The Soul Keeper

I would love nothing more than to just fly away at that moment, but with the hit I took to my back I didn't dare try and fly. I had veiled my wings just in time, I think, but if they were broken, letting go of the creature's eyelid would spell nothing but certain death for me.

So, I did the only other thing I could think of. I summoned my sword and thrust it into its eye.

I honestly hadn't expected so much blood to flow out and neither did I expect the creature to go berserk to such a degree.

It flailed around with pain, causing the earth to rumble under the immense weight and size of its body. I allowed my sword to disappear again and held on to its eyelid for dear life. Yet, it still wasn't enough as I soon found myself flying.

I hit the ground below with a thud and a crack – probably only audible to me. Ny vision blurred and darkened with pain as I couldn't muffle my own scream. Pain throbbed from my left leg as I tried to drag myself away from the flailing monster.

Thankfully, I still had plenty of mana. Souls burst out of my chest and circled me as Soul's Respite began to heal my broken leg. I heard shouts from afar, but I couldn't make out the words from the creature's screeches. Hoping Mona and the others wouldn't try something stupid, I got back up on my feet as the souls finished healing me. 

The gargantuan snake now blinded in one eye – probably – hit the ground somewhere with its tail. I barely kept my balance as the ground shook and trembled. The snake itself kind of reminded me of Jörmungandr – the myth of our own world. Why the hell was it even here?

As such mostly irrelevant thoughts whirled in my mind, I took a deep breath and used Fallen Grace to empower my body as much as I could. With the creature flailing around uncontrollably, flying was a horrible idea. Running under it was also a terrible idea, so I did neither.

I ran in the opposite direction. Since Soul's Aspect still gave me the Corrupted Demon's form, the new, now broken terrain didn't really slow me down. I only allowed myself to stop after I reached the other side of the valley. 

That, of course, didn't mean I was safe. Some time had passed since I stabbed the creature's eye and it looked like the shock and pain had subsided somewhat since the flailing stopped and the creature glared at me with its remaining eye.

I could swear I saw hatred in that blood red eye.

I gritted my teeth – I still wasn't far enough away from the creature – it could easily crush me with its tail still. With the sky blocked by that barrier and the gargantuan snake in my way, I couldn't really think of a way to get myself out of here except for a single option.

As the snake slithered towards me, shaking the ground in the process, I extended my hand, and a rift began to dorm at the tip of my fingers. 

"Come on, come on!" I whispered as the rift slowly began to grow larger. I regretted not practicing this skill before, despite knowing my life might very well depend on it one day.

I poured more power into it as the snake opened its mouth and reared its head. It was preparing to strike. The rift grew larger, just enough for me to fit in just as the snake made its move. I jumped through moments before those sharp, deadly fangs closed on me.

I fell on the ground and rolled to slow my fall. 

"Kai!" Mona's shout startled me as I slowly got up. The rift was hanging in the air, perhaps two meters above my head. I could smell the moist, damp air in the cavern. "I thought you were going to die!" The usually cheerful druid ran up to me and threw her arms around my neck. 

Somewhat out of breath, I smiled. The rift faded as I slowly let go of all of my ongoing spells. My body returned to normal, causing Mona to step back and the power Fallen Grace gave me slowly disappeared.

"Why did you stop in the air there?" Laura asked as she and Theresa also walked up to me. The ground rumbled and shook again as I noticed the snake furiously attack the landscape. 

"You spell blinded me – it was stronger than I thought it would be." I looked towards the valley. "It's massive," I mumbled.

Laura and Theresa nodded. Mona avoided looking there. "It's not natural, that's for sure." The druid said with a low voice.

Laura hesitantly stepped forward as I watched the creature ruin the previously serene landscape. "I didn't think my spell would affect you as much," She said with a low, weak voice. "I nearly got you killed, I-" I quickly shook my head. "I'm alive, we all are. That's what matters, right?" 

I knew she didn't have any bad intentions – she was just trying to save Mona and Theresa. I wasn't about to blame her for trying to save her two closest friends. 

"Oh," I pointed at the valley as something caught my eyes. "The tomb is still intact." Despite everything that had happened, the snake had somehow never harmed the tomb. Was it luck? No, I didn't believe that for a second.

"What are we going to do about the snake?" Theresa chimed in. Mona made a gesture indicating she had no idea while I just shrugged. "Nothing. It can't leave the valley anyways. We don't need to do anything. We learned why there was so much demonic magic here and now it's gone." I glanced at them. "Just leave it be."

Mona seemed ok with what I said, but Theresa chimed in. "Don't you want its soul?" She glanced at the gargantuan creature. "That's probably about as powerful as all the souls you lost – maybe even more so."

I followed her gaze and watched the massive snake is it still searched for me in the valley. "It definitely powerful," Theresa was right – that beast was stronger than anything I'd killed before. "But it's not worth risking our lives. Perhaps later, with everyone's help we can do it but I'm not taking such a huge risk right now." Laura breathed a sigh of relief as I turned my back to the valley. "Let's get out of here."

As we walked to the exit, I made sure to remain a few steps ahead of the others. I didn't want them to see my expression – how I craved for battle. I wanted nothing more than to kill the snake, my palms itched with anticipation as soon as Theresa suggested killing the beast.

But we couldn't. While the rewards would certainly be worthwhile, I simply couldn't take that chance right now. I wouldn't dare – not after Laura's words.

There was one more reason for my retreat. I didn't think I could handle such a powerful soul without a primal core's support. Both primal cores I had right now were linked to the Phoenix and Wyvern's souls. I needed to speak to Fetheion about this first, since I was quite certain that I wouldn't be able to get my hands on another primal core.

We soon left the fang-mountains as I'd decided to call them behind. I only noticed how tense I was when we set up camp and sat down around the fire. I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it. 

"Are you ok?" Mona asked as she passed a cup of tea. "Thanks," I mumbled as I took the ceramic cup. "I'm fine. I think holding the transformation for that long strained my body a little." I stretched my arms; they did feel quite sore. My entire body felt sore actually. "I never remained in that form for so long, so that's probably why."

Mona tilted her head slightly. "Should I heal you?" I felt her magic gather in her hand. 

"No, it's fine. All I need is a couple hours of rest." I chuckled. "I won't keep watch all night, so don't worry." Mona smiled. "Good!" She laughed. "I'm glad you didn't forget."

Our low conversations died down towards midnight when Mona offered to keep first watch. We all agreed, and I laid down on the tall, green grass. I fell asleep almost immediately, though I somewhat wish I hadn't.

I found myself in a memory that didn't belong to me. I glanced around as I noticed – I knew this place, albeit a much more rundown and ruined version of it. I was in the mansion the Corrupted Demon had fled and dragged me along to. 

A knock on the door sounded. Somewhat surprised, watched as the demon – Dorith – opened the door. "Welcome," He said with a respectful tone.

I stared at myself, stepping through the door as Dorith continued.

"It's an honour to have you here, Keeper."