The Soul Keeper

We didn't have to search long to find Lucius, partly because of Fetheion's spell, and partly because the young swordsman wasn't really trying to hide or anything. 

He was sitting by the well at the centre of town, holding something in his hands. As we approached, he raised his head. His face lit up when he noticed me. "I knew you'd find me here." He said with a grin. 

I shrugged, feeling just a little bit guilty for following him, but also relieved to see him well. "I got worried; can you blame me?"

He shook his head. "No, not really." He glanced at Fetheion. "I didn't expect to see you here. I'm sorry for causing trouble," He looked away. 

"Oh, don't you worry about it. I was just avoiding a certain pissed off sorcerer, that's all." He chuckled, seeing Lucius' expression. "Well then, should we go back?" 

I nodded; it was time to return. We didn't need to waste any more time here. I took a deep breath. "I'll open a rift." I didn't wait for a reply, instead, I used Soul's Aspect. As my body shifted and took the form of the corrupted demon, I could feel Fetheion's intense gaze on me. Somewhat bothered, I quickly opened the rift back home.

"Man, this is useful," Lucius mumbled as he slipped something into his pocket. He took a deep breath, then stepped into the rift. Fetheion hesitated for a moment before following the young man. Once they were through, I also stepped through.

"I didn't think you would find me so quickly." The young swordsman said with a faint smile as I stepped out of the rift. I chuckled and glanced at Fetheion. "He found you – I was just flying aimlessly."

The Divine immediately yawned and mumbled. "I think someone should let Asher know that we'll be ready for the match in half an hour's time." He glanced at Lucius. "Does that work for you?"

The young man nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. I'll rest a little until then." 

I also nodded. My palms itched with anticipation as the Divine slowly walked away, leaving me and Lucius. I glanced at the young man. "How are you doing?" I asked after a moment. Our previous fight was still fresh in my mind – had he overcome his troubles? 

He smiled. "I'm fine, really. I'm actually looking forward to today's match." Looking at him, I could see he wasn't lying. His eyes were filled with determination and I couldn't see a hint of self-doubt as he spoke.

"I'm glad to hear it." I said eventually. "I'll let Asher know of the time, so rest a little in the meantime."

"Sure," He replied.

With that, I walked away as he lay on the lush green grass. I found Asher at the same place, still stuck with a whole lot of documents. "Hey," I said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. I regretted that attempt as soon as he lifted his head to look – no, glare at me. "What?" He asked with a flat voice.

"Uh, we just returned with Lucius." I quickly explained. "The match is in about half an hour's time, so you might want to leave those for now." I vaguely gestured at the piles of documents.

"Half an hour?" He blinked a couple of times. "Oh!" His ears perked up. "Finally!" He shouted as he jumped on his feet. "Oh my god – I'm never offering help to him again!" He quickly walked around the desk and approached me. "Listen to my advice, Kai. He's a devil that would make you do all the work! Don't make the same mistake as I did!"

"Uh, noted." I mumbled after a short moment of hesitation. How on earth was I supposed to respond to that?

We left the library and quickly headed outside. Asher went to sit with Lucius a bit while I looked around, trying to spot Mona and the others. Unlike finding Asher, I had a harder time tracking them down.

They were at the pond not too far away from the opening in the woods. Sitting on the grassy ground, they had placed a large piece of cloth on the ground. It was filled with all kinds of delicious looking – and smelling – food.

"Hey Kai!" The cheerful druid called my name as soon as she noticed me through the trees. "We're having a picnic – come join us!" 

While the offer was really tempting, eating right before a battle wasn't the wisest idea. "I'll have to pass for now," I said apologetically. I did genuinely want to join them. "That match you wanted so badly is going to start in about half an hour." I said with a smile. "Ready?"

Mona squeaked with glee. "Oh yes, it's going to be so fun!" She grabbed Laura and Theresa's hands. "You'll join too, right?" She asked, her eyes filled with anticipation and excitement.

Laura was quick to shake her head though. "I'd rather not fight the Divine – unlike you, my power isn't fit for such a fight."

Mona's shoulders dropped a bit. Her gaze, not filled with excitement quite as much as before, turned to Theresa. "What about you?" She asked sheepishly.

The black haired girl shook her head. "No, I'll pass as well. It was decided to be a four versus one match. It wouldn't do if I joined to tip the scales in your favour." She glanced at me. "I'm sure Kai understands."

I nodded. In a way, I was somewhat relieved to see them not join. It wasn't that I didn't trust or like them – I really did, but a reason I wanted to this match was to enhance our teamwork. Specifically, Asher and Lucius' teamwork.

"I'm sure there will be a chance again," I said with a faint smile. 

Laura nodded. "I'm certain of it. Besides, I don't want to miss the chance of seeing the four of you in action either."

Mona's lips formed a mischievous smile. "Oh, you're in for a treat then." She giggled. "I've got a new thing I want to try." She rubbed her hands together, clearly excited about whatever that new thing was. I considered asking but seeing Laura and Theresa's warning glances was enough to change my mind. Whatever it was, I would see it soon anyways.

"Let's head back then." I said eventually. I helped them gather their things and we returned to the open area before Fetheion's house. Asher and Lucius were laying on the grass. The blonde sorcerer had fallen asleep already while Lucius seemed to just be enjoying the bright sun.

"Hey," Mona spoke in a low voice as we approached. Lucius got up and moved a little further away from Asher as to not wake him up. 

"Hey, sorry to have worried you," He smiled. Mona shrugged, "Nah, it's fine. We're just glad you're safe." She glanced at Asher. "I didn't expect to find him of all people asleep just before the match." 

Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed. But considering the paperwork he had to deal with in the past couple of days, I wasn't surprised at all. In fact, I was surprised he was even ok with having the match before getting a chance to rest. I'd have expected him to want to be at peak condition.

"Oh, he's just napping." Lucius chuckled. His smile slowly faded as he glanced at the door leading inside. "Where is the Divine?" He asked after a moment. "Half an hour has passed, hasn't it?"

I shrugged. With no clock at our disposal, it was incredibly difficult to tell the exact time. Actually, now that I thought about it, it was weird that the interface didn't have a clock. While I had little to no experience with games, I was certain most such games would require a clock or a timer so the player would know when to log out.

But then again, this game didn't even allow us to log out, so my line of thought wasn't exactly the most meaningful one. 

"Kai?" Lucius poked my shoulder. "What's wrong?" 

I shook my head. "I just noticed – there is no clock or timer in the interface. Is that even normal for this kind of game?"

Theresa immediately shook her head while Lucius opened his interface to check. "Oh, you're right." The young swordsman said while Theresa explained. "PORTAL definitely should have had a clock – it's the only way to know the time and date in the real world after all. It's either a huge oversight, or something else happened."

"I see." I mumbled. Her words only reinforced my thoughts. 

A yawn caught our attention before I could ponder more on the subject. Asher slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, the glanced at us as he stretched his arms. "When are we starting?"

I shrugged. "We're waiting on the Divine."

A voice we all knew echoed as dark mist began to form in the area. Asher quickly jumped up on his feet as a silhouette appeared at the centre of the opening.

"Then you shall wait no more!"