us disappeared, until nothing but embers remained. Purple embers, much like those on my wings. The strength in my legs disappeared as I felt to the ground. I could feel the golden light of the Divine Pillar burning my skin, dissolving what little power I had left until nothing remained.

"You are done." The Divine spoke as she stepped closer. I reached for my scythe that lay on the ground just outside the symbol's lines. As soon as my fingers touched the golden light shining from the shape on the ground, I pulled my hand back. It felt as if lightning had struck me.

"You've lost." 

She gave me no time to react. Crimson tendrils burst from the cracks right outside the shape on the ground and wrapped themselves around my wrists and legs tightly. The divine slowly approached me as I lay helplessly on the ground. 

"Good job, priestess." A long object wrapped in cloth appeared in her hands. "You'll do the honours, as I'll be casting the spell."

Alina nodded, out of breath. Her skin was burnt and her clothes dirty with blood. She took the object wrapped in cloth and slowly undid the wrapping.

"It's beautiful," She said with a weird expression on her face. I had never seen her like that before. 

She held the sword the Divine gave her over my chest. Its sharp end was all I could look at.

My senses sharpened as I felt the Divine's magic pulsate around us. I struggled to free myself – to get out of the hold of these tendrils and escape, but the more I struggled the tighter their hold became.

"This is for Samantha." She whispered as she raised the sword.

The smell of blood invaded my nostrils. I watched helplessly as the woman standing over me raised her sword. I was completely drained, I had no mana left, no items, nothing. As the crimson tendrils held me down by my arms and legs, all I could do was wait for my death. 

As the sword drew near, I felt the last bit of courage I had disappear. I was going to die. Alone. In this god forsaken place filled with evil. And for what? To protect those 'friends'? The same people who mocked me, took advantage of, and used me?

Oh, who am I trying to fool? I was here only because of my own greed. Because I wanted to be useful to someone. Because I wanted that group to need me. To value me. To have a reason to keep me around. How naïve I was, thinking that power would grant those wishes. All it did was help build a wall between me and everyone else. 

The sword approached. I saw the purple light reflect off the sword's blade. After everything I went through, I hadn't expected my death to be by the hands of another player. I saw her smile, but this time I didn't think it was beautiful. It was an ugly smile because it was genuine. She was enjoying watching me die. She was enjoying killing me. 

The sword struck my chest and pierced my heart. I let out a scream of pain and agony. The pain was so real, all of this was so real. It shouldn't be, but it was. What should have been a simple game had become my new reality – all of our new reality. A reality filled with magic, war, blood, and death. 

My vision darkened as the pain slowly faded. I felt the last of my vitality leave my body. It felt cold. I wondered to myself, when would I stop being? When would my thoughts disappear?

Soon, I saw those words I feared for all this time, appear before me. "DEATH", in the pale blue font the game always used. They remained suspended in the air for several seconds. It was over. After a long time of fighting, grinding, and exploring, it was finally over. 

I had died. 

This was the end of my story.