The Soul Keeper

As the mist thickened, a barrier formed around the opening. Fetheion's form solidified as I felt his magic all around us. It was almost suffocating.

"No one but the spectators may leave the barrier," His voice continued to echo as his eyes let out a bright blue glow. "First blood wins." He declared. 

Laura and Theresa darted towards the barrier as soon as the Divine spoke. Mona's spear appeared in her hands while I didn't hesitate to summon my sword and unveil my wings. Lucius touched his heart with his left hand while his own sword appeared in his right.

"Works for me," Asher grinned. Lightning crackled on his skin as he also emitted a blue-silver light. "You've got a lot to answer with all that paperwork you made me do!" 

Fetheion's laughter echoed. "Let us begin then!" He shouted.

As soon as he did, the mist disappeared, and we finally got to see him properly.

He was wearing light armour, made from a metallic material. His long braid swayed gently with a non-existent wind as his blue eyes seemed to pierce into our souls. A single dagger was his weapon, though I could feel incredible power emanating from it.

Mona was the first to dash ahead. She leapt high into the air, her spear in hand, and brought it down upon him. Fetheion didn't even so much as glance at her as he motioned his left hand towards her.

A wave of magic hit her, sending her flying to the side of the arena.

"I'm not quite weak enough for that to work," The Divine spoke. With every word, I could feel his magic spreading beneath our feet. 

"Look out!" I shouted just in time and pushed Lucius aside as darkness burst out of the ground beneath his feet. Asher gritted his teeth as he fell on one knee and punched the ground.

Lightning crackled and the darkness flowing out stopped. I noticed the blonde sorcerer's magic spread beneath our feet, creating a barrier under us to protect us from the darkness below.

"We're not quite weak enough for that to work either!" He hissed through his gritted teeth. Lucius was quick to get back up on his feet.

He shot me a thankful glance, then dashed ahead.

I followed him without a moment of hesitation. 

Fetheion grinned as he extended his hand towards us. I took a deep breath and allowed my own magic to seep out. Flames danced on my skin as I prepared to stop his attack, but before I could, lightning struck the darkness. 

A quick glance at Asher was enough to see what was happening. The blonde sorcerer had raised one hand, while still on his knee and supporting the barrier beneath us. "Go!" He shouted as his lightning dispersed the wave of darkness enough to let us pass through.

We didn't hesitate. I threw a firebolt towards the Divine to keep him a little busier while we quickly approached him. "Kai, take his left," Lucius said as we finally arrived before him. I didn't need to even look at Lucius as I swung my sword to the Divine's left. I could see Lucius mirroring my action but aiming for his right arm instead.

I felt Fetheion's magic gather around us as my sword hit a barrier and bounced away. Lucius, on the other hand, was parried and kicked in the stomach. He stumbled and fell, then quickly got back up on his feet with a roll. During those few valuable seconds though, Fetheion didn't hesitate to strike me.

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed as I barely blocked his attacks. His speed only seemed to increase as my arms began to hurt from the strength of his strikes. Moments later, I had to use Fallen Grace just to keep up with the Ereth Divine.

A shout startled all of us right in the middle of our duel, then Mona came crashing down on Fetheion. While she didn't succeed in hurting him, her intervention gave me some much needed breathing room.

"Lucius – now!" Asher shouted. Fetheion sent Mona flying once more, the turned his attention on Asher, only to notice Lucius' sword flying at him. The sword, crackling with lighting, flew past him as he easily stepped out of the way. He was about to chuckle at the swordsman and sorcerer's attempt when the sharp, lightning charged blade boomeranged back. 

It seemed as if he didn't have the time to turn and block the blade, but he once again surprised us as his dagger suddenly melted in his hands. The metal flowed to from a spear, allowing the Divine to easily change the flying blade's course. 

"Damn," Lucius mumbled as the blade returned to his hand. "I really hoped that would work." Right as he finished his words, he dashed once more. I wanted to follow him, but another wave of darkness threatened to swallow the young swordsman, prompting me to summon my flames to dissipate it.

"Go," I shouted, knowing Asher couldn't keep several spells going at once for too long. Lucius didn't look back as he began his clash with Fetheion. 

Despite wanting to, I couldn't afford to watch Fetheion and Lucius' duel as the Divine's magic quickly proved to be incredibly powerful. The darkness was quick to spread as I barely kept myself and Asher safe from it. I couldn't even see Mona, and Lucius was protected by a shield crackling with lightning.

"Kai," Asher hissed. "Do something about his magic!" 

I wanted to respond with a 'I'm trying', but I didn't get the chance to as my flames slowly began to dim. I clenched my fist, then used Soul's Aspect to take on the form of the Corrupted Demon. "No way I'm losing to you while I don't have your full attention!" 

My flames suddenly flared up as I felt my power increase. Soul's Aspect wasn't only changing my body – it allowed me to use power that didn't belong fully to me. Flames spread from beneath my feet, slowly pushing the darkness away. The few tendrils of darkness that did try to reach me quickly dissipated as breathing became somewhat easier again.

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed as Lucius and Fetheion's duel continued. I notice something move up in the air – an eagle. Mona was at it again. Hoping she'd be able to give Lucius the opening he needed, I fed more power to my flames.

Thunder sounded in the distance as I heard Asher's grunt. Keeping up two separate shielding spells was clearly pushing him to his limits. I didn't even need to look at him to understand that. The barrier beneath our feet and the shield around Lucius couldn't be easy to keep up.

What was even more unbelievable than that, however, was that Fetheion was able to fight three separate fights right now. He was locked in a duel of blades with Lucius, a battle of will and magic with me and he was also slowly whittling away Asher with his magic. And looking at his expression, he was having fun!

With a poof, Mona came crashing down on Fetheion for the third time. The Divine stepped back right after blocking Lucius' blade. The young swordsman stumbled back while Mona's spear hit nothing but the ground.

"You can't keep trying the same thing and hoping for a different result each time, Mona." Fetheion's voice echoed as he raised his hand and called upon his power.

"Get down!" I shouted as I threw myself to the ground. Asher, already on one knee, didn't do anything While Lucius quickly got down and pulled Mona along with him. For a split second, nothing happened. 

Then, just as I was about to feel like an idiot, a wave of darkness spread from Fetheion's chest. As it passed over us, I could feel its coldness. I knew what it felt like to be trapped by the Divine's power. It was unpleasant, to say the least. 

"How did you know?" Lucius asked as I took a deep breath, preparing to release my flames. "I didn't." I replied just before purple flames burst out of me.

For a split second, the darkness resisted me. Then, Fetheion's power retreated, allowing us to stand up again.

"If you keep brute forcing your way through my magic, you're going to deplete all of your mana, Kai." Fetheion said with a mischievous smile. Instead of replying, I directed my flames on him. 

Lightning immediately followed as Lucius quickly stepped back. He knew when it wasn't his place to fight. He needed us to create an opening for him, just like before. I noticed Mona drag him to the side and whisper something into his ear. Were they planning something? 

"Kai!" Asher's voice sounded. "I can't anymore, look out below!"

As those words left his mouth, I noticed the barrier beneath our feet crack, then disappear. My eyes widened as Fetheion chuckled.

"Now," He said as his weapon melted, only to form the familiar shape of a scythe in his hands. "Your turn to test your blade against mine."