The Soul Keeper

Silence followed my words.

"That's enough." Asher's cold voice startled both of us. "Both of you, calm down." He pushed us away from each other. "Kai, you have to understand how Lucius feels – he's not wrong, you've changed. You're much more focused on revenge rather than getting everyone out of here." 

I gritted my teeth. "Of course I want to get everyone out of here!" I exclaimed, but Asher was quick to interrupt me. 

"Shut up and listen. I never said you're wrong to focus on that – I'm fairly sure all of us would do the same thing. And that's fine – but don't lose sight of our real goal, ok?" 

He turned his gaze on Lucius. "And you need to calm down too. Kai quite literally died. We don't know what that feels like – we can't know that!" He pushed a loose stand of hair away from his face as he clearly gathered his thoughts. "It's natural that he's changed. Anyone would, after going through all that." He narrowed his eyes. "So, don't lash out at him to hide your own insecurities, ok?"

Lucius flinched. "I'm not…" His voice faded. He looked away.

Asher sighed and shook his head. I loosened my hands and took a deep breath to calm myself down. Asher was right – this heated argument was meaningless. Well, to me anyways. It did seem to indicative of a bigger and more important issue concerning Lucius though.

"Lucius?" I asked once I was sure my voice was as calm as possible. "Did something happen?"

The young swordsman shook his head. "No. Sorry. Let's just go." With that, he quickly set off towards our goal – the tower Asher and I had explored months ago. 

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, glancing at the blonde sorcerer. He shrugged. "I honestly don't know. We only met up a couple of days ago – we were both doing our own thing before then." He sighed, then gestured me to follow him. "Let's not get left behind." 

With that, we quickly caught up with Lucius, though he clearly wanted to keep his distance a little since he hastened his steps as soon as we were close enough. With a shrug, I slowed my steps. If he wanted some time for himself, who was I to take that from him.

"Why did you kill the two guards?" Asher suddenly asked. I shrugged. Saying they deserved it was a bit much, but they did seem to be in on the whole 'keeping my predecessor's past a secret' plot. 

"I couldn't let them go back and tell the Divines that I survived. That would be end of whatever I wanted to do." Asher nodded in agreement, though I could see the doubt in his eyes. I pondered whether I should ask him about it, but then decided not to. If he wanted to share something, he would. 

"Guys." Lucius' sharp voice startled us. The young man's sword appeared in his hand as he looked around us. "I think something just spotted us." His gaze scoured the woods around us.

"What makes you say that?" Asher asked. Despite his easy-going voice, lightning had already begun to crackle in his raised palm.

Lucius didn't answer – his gaze focused on the sky. I looked up, following his gaze. Then, I saw it.

"Run – now!" I grabbed Asher's arm and dashed towards Lucius, dragging him along with me. "That's a demon! A powerful one!"

I knew because I could see the demonic magic around it – it wasn't like that of Vixia or Delthur, not even like that of the Demon Lord. While their power was dark, it never made me think of the word 'tainted'. 

"We can take him-" Asher protested, but I shook my head. The feeling I got from that demon was completely different than that of the others. 

"Doesn't look like the demon we saw before." Lucius said as we ran as fast as we could. "Kai, that thing looks like the demons you'd see in normal videogames, or like… movies and stuff."

I glanced at the dot in the sky, then shook my head. It was too far away for me to see properly. Besides, it didn't matter what it looked like. A demon was a demon – I trusted none of them and they surely wanted to kill me – us – too. We ran, dashing through the woods like a horde was chasing us, yet each time we looked back, the black dot was there.

"How is it even aware of us?" Lucius asked. He was somewhat out of breath. Asher was barely keeping up with us. The only thing saving him was his magic, enhancing his body so he could run as fast as us. I, on the other hand, didn't feel tired at all. But I did feel weaker. I knew that alone, I could maybe, barely kill that demon. If luck favoured me.

"And why is it so persistently following us?" The young swordsman asked. I shook my head – I honestly had no clue. "I thought that scout hadn't seen us." I said as we burst out of the treeline into a seemingly endless sea of grass.

