The Soul Keeper

The words faded. Now, only darkness remained. Cold, freezing darkness.

Suspended in nothingness, I drifted. My consciousness didn't fade – was this what death was like? Had Samantha been like this ever since she died too?

How long would it take for me to disappear completely?

I waited – there was nothing I could do.

My memories slowly began to scatter. How had I gotten here again? Oh, right. Alina killed me.

She killed me with a smile on her lips, and the glitter of revenge and satisfaction in her eyes.

I wanted to get angry, but I couldn't focus on that memory for long enough. The flames of anger that appeared quickly turned into cinders. I forgot – what was I thinking about again?

Oh, right. The blade she thrust into my chest. I felt the pain of death again. If I had a body, I would have shuddered. 

Why was it so cold?

My thoughts scattered again. It was getting more difficult to form a complete thought. Why? Oh, right. I had died.

I wondered how many times I had forgotten and remembered again. Three? Five? Ten? Hundreds of times? How much time had passed since I…? 

I forgot. 

Again.

I think.

I wanted to feel annoyed, but since I wasn't sure what to be annoyed at, I failed at that too. 

Oh, another memory flashed before me. 

Aoife and I were training. Mother was watching us, a smile on her face. Faint, but still visible. It shattered when someone else, my uncle entered the training hall.

Both Aoife and I stopped – what was he doing here? He had left a long time ago. When had he returned?

"Hey there kids!" He smiled. A wide, loving smile, yet I felt something bitter in it too. 

"When did you come back, uncle?" Aoife asked. She had always loved him. Probably because she had gotten to spend more time with him.

He chuckled. "Just now. I'll be leaving again – I just want to see your faces." 

He and Mother looked so much alike. He also had the same long, crimson hair and bright blue eyes. Just like me. Aoife was the odd one out of our family – she looked more like dad, with her curly, dark brown hair and green eyes. Yet, she was the more talented of the two of us.

"Come on, give your uncle a hug." He said, kneeling down on the sand covered floor. 

Aoife ran toward him. I was a bit slower – he scared me a little. 

We both gave him a hug, and he patted my head and ruffled my hair. "You've grown taller Kai." He chuckled. "You look just like your mom." 

"Brother," I heard Mother's voice, whatever warmth there was in her smile as she watched us had disappeared. "Come, let's walk together." She brushed past him on her way out of the training hall. "You two, keep training," She said, glancing at us.

As they left, I could see their cold expressions and rigid, stiff movements. I felt as if something was very, very wrong.

The memory faded. Why had that day come to mind again?

I wasn't sure. I had seen my uncle only thrice after that. Once, the next year, once the night of that incident, and once when I left home. 

If I could, I would have a bitter smile just about now. I missed him. I missed Mother too. And Aoife – my sister, with a smile brighter than the sun itself. She was kind, like our father, and strong, like Mother.

I felt a little sad. Then, I forgot my thoughts.

Another memory flashed before me.

"That's a neat trick." Uncle said as he put the tip of his sword against my neck. "But you need to work on it." He helped me up. 

Somewhat annoyed, I nodded. 

"Why haven't you shown it to me before?" He asked, a faint smile on his lips.

"Mother said to keep it a secret until the tournament." I bent down and took the sword I had dropped in hand. "But I didn't need it there either."

He chuckled. "Well, of course you didn't. But let's try and refine it, shall we?" A bright smile – the one he always had when it was time to fight. He loved it, the thrill of the fight, the clashing of blades, the danger…

And so did I. 

"Sure." I mumbled and readied myself.

He was the one to attack first. His height gave him a range advantage that he used to the fullest. His sword relentlessly struck mine, pushing me back with each and every strike. I held on – all I had to do was pull off that move, wasn't it?

His flurry of attacks eventually stopped, allowing me to go on the offensive. I struck his blade a few times, then fainted my strike.

I could see his eyes glimmer with understanding – he knew what I was about to do. So, I did something no sane person would try in a swordfight. I let go of the hilt of my sword, allowing it to fall.

I turned my body to avoid uncle's next strike and caught the falling sword with my left hand. Now was my chance! 

Yet, I found his blade at my throat once again.

"Not bad at all," He said with a grin. "The transition is slow; you need to work on that."

The memory began to fade. I remembered him shuffling my hair before it completely shattered. I missed him.

It took some effort to picture his face, and then I lost that too. What did he look like? What did anyone look like?

I searched my memories, only to find fragments that didn't even belong to me. I saw Delthur's childhood from Rhia's memories. I saw the Demon Lord from the wyvern's memories. I saw the forests and mountains of Erdrin from the phoenix' memories. 

Why had this happened? How had I ended up here?

Another memory flashed before my eyes. Aoife and Mother had just left. Dad wasn't home either. I was alone in that large, wooden house. Perhaps ten years of age, I watched the rain from the first floor windows. At first, it was just a normal, rainy night. But as minutes passed, the wind started to pick up. I could hear it whistling as it blew through the cracks. 

I shivered. It had grown cold all of a sudden. The rain picked up as well, and soon I could hear thunder from afar. Then, lightning began to strike. It started in the distance, but soon both the rumbling and the flashes of light began to near the house.

I pulled a blanket over my head as I waited. When were Mother and Aoife coming home? I was worried – what if they were out there in the storm?

Then, a deafening explosion sounded, and light blinded me. I fell on my back in fear and shock. It took a moment for my sight to return, and a bit more than that for my hearing.

I got up, taking some support from the couch I was sitting on and ran to where the I heard the explosion. My eyes widened as soon as I opened the door. The wind pushed me back as the rain soaked me. 

The large tree that I loved playing in so much was charred. I could see the flames inside the trunk while the pouring rain put out the exterior of it. It looked almost magical. 

"No, no!" That was my tree! That was where I went when I wanted to hide, when I wanted to feel safe, when I wanted to be alone. Seeing it in cinders, I could feel something break within me.

Tears flowed down my cheek. "No…" I slumped to the ground as the cold rainwater rained on me. I don't know how long I remained there for – maybe minutes, maybe hours. It was until a warm hand touched my shoulder.

"Kai," I heard my uncle's gentle voice. I shivered – when had he gotten home? He was away again, as always, I didn't know he was going to come back. "You're going to catch a cold." He said softly. He lifted me up and carried me back inside. 

"Come, let's get you to bed."

"The tree," I cried, tears still flowing. "Lightning struck my tree. It's gone now, it's dead!"

He helped dry my hair and let me change into new, dry clothes, then tucked me into bed. "It's alive, it'll thrive one day again." He said with a gentle smile. "You just need to take good care of it until then. I'll teach you how, ok?"

I nodded, then the memory shattered, just like the others.

My mind remained empty for a while. I hadn't thought about that event in a long time. 

How much time had passed since I died? 

I couldn't help but wonder, what was Asher doing? What about Erik? And Lucius too, he must have been devastated. 

What about Alina and Joshua? Had the treacherous young man survived? Or had he died to my flames?

My memory shattered – what was I feeling so angry about? 

Another memory floated into my mind – once again, I was in my past.