The Soul Keeper

Mona landed on the ground with grace, then immediately grinned. "I missed you guys!" She shouted and ran up to us. After a fist bump with Lucius and a massive grin at Asher, she gave me a hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it before!" 

"It's fine," Asher said with a smile. "How have you been Mona?"

His kind, yet somewhat respectful behaviour struck me as odd as the crimson haired druid let go of me and fiddled with her cloak.

"Eh, fine, I guess." She chuckled. "Making sure Erik and the others don't get themselves in trouble is incredibly boring." She shot me a quick, worried glance.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on them," I forced a smile. Just knowing that she had to be in the vicinity of those two traitors made me feel sick. What if they did something to her? Naturally, I was worried. Despite that, I chose to not ask too many questions. 

Though, I wouldn't have been able to anyways since Mona quickly derailed the conversation and soon, we were all laughing.

After some time passed, I excused myself for a bit to drop by Fetheion. "Remember to actually suggest it to him!" Asher called out to me as I headed back inside. I waved my hand, of course I wouldn't forget that.

Thanks to the small number of rooms, it didn't take me long to find the Divine. He was sitting by his desk in the library, documents and parchments scattered all around him. He seemed somewhat busy.

"Good morning, Kai." He said as I stepped inside. His voice showed just how bored he was. "I wouldn't imagine you came here to offer help, would you?" He asked, further reinforcing my view.

"Uh, not really no." I said with half a smile. "I was actually going to suggest something and let you know that Mona came." A quick glance at the documents was enough to made me feel dread. What if he asked for help with this boring stuff in return?

"I know she arrived. I called her here a few days ago. Asher still needs to heal, and I would prefer if you had someone capable by your side." The crimson haired Divine shot me a mischievous glance. "You know, to keep you out of trouble and make sure you don't try anything suicidal."

I rolled my eyes. "How long will you keep that up?" I asked as my shoulders dropped. "I'm doing my best to stay alive."

He chuckled. "Yet you already failed once." He grinned. "But anyways," He quickly changed the subject. "What did you want to suggest?"

"Well," I took a deep breath. "It was Asher and Lucius' idea but…" I hesitated. "I know we kind of botched out last practice match – all of us did – so we were hoping you'd give us a chance." I was about to continue when he spoke.

"You don't need my permission to have a match." He paused. "Unless you want me to take part as well?" He leaned back on his chair. "As a judge again?" A single look at my expression was clearly enough for him as he shook his head. "No, you want me to join in?" His lips formed a mischievous smile. "You want a three on one – no, four on one match." He grinned. "Am I right?"

I shrugged. "Spot on." It wasn't such a wild conclusion to arrive to, but his speed and accuracy was a bit frightening. "What do you say?" I asked, worried he would say no.

He tilted his head. "Hmm…" he mumbled, lost in thought. I waited patiently – now wasn't the time to test my luck. "Sure," He finally said. My eyes glittered with excitement, but his next words were quick to snuff that out. "But not now."

My shoulders dropped as I spoke with a flat voice. "You're playing a parent card and I don't like it."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, this isn't like your family's 'not now's. I will actually give you a time and a date." He pointed at his desk. "I need to get this done – I know I can figure out where they will erect the next pillar, I just need some more time."

My eyes shot open. "You can what?"

He waved his hand. "I'll let you know once I do. As for our match." He tilted his head and pondered a moment. "When you return with Mona. At dusk." He grinned. "Well, that wasn't exactly a time and date, but it's a bit difficult to know your schedule, so you'll have to excuse me." 

"I'll take it." I said with a faint smile. "I'll leave you to your work." I quickly left the library, fearing he might try to rope me in to helping him with whatever that massive pile of documents was. 

As I headed back outside, I couldn't help but feel somewhat excited for that match. I had fought against Fetheion before, I knew he was really strong. But I didn't know the full extent of his power. How much of a chance would we have against Aelith if we could defeat Fetheion?

It was impossible to tell, really. 

"What did he say?" Lucius asked with anticipation as I approached them. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I sat down on the grass with them. "Next time we're all here, the match is on." I said with a grin. "So, make sure you prepare."

Asher chuckled. "Good job, Kai." He glanced at the entrance. "I was sure he'd say no."

I shook my head. "It wasn't too difficult, he seemed bored anyways."

We laughed a bit, but then I spoke again. "I fought him before – he's incredibly powerful. I don't know if we stand a chance against him."

Asher's smile shattered while Mona seemed somewhat surprised. "Wait, really?" The cheerful druid asked. "Even if we're four people?"

I nodded. "You'll see when it comes to it, but Asher – you'll need to play a support role for me and Lucius. You too Mona. You can't get through to him with your usual spells." Their mana pools would never be enough to even get past his defences, let alone reach him.

We talked and planned for a while, then at about midday, I pushed myself up and stretched my arms. "Mona," I said glancing at her. "You said you would meet with Theresa and Laura, right?"

The young druid nodded. "Yes. Apparently, there's something unusual going on somewhere north of Baile Chailce. We decided to check it out, see how dangerous it is and put an end to it if we can." She glanced at the sky. "We were to meet up in the fields where we first met, actually." She smiled. 

"When are you meeting?" I asked as her word piqued my curiosity. What could be going on north of the city? Would it be safe for only those three to investigate?

"Tomorrow morning." She smiled. "I should get going in a bit, actually. I want to be there a little earlier to see if there's any danger." She glanced at the entrance to Fetheion's hideout. "I'll be right back – I should give these to the Divine before I forget about it." She dashed to the door as Lucius sighed.

"She's way too cheerful." The young swordsman said with a faint smile. "I'm having trouble keeping up." Asher nodded. "Tell me about it." He glanced at me. "You're thinking about going with her, right?"

I nodded. "She and her friends helped us a lot. I want to return the favour." I smiled. "Besides, if there's some action north of Baile Chailce, I want in too." 

"When did you become so bloodthirsty?" Lucius laughed. I shrugged. "Dying does that to you." 

We didn't have to wait long for Mona to return with a huge, mischievous grin on her face. "He's probably going to suffocate amidst all those documents." She giggled. 

"Perhaps I should offer to help him." Asher mumbled. "It would be a shame if he couldn't fight us because of all that paperwork after all." He did have a point, but that didn't stop us from laughing. The mental image of Asher and Fetheion sorting documents was just hilarious for some reason. Perhaps because it was so normal in this magical, deadly world. 

After some more banter, Mona stood up and stretched her body. "Ah, this was fun!" She shouted with a grin. "But I should get going. If I leave now, I'll be there a couple of hours before dawn. That's enough time to scout the area and make sure everything's in order."

I also stood up. "Do you mind if I tag along?" Despite my completely help-oriented goal, I couldn't help but feel a little awkward as I asked.

"Really?" Mona's face lightened up. Her eyes sparkled with joy.

I noticed Lucius grin behind her, but a quick, deadly glance at him was enough to shut him up. 

"I'd love that!" She shouted and jumped up and down with pure joy. "What about you guys?" She turned to look at the other two. 

"Too many people would be easy to spot. I think the four of you can handle everything perfectly." Asher said with a kind smile and almost formal tone of voice. Lucius nodded, constantly glancing at me.

"Aw," Mona seemed upset for a split second, but immediately cheered up again. "We'll be back soon then! I'm looking forward to that fight!"