"This is bad." Lucius shouted as we searched for a place to hide form the demon's gaze. Nothing – aside from the forest behind us, there wasn't a single tree – no hills or large rocks, nothing.

"It's approaching," I whispered as dread slowly set in. I glanced around, could we make it to the other side of this massive field in time?

No, there was no way. Not while Asher was already exhausted, and Lucius was also somewhat out of breath. I clenched my fists.

"We can take it." Asher said, but his expression told a different story. 

Lucius grabbed Asher's arm and pulled him away from the woods. "More creatures are coming!" 

That's when I noticed it. Animals – the wildlife of this world – were slowly stepping out of the woods. I could feel that same tainted magic from them as I did from that demon.

"Wait…" I whispered as we slowly backed away. "Creatures were being driven to attack by corrupted magic – that's what you said, right?"

"I never said corrupted magic." Asher glanced at me. "Are you telling they're being corrupted by the demon and driven to attack us?"

I hesitantly nodded. "I can't say for certain," I mumbled as more creatures stepped out of the woods. "But I'm fairly sure."

"Stop theorising about magic and focus on the god damned fight!" Lucius' shout startled both me and Asher. The young man grasped the hilt of his sword tightly as he shot deadly glances at us.

Asher rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine," He mumbled as he raised his hand. The sky seemingly darkened as lightning crackled in his palm. 

A shroud of darkness appeared by my extended hand. I grasped the cool hilt of my sword as it materialised in my hand. "Lucius," I said as I stepped forward along with him. 

"I know, we're keeping Asher safe." He replied. I nodded; this was going to be the first battle of presumably many. Using any more resources than needed would be a waste. 

Though, looking at the continuously growing horde of monsters before me, I couldn't help but want to just burn everything to ash. My hands itched with the thought of battle. I wanted it – the thrill of battle, the danger and risks that came along with it. That feeling of victory at the end – I needed it.

But I held back.

Mostly because Asher obliterated several hundred creatures in the following moment. 

I notice Lucius' complexion grow pale as lightning struck the horde, over and over again. I expected it to end in a few seconds, but it didn't. My eyes wide, I turned to look at Asher.

I drew a sharp breath. "What have you done?" Was all I could whisper.

He was floating perhaps half a meter in the air. Both his arms extended to his sides; lightning danced on his skin. I was difficult just to look at him. His hair hovered almost as if he were underwater. His eyes, though – they were what affected me the most. His eyes had turned into orbs of white light.

"The hell?" Lucius shouted. He had also just seen Asher. "What the hell is going on with him?" 

I heard movement behind me and quickly turned, finally snapping my attention away from the blonde sorcerer. And I had done so just in time as I came face to face with a rather large wolf. A quick swing of my sword took care of the creature, but more were approaching.

"How can they come despite all this lightning?" Lucius asked as he disposed of a few smaller creatures. I shrugged – questioning that was the last thing on my mind right now. 

"Asher!" I shouted as the lightning strikes neared. "You can stop now!" Another wolf jumping at me got struck mid-air. I flinched and stepped back – that was way too close for comfort. "Lucius, back off!"

The young swordsman didn't hesitate to do so, but to my surprise, he dashed towards Asher, grabbed his arm and pulled him down. I immediately smelled the awful smell of burnt skin. Despite that, it seemed like Lucius' idea worked. Asher fell to the ground with a thud and the lightning storm finally came to an end.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The young swordsman shouted at Asher. "Even if the damned demon didn't know where we were, now he does. Hell, the whole continent does!"

The blonde sorcerer blinked a few times, then suddenly grew pale as his gaze focused behind me.

I quickly turned there, expecting another wolf. Instead, I was greeted with a familiar sight. One that struck fear into my heart.

The air seemed to grow heavier as light shattered perhaps two meters away from me. A rift formed before me, and as soon as it did, I wailed in pain.

It took me a moment to understand why it hurt so much.

Then, I noticed the spear stuck into my left shoulder.