The Soul Keeper

I felt drained by the time the cleansing was finished. I hadn't used too much power, so I wasn't sure why I felt this way. Fetheion didn't seem tired the least however, he even made sure to give a proper burial to the Ereth.

Afterwards, we returned back home. We didn't speak a word during our journey back. Despite the countless questions in my mind, I chose to remain silent as I could see how upset Fetheion was. It was clear from his expression.

The only time we spoke was when we bid each other a good night and headed to sleep. Though I didn't even get that, as my dreams were plagued with memories of lives long lost. 

Only having slept a couple of hours, I got up at dawn as always. After eating something, I left the underground hideout and walked outside. The cool morning breeze helped clear my mind a little as I sat on the moist grass and nibbled a large, juicy fruit that looked like an apple but tasted nothing like it.

I didn't sit there for long before I heard footsteps. Asher came and sat beside me a moment later.

"Sorry about yesterday," He said with a sigh. "I kind of… went all out." 

I chuckled. "I don't believe it." I said with a faint smile. "I think I would have died if you went all out." No way that was all he was capable of.

"No really," Asher said with a serious expression. "That was the entirety of my power – all I was capable of." He shot me a surprised look. "How powerful do you think I am?"

I shrugged. "I don't have a clue." I said with a grin. "I'm convinced you can easily overpower me though." 

He rolled his eyes. "The difference isn't that big." He fiddled with the cloth of his cloak. "It never was."

I laughed out loud. "Yeah right. That's why you basically had me on a leash for a while, right?" I shot him a deadly look. "So please, don't try and be humble about it, it's better if I know your full strength."

Asher's eyes widened as he chuckled and poked my shoulder. "Alright, first of all – back then the difference was big, I admit that. And yes, I did order you around, but you were being a whiny brat and wasting the best shot we had at getting out of here. You deserved some of that." 

I laughed. "Well, deserve is a strong word,"

"Also, I'd like to remind you that you literally walked into my trap. How naïve could you be, seriously?" Asher fiddled with his hair as he spoke. "I was prepared for a tough fight but all I had to do was lure you away and threaten you."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, fine. Yes, I'm naïve and stupid. Can we move on?" Looking back, I could see how many mistakes I'd made and being reminded of them by Asher of all people was less than pleasant.

"Sure," He grinned. I kind of wanted to punch him. Lightly, of course, but still. "But for the record – as soon as you began hunting and taking in souls, the gap between us closed really quickly." He glanced at the far away mountain range. "I honestly don't know which one of us is stronger now."

I hesitated. I wasn't so sure. I still felt like he was much stronger – it felt like he could bend the sky to his will. "I don't know…" I mumbled.

"Think about it!" He insisted. "You were able to put up a fight yesterday." He paused. "Wait, no. That came out wrong. What I mean is that when I attacked you with those lightning strikes, I used all of my power. That was the most damage I could do, the strongest attack I had." He raised his hand and let lightning crackle around his fingers. 

"And you continually pushed me back – a dozen more seconds and I would have lost." I had used everything I had to put up a fight at the time. 

"But you had something up your sleeve, right?" The blonde sorcerer asked. "I know Fetheion stopped the fight because you were about to do something."

I shook my head. "I was about to do something stupid." Thinking back now, I couldn't believe how stupid I was to try and copy the Demon Lord's power at that moment. If something went wrong, I could have killed Asher and Lucius.

Asher chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

"Hey!" I protested.

"But my point is, you still had something up your sleeve, no matter how dangerous or stupid it is. I didn't have something like that." He clenched his fist. The crackling lightning dissipated. "It's actually somewhat annoying."

I glanced at him. "Is that why you seemed so bothered?" I asked. "Asher, did you do something dangerous to gain more power?" Fetheion's words came to mind. "What did you give up for more power?"

The blonde sorcerer flinched. His expression turned sour and he avoided meeting my gaze. "It's not something you need to worry about." He finally said after a silence that felt too long. 

"No, I think I do need to worry about it." I said, shaking my head. I needed to know what was going on with him so I could avoid putting him in unnecessary danger. "Tell me Asher."

The blonde sorcerer shook his head. "Not today. Let me heal completely. Then I'll tell you." He glanced at me. "Please don't push the matter further, Kai."

I gritted my teeth. Secrets! Everyone had so many secrets! "Fine, but you need to promise me something." I said through my gritted teeth. The blonde sorcerer shot me a curious glance. "What is it?" He asked.

"That if something goes wrong, you'll let me know and you'll let me help." I glared at him. "Promise me."

He smiled. "I can do that. Fine, that's a promise." He looked away. While I had much more I wanted to ask, I chose to remain silent. It was the first time I had seen Asher so unsure and… weak. So far, the only emotions he had shown were anger, wrath and confidence. I had never seen him so unsure and hurt before.

We didn't get the chance to sit there for long though, since soon Lucius stepped outside as well. Somewhat relieved that he didn't overhear out conversation, I greeted him. Despite his smile and cheerful greetings, I could see the dark circles under his eyes. 

"Didn't sleep well?" Asher asked. The young swordsman shook his head. "No, not really. Just stupid dreams though."

I remained silent. I knew he was lying. 

"Right." Asher said with a half smile. He knew just as well as I did. "So, care to explain what that awful 'duel' was yesterday?" The blonde sorcerer asked. I flinched – this wasn't the proper way to bring up that subject!

Lucius looked away. "Sorry about that." He glanced at me. "It was just…" He fiddled with his belt. "Seeing Kai turn into a… ummm…" He searched for a word but was clearly unable to find it.

"Monster? Abomination? Demon? Horrifying creature?" I suggested with a grin. He shot me a desperate look, almost as if he was saying 'that's not helping me!'. My grin only widened.

"Whatever," He shook his head. "I think that took me by surprise. I wasn't really prepared for it."

Asher nodded in understanding. "Well, it definitely was unexpected." He glanced at me, then at Lucius. "He did look like a demon, but then again you look a bit weird too."

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, look." He said as he pointed at me. "There's having an Avatar like mine, and then there's literally growing a tail, a pair of horns and claws like him. Tell me they're the same thing and we can fight."

Asher laughed. "Oh no, you're right about that. My point is just that…" He hesitated. "I feel like you may have overreacted a bit."

I nodded. "You've seen me like that before, when I brought you guys here." Though that was only for a short moment, I still considered it a valid argument.

Lucius chuckled nervously. "Well, yeah… Anyways. Sorry. I didn't expect to be so useless."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it too much – you got it out of your system during a friendly practice match, so that's good. You know what to expect when you're fighting besides me now, so you can act accordingly." Despite my words, I knew he'd still hesitate. He had lost confidence, he needed to get that back before doing anything else.

Asher nodded. "Exactly. I do have a suggestion about that actually." He grinned. "Hear me out,"

We listened as he spoke. Lucius' face immediately turned pale while I began to grin. "I like it," I said as I glanced at the hideout. "I like it a lot."

"What's going on?" A familiar voice sounded. "I want in too!" 

We looked around to see the source of the voice. "What?" Asher mumbled.

At the same time, I looked up and came eye to eye with an eagle. "Mona?" I asked as the eagle disappeared with a poof and the cheerful druid took its place.